Tom and Cree just finished their Iditarod and Northern LightsPhoto Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. They traveled with their group to Alaska to photograph the action and pageantry of the Iditarod and then on to Fairbanks for Northern Lights. Our group was surprised how caught up they became in the ongoing race standings. It was also a great year for aurora, with the lights showing up 4 times on the workshop.
To see photos from our Iditarod and Northern Lights Workshop, check out our trip report by clicking here
What’s next:
Tom and Cree are headed to Central America for their Costa Rica Rainforest Workshop. We will be photographing tree frogs, macaws and 4 species of monkeys in Osa Peninsula.
What’s New:
It’s official! Tom and Cree just bought a house in Palmer, Alaska and will be moving in June. They will continue to offer workshops in the Lower 48 and abroad, just from a different home base. New address coming soon.
Want to join us in Alaska this summer? We have a few openings:
Nome: Arctic Birds and Musk Ox: June 17-22, 2024 – 2 spaces available Click here
Brown Bear Safari: August 13-19, 2024 – 2 spaces available Click here
Tom and Cree just finished a spectacular workshop in the Lofoten Islands in Norway. Norway is known for terrific aurora photography with warmer temperatures than in Alaska. Because of all the open water in the winter, it is possible to photograph the northern lights reflected in the fjords. After weeks of blustery weather, our group won the weather jackpot….
To learn more about our Photography Workshop in the Lofoten Islands of Norway, check out our trip report, click here
Looking for a warmer destination in January 2024. We have three spaces available on our Oaxaca: the Colors of Mexico Workshop. We will be photographing vibrant art, food, people and more with Marcelo along to show us the sites. Read more
Thanks for reading our posts. Happy photographing from our family to yours…..Tom and Cree
We had some spectacular aurora this year for our Northern Lights Workshop in Fairbanks. You can read all about it in our illustrated trip report. Click here to see the report.
What’s next: we are headed to Sicily for the next few weeks with Strabo Photo Tours. If you are looking for a warmer destination, consider joining us in Southern Spain for warm weather, flamenco dancing, beautiful Moorish palaces and laughs all around. Four spaces available Southern Spain Workshop on May 13-25, 2022.
Check out our listings for domestic 2024 Workshops, more international trips coming soon.
At Tom Bol Photo Workshops, we celebrate great images created on our workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For March we chose an image from a dog sled photoshoot on our Fairbanks Northern Lights Workshop created by Jerry Bush. We hope you enjoy Jerry’s images as much as we do!
Congratulations to March 2022 ‘s featured photographer – Jerry Bush
Jerry Bush in Alaska
The Story …
It has to start with our location. We were in the right spot thanks to Tom and Cree.
It was a beautiful spot. My goal was to get shots of the full sled first, and then get close up action shots of the dogs. Fortunately we had four different chances to photograph the dogs running by.
The first time around I just focused on getting the full dog team and the musher in the elements – the snow and the trees in the background.
When I went for the close up shots I didn’t see the tongues when I was photographing. I noticed the tongues were wagging all over the place when I went back through the images later. Even the dogs in the back had tongues wagging.
March 2022 Photo of the Month
Sometimes I struggle with finding the best image when I have hundreds to choose from. I use the grid view in Lightroom and bring the images up to a very large size. I go through them quickly the first time and use the X key to reject the images that are not in focus.
I use the compare mode after that and think about what I was trying to accomplish. Wow, I wasn’t shooting for a tongue shot – but there it is.
Jerry’s backed off version of the same scene
On the action shot there wasn’t much editing needed. I brought the highlights down and adjusted the exposure a bit for the snow. On my full sled image I brought down the saturation in the background to give it an aged look. I also cropped more than in the first image.
EXIF Data:
Sony A7 R4 with a 70-200 mm lens at 200 mm
F3.5, 1/1250 sec, ISO 400
Aperture Priority
About photographing in Alaska in the winter
I absolutely loved it. When Deb picked me up at the airport, I am sure she was ready for me to stop talking about it by the time we got home.
It’s beautiful. It’s unique. If you don’t go to Alaska, you just don’t see that kind of environment.
It was cold. Fortunately it was not as cold as it usually is in Fairbanks. There were times it was so cold that it was hard for me to feel the controls on the camera.
It is interesting shooting with so much snow in the frame. The camera makes adjustments to middle grays because of all the snow. You have to tweak the exposure in the images to accommodate for that.
Between the dogs, the ice carving and of course, the aurora, the variety was awesome. I love everything about Alaska.
Jerry’s image of Northern Lights on top of Charlie Dome
Jerry’stips for photographing dog sledding:
1) It is all about capturing the face. At our first dog sled shoot, I cut off ears and paws in the frames – and they were throw aways. I’m a dog lover and I learned it is all about showing the dog’s face.
2) In your action shots, look for open mouths. Teeth and tongues make really interesting shots.
3) Look for dogs that are posing. If they are just sitting there, it will not be as interesting. Dogs are natural posers. Look for a face that is bending over a fence or a dog that is jumping up. Get them to do something.
4) I learned that a low perspective is so important. It’s a perspective that you don’t see that often. On Day 1 I saw Tom shooting on his stomach. After that I did the same thing.
From the World Ice Carving Contest in Fairbanks – by Jerry Bush
On Jerry’s Horizon
Iceland
Norway
Banff
Olympic National Park
Portraits
Jerry connecting at the kennel
Interested in photographing northern lights? We have two trips to Lofoten, Norway in the next 12 months with chances of seeing northern light on both: September 11-18, 2022 (for warmer temps) and February 18-25 (for hardy folks)
We are both off to Sicily, Italy for a few weeks with Strabo Photo Tours. We look forward to photographing rustic coastal villages and eating plenty of cannolis on the largest island on the Mediterranean Sea. We have space on our May trip to Southern Spain if you would like to join us in Europe this year.
Enjoy your early spring and thanks for reading our posts!
