© Youssef Ismail © Youssef Ismail © Youssef Ismail © Youssef Ismail

Overview:

This three day workshop is designed around the basics of photography. Suitable for the beginning photographer who is just learning as well as the the seasoned photographer wanting to refresh the basics. The workshop contains both in classroom lecture where the "how-to" of photography is explained in no nonsense terms and in-field photography sessions. The classroom portion is covered in two 4-hour sessions and covers such topics as: Camera Systems, Exposure, Metering, Lenses (how they work and which to use for what), Other Support Equipment, Capture Media (Film and Digital), Lighting, and Composition. The in-field photography sessions are spread over 1 and 1/2 days and will include exercises at regular intervals that directly illustrate the topics covered in the lecture. The majority of the time during the in-field sessions is reserved for participants to photograph and to have technical as well as artistic questions answered on the spot. Working side by side with the participants will allow for examples to be shown and questions to be answered promptly as they come up. Finally a minimum of 4 hours will be spent on image review and critique in the classroom setting again. Nothing improves ones photography better than sharing images and receiving sincere and thoughtful critic of ones work. This image review session is will give participants the opportunity to show their best, and worse, work they produced during the workshop. More importantly, it will give the participant the opportunity to ask and receive feedback on why a good photograph worked and how a bad photograph could have been made better.

Photography Locations:

The Maples and Redwoods workshop will focus on the hidden beauty of Autumn color in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  From the scenic roadways the wind their way through these ancient mountains to the infrequently visited canyons and year round creeks that make their way through the Santa Cruz Mountains we will find a plethora of stunning color as the Big Leaf Maples give their final hoorah for the year.  We will primarily be working along Alpine Creek, Pescadero Creek and the nearly unknown Gazos Creek.  Along Alpine Creek we will visit Heritage Grove, an old growth redwood grove where both maples and redwoods grow side by side giving alluring contrasts of deeply colored tall redwoods with glowing orange and yellow maples.  In addition, this portion of Alpine Creek has one of the highest concentrations of Big Leaf Maples that I have been able to find in the Santa Cruz mountains, giving literal carpets of fallen golden leaves on the forest floor as well as an amazing floating array of leaves in the tacit pools found along the slow moving autumn waters of the creek.  Alpine Creek flows into the larger Pescadero Creek where we can find beautiful waterways where redwoods and maples line and hang out over the creek creating idyllic nature compositions.  The final, and in my opinion, the highlight area of the workshop is Gazos Creek.  Accessible only from Highway 1 and running into an essential box canyon, Gazos Creek appear to have been a forgotten place.  Maples, Redwoods, Tan Oak, Red Alder are only a few of the trees that can be found along this pristine creek.  Facing the coast, this canyon is nearly always lit by soft light afforded by the clouds and fog that hover high over head, and at times mingled within the trees themselves.  After this workshop, I don't think anyone can say California does not have a stunning Autumn color season. 

Need Equipment:

The minimum equipment needed for this workshop include a 35mm SLR camera (film or digital), lenses that cover the range from 28 mm to 200 mm, a tripod, and enough film or digital media space to capture about 300 photos. This equipment can be rented fro the instructor if it is not available to the participant.

Class size: 5-10 students

Cost: $375

Instructor: Youssef Ismail
Date: October 24 - 27, 2008

Contact Youssef Ismail to sign up by clicking here

www.OrganicLightPhoto.com

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