The Palouse region of eastern Washington State is arguably one of the most photographically diverse areas in the nation. With its graphic landscape and aerial views from atop Steptoe Butte, quaint towns, old vehicles and homesteads, barns (don't forget the barns!), and quirks, the Palouse is a place you can visit time and time again.
Next month Victoria Dye and I are leading a two-part Palouse workshop. Part one concentrates on photographing the Palouse and honing your technical and compositional skills, while part two is dedicated to managing and processing your images in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. It's the perfect combination: collect some fine images and then learn how to organize, find, edit, and share those images.
And there's still time to sign up! But just barely. Hotels fill quickly this time of year and the remaining rooms in our block of reserved rooms will be released on May 23. So if you've been thinking of taking this workshop, now is the time to act. There are still six spaces available for part one and part two has plenty of room.
If you have any questions at all, be sure to email me. I'm good at answering emails.

Olympic National Park seems to be a popular destination this year. The workshop I'm co-leading with Don Mammoser sold out quickly. I added a second workshop, led by just me and limited to six participants, and it's getting close to being sold out as well. There are only two spaces left, and with over two months until this workshop, I anticipate that it too will sell out.
Here's a good chance to join a small workshop group at a large group price. Take advantage now as this is likely the last time I'll offer a small group trip to Olympic at this price.

Both of these trips feature flower-filled foregrounds with classic mountain backgrounds. Colorado's San Juan Mountains boasts sub-alpine flowers, ghost towns and amazing views from high mountain passes while the Tetons have that classic Western mountain background, classic old barns, and wildlife possibilities. Both locations lend themselves to wide angle landscapes as well as intimate close ups and details. Take your pick of trips. Or better yet, take both!
There's still room in both of these workshops and still time to sign up.

Many of you know that I built my website in Lightroom using the Web Module plug-ins made by The Turning Gate. You'll also probably know that I'm rather evangelical when it comes to these plug-ins; I think they're the best option for Lightroom users wishing to create a professionally coded and designed web site. And your entire site can be managed right from within Lightroom. I can't think of anything better!
And while the documentation on the Turning Gate Site is extensive, it can't cover everything. So I've created a new web site full of time-savers and best practices from a user's perspective for using these tools. It's a collection of basic tips to some more advanced tutorials.
Right now I've got a dozen or so posts on the site and I'm adding more every week. I also plan on expanding the site. I've got ideas for pages that focus on specific areas of the plug-ins as well as a page featuring pre-made themes available for download.
So if you're using the TTG plug-ins or are just curious, take a peak at my new site: ttg-tips.com

Here's a link to my blog post about some awesome free alternatives to using Photoshop for fixing your images. These just can't be beat. And the price is right too.

Bailey the labradoodle has posted some new stories in her waggy little corner of the internet. She's quite the prolific little doggy blogger.