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Bryce in Winter

with Jack Dykinga, Cliff Zenor
January 14 - 18, 2019 Vision
Limited to 10 Participants. From $3,100  
Closed
0
  • Overview
  • Itinerary
  • Instructors
  • Gallery
  • Pricing
  • Highlights
  • Accommodations
  • Travel
  • Expectations

Overview

Refine your vision and harness the aesthetic potential of one of the world’s most geological wonders.

Wondering where to travel in winter? Bryce Canyon National Park is one of our favorite places to go to view some of the most unique opportunities during this season of snow dustings and low-angled light. Ponderosa pines, fir-spruce forests, slot canyons, horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters, and pink cliffs cover this area. Utah has a wealth of public lands to explore and challenge your photographic senses, and Bryce Canyon National Park in among the most rewarding.

This greatest concentration of hoodoos in the world – an unearthly landscape to be sure – was formed over hundreds of millions of years of deposition and erosion. Bryce’s colorful rock spires are oriented perfectly to catch the reflected morning light, resulting in a glowing fairytale landscape providing endless options for creative photography. Join us to capture its splendor.

This outdoor classroom is a highlight of our Vision series, a special program of advanced instruction focusing on refining your personal creative vision, composition, digital workflow and image processing, designed and presented by renowned photographers Jack Dykinga and Cliff Zenor. Both instructors have photographed Bryce extensively and know its secrets well. We will photograph at a variety of locations in the park during our morning and evening field sessions, with emphasis on the hoodoos and sculpted designs in the canyons.

Packaged with single-occupancy lodging at the Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel (a Best Western Plus property), located ideally near the park entrance, and with all meals, snacks and beverages included, this is a superb workshop scenario. We hope you’ll join us!

 

About Vision Workshops

The creation of a truly great finished photograph is part of a process from initial concept and vision through execution in the field to digital workflow and creation of a high-quality, final master file ready for printing or publication. Our Vision workshops address the two greatest challenges faced by photographers as they advance. The first of these is the tendency for original creative vision to reach a plateau in development, and the second is a digital workflow in need of streamlining and refinement to make the most of your images.

On Creative Vision:

When we experience images that really move us, we are aware that they have impacted us, though we may not know what it was in the image that made it so powerful. In other words, we know when it works, but can be difficult to quantify. I try to teach the time-honored components of fine photography to build successful compositions…even in ordinary situations. People ask me, “What’s the difference between a pro and an amateur?” My response is, (a) the amateur has better equipment and (b) the professional photographer must create a publishable image every single time. To be successful, the professional must be the practitioner of a disciplined approach to situations that will result in compelling images that inform and move people. This workshop is designed to unleash that creativity in my students. –Jack Dykinga

Both in the classroom and in the field, Jack and Cliff will focus on advanced seeing and ways to unlock creativity in situations that require conceptual and compositional ingenuity on the part of the photographer. In other words, they will answer the questions, “How do I make a great photograph when the subject matter and composition don’t suggest themselves to me?” and, “How do I avoid photographic clichés when the situation offers up a beautiful composition that is almost too obvious?”

Great photography starts with an impression – an idea, concept, or feeling – channeled through the photographer’s vision, but it doesn’t end there. Once you have a great composition in the bag, it takes good processing skills and aesthetic sensibilities to produce the best final image suitable for showcasing your talents.

Cliff will focus on teaching a logical, effective development workflow that ensures the highest quality for your work, as well an image archive that is stable, consistent, and retrievable over the long term, and that ultimately liberates rather than burdens.  He will cover the step-by-step process from shooting RAW files in the field to optimizing the final image.

Workflow topics to be covered include:

  • File formats for shooting and for archiving
  • Exposing for digital
  • Downloading
  • File naming
  • Cataloging of images: Lightroom or other software
  • Keywording and captioning
  • The many uses of metadata
  • Processing the raw file
  • Using the tools in Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom’s Develop Module
  • Color spaces for the best results in different media
  • Creating panoramic images
  • Creating focus-stacked images
  • Color adjustment strategies
  • Localized adjustments and masking
  • Controlling luminosity and contrast
  • Sharpening for output
  • Color-managed workflow from input to output

As always, both instructors will be present to teach, assist, and socialize with participants throughout the workshop. The workshop includes eight field sessions, classroom lectures and ample hands-on instruction, critiques. Group meals provide an informal setting to socialize and address specific interests that may not be covered during lectures and classroom discussion.

The class size is limited to a small group of ten to ensure that everyone gets the time and attention they need, both in the field and the classroom.

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.

Note: Visionary Wild, LLC operates this workshop under a permit issued by the National Park Service at Bryce Canyon National Park.

Itinerary

The workshop begins at 1pm on Monday, January 14th, and ends by 3pm on Friday, January 18th, 2019.

Field sessions begin the evening of the first day. Each morning and evening, we’ll be out to photograph first light before breakfast, and out for evening light before dinner. During mid-day hours in our classroom at the hotel, Jack and Cliff will make presentations on advanced seeing, composition and creativity, digital workflow, and maximizing image potential, before returning to the field for photography in afternoon and evening light.  Critique sessions will be held in our classroom on Wednesday and Friday. We adjourn at 3:00 pm on Friday.

Instructors

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    • Jack Dykinga

    • Taste life and strive to make a difference. Pulitzer Prize (1971 Feature Photography) winning photographer Jack Dykinga blends fine art photography with documentary photojournalism.  He is a regular contributor to ...
    • Cliff Zenor

    • Nature photographers are explorers. Each time we bring the camera to our eye, we hope to discover something as pleasing in the viewfinder as is in our mind’s ...

Gallery

Pricing

Single Occupancy $3,400

Deposit $1,700
Full $3,400
Register

Double Occupancy $3,225

Deposit $1,612.50
Full $3,225
Register

No Lodging $3,100

Deposit $1,550
Full $3,100
Register

Lodging, all meals, and beverages are included in the package.

Please click the “Register” button at the top of the page or contact us directly to reserve your space. A deposit of 50% is required at time of booking, with balance payable 60 days prior to workshop start date.

Highlights

  • Small group of ten participants, with a student-to-instructor ratio of 5 to 1
  • Advanced seeing: learn to find new and unexpected compositions
  • Breaking through creative block and making great photographs in challenging situations
  • Mastering a logical, efficient, and consistent workflow, from capture to final master image, that frees you to focus on creativity
  • Ensuring the highest-possible final image quality
  • Output and outlets for your work
  • Eight field photography sessions, pre-dawn to mid-morning and mid-afternoon to twilight
  • Constructive group critiques of participant work

Accommodations

Package includes single-occupancy lodging, all meals, all non-alcoholic beverages, and wine or beer with dinner. Prorated fees are available for double occupancy and for those who do not require lodging. The comfortable Best Western Plus Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel will be our convenient “base camp” and mid-day classroom.

Travel

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Closest major airports: Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS) and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) are each about a four- to five-hour drive from Bryce Canyon. Saint George, Utah is a bit closer.
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We will carpool to field locations no more than 20 miles from our hotel.
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Hiking will be easy on even terrain, but altitude is high at 8,000 to 9,000 feet.
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Temperatures will often reach low-high 30s each day, and drop down to around the mid-teens at night. Expect snow on the ground and temperature swings as cold fronts pass through.

Expectations

TESTIMONIALS from recent Vision workshop participants:

This was my best photography workshop experience, by FAR. The professional instructors where extremely approachable and giving of their time and honest and direct feedback and advice, and luckily they just happen to be nice people. I learned a LOT and broke through some personal barriers on a quest to the next level of image-making. The workshop was fast-paced and JAM-packed with opportunities to learn and participate, and it was FUN. If you are serious about taking and processing the best images possible, Visionary Wild has a great balance of field work and classroom sessions that includes instruction and critiques. And they don’t cut corners in terms of comfort and dining! I write this review with some trepidation as I don’t want all the sessions to immediately fill and lock me out…but I want to try to be a nice, honest and good person too. –Bruce L., Vision Workshop participant

…the best workshop I have ever attended. The combination of field work and classroom sessions provided a nice balance, and the participant critiques enabled everyone to learn from each others work. Great location; great instructors. I would highly recommend Visionary Wild to anyone who is serious about nature photography. –Steve A., Vision Workshop Participant

Having attended many, many workshops over my years, I find that I have learned more with Visionary Wild workshops and am anxious to return to another. –Julia H., Vision Workshop Participant

It was such a pleasure to have such constant input and feedback from the instructors. The workshop exceeded my expectations! –Nancy H., Vision Workshop Participant

Participants in this workshop should expect inspiring,  enthusiastic, effective, and generous instruction from Jack and Cliff, 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 aesthetic opportunities 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.

Bryce in Winter

with Jack Dykinga, Cliff Zenor
January 14 - 18, 2019 Vision
Limited to 10 Participants. From $3,100  
Closed
0

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2200 19th St. NW, Ste 806, Washington, DC 20009
E-mail: info@visionarywild.com | Tel: 1-202-558-9596 (9am to 5pm, EST)
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