After our initial feed we decided to get a little crazy. We had clear skies, lots of spring runoff, and a full moon. And whenever you have that in Yosemite it means one thing: MOONBOWS!!! So with our Canyon Fish Baskets just beginning to digest in our stomachs, we all grabbed our photo gear and headed to a wet, wild, and woolly place: Lower Yosemite Falls. We arrived in dusky conditions with plenty of room to snag the primo photography spots. As it got darker more and more photographers and on-lookers showed up at the falls to try to catch a glimpse of the fabled lunar rainbow. The southeastern sky began to glow as the moon approached the valley rim. Slowly, slowly, the sky got brighter, and we could see moonlight creeping down the cliffs above the falls. Suddenly, the beautiful bright moon popped into view and the moonbow appeared! Although it appears as a faint silver glimmer to our eyes, a long exposure brings all the colors of the moonbow to life. I’d swear you could barely hear the roar of the falls over the sound of cameras clicking. But even though the lower falls area was fairly crowded, because of our early arrival our group had some great spots for the show and I saw some amazing moonbow images showing up on the backs of the group’s cameras.

Aside from the crowds, the downside to shooting the lunar rainbow at Lower Yosemite Falls is the spray. In the springtime it’s like mother nature has a fire hose pointed at you. So after awhile with our cameras, lens cloths, rainsleeves, and jackets dripping wet, we retired to Cook’s Meadow for a drier, more peaceful view of the falls. As the moon rose higher in the sky the moonbow sank lower and lower into the rocks and just as quickly as it had appeared the moonbow had gone. But for this workshop that was just the beginning; we still had 2.5 amazing days left to shoot!

Our timing couldn’t have been better. Thanks to the dry winter the dogwoods were blooming earlier than usual. Oddly, they were also blooming more extravagantly than usual. It seemed like everywhere you pointed a camera there were delicate white and yellow blossoms staring back at you. The trick was knowing when the best groups would be in the best light. We started the second day at Pohono Bridge where a series of dogwoods were in bloom directly over the Merced River. As the sun traversed the sky the dogwoods would alternately fall into light and shadow, giving us a never-ending play of light to work with.

Next we visited a bend in the Merced which gives captivating views of El Capitan, the Three Brothers, and Cathedral Rocks all from the same spot. It’s like an effortless smorgasbord of 360° beauty. The light was becoming “postcard” quality (which is my favorite new way to describe clear, blue skies) and our group was capturing some lovely shots of the panorama. They were also capturing some lovely naps in the dappled light amongst the trees on the riverbank. Tom even hustled back to the car to grab his waders and sploshed out into the river for some fantastic perspectives.

The weather was so incredibly pleasant at the river that we lounged a little longer than we originally intended and instead of driving back to our hotel for a break we visited Yosemite Village for lunch where we got gourmet hamwiches and jello all the way around. The afternoon saw mighty thunderheads building up above Yosemite Falls so we revisited the scene of our moonbow and captured the beautiful drama. At least half the group wanted to play with long exposures so we busted out 10-stop filters to turn the billowing clouds into whooshy streaks. At this point a padded divider from Steve’s bag got so excited that it too decided to whoosh, straight into the reflecting pond in the meadow. The wind caught it and we all cheered it on as it sailed through the miniature seas. But on Sea to Summit workshops we always practice leave no trace so I waded out and picked it up.

At this point the saddest part of the workshop occurred. Jeb, who was one of the first photographers to sign up for the workshop, had to leave due to some pressing work concerns back home. Jeb, we hardly knew ye! But it was great having you on the ‘shop for the brief time that we did, and hope to see you again soon. After this unfortunate goodbye the rest of us headed to a date with another of Yosemite’s grandiose icons: Half Dome. From a vantage point on Sentinel Bridge we had commanded views of this amazing piece of rock.

Soon enough the sun began to descend so the group moved to the granddaddy of all views: Tunnel View. This has got to be one of the most breathtaking vistas in all of the world and even though we didn’t have any dramatic light we still soaked in the grandeur and beauty of this amazing place.

Next morning brought us and shady light to the dramatic Cascade Creek on highway 120. There is so much water pouring down this chute that it boggles the mind, and our group wasted no time in cranking off some amazing waterfall shots. We also made sure everyone was taking enough iPhone shots in order to share with their friends on Facebook. :p

Morning often brings calm to Yosemite and we took advantage of that by going to Mirror Lake. This placid pool gives fantastic reflections of Half Dome and Mt. Watkins, making for great photography and equally great relaxing. It was clear our group was taking pleasure in both.

The afternoon brought us more clear light so we headed for the trees near Curry Village to shoot abstract and intimate forest scenes. There is something about those backlit fresh maple leaves that is just so magical. One of the hardest things about shooting in a forest is simplifying the scene so we spent time with everyone working on tight compositions, shallow DOF’s, and other ways to isolate our subjects. I also blinded myself staring into the sun while trying to demonstrate some neat backlit leaf shots. Good thing I wasn’t driving! Oh wait, I was…….

Evening came quickly yet again and we had two more stops to make. We hit up an awesome view of Bridalveil, where as an added bonus there was a dogwood in bloom over the river. Surprisingly, instead of focusing on the gargantuan waterfall just across from us, most of our group trained their long lenses on this lone dogwood. I think that tree was feeling like the prom queen that afternoon! Then it was time to move on. This time our sunset spot was a little-visited pullout on highway 120 that gives marvelous views of the Merced River leading up to Bridalveil Falls. Jim also forgot to drink anything all day so he quenched his thirst with a little spring runoff. That was the end of day 3, an amazing 14-hour shootathon that left us all a little tired, but extremely happy. But were we done? Heck no! We still had one more morning to go.

Which we started out in one of my favorite places in the Valley: El Capitan Meadow (though unfortunately Kee wasn’t feeling well and stayed behind at the hotel). Not only are there incredible views of El Cap and Cathedral Rocks from this meadow, but it’s a great breeding ground for mosquitoes, my favorite! Just kidding. The bugs were at a minimum and with the soft morning light, sweetly gurgling river, and arching trees, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a more peaceful, pastoral scene during a workshop. Ahh, photography heaven.

From there it was a quick jaunt to secretive Wildcat Falls. Yet again we had a constant play of light and shadow on the falls and the group shot and shot and shot and shot. I think some of them still might be there shooting. But we had to end at some point so after a few more megapixels were recorded we officially called it a workshop and said goodbye to our fantastic group. (Of course, that wasn’t really the end of it. Later that afternoon I ran into Joyce, Tom, and Steve in the Mariposa Grove and after sunset I got back to my car only to find it vandalized with the words “What’s the Shot?” Hooligans!!!! *Shakes fist*)

This workshop was an absolute hoot, and certainly one of my favorites to date. From Jim and myself, our sincere thanks to Jeb, Lori, Gwynne, Tom, Steve, Nirav, Joyce, and Kee. What an awesome group!

You can see some more photos from this wonderful workshop down below, or you can check out dates for next year’s ‘shop on our Yosemite Photography Workshop page.

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Sunday’s Sunset by Brad Oliver: www.bradoliver.com

Moving to Four Mile for sunset, we continued both workshops going over the finer details of composition as the light faded into night. With a high surf advisory both days, we had our fair share of wave action which made for a dynamic day at the beach. Thanks to Mark, Rhandy, Vikram, David, Jen, Vivian, and Natalie for coming out Saturday! And thanks to Javi, Marc, Richard, Robert, Terry, Jill, Todd, and Bradley for attending on Sunday!

~Jim & Josh

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On a gloriously blue day our group of intrepid photo enthusiasts set out to explore the beauty of the Big Sur coast. Our first stop was iconic Pfeiffer Beach, renowned for its famous lightbeam, which occurs for about five weeks on either side of winter solstice. But Pfeiffer is also just a really cool beach, with multiple arches, big seastacks, big scattered boulders, and even some purple sand. Yes, purple sand. And though the beach was as beautiful as ever under the deep azure skies, it was also windy and more than one sand-devil buffeted us during the afternoon.
But nature photographers are a hardy lot and we weren’t going to let a little wind keep us from shooting. Nay, you might even say we relished the challenges that the wind brought us, because it made us all appreciate the vagaries of coastal photography. Our enthusiastic group was composed of photographers with a huge range of experience levels and we had a great time working with the whole crew to understand not only shutter speeds and apertures, but also great ideas in composition. I personally had the privilege of seeing two beginning photographers transition from Auto mode to full manual mode in less than two hours. An amazing feat!

After a few hours of being abraded by the wind we retreated to the cars for quick break and drive up the coast before stopping at Hurricane Point, which commands a stupefying view of the northern Big Sur coastline. This is one of those rare landscape scenes that actually looks good under clear skies, because of the postcard quality of the view. After savoring the view and lining up some great shots, we hopped back in the cars for a quick trip to Garrapata Beach.

Garrapata is a fantastic beach to visit in the spring because in addition to the myriad rocks and seastacks that make it prime for seascape photography, there is a small canal that bursts with spectacular calla lilies. It’s beautiful, but also treacherous thanks to a profuse undergrowth of poison oak. For that reason I don’t go anywhere near it! Though some of our hardier/less susceptible/more insane students did get in the flowers for some fantastic shots.

Meanwhile the rest of us worked on finding simple, powerful beach compositions using the line of the surf, surging waves, and rocky textures as our primary elements. Then, before we knew it the sun was below the horizon and night was setting in. That marked the end of another great day of photography in Big Sur!

Many many hearty thanks to our wonderful group: Diane, Diane, Daniel, Amanda, Jeffrey, John, Gerard, and Rae. I had a blast on Saturday and hope you did too. Until next time, from Jim and myself, thanks again and happy shooting!

~Josh

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In an effort to seek out something new, Josh and I set out on scouting missions at sunrise and sunset for a potential new location. We wandered the salt flats for a few miles in the morning and then again in the evening before meeting the group for the first time. But Death Valley is vast place, especially in the middle of the salt flats. We accidentally pulled over one wash too early and found ourselves wandering about. Luckily, we found the location we had scouted that morning. And for those that know the story, we may have appeared to passers-by as the reincarnation of Shorty Harris staggering across the seemingly endless valley floor. But alas, we made it back in time for introductions and dinner.

Friday saw us visit the famous Badwater Basin, Natural Bridge, Golden Canyon, and a memorable sunset along the salt flats. Saturday started off at the iconic Zabriskie Point where we caught a colorful, albeit brief, sunrise to the east. We then headed down into the badlands to get some more intimate views of the geologic wonders within. In the afternoon, we took a chance at the Mesquite Dunes, but upon arrival, it was apparent the winds had picked up too much. With sand in teeth and ears, we retreated to a new location (the one we scouted two days earlier) and braced ourselves against the stiff wind…but a sand-free wind it was. Lens caps were seen rolling like tumble weeds (but recovered) and sunglasses went flying. Josh even didn’t his best impression of a kite (see image below). The sunset was marked by some nice golden pre-sunset light, but clouds to the west snuffed out any chance of a repeat of the rainbow of colors from the night before. Due to the forecast for 40mph gusts, the night shoot turned into a night at the dinner buffet and some decadent cobbler and chocolate cake. On the final morning, I was up at 3:30am and the windows in the room were still rattling every few minutes due to the wind. With a 4;30am alarm awaiting, I contemplated another windstorm at the dunes. With not much time to spare, I decided to go see for myself. I figured we could still salvage a sunrise somewhere else if the winds were too strong at the dunes. Luckily, the wind was calmer north and we were able to finish a great weekend with some golden morning light among the Mesquite Sand Dunes. Just about the time the light was flattening out, the wind kicked up which indicated it was time to leave.

A big thanks to Susan, Kathy, Gary, Andy, Nirav, Kevin, Dave, and Andrew! It was a certainly a pleasure and we hope to see you again!

~Jim & Josh

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Processing a raw file often produces images which are over- or under-exposed in localized areas. Double or triple processing a raw allows you to target the tones in every area of your image for maximum dynamic range and tonal control. This is an example of a raw file processed once with a global curves adjustment to improve contrast. Note how the highlights are near blown and the shadows are near black. The raw file was then re-edited and blended in multiple times to target the tonal values in each area.

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Things got off to a ripping good start at Panther Beach, where our group -some clad in sneakers, others in knee-high red rubber boots- scampered down the trail to the sand. Jim and I took the students through our standard “learn from our mistakes” seascapes 101 lecture: Don’t turn your back on the ocean, don’t set your tripod up all cockeyed, don’t get smashed by rogue waves into the cliffs. Because man, the paperwork for that kind of thing is a bitch.

Then we split the group in half: Jim took Brian, Kevin, Bill, and John to talk composition, and I stole Sujit, Raveesh, Shiva, and Grace to go over the finer points of shooting in manual mode for seascapes. Since I can’t be in two places at once I’m not 100% sure what Jim and his group talked about but I can only assume it was some radical compositional theory involving golden ratios, Fibonacci sequences, and lines of the leading kind. My students had a million questions and before we ever even got to manual mode, metering, and histograms we went over wide-angle compositions, choosing appropriate foregrounds, methods of enhancing midground depth, creating intriguing perspectives, and the practical and creative differences between f/8 and f/22. It was a photography info smorgasbord!

But eventually the siren song of the ocean lured these four shooters away from my ramblings and they got down to taking pictures. I used this opportunity to go see what Jim and his four guys were up to. I found them at the south end of Hole in the Wall beach using ND filters to catch some awesome watery streamers as the pounding waves cascaded over the rocks. But even though the ND filters let us get slow shutter speeds to play with the water motion the afternoon light was somewhat harsh so after another 30 minutes or so we packed it up to head to Four Mile beach.

Immediately upon arriving we saw some fantastic mackerel clouds inhabiting the sky and a number of our photographers used their wide angles to compose photos with the clouds and the sea. Still others had more specific compositions in mind and set about searching for some mudstone rocks they had seen in a few photos on our website. Luckily for us the sand on the beach had recently been eroded just enough to expose the mudstone. And as an added bonus the tide ensured that the rocks were receiving a regular wash from the waves. I think at one point I looked over and saw at least four of our group down in the surf shooting watery streamers as the waves swirled around the mudstone.

It seems to me that time speeds up toward the end of the day, and it was no different during this workshop: after we had been at Four Mile for what seemed a scant few minutes I looked down at my watch to see that sunset was nearly upon us. And sure enough, the afternoon light was taking on ever more warmer tones as the sun sank toward the horizon. Then the “oh crap!” moments began as the clouds to the west began luminescing (did I just make that word up?) with ruby, magenta, and pink tones, and all the photographers in our group locked in their best compositions to take advantage of the color. And while the color lingered awhile eventually it did fade, and we made our way back to the cars to say goodnight.

So to Shiva, Brian, Grace, John, Sujit, Raveesh, Kevin, and Bill, thanks! You guys were a wonderful group and Jim and I had a blast spending the day with you. From Jim and myself, take care and happy shooting!

~Josh

The post Santa Cruz Seascape Photography Workshop, February 2nd, 2013 appeared first on Photography Workshops: Coastal, Mountain, and Desert Landscapes - Sea to Summit Photo Workshops.

Thanks to Kinya, Brittany, Melissa, Bharat, Avinash, Phil, Liz, and Joey for coming out!

-Jim and Josh

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