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Greetings,
As I mentioned last month, one of my winter projects was to update my websites that use The Turning Gate’s (TTG) Backlight website creation tool. Well, I did it.
My Workshops site is all up to date as well as my main site, which has a new look to the galleries that I really like. I'm still combing through it looking for things I missed...
I also have a site dedicated to my book, The Photographer’s Guide to Puget Sound and Northwest Washington as well as a site dedicated to using the TTG tools.
Now all the sites are secure and happy and I can get on with planning trips for next year. More on that below, including whales....
Last year when I was in Yellowknife with my Aurora tour, I ran into Jack Dykinga (a very well-known landscape photographer and all around good guy). He was in the area doing the same thing we were, only doing it a whole lot better. (He’s a Pulitzer Prize winner, so there’s that.)
Recently, the Washington Post ran a feature on Jack’s Aurora pictures. You can check it out here.
And we just made it through one of the biggest snow storms in recent memory. And it included pizza! The heroic story is below.
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Adding a signature to your images
Matt Kloskowski, well-known Photoshop, Lightroom, and On1 guru,has posted a helpful tutorial on creating a signature for your images using Photoshop. In it, he uses script-like fonts for his signature and he shows you how to modify them using Paths in Photoshop. He then shows how to turn the signature into a brush that you can apply to your images.
Check it out here.
You could then use the file you created and turn that into a watermark if you wish. He doesn’t cover that, but it should be pretty easy.
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Whales in Sitka
I’m working on putting together a marine wildlife photo tour to Sitka that features whales. It will be scheduled for the month of August when whales are plentiful and salmon are running.
I don't know that I can put this together for this August, but I am working on scheduling at least one trip and maybe more for August 2020.
For this tour, we’ll be going out on Sitka Sound several times to photograph Humpback whales (and others, if we’re lucky), sea otters, seals, and sea lions. Along the way we’ll also see eagles, puffins, oyster catchers, and more. And on top of that, fishing boats such as gill netters, trollers, and purse seiners.
During our time not on the water we can visit harbors, Totem Park, photograph salmon in Indian River, go to Harbor Mountain for sunsets, and wander the rain forest, not to mention just being tourists exploring the town of Sitka.
The tentative plan is to go out on the water on three days, with one day reserved in case we get weathered out. This will give us an opportunity to see lots of whales as well as the other critters.
Since we’ll be on a small boat, this trip will be strictly limited to four participants. This ensures everybody will be able to move freely around the boat to get the shots you want.
The advantage of using a small boat is that we can get into areas larger boats cannot. This means getting closer to the birds, seals and otters. And our captain knows his stuff and is a ton of fun to be with.
As I’m just beginning to research, I’m not sure yet what the price will be.
Lodging in Sitka is not the cheapest, but I’m looking into that too. One option may be to stay in dorm rooms at the Sitka Art Center. I’ve stayed there before. It’s ok. They’re dorm rooms so that means a shared restroom (they’re large with several showers), no tv, and spotty wi-fi. But it’s affordable.
Otherwise, rooms will likely be in the $130-150/night range. But I’ve just begun looking into options.
For now, I’d just like to gauge the interest in such a photo tour.
You can get an idea of what Sitka has to offer by visiting the Sitka gallery on my web site.
Let me know if you have any questions or if you’re interested.
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Olympic and Palouse
I've still got room in both my Olympic (May) and Palouse (June) workshops. Both of these are small group trips so we won't be tripping over each other and you can get all the help you need.
In Olympic, we'll concentrate on the forests, the beaches, waterfalls and more. It's a lush time of the year in Olympic and a beautiful place to be.
The Palouse never disappoints. There's always great graphic landscapes, old trucks, barns, and great light. And every year I seem to find something different, which keeps the Palouse fresh and exciting.
I've photographed and led workshops to both locations many times and I never tire of either.
Hope you can join us!
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2020 trips in planning
2020 is already shaping up well. I’ve got two trips planned with John Barclay and three or four trips with Cliff Zenor, who is actually the first person I co-led a trip with for Great American Photography Workshops. Cliff is a long-time workshop and tour leader and one of the best teachers I’ve ever worked with. I’m excited about working with him again.
No prices or set dates on these yet but do let me know if you’re interested and I’ll put you on an early notification list.
- Late February/early March: Death Valley with Cliff Zenor
- May: Oregon Coast, Bandon, with Cliff Zenor
- May: Olympic National Park: rainforests, waterfalls, and the coast
- June: Palouse with Cliff Zenor
- July: Olympic National Park with John Barclay. Mountains, wildflowers, waterfalls and lavender in nearby Sequim.
- September: Auroras of the Northwest Territories with John Barclay (two tours)
- August: Whales in Sitka Sound
- August: Mount Rainier National Park
- October: Oregon Coast, Bandon
- October: Silver Falls State Park in the autumn
- November: Zion National Park with Cliff Zenor
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Snow, snow, and more snow
And as I prepare this newsletter today, it's snowing again.
Well we certainly got a whole bunch of snow around here last month. The last time I remember getting this much was back around 1996. It sure was pretty around here though.
We had to dig some paths for Bailey so she could get around the yard to do her business. She didn’t always use them, instead bounding cross-country and getting snowballs stuck to her legs. We did manage to get her out for a walk before the snow started getting deep.
And while we were snowed in, we indulged in home made pizza. I was skeptical at first, not having much faith in our pizza abilities, but it was delicious. And not too messy.
Since then we’ve made two more, each one better than the last!
That's it for now. Hope you're all staying warm and dry while this winter lingers on.
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