Tag: Macro photography

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What’s Coming Up at TBPW December 2020

Greetings Photographers!

We hope you are enjoying the holiday season! Tom and I are photographing every morning from our backyard bird blinds. We fill up a large thermos with coffee and wait for the birds to come in for their portraits! We took the cover photo of the finch with snowberries just this morning. As we move towards the New Year we wanted to let you know what is happening at Tom Bol Photo Workshops….

New and Upcoming Online Classes

Everyone seems to be signing up for classes in the last few weeks. And we appreciate it! Online classes are filling quickly. Several of you will be receiving a class from a loved one as they have been popular Christmas gifts this year! We have added new sessions for existing online classes and will continue to create new classes to help everyone stay creative in the next few months.

New Class: Macro for Cabin Fever:  Details:  Ready to get creative this winter with macro photography and not even leave your home? Join Tom and Cree for a three day macro photography class that picks up where our spring classes left off. The focus for this class will be everything but flowers. Dust off your Studio in a Box, charge up your Lume Cubes and get ready to try something new. Feb 8, 10 and 12 MWF from 10-11:30 am Cost $289

Power Workflow:  Overwhelmed with your photography workflow? Want to learn how to get your images from the field to “ready to use” as efficiently as possible? Join Tom and Cree for three ninety minute sessions of tips and techniques for maximizing your workflow efficiency. We will cover 1) Workflow Overview and Shooting Habits 2) Reviewing and Choosing Images and 3) Editing and Backup Strategies Jan 25, 27, 29 MWF from 3-4:30 Cost $249

Bird Photography:   If you have traveled with us in the field before, you know that Tom and Cree have a life long fascination with birds. We have been photographing birds ever since we first picked up a camera. We want to share with you what we have learned through the years about photographing birds from the Arctic to the Antarctic and all points in between.  Jan 25-29 from 3-4:30 SMT Cost $349

Ice Macro from Fort Collins, Coloroado

Advanced Landscapes:  Ready to take your landscapes to the next level. This class targets advanced concepts that are not normally covered during our workshops. Learn to create emotion, meaning and purpose in your landscapes while also learning new technical skills like focus stacking and maximizing acuity in your images.  January 11, 13 and 15, 2021 from 2-3:30 pm SMT Cost $249

PhotoShop 1: From Lightroom to PhotoShop:  Learn the basics of PhotoShop for photographers in just 5 days. We will spend 1.5 days reviewing tools to remove objects. We also cover working with layers, layer masks and changing backgrounds. January 11-15 5-6:30 pm SMT Cost $349

PhotoShop 2: Applied Layers:  Interested in moving beyond using simple tools in PhotoShop for your landscape and travel images? This class is the perfect progression from our ” PhotoShop for Landscape and Travel Part 1″ class. We will take your understanding of tools, layers and masking in PhotoShop and apply it to new ways to take on landscape and travel images.  Think of this as an applied PhotoShop class. Feb 8-12 from 5-6:30 pm SMT Cost $349

Adobe Portfolio Create your own online portfolio of photographs and digital artwork. This two session class will cover the basics of using Adobe Portfolio to create a webpage with all of your best images. There are also two 1 on 1 working sessions with Cree to personalize the content. Best part: Adobe Portfolio is free for Adobe subscribers. January 24, 26 Sun & Tues from 10-11:30 am Cost $249

See all of our online classes by clicking here

Update on Workshops in the Field

We are looking forward to traveling again in 2021 and are optimistic about the new vaccines coming out. We have all had to put travel plans on hold this year and we know that it has been frustrating for everyone.

We managed to run six workshops in the field this year and felt very good about the safety of the locations and the conditions for each of those workshops. In addition we offered 14 new online courses to keep hundreds of you involved in learning more about photography and editing.

We postponed many of our workshops this year and will be offering them in 2021 and 2022 instead. We will continue this strategy of postponing workshops until travel conditions improve and vaccines are readily available to participants who want to travel. Instead of canceling our trips months ahead of time, we try to wait until two months before the workshop to evaluate the conditions for travel. If you have questions about upcoming trips, we always encourage you to contact us.

Presentations for Camera Clubs and more….

We are currently reaching out to photographers through local clubs and organizations. We can schedule a presentation for your club on a variety of topics.

Tom will be presenting on Bird Photography for the Westbridge Camera Club in Ohio on January 4. Thanks Roberta Kanye for coordinating this!

Tom and Cree will give a joint presentation on Bird Photography: Afar and Closer to Home to the Massachusetts Audubon Society on January 15 at noon ET.

We always love hearing from you! creetbp@gmail.com or (970) 631-9383  

Happy Holidays!

Cree and Tom

  • Alaska
  • Yellowstonescout
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It’s Summer at Tom Bol Photo Workshops

We are looking forward to getting back into the field this summer with workshops coming soon. In the meantime, we hope you will consider joining us for our upcoming online classes (links below). This is the perfect time to learn new editing skills in Lightroom or PhotoShop, improve your camera craft or learn how to take captivating macro photos.

Here is what people are saying about their experience in our classes:

I just wanted to drop you a note to say how much I enjoyed your macro workshop. I learned a lot from a technical point of view — from camera settings to how to set up a shot (even the dreaded focus stacking!).  But principally, I really enjoyed your personalities: you have a winning team between the two of you that is very engaging to your audiences (even remotely): I felt like I was working and playing with friends, rather than with some daunted instructors.

Michele Egan

“Time and money incredibly well spent. Your insights into technique, composition, processing, details, and even marketing choices are incredibly helpful and apply to all aspects of the photographic process. All the while, you’re also planting ideas about exciting new ways to apply these techniques and knowledge as starting points for raising the level and quality of my future photography shoots.                         

Stuart Litoff

Upcoming Classes – New Shooting Techniques

Creative Camera Craft – June 22-July 3

Are you in a creative rut? Learn new, creative ideas about how to take photos and use the modern features in your camera. Click here to read more

Macro Photography – June 22-July 3

Do you have a macro lens and barely use it? Learn to take compelling photos of water droplets, flowers, bubbles and more. Click here

Coming in August – Speed Light Crash Course

Upcoming Classes – New Editing Techniques

Lightroom Basics – July 20-24

Is your photo collection in disarray? Learn how to organize and edit your photos in this ground up introduction to Lightroom Classic. Click here to read more

From Lightroom to PhotoShop – July 20-24

Are you a Lightroom user but want to learn some key features in PhotoShop? Learn how to remove objects, edit in layers and create masks. Click here to read more

PhotoShop for Landscapes and Travel – July 27-31

Ready to use your knowledge of PhotoShop layers, masks and tools to take your landscape and travel images to the next level. We recommend this as a follow up to our Lightroom to PhotoShop class. Click here to read more

Happy Summer!

Tom and Cree

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May Photo of the Month


Tom and I want to celebrate the great images being created by photographers each month. For May we selected an image from our new Online Macro Workshop. We hope you enjoy Diane’s images as much as we do. 

Congratulations to May’s photographer – Diane Lowry

Diane Lowry on Zoom with Cree

The Story:

I was trying to replicate Tom’s water droplets on a dandelion seed. It was harder than you might think!

I had a syringe and wanted to put a drop of glycerine on the seed. I would try to drop precisely and it would roll to the other side. It was not going as I had hoped.

I was staring at the drop while I was holding my syringe horizontally. I am a physician’s assistant and syringes are normal for me. The drops were falling off the syringe and I noticed that I could see the background flower in the drops. This didn’t tell the right story.

I decided to put the American flag back up. That to me tells the story. I hope that people will make up their own story about the image.

Diane Lowry’s Photo of the Month

The Data: .5 sec, f/7.1, 200 mm, ISO 200

The Gear: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF 100mm 2.8 lens

About Macro Photography:

With macro photography there is a whole other world out there if you look. You don’t have to travel. You can go into the backyard and work with what you have.

Learning to do macro makes you a better photographer. As with all photography you have to work with light.

I like to challenge myself with lighting. For the bubble image I decided to use my studio lights. I don’t do portraits unless my family asks me to so this was a challenge for me.

Macro Photography Tip from the Photographer: 

The best thing you can do is look at other people’s work. It gives you new ideas. Go online and look at what other people are doing.

Diane’s 5 in 1 assignment – one blossom five different perspectives

On Diane’s Horizon:

My trips to Italy and Iceland were canceled – so I hope to fit those in.

I also want to visit the Badlands either on my own or on a workshop.

For more information on Online Classes with TBPW Click Here

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Photo of the Month April 2020

Tom and I want to celebrate the great images being created by photographers each month. For April we had to get creative with travel restrictions. We selected an image from our new Facebook Group instead. We hope you enjoy Kimberly’s images as much as we do. 

Congratulations to April’s photographer – Kimberly Shadduck

KS1
Kimbeely on the Sedona 2019 Workshop

The Story:

I stumbled upon a webinar by Harold Davis that he was doing for a photo club. I started watching it and was star struck. I realized that this was something I could do during the lock down. The weather was really bad outside and I craved something colorful.

I had my husband build me a 3 ft x 2 ft lLightbox. I knew I needed a big one. I went to You Tube and looked for a video on how to build a lightbox. The lightbox has 2 pieces of glass with a piece of white material in between. It is lit by a strip of l.e.d. lights.

Lightbox Set Up Small Web
Kimberly’s lightbox and camera set up

Next I went to the fabric store to buy a white cloth with a fine weave for the white background. I also purchased tweezers and museum glue – I didn’t even know what that was! Finally I went shopping for live flowers.

To create the image I started by removing the flowers from the water and laying them on the box. I tried several different arrangements until I got the right one. Harold Davis recommends taking a flower arranging class online. I couldn’t find one so I just dove right in.

The tulip in the middle was actually closed when I laid it down on the light box. I started peeling back the petals with my tweezers to have the inside exposed. The white lily is a Sonata Lily. I thought the white color would really make the image pop. I couldn’t get it to lie flat on the lightbox at first. It made me wonder whether I should start pressing the flowers for future projects.

For processing I start by merging several frames in Lightroom. I export the merged file to PhotoShop to make my adjustments. I focus on making the image as vibrant as possible. I use a Waucom tablet to hand paint the image, mostly using dodge and burn. The last step is to add a texture background to give it a painterly look. I purchased a few textures from Florabella for this purpose

The Data: 1/500 sec, f/2.8, 200 mm, ISO 500

The Gear: Nikon D850 with a 55mm macro lens; Manual mode f22, ISO 200

Photo Tip from the Photographer: 

If you can get a lightbox and go to the store for flowers, this is a great project for you. It is the perfect way to let your creativity go. I will start on a new piece and look up and 5 hours have passed without me even knowing it.

I like hanging my stuff on the wall. I want it to be pretty – that’s what motivates me.

Blue Hydrangea Small Size Web
Hydrangea by Kimberly Shadduck
 

On Kimberly’s Horizon:

KS2

Our May Photo of the Month will be selected from our Macro in May Online Workshop

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