Workshop Dates: Thursday, May 13 - Sunday, May 16, 2010
DEADLINE TO SIGN-UP: April 10, 2010
The premier season for photographers in Yosemite Valley is spring, with its countless blooming flowers, tall green grasses, roaring rapids in the Merced River and the showcase of them all: over a dozen waterfalls pouring over the towering cliffs of the valley's rim, dropping thousands of feet in sheer free-falls, stair-cased steps or series of cascades. Coupled with the dramatic backdrop of the sheer granite walls and iconic lofty, precipitous spires, peaks and domes, spring time in Yosemite is a sheer photographer's playground.
This workshop focuses not only on the 'where' to take the pictures, but also on the 'how' to take pictures, incorporating photographic education throughout the workshop at each location. By building on the previous location's techniques and lessons, this allows for culmination in a comprehensive lesson in composition, modified exposure, light controls, Nikon Creative Lighting System (CLS), and Infrared (IR) photography.
This truly is a collaboration of extensive, comprehensive landscape photography education coupled with a dynamic location.
Note: The Yosemite Spring workshop fee includes lodging at Curry Village. See venue information below.
ITINERARY:
Day 1 - Following an early afternoon session at meeting location (the Curry Village Lounge) reviewing the workshop schedule, safety, photographic concerns and techniques, we will depart for our first location at the Cascades, photographing the convergence of two waterfalls above our vantage point into a roaring cascade just below us, beginning our exercises in visual composition and application. We will then return to Yosemite Lodge for an early dinner before heading to a profile vantage point of Bridalveil Falls at sunset. Evening time will be spent reviewing images in the group environment at the Curry Village Lounge.
Day 2 - Following an early breakfast, we will depart to photograph Yosemite Falls from the Merced River, at a specific time and specific place. Late morning will be spent focusing on the blooming dogwoods, apples and other spring flowers in the center and west end of the valley. Following lunch, we head back to Curry Village for edit, review and critique of our images from the past two days. We will depart the valley in late afternoon to head south to Wawona for a photographic study of the Merced River and spring foliage in an unlikely but remarkable location, held secret and in high regards by Yosemite landscape photographers. (This secret location is a favorite of all those who attend, prompting countless return visits!)
Day 3 - The entire day will be a hike from atop Glacier Point (2000 feet above the valley floor) back down to the valley passing three glorious waterfalls in full force with photographic angles not easily acquired by the passing tourist. We will begin with the light still striking Illilouette Fall before heading down toward Nevada Fall as the afternoon sun shifts to fall on the waterfall and Liberty Cap in the background, before continuing down to Vernal Fall in the late afternoon light, then heading into the Valley for dinner. Following dinner, we head back up to Glacier Point to photograph sunset on Half Dome and the valley below.
Day 4 - Following an early breakfast, we will depart to the east end of the valley for first light on Mirror Lake, just below Half Dome. We will return to Curry Village late morning for final edits of the past two days and, following lunch, a slideshow of everyone's best images. We will conclude the workshop with a trip down to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias, near the south entrance to the park and enroute to Fresno International Airport, for a final shooting opportunity.
NOTES:
The workshop pricing includes lodging, training and resources, but does not include food. We will be carpooling or using the free park shuttle to get to our shooting locations each day. The airport of arrival & departure should be Fresno-Yosemite International Airport (FAT).
For more information about the "Yosemite in Spring" workshop, visit the dedicated forum thread for FAQs, updates and the opportunity to ask questions directly to your workshop instructor. The workshop forum thread is at:
http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=207&topic_id=1010&mesg_id=1010&page=
You can also read what last year's workshop participants had to say about the experience here
Also, you can look at the images from the 2010 workshop in the Yosemite Spring gallery
And, lastly, for a wonderful and very entertaining first-person perspective of the workshop experience, read Todd Jackson's blog from the 2010 Yosemite Spring Workshop:
toddinyosemite.blogspot.com
