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Greetings,
This January newsletter is so late that I’m telling myself that I’m actually early for the February newsletter!
Now that’s how you rationalize.
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Poor Bailey
 Bailey recently managed to get an eye infection (after the recent ear infection). So for the last couple of weeks she’s been a conehead. She doesn’t seem to mind too much, but she sure does appreciate neck and behind-the-ear rubs. It makes her extra cuddly.
She’s almost better; there’s still a little swelling and she still wants to paw at her eyes. But soon, soon the cone of shame can go into the closet.
She complains about it here.
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Olympic National Park
There are still openings in this May’s Olympic National Park workshop, May 15-19. I really like the park this time of year. The streams look great with those classic moss-covered rocks. The rivers and waterfalls are full, the forest is green and new, and the coast is…..the coast. It’s always nice. But sunsets in the spring are definitely more interesting than the summer sunsets.
We’ll be based out of Forks, WA, a nice little town with everything you need, including a great coffee/espresso stand right next door to the hotel. Hey, I’ve got my priorities!
During the workshop we’ll work on making compositional sense of the forest, photographing moving water, looking for details on the forest floor, perhaps photographing elk and more.
I’ll show you how to get the most information possible in the camera and then working on the image in Lightroom to finish the photograph and brining out your own vision.
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Rolling Hills of the Palouse
There are also still some openings in my June 12-16 Palouse workshop. The Palouse never disappoints; we’ll visit old and new barns and old houses, old trucks, take in the views from atop Steptoe Butte, and likely see some amazing light. We might even try our hands at some night photography!
Check it out here.
And if you like that, you might also like (or love) autumn in the Palouse. Seriously, I fell in love with the Palouse all over again when I visited last fall.
You can learn more about that tour here.
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Summer in the Colorado San Juan Mountains
This July, Don Mammoser and I are teaming up for a high country adventure that includes mountain scenic, carpets of wildflowers, ghost towns and more.
Based out of Ouray, CO we’ll photograph aspens, wildflowers, streams and lakes with peaks in the background. And we’ll have a day-long backcountry jeep tour with professional drivers taking us to high passes and wide open views. It’s pretty awesome.
For more information, and to sign up, visit Don’s Colorado workshop page.
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Auroras
This year’s aurora tour in Yellowknife sold out quickly. Anticipating this, I had already reserved the rooms for a second tour. Registration for that tour (Sept. 28 - Oct. 5) is open and there are still four spaces available.
For more information and to sign up, visit my Auroras page.
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Newport, OR
 As mentioned in the November newsletter, I’ll be one of the instructors at the Out of Chicago photo conference in Newport, OR, which is a location I’m very familiar with. I’m looking forward to visiting the lighthouses, the aquarium, the harbor (my favorite!) and the dramatic seascapes.
In addition to the field photography, there will be multiple breakout sessions at our host hotel featuring some pretty well-known workshop leaders. This should be a fun and very information filled workshop. Check it out at the Out of Chigago Newport page.
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Silver Falls State Park in the autumn
Ok, this isn’t Vermont or New Hampshire or one of the famous fall color destinations. But Silver Falls is an outstanding waterfall and fall color destination. It’s a small park and the falls are relatively easy to get to: no harrowing hikes. But there are hikes, the longest being about two miles round trip. And they go down, and then of course, back up. This isn’t the place for those who easily get short of breath or have balance/leg/knee issues. That being said, the trails are well maintained and are easy for anyone in average shape. But if you have trouble going uphill and downhill with your photo pack, this might not be the one for you.
See some pictures and get some more details here.
In addition to Silver Falls State Park, Oregon offers even more for you to photograph if you want to extend your stay. The wineries of the Willamette Valley are nearby. Not only are they photogenic, but the vineyard owners are welcoming and usually gregarious. They love to talk about what they do best. And if you’re a wine connoisseur, the Willamette Valley boast some world class wines.
And then there’s the Oregon Coast. Hey, there’s even a photography event going on in Newport right after my Silver Falls tour. Wonder how that worked out?
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Website redesigns
This year's winter project, well one of them, is updating my websites using The Turning Gate's (TTG) Backlight website creation web application.
Some of you may know that I've been using TTG products for a number of years, starting with their Lightroom Web Module plugins and now their Backlight web app.
My main photo site uses a combination of Backlight pages and albums along with some WordPress pages (and blog) using a theme created using a TTG WordPress Theme creator.
My workshop site is currently built with WordPress using an older TTG Lightroom plug-in that creates WordPress themes. (I know! Pretty cool)
So the plan is to update all my sites using the latest iteration of Backlight. The problem is all the options I have for creating my photo-based sites. I'm having trouble deciding upon which of my latest great ideas to employ. So if you're visiting my sites and see some weirdness, it's likely just me mucking about, making mistakes, and learning some new stuff. I like learning new stuff, it keeps my aging brain closer to acting like it's 12 years old than acting like it's closing in on 60 years old...
Do you need a website or are looking to create anew what you already have? I highly recommend The Turning Gate products. And if you do decide to buy them, you've got some built in tech support right here. I just happen to be one of their beta testers and a forum moderator. (I have no financial affiliation other than getting all the cool toys to play with.)
I'm so proud of myself for being so efficient and getting this February newsletter out so early. I think I'll go enjoy a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir!
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