Overview

If Visionary Wild has a “spiritual birthplace,” it must be in the small town of Bishop, California, spectacularly situated in the Owens Valley between the soaring eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada, and the White Mountains, home to the ancient bristlecone pines on the western edge of the Great Basin.  The Eastern Sierra or “the Eastside” as it is commonly called, is a landscape photographer’s Shangri-La, with easy access to endless opportunities on the area’s wild and expansive public lands. It was here that Visionary Wild founder Justin Black created his first photo workshops program – which would eventually be recognized as one of the finest in the world – as General Manager and Curator of Galen Rowell’s Mountain Light Gallery, following the untimely deaths of Galen and his wife Barbara (read more under “Expectations” below if you are interested).

Majestic snow-capped peaks, beautiful lakes and creeks, dramatic skies, and striking sunrises and sunsets make for amazing photographic opportunities at any time of the year, but it is particularly magical when the aspen groves turn color in autumn. Justin will be joined at this workshop by William Neill, a protegé of Ansel Adams, whose elegant work from Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, and from Canada to Antarctica has earned him an enviable reputation. He also an insightful and generous teacher. We invite you to join these to master photographers for an exploration of the unique autumn landscape of the Eastern Sierra. The workshop will be based at the newly refurbished Wayfinder Hotel (formerly Creekside Inn) in Bishop, California, located at 4,000-feet elevation in the United States’ deepest valley between the Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains, both topping out over 14,000 feet.

Leveraging their depth of knowledge of the Eastern Sierra landscape, weather, and light, Bill and Justin will provide a map and directions to numerous favorite locations for participants to visit (either on your own or carpooling with one or two other participants to ensure a lack of crowding at locations) for a total of eight pre-dawn-to-early morning and afternoon-to-sunset field sessions visiting locations in the Owens Valley, Eastern Sierra Nevada and the White Mountains that Bill and Justin know intimately. Instruction will help you refine your seeing, improve your landscape compositions and technical skills, and generally empower you to take control of your photography and move to the next level. Lectures and projected constructive group critique sessions emphasize refining your creative vision and developing a strategic image processing workflow utilizing Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

This well-rounded Creative Core workshop is appropriate for any level of outdoor photographer, and we pride ourselves on an ability to cater to everyone from highly experienced repeat clients to keen novices. The pace of our schedule and group mealtimes provide perfect opportunities to casually discuss a wide range of topics of interest to participants. This will be an upbeat learning environment in which we intend to inspire, energize, and engage. Participants will hone their photographic vision, compositions and techniques during quality time with Bill and Justin. Both instructors possess an intimate knowledge of the area and share a vast wealth of knowledge when it comes to getting the most from dynamic, fast-changing landscape scenarios. Join us on the Eastside!