From the monthly archives:

April 2009

ANPW – Yellowstone Area – Day 1

by admin on April 30, 2009

Post by Cathy Chung – Photo by ANPW #3 winner Bryan Holliday

Hello from Gardiner, Montana and Yellowstone. We are ending day one of the Aperture Nature Photography Workshop. The winners and pros flew from all over the country and arrived eager to photograph and ready to learn Aperture. The group made their way from Bozeman to Gardiner on I-89. Along the way we spotted: Dall Sheep, Big Horn Sheep, Osprey, Kestrels, Magpies and Canada Geese to name a few.

After all the winners and pros arrived in Gardiner, we met for an orientation. Most important were the safety rules for the workshop and what to do if you come in contact with bears, bison or wolves. Scott assured everyone that nothing has ever happened to anyone and that he was only telling us all of this as a precaution.

The group was given their subscription to lynda.com, a copy of Aperture 2 and the Nik Software Complete Collection of plug-ins for Aperture at the orientation. They were also surprised with a copy of Scott Bourne’s books “88 Secrets to Wildlife Photography” and “88 Secrets to Selling & Publishing Your Photography.” They already received their Drobo’s, Think Tank Rotation 360 bags and their Peachpit Press books prior to arriving at the workshop. (The Lensbabys are coming later.)

The group went around the room and talked about what they want to learn and how long they have been taking photographs.

Olga has been shooting for 1 1/2 years and wants to learn about light from the pros. She normally does wide angle work but wants to expand on that this trip, so she rented a long lens.

Elyse has been shooting for … years and wants to observe the pros in action. She would like to have her work critiqued.

Ara has been shooting for 2 1/2 years. At which time she started out with a point and shoot. It was when she learned about the cameras manual mode that her interest really piqued! She is interested in some real feedback about her photos and would also like to learn how to sell her photos.

Bryan has been shooting for 10 years and has aspirations to be a pro photographer. He would like to learn more about landscape photography, as well as the business side of photography. He would also like to learn how to market himself as a photographer.

This was the winners chance to learn more about the pros on the trip and see an example of the work they do.

Scott Bourne showed two collections; his recent bird trip to Southwest Florida and his Wolfscapes.

Gary Hamburgh, who has been shooting for six years, showed his collection on the Palouse. He spoke about how he was able to start selling his work to galleries.

Steve Simon showed the first photograph he made. He also showed two of his collections;America At the Edge and his work in Africa about AIDS. He spoke about really documenting a subject in depth.

We will be getting up early tomorrow morning to shoot various locations depending on the weather. The group is very excited to get out and shoot. The workshop gets into full speed mode after lunch where we’ll delve deeper into the power of Aperture for editing and organizing photos.

Stay tuned, more to come…

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We’re Live in Gardiner, Montana

by admin on April 28, 2009

ANPW Workshop #3 begins tomorrow. Some of us have already begun arriving to scout. There are tons of elk, deer and bison up on the Jardine Road. That’s one of the places we’ll be photographing as a group. We’ll run the workshop out of Gardiner, MT where we have a nice conference room set up with a projector and screen. Apple T3-Certified Aperture instructor Steve Simon will join me in teaching the workshop participants how to get the most out of Aperture. It’s going to be fun.

I’ve established a Flickr set with some of my personal photos from the trip. Keep checking it this week as it gets updated.

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Interview With the Winners of ANPW #4 – Olga Yiparaki

by admin on April 21, 2009



Congratulations on winning, Olga! You must be very excited. I appreciate you taking time to sit down with me.

Where are you from?

Home has been beautiful Tucson, AZ for the last 12-13 years. I was born and raised in Athens, Greece and moved to the US to attend college/graduate school, and I ended up staying and becoming a citizen. I have lived the nomadic life of an academic–in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Georgia before moving to Arizona.

What kind of photography do you specialize in?

I have a background in art (painting and sculptural ceramics) but I am fairly new to photography, so I am still evolving, still have a lot to learn. Right now I photograph anything and everything that strikes my fancy. I adore my dog Daphne who would make a wonderful photographic muse except for the fact that she is routinely annoyed by my camera and exhales with theatrical flair while walking away from me. Beyond that, I like to photograph food, landscapes, details, and anything that makes and ordinary moment stand out (in good ways or bad). In the end, I see photography not so much about specific subjects, but more about mood, or an unusual viewpoint, or a feeling.

How did you learn about the trip?

I am a regular follower of TWIP! I listen to the weekly podcast on my iPod (usually while driving) and I read the website pretty much everyday.

So you are a Twipper! The website is great and has so much information.

What do you hope to learn on the trip?

Mostly, I hope to learn by observing the pros and their techniques. I hope to learn how to look at light with a more discerning eye. And about landscapes-composing and timing.

Have you used Aperture before?

I have been using Aperture already. I love it. Like all things Apple, it makes everything natural and easy-it gets out of your way so you can concentrate on photography. However, I suspect that I have only scratched the surface of this wonderful program, so I look forward to learning more about it.

What gear are you bringing?

Nikon D700
Nikkor 16mm f 2.8 Fisheye
Nikkor 17-35 f 2.8
Lensbaby Composer
Nikon Speedlight SB-600
Tripod
MacBook

and since I don’t have any telephoto lenses, I am thinking of renting the Nikon 70-300 (or something along those lines.)

What challenges do you think photographers face today?

It depends on the photographer.

For budding photographers, today’s challenges are paradoxical. There are so many choices for lenses, cameras, gizmos, and gadgets, probably more than any other time in the history of photography. Each and everyone serves a purpose and many are wonderful. Technology is wonderful but it can be too much of a good thing. Additionally the internet is an amazing place to get information about photography, but once again, it can be too much, and there is also a lot of misinformation. THe challenge is to be able to ignore much of this and just photograph. In the end, I thin our photographs reflect our mind and our vision, not our equipment.

For professional photographers, today’s challenges come from the increasing competition in the field, since more and more people enter photography as a profession or as a commercial endeavor, often part-time. Additionally, there is a paradigm shift in the business models and distributions of commercial photography-e.g.,stock photography or citizen journalism. It will be interesting to see how this will evolve.

What is your “day job”?

I am a mathematician; I used to be in academia (my research area is in Logic/combinatorial set theory) and now I work in industry. I work with hardware architects on future designs 3-4 years before they get built: to asses tradeoffs by creating mathematical models that predict performance and reliability of enterprise-class storage systems (disk and tape).

Do you have a website or a blog that we can link to?

I just started a new blog intended to document the ANPW experience, in addition to other topics:
http://arizonaolga.wordpress.com/

My Flickr page is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/syzygy/

I also created and run the Tucson iPUG (iPhone and Palm Users Group); we cover all PDA topics, including photography among many others.

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Interview With the Winners of ANPW #3 – Elyse Weadock

by admin on April 16, 2009

See more of Elyse’s work here.

Congraulations, Elyse! Your image was beautiful. Thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for our readers.

Where are you from?

I live in New York City

That is one of my favorite places in the world. What is your favorite place or subject to photograph in New York City?

I mostly enjoy walking through Central Park with my camera…grateful to have so much natural beauty right in the middle of a big city (a mini escape!)…many great water spots with their ever changing reflections right down to the puddles after a good rain…but the city streets certainly have much to offer up to the camera lens as well, such extremes! I feel lucky to have easy access to both.

You are lucky, Elyse. New York City and Central Park are wonderful places to shoot.

What kind of photography do you specialize in?

I prefer the natural world. Taking it in and appreciating all that is around me. Currently my enjoyment lies in attempting to venture beyond what and how my eye sees and trying to create something unique out of what’s in front of me. Playing with reflections, shadows, water movement, light, etc.

How did you learn about the trip?

I receive emails from “Apple Hot News” and that is where I read about the announcement. It totally caught my attention and sounded to me, like such and awesome experience and opportunity!

You are right on that one Elyse. It is an awesome experience and opportunity. And you were one of four winners out of over 2000 entries! What do you hope to learn on the trip?

I am so anxious to be side by side with the four professional photographers and I think just to be able to observe “what they do” and ask questions along the way will be such an invaluable and memorable learning experience. I am also looking forward to meeting Ara, Bryan and Olga. I think spending time alongside one another and sharing our experiences will be an added benefit to the trip.

What gear are you bringing?

Canon EOS 30D
Canon ef 70-200, f 2.8
Canon Macro 100mm, f 2.8
Canon ef-s 17-55mm, f 2.8

I am anxious to check out the Lensbaby. I am not familiar with it but it sounds like something to have fun with!

What challenges do you think photographers face today?

My first thought in answering this is the type of images that I am capturing now. The sometimes abstract or painterly look, are thought by some to have been manipulated after – aside from the typical adjustments to exposure, contrast, white balance, etc. I don’t actually know how to manipulate my images and right now am not really interested in doing so. I really want my images to represent what was recorded in the camera-the way I see them.

What is your “day job”?

By day and night I am a stay at home mom with three daughters.

That will keep you busy! How do you find time to shoot?

My girls are 11, 15 & 17 so they are not so dependent on me and it allows me more time to go out and “play”. But I also keep my camera ready to pick up and capture something.

Thank you, Elyse. We look forward to seeing your images from Yellowstone.

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Interview With the Winners of ANPW #3 – Ara Roselani

by admin on April 11, 2009

Interview by Cathy Chung

Congratulations, Ara! Your image was stunning. Thanks for sitting down with me so that our followers could learn about you.

Where are you from?

I grew up around Portland, Oregon and have also lived in San Francisco. I am living in Portland now.

Portland is a very pretty area. What is your favorite place/subject to photograph in Portland?

The waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. Mount Ranier National Park is another favorite.

You are lucky to have both of those places in your backyard. What inspiring places to photograph.

What kind of photography do you specialize in?

Landscapes and cityscapes. A lot of long exposures. I’ve started doing wedding photography and portraits.

How did you learn about the ANPW contest/trip?

I did a search for Lensbaby on Google

Well lucky for you, Ara-Lensbay is one of the prizes that you get.

What do you hope to learn on the trip?

Different perspectives! Every time I go out and shoot with other photographers, I learn so much. The ANPW instructors are selling professionals, and I want to absorb as much of that wisdom as possible.

The pros that are coming on this trip are amazing, Ara. You will be learning so much from them.

What gear are you bringing?

Cameras:
Canon 40D
Pentax MX
Holga
Lomo Fisheye

Lenses:
Canon 10-22mm
Canon 17-85mm IS
Canon 50mm 1.4
Canon 70-200mm f/4
Pentax 28-70mm f/2.8
Pentax 50mm f/1.8

Filters:
Hoya Moose Polarizer/Warming
Hoya ND400 9-Stop
B&W 6-Stop ND
Singh-Ray 3-Stop soft GND with Cokin 10x macro ring

Misc:
Bogen Tripod
Hot-shoe level
Gary Fong Lightsphere
Vivitar Flash
Velvia Film
Remote for Canon 40D

I’m really excited to try out the new Rotation 360° backpack from Think Tank. It is really sturdy and holds a lot of gear!

I am excited to hear that you are bringing film cameras. You will enjoy the Rotation 360° backpack. I used it on my trip and it worked perfectly!

What challenges do you think photographers face today?

There are a lot of talented photographers in the world and it’s a challenge to stand out and offer a unique outlook. It can be easy to rely on technology and the latest and greatest to make you a “better photographer”, instead of going back to your eye, imagination and individuality. I love the photographers who can shoot with a $10,000 SLR or a $20 plastic camera and come up with equally amazing photos. Marketing and finding outlets to sell photography are other challenges that I want to learn more about facing. Again, with so many talented artists out there, standing out from the crowd is tough.

What is your “day job”?

I am a Litigation Project Manager for a legal support company. I manage databases and electronic evidence for law firms and corporations.

Lastly, do you have a website or a blog that we can link to?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aralani

Thanks for you time, Ara and I look forward to meeting you face to face in Yellowstone.

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Interview With the Winners of ANPW #3 – Bryan Holliday

by admin on April 9, 2009

Interview by Cathy Chung
Congratulations, Bryan!! Your image was amazing. Let’s talk a bit about yourself and get to know you.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois and am currently living in Phoenix, AZ.

Now that you are living in Phoenix, what is your favorite place or subject to shoot there?

No matter where I’ve lived, my favorite subjects to shoot have always been birds. They are found just about everywhere, so I’ve ended up in a lot of places in pursuit of them. The light in Arizona is very harsh, so that makes bird photography even more of a challenge. I’ve decided to spend more time shooting landscapes here and take advantage of being so close to the iconic Saguaro cactus.

What kind of photography do you specialize in?

Bird photography. It’s addicting! Photographing birds artistically is a great challenge. There is no where I’d rather be than behind my big lens!

What do you hope to learn on the trip?

I am hoping to learn some tips on shooting landscapes. This is an area in which I’d really like to improve. And of course I’m excited to learn Aperture.

What gear are you bringing?

Canon 50D
600mm, f4
70-200
10-22

What is your “day” job?

I’ve been teaching environmental education the past nine years, but with my relocation to Phoenix this past year, I decided to take a break and try something totally different. I’m currently on the grounds crew for the Chicago Cubs at their spring training/winter facilities in Mesa, AZ. As a lifelong Cubs fan, I’ve been living the dream this spring.

What challenges do you think photographers face today?

I think that the market is so saturated with great images that it may be difficult to make a living as a photographer. Those who make it seem to have found their niche with creative business ideas and a lot of hard work. I also think more than ever it is important that we follow a code of ethics to maintain respect within our communities.

Lastly, Bryan do you have a website or blog that we can link to?

My website is www.bryanholliday.com You can follow the link from there to my blog as well.

Thank you for your time Bryan. We can’t wait to see your images from Yellowstone.
The Aperture Nature Photography Workshop kicks off event number three in Gardiner, MT on April 29. We’ll have more interviews as time draws nearer to the workshop.

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Final Workshop Dates Announced

by admin on April 3, 2009

We’re proud to announce the dates for our fourth and final (in this series) Aperture Nature Photography Workshop. On September 9-12, four lucky winners will join four pros for the ANPW Mt. Rainier.

We’re also proud to announce that one of the pros joining our teaching faculty this year will be Rick Sammon. Rick is a proflific photographer, author and teacher. His latest book, Rick Sammon’s Digital Photography Secrets is brilliant and he’ll be a real asset to our team of pros.

We’re going to open up the fourth contest for this workshop soon so keep your browser pointed right here for more details.

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