Overview

Pastel pinks and blues reflect from the sky at dawn and dusk, painting pure white dunes that roll elegantly across the landscape. The tapestry of light and shadow, form and texture tempts the creative mind. Yuccas punctuate the landscape, rising in striking graphic isolation against the sand and sky. This is New Mexico’s White Sands National Park (formerly White Sands National Monument), home of the world’s largest gypsum dune field, covering 275 square miles, set in a high desert basin with a dramatic mountain backdrop. This will be our outdoor classroom for this Vision series workshop, a special program of advanced instruction designed and presented by the dynamic pair of landscape and adventure photographers Jerry Dodrill and Grant Ordelheide.

In this workshop we’ll dive into concepts of design and composition, light and form, using what Jerry calls a “story-forward” approach to image making where we strive to understand the scene before us and select the best locations, subjects, creative methods and technical tools to interpret the landscape in a purposeful and authentic way.

“One of the concepts that Grant and I challenge participants with at White Sands is to identify the subtle visual characteristics that make this place unique and different from any other place on the planet. We asked them to be specific, find interesting subjects and incorporate them into the grand landscape like actors on a stage; Recognize and resolve spatial relationships and make compositions with a sense of story that help both photographer and viewer better understand this complex ecosystem. At first glance it might seem as if you can’t take a bad picture here but alas, the difference between ‘scenic’ and truly photogenic becomes clear as images come up on the screen during image reviews. We dig deep into the creative process, analyzing and refining our work to make images that go beyond mere postcard snapshots and stretch into the realm of fine art.”

The course consists eight field sessions (at White Sands and a spectacular petroglyph area nearby), three group critique sessions, multiple in-depth lectures on the creative process, technical demonstrations and discussions that include:

• How to optimize exposure in the field.
• Capturing raw material for the digital workflow
• Maximizing sharpness in your photos
• Focus stacking techniques
• Capturing and blending panorama photos
• Exposure blending techniques from multiple exposures
• Digital workflow and processing in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop
• Managing your Lightroom Catalog

A special permit allows us entry into the park hours before the normal opening time so we can be on location before sunrise and capture the morning glow of light as it begins to illuminate the dunes and the mountains rimming the valley.

The class size is limited to ten to ensure that everyone gets ample time and attention from the instructors, both in the field and the classroom.

Any enthusiastic photographer will feel right at home in this workshop. Getting to field locations can involve a walk of up to a mile each way in gently rolling sand dunes.

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.

Please contact us with any questions you may have about this session. We recommend registering promptly to reserve your space as our Vision workshops fill especially quickly. A deposit of 50% is required at time of booking to reserve space, with balance payable 60 days prior to workshop start date.