Visionary Wild, LLC • 2200 19th St. NW, Ste 806, Washington, DC 20009

E-mail: info@visionarywild.com    •    Tel: 1-202-558-9596 (9am to 6pm, EST).    •    Justin Black’s iPhone: 1-202-302-9030

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

close
Limit 15 spaces | $2,950* Register
Creative Core October 15 - 19, 2012 | View other workshops

Boulder, Utah with Jack Dykinga and Justin Black

The region around Boulder, Utah, is serious landscape country. Situated immediately adjacent to the majestic Grand Staircase descending toward the Grand Canyon, the canyons of the Escalante, and the expansive mature aspen groves of Boulder Mountain itself, this place is a creative photographer's dream come true.

The author and desert wilderness advocate Edward Abbey once astutely observed:

There are more hills, holes, humps and hollows, reefs, folds, domes, swells and grabens, buttes, benches and mesas, synclines, monoclines, and anticlines than you can ever hope to see and explore in a lifetime.

We'll add that the quality of light and atmosphere here are superb.

Master landscape photographers Jack Dykinga and Justin Black will explain how to take control of the finer points of composition, exposure and tonality, and will share specialized techniques and insights drawn from decades of experience to help you make this sublime landscape sing in your photographs.

Boulder, Utah
Map via Google
read less.  

This Creative Core workshop deals heavily with composition, working a scene through changing light, exposure control, developing creativity, essential gear and creative tools, fundamentals of digital workflow, an introduction to digital exposure blending and stitching, and a great deal of photography in the field followed by highly constructive group critiques. Creative Core workshops are general outdoor photography workshops and the emphasis of any individual participant's work is up to them, whether they wish to focus on classic landscape, abstraction, color, black and white, HDR, panoramics, multiple exposures, or all of the above. Any enthusiastic photographer will feel right at home in this workshop. Jack and Justin have decades of experience successfully accommodating a range of experience levels within the context of a workshop.

Very often, we are amazed by the way in which the beginners teach the advanced students a thing or two about unrestrained creative openness and serendipity, while the expertise of the advanced students can be a welcome resource for the rest of the class. We supply materials in advance of the session to get newcomers up to speed with basics having to do with digital camera set-up and techniques, essential equipment recommendations, and other guidelines to ensure that everyone is ready to make the most of the experience.

Lodging, all meals, and beverages are included in the package. Breakfast and dinner is served at the renowned Hell's Backbone Grill each day, and the grill provides box lunches as well.

read more...read less.  
Focus: Canyon Light, Composition, Constructive Critiques, Creative Exposure Techniques, Creativity, Essential Digital Workflow, Exposure Control, Landscape, Natural Light, Previsualization, Sense of Place,

Jack Dykinga

Taste life and strive to make a difference.

Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga blends fine art photography with documentary photojournalism. He is a regular contributor to Arizona Highways and National Geographic magazines. His nine wilderness advocacy, large format books include Frog Mountain Blues, The Secret Forest, The Sierra Pinacate, The Sonoran Desert, Stone Canyons of the Colorado Plateau, and Desert: The Mojave and Death Valley. He authored and photographed Large Format Nature Photography, a “how to” guide to color landscape photography. Jack Dykinga’s Arizona, a compilation of Jack’s best Arizona images that was released in 2004 by Westcliffe Publishers, and Images: Jack Dykinga’s Grand Canyon, released by Arizona Highways in May 2008, reflect Jack’s love for the place he calls home.

read less.  

Jack’s fine art images were featured along with the work of Ansel Adams in an Arizona Highways retrospective shown at the Phoenix Art Museum, the Center for Creative Photography, and the Museum of Northern Arizona.

His illustration of the wilderness lands of Native American tribes was featured in the August 2010 National Geographic magazine, and his coverage along the Texas/Mexico border highlighting the biological diversity of protected areas along the Rio Grande River appeared in the February 2007 issue of National Geographic.

Jack has donated his talents to the International League of Conservation Photographers' RAVEs (Rapid Assessment Visual Expeditions): El Triunfo, Mexico, 2007; Balandra, Baja Sur, Mexico, 2007; Yucatan, Yucatan, Mexico, 2009; Borderlands, US/Mexico, 2009; as well as the 2010 Patagonia, Chile, RAVE and the September 2010 Great Bear RAVE in British Columbia, Canada. In each case, Jack and teams of celebrated photographers from around the world pooled their collective talents to highlight potential environmental degradation.

In April 2010, Jack’s image Stone Canyon was selected as one of the Forty Best Nature Photographs of All Time by the ILCP, and he received the Outstanding Photographer of the Year Award from the North American Nature Photographers Association (NANPA) in March 2011.

Jack and his wife, Margaret, live in Tucson, Arizona.  His daughter, Camille Bralts, lives in Champaign-Urbana. His son, Peter Dykinga, lives in Tucson and manages Jack’s image collection.

The Nature Conservancy's Director of Photography interviews Jack

National Geographic gallery of Jack's Native Lands project

Video: Profile of Jack Dykinga

Video: Interview with Jack Dykinga

Visit Jack's website

 

read more...less

Justin Black

One of my great joys is witnessing the moment when a workshop participant experiences the "Eureka!" moment – when the veil of obscurity gives way to clear vision and inspiration.

Justin Black has created inspiring educational photographic experiences for over a thousand passionate photographers since 1999.
A professional photographer since 1995, before founding Visionary Wild, he served the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) as Executive Director, and for seven years was General Manager and Curator of Galen Rowell's Mountain Light Photography.
Justin's photographs have been published by magazines such as National Geographic Adventure, Sierra, Sunset, American Photo, Outdoor Photographer, Rock & Ice, and Nature Conservancy.

read less.  

The Sierra Club, National Parks Conservation Association, Land Trust Alliance, Earth Justice, The Wilderness Society, Conservation International, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Wild Foundation are among conservation NGOs that have used his photographs in their campaigns, publications, and annual reports.

Justin has also served as an editor and contributor to numerous award-winning photo book projects, including Galen Rowell: A Retrospective; Freshwater: The Essence of Life; The Wealth of Nature: Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity, and Human Well-Being; Our National Parks: America's Natural Heritage; as well as Flying South: A Pilot's Inner Journey by Barbara Rowell. He is represented by the G2 Gallery in Venice, California, and Mountain Light Photography in Bishop, California.

An early career as a travel photographer and image licensing specialist led him to Mountain Light, the company founded by world-renowned National Geographic photographer, author, and mountaineer Galen Rowell and his wife, Barbara, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning in 1999, Justin managed marketing of the Rowell image collection, assisted Galen on assignments and in his workshop program, and taught seminars on nature photography. In April 2002, Galen and Barbara invited Justin to relocate with them as Mountain Light's General Manager at the present location in California's scenic Owens Valley. Justin agreed and eagerly embraced the sublime Eastern Sierra Nevada landscape as his new home.

Four months later, Galen and Barbara perished in the crash of a chartered plane, leaving behind a tremendous creative and visionary vacuum. Justin went to work, building on the impressive Rowell legacy to reinvigorate Mountain Light by establishing a seasonal series of guest photographer exhibitions, expanding the image collection, and relaunching the highly acclaimed photo workshop program through collaboration with Galen's leading professional peers, including Frans Lanting, Pat O'Hara, Jack Dykinga, John Shaw, and David Muench. In May 2008, Justin's successful efforts were recognized by both Sunset and American Photo magazines, as each magazine featured editorial recommendations of his workshop program at Mountain Light.

After ten years at Mountain Light, Justin was recruited for the position of Executive Director of ILCP, a non-profit association of the best photographers worldwide working in the field of nature conservation. At ILCP, Justin oversaw an explosion of productivity in expeditions, publishing, multimedia production, and the achievement of successful conservation outcomes. He contributed his photographic talents to ILCP RAVEs (Rapid Assessment Visual Expeditions), including Flathead (Canada, 2009), Yucatán (Mexico, 2009), and Chesapeake (USA, 2010), as well as a solo Tripods in the Mud project documenting the Dragon Run watershed in Tidewater Virginia. One of Justin's photographs of the Flathead River appeared as a section opener in the Vancouver Sun newspaper – the first time the Flathead watershed conservation issue had any prominent coverage in that regionally critical media outlet – and was selected by the U.S. Senate for display in the U.S. Capitol. Justin left ILCP in late 2010 to establish Visionary Wild, building on his successful leadership of the Mountain Light workshop program and applying expertise gained at ILCP to provide superlative workshops and expeditions for passionate photographers seeking to advance to the next level of creativity, quality, purpose, and meaning in their work. His own work continues to evolve in new directions, driven by the ongoing search for extraordinary qualities in our world's dynamic landscapes.

Justin lives in Washington, DC, with his brilliant wife, Lena (Visionary Wild's Director of Operations), and their son Philippe.

Justin Black's online portfolio

Justin's Outdoor Photographer Profile

Bringing focus and meaning to your photography

The Top 40 Nature Photos Project

Justin’s Camera Bag

After using an array of 35mm, medium format, and 4x5 film cameras for most of his career, Justin has switched fully to Nikon digital SLRs and Nikkor lenses. His current gear includes:

Camera Bodies (all Nikon)
D3X
D3S
D700
D7000

Lenses (all Nikkor)
14-24mm f/2.8 G AF-S ED
24-70mm f/2.8 G AF-S ED
70-200mm f/2.8 G AF-S ED VRII
20mm f/2.8 AI-S
24mm f/3.5 PC-E tilt-shift
35mm f/2.0 AF-D
35mm f/2.8 PC shift
45mm f/2.8 PC-E tilt-shift
50mm f/1.8 AF-D
85mm f/2.8 PC-E tilt-shift
85mm f/1.8 AF-D
135mm f/2.8 AI-S
200mm f/4 AF-D Micro-Nikkor
TC-14EII teleconverter
TC-20EII teleconverter

Flash
Nikon SB-900 x2
Assorted Nikon TTL flash cables
Lumiquest soft boxes
Rosco gels

Filters
Singh-Ray LB Circular Polarizer
Singh-Ray Vari-ND
Singh-Ray Galen Rowell graduated neutral density (1 to 4 stops, hard and soft)
Hoya 7-stop ND

Tripods
Gitzo 1348CF with Really Right Stuff BH-55 ballhead
Really Right Stuff TVC-24L with RRS BH-40LR ballhead
Gitzo 1028 with RRS BH-25 ballhead

Photo Packs (all by Think Tank Photo)
Airport Addicted V2.0
Airport Acceleration
Airport Antidote V2.0
Urban Disguise 50 V2.0
Speed Racer V2.0

read more...less

Highlights

  • Eight field photography sessions, pre-dawn to mid-morning and mid-afternoon to twilight
  • Composition and creativity
  • Working the scene through changing conditions and light
  • Understanding and using various qualities of light to best effect
  • Exposure and tonal control
  • Essentials of digital workflow
  • Three projected group critique sessions

Accommodations & Travel

Package includes single-occupancy lodging, all meals, and adult beverages with dinner. Prorated fees are available for double occupancy and for those who do not require lodging. Boulder Mountain Lodge is an oasis of calm, comfort, and luxury in the middle of Utah's scenic red rock canyon country and mountain forests. It is perfectly located for quick access to the unparalleled natural wonders of the Boulder-Escalante region, and as if that weren't enough, it features a superb restaurant on its premises – The Hell's Backbone Grill.

airplane iconcar iconfoot iconweather icon
For those traveling by air, the nearest major airport is in Salt Lake City, UT, 4.5 hours drive away. There are also flights into Page, AZ which is slightly closer, and the drive from Page is stunning. We will carpool to field locations up to an hour from the lodge. Most locations are accessed by short walks, but we will do at least one relatively easy hike of a little over five miles round trip. Highs will likely range from the low 60s to the low 80s, with lows ranging from the high 20s to the low 40s first thing in the morning. Precipitation is unlikely.

Expectations

Participants in this workshop should expect inspiring,  enthusiastic, effective, and generous instruction from Jack and Justin, both in the classroom and hands-on in the field. Early morning and afternoon/evening field sessions will make the most of our familiarity with the phenomenal locations available in the area, and we will work with each participant to ensure their goals for the workshop are met and exceeded. Three constructive group critique sessions will do wonders to refine your composition and techniques in the field, while allowing you to learn from the unique eye of each of your fellow participants. Most of all, this will be a fun, positive, and inspiring workshop that will exceed your expectations, provide new understanding and the keys to continue your development, and will leave you energized and excited to apply what you learned.