Elk, Great Smoky Mountains, NP

I recently read an article by George Lepp in Outdoor Photographer which reminded me of a few things I talk about in the Quiet Light Workshops. With the advent of the digital world and especially today’s cameras with high ISO settings photographers – and especially landscape photographers – need to remember to think outside of their usual comfort zone. Today’s camera ISO’s, or as film folks think, ASA, can now go to an incredible 25,600! Remember when ASA 800 seemed on the edge? As landscape photographers we are used to working at the best possible ISO of 50-100 for the finest in detail. Yet in digital the loss with higher ISO’s is minimal. Yes, there will be some additional noise but nothing which can’t be overcome with noise reduction software.

When shooting my last book Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Thirty Years of American Landscapes I had the need to extend the ISO of my camera’s (Canon 1Ds Mark III) highest setting to 3200 when I was shooting the elk in Cataloochee. It was nearly dark when the elk began to actually begin their rut and clash their heads together. Since this is what I had come for I had no choice. I confess, as I was shooting them I was fairly sure I would need to come back, so imagine my surprise when later that night the images looked great in Photoshop!

Bluebonnets, Rookwood Ranch

Last week I was in Texas and once again wanted to play with expanded ISO’s. This time not because I was forced to but to see how it would help you be more creative. I was visiting my aunt and uncle’s ranch Rookwood near Brenham. Aunt Char is a great photographer herself and was excited to show me around. The wildflowers were just beginning to come out. I found that by using the higher ISO’s I could handhold when necessary to get a better angle. I also played with the depth of field so I could show workshop participants directly the differences in looks when you step out of the landscape photographer mode and use a shallow depth of field to highlight an area of an image. The Indian Paint Brush and Bluebonnets in their fields became my subjects for this study. The fact is by changing the way we work we open up endless possibilities to how we see.

Sometimes we find ourselves doing things the way we have always done them – low ISO and stop down all the way to make sure that image is sharp all the way through. And sometimes it is best to break that “rule” of landscape photography. This may seem a very simple idea, but sometimes we need to be reminded to step outside our comfort zone and see the world in a different way.

Indian Paint Brush, Rookwood Ranch

If you would like to see more images from Texas you can use this link: www.mackphoto.com/blog/Texas/    

To see the Great Smoky Mountains National Park book go to www.quietlightpublishing.com

If you would like more information on my workshops please visit www.quietlightworkshops.com

Go on and get out of your zone! Experiment!

Peace,

Richard

Today we announced the Quiet Light Nature Photography Workshops in the Quiet Light eNewsletter! Here’s the announcement. (To see the entire eNewsletter go to www.quietlightpublishing.com/newsletters/Aug2008.html)

Quiet Light Publishing and Richard Mack Photography have teamed up to form the Quiet Light Workshops. These are nature photography workshops for photographers of all levels. Quiet Light Photography Workshops offer people interested in nature and landscape photography the ability to hone their skills in the digital world of photography today. Each workshop will enable you to expand your skills with your camera, teaching or enhancing your knowledge of composition, color balances, and color calibration to get consistent work results, as well as downloading your images into the computer and optimizing them in Photoshop. Not only do we focus on improving the images you create, but we aim to engage your imagination and expand your appreciation of the natural world. Our workshops are designed to take you to some of the best landscapes the lens can see!

Join professional photographer Richard Mack as he leads you through some of his favorite places in nature – teaching and sharing with you many of the important techniques that have made him a leading nature photographer. Richard has shot on assignments in all 50 states and many countries. His portfolio includes works in both color and black & white from many National Parks, National Forests, and wilderness areas. His work has been exhibited widely in galleries throughout the United States. He has won numerous awards including twice being honored by the International Photography Awards for his nature images. His book The Lewis & Clark Trail American Landscapes has won over a dozen major photography, book and design awards.

These are hands-on, in the field workshops with Richard. You will be in surroundings that get your creative juices flowing and will serve as a wonderful photographic classroom. At the end of the day, images will be reviewed and discussed as a group. Techniques will be shared and Richard will work with each of you to improve upon what you’ve shot. The take-away from this workshop will be a better knowledge of how to make your equipment work to the best of its ability, a new understanding of composition, lighting, filters, etc. and a plethora of tips to make your images get the “wow” response.

Not only do you receive the expertise of Richard, but you will find him fun, easy to work with and truly passionate about photography. His goal is to give every participant the most rewarding photographic and learning experience possible. So, why not come along and set your own goal – take home some stunning photographs!

Workshop Schedule

Starved Rock State Park, Illinois
September 28-29, 2008

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Tennessee & North Carolina
October 19-23, 2008

Zion National Park, Utah
January 25-30, 2009

Bryce National Park, Utah
February 1-5, 2009

Saguaro National Park, Arizona
February 23-27, 2009

Yosemite National Park, California
March 22-27, 2009

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Spring Wildflowers
April 19-23, 2009

More Coming Soon – including Alaska trips!

We are pleased to add more images from landscape photographer Richard Mack. We have added four sets of note card boxed sets to our products line along with 14 Posters from his Great Smoky Mountains collection! You can purchase all of these online at Quiet Light Publishing www.quietlightpublishing.com. Just follow the Current Offering links www.quietlightpublishing.com/shop/enter.htm. The note cards have 12 cards – two each of six different cards along with envelopes. Sets include, Cades Cove, Rivers & Streams, Wildflowers, and a Set of Black & White images. They are priced at $18.95 per set. The posters include images from all over the park and are 24”x36”. Each is a fine art poster in and of itself. They sell for $24.95.

It’s been a busy few weeks here, well actually months. After returning from Patagonia we made a trip down to the Smokies to shoot more for the book project on the park – more on that in a later post – and have also been helping a friend get her new book to market, as well as getting images to our stock photo sales sites. It seems you never have enough time to work on images after you return! That is the reason you haven’t seen much from even the Utah shoots in Zion, Bryce and Capital Reef

We will also be announcing soon our new schedule for our Photo Workshops and trips! Stay tuned as we finalize the locations and dates for this summer’s, falls, and winter’s workshops! And if you have any thoughts on where you would like to travel to with us let us know! These workshops will include time in the field shooting and time in the class room looking at what you’ve shot and learning some tips on Photoshop and digital imaging. Stay tuned!

Peace,

Richard