Announcements

Lightroom Webinar: Processing High-Contrast Photos

Sunbeams, mist, Half Dome, and the Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California

Sunbeams, mist, Half Dome, and the Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California

High-contrast images can be challenging to process. How do you both darken highlights and lighten shadows, without making the image look too flat, weird, or over-processed?

On August 26th I’ll present a live webinar where I’ll demonstrate how to tackle this challenge. I’ll take you step-by-step through processing one or more high-contrast photographs, where you’ll learn powerful yet simple techniques for balancing contrast, while keeping the image lively and natural-looking. Here’s a partial list of the topics we’ll cover:

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From Lens to Print Webinar, and Out of Big Sur Registration


 

Tomorrow I’ll be joining the Out of Chicago team and ten other Out of Big Sur instructors to present a free webinar called From Lens to Print. We’ll all be sharing insights and practical advice on the photographic process, from before pressing the shutter to the finished print.

The Out of Big Sur photo conference next March will include a special emphasis on that whole process, including printing, because of the rich photographic history of that region. Many legendary photographers made that area their home, including Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock, Morley Baer, and Henry Gilpin, and their “west coast” school of photography placed a great emphasis on printmaking.

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Hope to See You at the NANPA Summit

Swirling dogwood blossoms, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Swirling dogwood blossoms, Yosemite

I hope to see some of you at the NANPA Summit in Tucson next month! The dates are May 4-6. I’ll be accepting NANPA’s Fine Art in Nature Photography Award (a great honor!), and giving a keynote presentation on the 4th. I have to fly up to Washington the next day for the Out of Olympic conference, but I hope I get the chance to say hi to some of you on the 4th.

There’s still time to register for the NANPA Summit, and it promises to be a great event. I’ve always enjoyed participating in these summits in the past, as there are lots of great speakers and events, and it’s a wonderful place to network and meet other like-minded people. This year’s speakers include Wendy Shattil, Daniel J. Cox, Gabby Salazar, Adam Schallau, Dave Showalter, and Greg Johnson. Quite a lineup!

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Today Only: Free Replay of Expressive Night Photography


 

For today only, the National Parks at Night folks are offering a free replay of my presentation from last year’s Night Photo Summit, called Expressive Night Photography.

This presentation is all about the limitless opportunities night photography offers for creative exploration. At night, the darkness makes it easy to override what little light exists to add your own; it’s like having a dark, blank canvas to paint onto. And you can find more varieties of natural light at night than during the day, opening up further creative possibilities. In this presentation I explore the many creative paths that dark skies offer, take a look back at my own nighttime photography journey, and discuss how you can use night photography to communicate your vision of the world in unique and expressive ways.

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Night Photo Summit and Winter Speaker Series

Comet NEOWISE over a Sierra peak, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

Comet NEOWISE over a Sierra peak, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

There’s still time to register for the Night Photo Summit next weekend, and for the Winter Speaker Series.

The Night Photo Summit online conference takes place February 3rd through 5th. I’ll be joining over 35 other distinguished instructors for this conference, including Albert Dros, Elia Locardi, Royce Bair, Rachel Jones Ross, Katrina Brown, Lance Keimig, Tim Cooper, Susan Magnano, Chris Nicholson, Kevin Adams, and many more. My presentation is about star-stacking – one of the best ways to reduce noise in nighttime photographs.

The first two editions of this conference have been really fun, and I’m looking forward to this weekend! You can learn more and sign up here:

Night Photo Summit, February 3-5, 2023

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The 2023 Night Photo Summit Is Coming Soon!

Night Photo Summit
 

I’m happy to be joining the National Parks at Night team for the third annual Night Photo Summit next month!

This will be my third time presenting at the Night Photo Summit, and the previous two have been really fun, so I’m excited to be invited back! This online conference is devoted exclusively to night photography, and I’ll be joining over 35 other distinguished instructors, including Albert Dros, Elia Locardi, Royce Bair, Rachel Jones Ross, Katrina Brown, Lance Keimig, Tim Cooper, Susan Magnano, Chris Nicholson, Kevin Adams, and many more.

I’ll be presenting Reducing Noise With Star-Stacking. Star-stacking is one of the best ways to reduce noise in nighttime photographs. By blending multiple frames together you can average out random noise to create cleaner, sharper images – yet still make the stars points of light, rather than streaks. I’ll be covering the whole process from start to finish, from capturing the images in the field to blending them together later. And more importantly, you’ll learn how this technique can open up new creative avenues for nighttime photographs that wouldn’t be possible with single exposures.

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