Archive for ‘Instructor News’

Photoshop Technique: Cloning in Darken Mode

August 08, 2017 04:26 PM
by / Topics: Art of Photography, Charles Cramer, Resources, Technique

By Charles Cramer Photoshop Technique – Cloning in Darken Mode This is a technique that I’ve used for years, but I’ve just learned a new wrinkle!  Above is a  photograph I made of some trees in Yosemite. In the upper part of image, you can see a slight problem—the sky peeking through the leaves is […]

Nikon D5 Adds Automatic Focus Fine Tuning

June 06, 2016 06:51 PM
by / Topics: Equipment, Gear, John, Technique

by John Shaw Yes, I bought a D5 to use as my action/fast AF/high ISO camera.  My D810 bodies will continue as my landscape/lower ISO cameras.  I’ve had the new D5 all of two days now, but I’m already getting emails about one feature: how to use the automatic AF fine-tune.  OK, so here goes…and […]

“Hidden” Auto-Exposure

December 12, 2015 08:55 PM
by / Topics: John, Technique

  By John Shaw Many current cameras have a “hidden” autoexposure feature, an option I use quite often when working wildlife.  If your camera has ”auto ISO” buried someplace in the menus, you probably can use this feature. Three choices control exposure:  shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.  We generally lock in two of these, and vary the third.  […]

LIGHTROOM AND TRAVEL

July 07, 2015 12:39 PM
by / Topics: Essay, John, Resources, Technique, Travel

by John Shaw How does one coordinate Lightroom used on a laptop when traveling, with a master Lightroom catalog back in the office?  I’ve written about this before, but the topic keeps coming up at workshops and on tours, so…. I have one main master Lightroom catalog for all my images, which resides on my desktop […]

Justin Black Interview with PhotographyTalk.com

In April 2015, Justin Black sat down with PhotographyTalk.com founder Alex Schult. Here’s the full interview. Alex: Hi Justin, welcome to Photography Talk. Justin: It’s a pleasure to be here, Alex. Alex: I understand that 2015 marks your 20th year as a professional photographer. How does that feel? Justin: Well, it’s been a wild ride, and […]

NATURE’S BEST PHOTOGRAPHY – AFRICA

April 04, 2015 09:42 PM
by / Topics: Art of Photography, Instructor News, Justin, Resources

You may already be aware of the prestigious Nature’s Best / Windland Smith Rice Photography Awards, featuring an exhibit of winning photographs at the Smithsonian each year. We are pleased to announce that Visionary Wild instructor Lou Coetzer has collaborated with Nature’s Best to create a new annual competition focusing entirely on subjects from the […]

Safari Update

September 09, 2014 03:56 PM
by / Topics: Essay, Instructor News, Travel, Uncategorized, Workshops / Comments Off on Safari Update

On our recent safari in east Africa’s Maasai Mara / Serengeti ecosystem, we encountered three very special lions – Sikio, Morani, and Scarface (as viewed left to right above). These powerful brothers are the leaders of the Marsh Pride, made famous in BBC’s Big Cat Diary documentaries. They had crossed the Mara River to follow the bounty […]

JACK DYKINGA STATUS UPDATE – June 9, 2014

June 06, 2014 01:35 AM
by / Topics: Instructor News, Jack

In the early hours of May 24th, Jack Dykinga underwent a double lung transplant at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. We are very pleased to report that the procedure was an outstanding success, and Jack has since been making excellent progress while recovering in the hospital. The anonymous donor of Jack’s new lungs appears […]

Jack Dykinga Status Update, May 20, 2014

May 05, 2014 03:02 PM
by / Topics: Instructor News, Jack

Jack Dykinga – Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, world-renowned landscape photographer, and Visionary Wild instructor – has recently been hospitalized due to progression of a chronic lung condition called Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis that he has been living with for the past three years. He is presently at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, awaiting a double lung […]

Justin Black Video Interview by PhotographyTalk.com

Recently, Alex Schult of PhotographyTalk.com sat down with Visionary Wild’s Justin Black – virtually, via Skype – for an interview recorded for their Success Interviews series, revealing the creative inspiration and path to success of noted photographers working today. Click here to watch the full 39-minute interview.

An Elegant Portfolio Website Solution

July 07, 2013 01:35 PM
by / Topics: Art of Photography, Instructor News, Multimedia, Resources / Comments Off on An Elegant Portfolio Website Solution

Amateur and professional photographers alike are constantly seeking elegant solutions to display their best work online. We are excited to announce that our friends at Paupress have launched Justin, a new e-commerce enabled website solution for photographers, and indeed all visual artists. Click here to check it out. In its most basic form, Justin is a WordPress theme […]

Eleven False Statements

March 03, 2013 06:19 PM
by / Topics: Instructor News, Philosophy of Photography, Resources, Technique / Comments Off on Eleven False Statements

by John Shaw Editor’s note: There’s a lot of photo-mythology floating around out there. Visionary Wild instructor John Shaw puts a few of his favorite myths to rest. 1.  Images for the web should be sized at 72 dpi.  First of all, “dpi” refers to dots per inch, and computer screens have pixels, not “dots.”  But “72 […]

Inside a Visionary Wild Workshop

July 07, 2012 04:49 PM
by / Topics: Instructor News, Media, Multimedia, Video / Comments Off on Inside a Visionary Wild Workshop

In January 2012, photographers Jack Dykinga, John Shaw, and Justin Black collaborated on our first Vision Workshops at Santa Catalina State Park in Oro Valley, Arizona. Cinematographer Austin Andrews joined the group for a few field sessions in an attempt to capture the experience. Jack, John, and Justin are returning to Santa Catalina State Park […]

Expedition Report: Arizona Overland

December 12, 2011 05:50 AM
by / Topics: Art of Photography, Instructor News, Travel, Workshops / 1 Comment »

 There is nothing like exploring sublime landscapes with a group of friends who share a love for photography and wide open spaces. Immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday, Jack Dykinga, Jeff Foott, and I led a week-long overland photo expedition with nine other passionate photographers, visiting some stunning backcountry areas in northern Arizona. As the guest […]

Daniel Beltrá wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award at London gala

October 10, 2011 12:00 PM
by / Topics: Art of Photography, Instructor News, Media / 1 Comment »

At a gala event in London sponsored by Veolia Environnement, Visionary Wild instructor Daniel Beltrá has won the 2011 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award for his image Still Life in Oil, a striking shot of eight brown pelicans rescued from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in June 2010. Beltrá […]

Iceland Expedition Video

October 10, 2011 03:05 PM
by / Topics: Instructor News, Multimedia, Travel, Video, Workshops / Comments Off on Iceland Expedition Video

Visionary Wild instructor, Polar explorer Chris Linder produced this stunning video featuring his photographs from his latest expedition to Iceland this past August with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute researchers. Chris and landscape photographer Justin Black will lead a photo expedition for nine passionate photographers August 12-19, 2012, which will visit Iceland’s puffin colonies, coastal landscapes, […]

Visionary Wild instructor Chris Linder releases new book: Science on Ice!

October 10, 2011 12:41 AM
by / Topics: Instructor News, Media, Resources / Comments Off on Visionary Wild instructor Chris Linder releases new book: Science on Ice!

“Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time which has been devised,” wrote Apsley Cherry-Garrard of his time with the 1910 Scott expedition to the South Pole. And that’s how most of us still imagine polar expeditions: stolid men with ice riming their beards drawing sledges and […]