workshop

Aperture Nature Photography Workshop #4 – Mount Rainier

Images and Post by Nicole Young – Follow Nicole on Twitter

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Aperture Nature Photography Workshop near Mount Rainier as the documentarian, and couldn’t have asked for a better group of photographers to spend time with during the trip. It was an honor to watch staff members Scott Bourne, Rick Sammon, Juan Pons and Gary Hamburgh “in-action”, making beautiful images and sharing their knowledge and experience with the workshop attendees.

The four-day workshop started out with the staff and attendees arriving at the lodge in Packwood, Washington. We had a meet-and-greet and watched slideshow presentations of each of the pro’s photography. It was jaw-dropping inspiration to see the kind of work that the staff members had under their belts; I knew then-and-there that this was going to be an amazing experience (not that I had any doubts to begin with!). Scott then led a teaching session on using Aperture.

The next morning we were all up and ready to go at 5:45 am for a sunrise shoot on the mountain. We split up into two groups: the first group went with Scott and and Gary and traveled up to Tipsoo Lake, while the other group went with me, Rick and Juan to Reflection Lake. The name of that place says it all … a crystal-clear mirrored lake reflecting Mount Rainier with beautiful flowers and trees surrounding the whole thing. It was beautiful, majestic, and breath-taking … definitely worth waking up for. As the sun crept up behind us a beautiful pink glow capped the top outline of the mountain and the clouds were set in the sky perfectly. Even as the sun slowly rose higher and higher, the light was incredibly good for photographing this area. We spent most of our morning at the lake, then drove up to a waterfall to get a few more shots before heading back to the hotel.

After a couple of hours rest we all gathered in the conference room where Rick Sammon gave a presentation on HDR (high-dynamic-range) photography. Then as one big group we headed up to Tipsoo Lake for a sunset shoot.

The next morning we had another early start and drove to Northwest Trek in Eatonville, Washington. Half-way there we passed by a field with dozens of tree stumps by a lake, and the entire thing covered in a blanket of fog. So, like any good photographer would do, we all stopped our cars and ran out with cameras in hand. After a few minutes of shooting we jumped back into our cars and continued on our way to our destination.

We arrived at Northwest Trek a few hours before it was open to the public. Scott arranged for our group to board a private tram for our own special photo tour of the Trek’s free-roaming area. This place is amazing. It’s basically a “reverse zoo” – the animals were free to roam about the lands and we were confined to the vehicle we were traveling in. During the trip we saw several bison, moose, and elk. We witnessed bull elk sparring, herding their cows, wallowing in mud … overall it was an amazing and unique experience.

Later that afternoon when we returned to the hotel Scott gave a presentation on “pre-visualization”, where he told the story behind his famous photo “Cranes in the Fire Mist”. I seriously got teary-eyed … it was very inspiring. Then as a group we went out one last time to Reflection Lake to take some photos before the sun set.

I came home from this experience feeling very refreshed. I’m motivated, feel extremely creative, and really gained a new respect for nature and wildlife photographers. At times I felt very “out of my element”, photographically speaking, during the trip since I don’t do very much nature photography, but it definitely didn’t stop me from enjoying myself! It was so much fun to be out there with other creatives and like-minded photographers … in fact, I had such a great time that I have to admit that it was the best group photography experience I have ever had.

Thanks so much to everyone who was a part of the workshop: Staff members Scott Bourne, Rick Sammon, Juan Pons, and Gary Hamburgh; and workshop attendees Jarek Szymanski, Julie Stainbrook, Bill Jeffries and Rhonda Holcomb.

Click here to view more behind-the-scene images from the ANPW trip to Mount Rainier.