My
good friend and fellow photographer Tom Crews and I were sitting around
talking one day, when I asked him if he would be interested in putting
on workshops as a team. Because of our camaraderie and similar styles, I
thought we would make a great team. Between the two of us, we have 35+
years of experience in the art of landscape photography, and I felt
there would be some aspiring photographers out there who would be
interested in learning from a couple of veterans.
Over
dinner, we began to toss about ideas, our different qualifications,
what each of us would bring to the table, possible locations, and who
would be our target audience. Our shooting styles are quite similar, and
both of us have similar processing workflows but with differences.
First
off, I'm going to use the word 'client' several times in this post and I
really don't care for it myself, but then, I don't like 'customer'
either, and 'participant' just seems, well too long. Anyway . . .
Our
number one priority was in deciding who our target audience would be.
We felt that intermediate photographers who had a basic working
knowledge of camera functions and some experience with Lightroom would
benefit the most from our knowledge.
We
both use Lightroom as our
starting point, and in many instances our only tool, but we both also
use a variety of plugins. We use Photoshop,
but only when an image needs something that cannot be completed within
the
other tools. In most cases, both of us can bring an image to its final
iteration within 30 minutes. As for our choice of plugins, Tom uses NIK
Collection, both Photomatix and Photomatix 32-bit HDR, and the onOne
Perfect Effects Suite, while I use Topaz Detail, Black & White
Effects 2, Adjust, and DeNoise, but I am now working with onOne as well.
We are of the belief that one can do most, if not all, post work
without resorting to Photoshop, which has a very steep learning curve.
This alone has become one of our primary goals that we will impart to
you in each workshop - to help you achieve the simplicity we have come
to find works for us and can work for you as well.
For
those interested, Tom uses Nikon cameras with Nikon and Tamron Pro
lenses, and I use Nikon cameras with primarily Tokina Pro and Nikon
lenses.
We
talked about some possible locations and decided for the first two
workshops, we would stay local in areas that one or both of us had
previously explored. That being said, our biggest concern was that we
were too late in the season to offer Fall workshops, and for the first
one we have scheduled in the Wichita Mountains, that appears to be the
case. For the second in the Arbuckle Mountains, we were more optimistic,
and to date, we already have two signed up for this workshop, so it is
starting to take shape.
As
with any new venture, there is a period in the beginning of getting
people to invest in two relatively unknown artists. We are both
internationally recognized, but only so far as social media and print
sales go. This presented a possible problem in getting the word out as
well, and so we decided to get our 'fan' base to lend a hand. Therefore,
we would appreciate all re-shares of our posts via social media. All of
you have many people in your circles, whether it be Google+ or
Facebook, that are not within our own. Your sharing would help us reach a
wider audience.
For each participant that tells us they saw our post on your page,
you the sharer will receive a FREE 13x19 hand signed print of your
choice from either of our catalogs!
As
for the future, we are now looking at possible workshops in Guadalupe
Mountains National Park in west Texas for late winter, Big Bend National
Park down in the far south of Texas in early spring, northern New
Mexico and the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming for late spring, and many
other possibles. Both of us have been to Big Bend, I have been to
Guadalupe Mountains several times, and I have also spent a great deal of
time in New Mexico in years past. Tom was recently in New Mexico at
White Sands National Monument as well. In addition, we are looking at
possibly offering Processing Workshops in tandem with some of these,
which would take place right after each field workshop.
We
are also open to hearing from YOU, our potential client base. Where
would you like for us to go? Is there some location that you have never
seen offered as a workshop that you would love for us to offer? Let us
know your thoughts. At this early stage, we are open to hearing any and
all suggestions. Of course, when this takes off, we will eventually
offer some more exotic locations such as Iceland, and a place I would
love to do, the Isle of Skye in Scotland. But first, we need some
experience under our belts and we need you to help us achieve this
goal.
We
are trying very hard to keep the costs down for the foreseeable future.
Obviously, we are in this to make a living, but at the same time, we
want our clients to have an exceptional experience. Keeping costs down
helps both of us in the long run - you the client receive a great
experience in all phases of landscape photography, and we get the
pleasure of sharing our knowledge without thinking we are taking you to
the cleaners to get there.
A
final note. One of the things that we feel needs being discussed
extensively during a workshop is the aspect of 'art' in landscape
photography. How does one go about teaching something that in reality is
possibly quite intangible to a newcomer? This is just one of the many
subjects we will discuss at length. After all, we do not want to go home
with just pretty pictures every time we go out, but would ideally like
to bring back images that we are truly proud of and that are imbued with
an artistic sensibility we can call our own. Style is a part of it, but
when our images reveal that little something extra that goes beyond
words, we have succeeded in our goal of creating not only lasting work
that stands the test of time, but also something with a truly memorable
legacy.
We look forward to hearing your thoughts, either publicly or privately. After all, we are in this together.
Be sure and check out our current offerings for Fall 2015!
The
image I have shared with this post was created many years ago in the
late 1990's at Bisti-DeNazin National Monument in northwestern New
Mexico using Kodak T-Max 100 film. The gear used was a Nikon F5 and a
Nikkor 24/2.8D lens. This place is one of the possible locations for
part of our Spring 2016 workshop. One of the few locations I have ever
been to where every way you turned there was a composition! Filled with
balancing rocks, hoodoos, and multi-colored formations, this would be
one place you would not want to miss!
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| Bisti Badlands, New Mexico |
