Instruction
Greetings and Welcome! Thanks for visiting this web site and for your interest in my nature oriented 35mm digital & film based photography instruction. I'd be happy to tailor any of my standard workshops to meet your individual/group needs.
Course & Events Schedule Teaching Style Course Catalog (pdf) Student Endorsements
Imaging Course MAP:
Digital Darkroom
Course MAP:
Workshop Portfolio
Imaging Workshops
My workshop portfolio captures all aspects of nature photography, including 35mm Digital SLR camera and equipment use, as well as image optimization and output via the digital darkroom.
Foundations Series:
Nature Photography Primer -- Staple Tools & Techniques
-- Overview of Nature Genres (Landscape, Wildlife, Close-up Macro, etc)
-- Extensive review of Nature-Oriented Photo Equipment & Accessories
Exposure 101 -- Beginners Guide to Capturing Light
-- ABC's of how to work your Digital SLR Camera
-- Interplay between Aperture, Shutter Speed, Film/Sensor “ISO” Speed
-- Apertures, Focal Length, and Depth of Field
-- Automatic, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual Metering Modes
-- Metering and Compensating for Ambient Light and Subject Tone
-- Digital White Balance, Contrast, Saturation, Sharpness, jpg vs RAW
Mastering Your 35mm Camera -- Personalized Hands-On Exploration of Your Gear
-- One-on-One or Semi-Private workshop totally focused on you and your camera gear
-- Solidifies & Personalizes Foundations Series Concepts at a more gentile pace
-- We'll explore your Camera's features, controls, and review its Manual
-- Practice foundations series concepts and techniques
Intermediate Series:
Advanced Exposure -- Beyond the Basics
-- Seeing Light
-- Explore advance metering modes of consumer thru pro cameras
-- Zone System and Modern Histograms demystified
-- Front/Side/Back lit challenges
-- Extreme Contrast tackled thru split neutral density filters, raw format, compositing, HDR
-- Advanced filters and white balance--polarizers, enhancers, and more
-- 24x7 Productivity – Mid-Day/Mid-Night Shooting
-- Fill Flash vs Main Flash and Remote Triggering
-- Reflectors & Diffusers
Expressive Composition -- Nature's Balance
-- Simplifying -- Order from Chaos
-- Weight, Balance, Proportions
-- Rule of 3rds and when to break it
-- Subjective Conventions and Norms...Exceptions
-- Rhythm, Patterns
-- Power of Color, Tone, Edges, Texture, Shape
--Stitched Panoramas & Custom Cropping -- composing beyond 35mm and 8x10 proportions
-- Implied Motion and Room to Move
-- Horizontal vs Vertical
-- Want Published?
Specialized Topics Series:
-- Macro Close-up Photography -- Nature's Intimacy
-- Bird Photography -- Tools, Techniques, and Destinations
-- Landscape Photography -- Imaging our World
-- Extreme Imaging -- Infrared, Astro, and Underwater Photography
General Series:
-- Shopper's Guide -- One-on-One advice on how to research your next Purchase
-- Travel Strategies for the Nature Photographer (general or tailored to your next trip)
Digital Darkroom Workshops
Digital Darkroom 3 -- Digital Fine Art, Beyond the Pure Photograph
Digital Darkroom 4 -- Advanced Printing and Color Management
The Digital Darkroom -- Computing, Peripherals, and Networking for Digital Photography
Digital Projects -- Sharing your Images in the Digital Age (Select Topics or all-in-one Overview)
-- Custom Matting & Framing Demonstration
-- Sharing On-Line -- Build your own Web Site or leverage On-Line Services
-- DVD Multimedia Photo Videos
-- Computer Scrap Booking and Desktop Publishing
-- HDTV Home Theater & Mobile Projection
Walk Abouts
My Teaching Style -- I'm absolutely enthralled with nature and nature photography and love to share that enthusiasm with others. As the bio page on this site indicates, nature photography is my passion, not my full-time profession...at least not yet. You will find my teaching style casual and conversational and my approach fresh, fun, and practical.
Over the years, I've graduated up from a beginner camera rig, shooting film, then slides to a "prosumer" digital camera and acquired a wide array of beginner to high-end lenses and accessories on the road to going pro. Thus, you'll find I offer sensible ideas regardless of your equipment or skill level, and often demonstrate "good/better/best" gear and methods both in the class room and in the field. I'll describe how the pro's do what they do, and practical alternatives for more modest budgets and skill levels. Your most important tool isn't in your camera bag--its you!
For your tuition, I do feel I owe you a fun but comprehensive and detailed treatment of a topic. So, even at the foundations level, I won't gloss over technical subjects and do error on the side of too much material. To get the most of any educational experience, especially one you pay for, I encourage you to read and practice up on each topic before hand, and then follow up after the course with practice, review, and by making use of the course hand-outs and additional resources recommended. Time in the field will solidify concepts and trigger more than a few "now I get it" moments of revelation. Build your skills over time by making use of the progressive and complementary portfolio of courses offered, perhaps augmented by a few of my less intensive "walk-about" coaching opportunities.
I own an extensive library of nature photography books and field/travel guides. I'll always have some favorites on hand and you will receive a reference hand out with every workshop detailing related book, magazine, and web resources. Best of all, during each course I'll highlight related web links from the extensive Resources & Links pages of this Web site. This site is your basecamp for easy access to a wide array of nature photography, travel, computer, and home theater topics. Saves on allot of tedious "www. bla bla bla" note taking too!
Student Endorsements
http://pasqualehome.com/Meadowlark2008/Meadowlark2008.htm
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