Alaska wildlife

Learn From Hal "Bull" Schmitt On Our 2014 Alaska Adventure

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Hal "Bull" Schmitt is one of my favorite digital photography instructors - which is one of the reasons why I am looking forward to our Alaska Digital Photography Workshop in 2014.

Schmitt reminds us of important things to consider when it comes to our photography:

S - Situational awareness – be aware of everything that is going on around you.
C - Create a checklist. (Check out Hal's checklist for you.)
H - The Histogram is your camera's built-in light meter. Use it. Always.
M - Master the Manual mode. It is the best way to learn about exposure.
I - Import into Lightroom carefully. Always know where you photos "live."
T - A good tripod is one of your best photo investments.
T - Learn technology, but don't let it get in your way of having fun. If you are not having fun, you are doing something wrong.

The idea of compiling photo concepts from the letters in Hal's last name was generate by Peary Spagth, one of my Iceland photo workshop participants. Peary put together the following piece on my Iceland workshop. As Perry says . . .

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Rick reminds us of......

Being Aware of the Quality of the Light - The "AQ" of Light.
 
When we are about to photograph a scene or a subject, we remember to slip our favorite CD into our mind's CD player. 
 
Our favorite CD, of course, is "CD-RICK".
 
"CD" reminds us of the two most important elements of light:
CONTRAST and DIRECTION
 
And "RICK" reminds us of the other important elements of light:
Reflection
Intensity
Color
Kinetics (Movement)

Speaking of light, you can learn more about light, and composition, on my two Kelby Training classes: Light - the main element in every photograph, and Composition - the strongest way of seeing.

• • • • •

If you can not join us in Alaska, all my workshops are listed on my 2014 Workshops page.

This post is made possible by my sponsors. Please visit their web sites.

Explore the light,
Rick

P.S. When I asked Hal to send me his best photograph of an eagle, he sent me two: the one that opens this post and the one below. Both great shots!

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Day 1: Alaska Photo Workshop Week

Click images to enlarge.

In preparation for my Alaska Adventure digital photo workshop, listed on my 2014 Workshops page, I'm designation this week on my blog as Alaska Photo Workshop Week. Each day I will post a few images, taken on my previous adventures, along with some tips.

Hal Schmitt, my friend and lead instructor at Light Photographic Workshops, and I are co-leading this adventure. We will help you make and process wonderful images - and have a ton of fun.

Day 1: Lens recommendations. 

My reco is to take lenses that will help you "tell the whole story."  Following are the main lenses I recommend, and why I recommend them. (I pack other lenses, such as a fish-eye and macro, but these are my top recos.)

100-400mm IS zoom - This lens is my go-to lens for photographing bald eagles. The bald eagles often come close to the boat and move fast. This lens allows me to zoom in on the action.

70-200mm f/4 - When the BIF (birds in flight) come very close to the boat, I switch to this lens. The birds sometimes come so close that you can get fill-frame shots at the 200mm setting.

400mm DO - I use this lens when the birds and whales are a bit further away from our boat. I often us a 1.4x teleconverter when shooting with this lens to get me even "closer" to the subjects.

24-105mm IS zoom -  I never leave the boat without this lens. It is great for scenery and fun shot. The 24-105mm IS zoom is my main "storytelling" lens - everywhere I go.

17-40mm zoom - For landscapes, this Canon zoom lens can't be beat. Yes, it's slower than the Canon 16-35mm, but in bright light, you do not need the faster speed.

I hope to see you here on my blog tomorrow - and Hal and I hope to see you on the Northern Song (pictured in this post), our boat for the Adventure.

Explore the light,
Rick