Tom and Cree just returned from their Redwoods and Rocky Coastlines Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. Ten photographers joined us in Redwoods National Park in California to photograph the largest trees on Earth. Highlights of the workshop were photographing beams of light coming through the foggy canopy and sea stars on the coast.
To see photos from our Redwoods & Rocky Coastlines Workshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Tom is currently in Iceland with a group photographing puffin and some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. He says the puffin are everywhere! Cree is back in Alaska planning photo workshops for 2028. Where would you like to go in 2028? Let us know
Our new workshop Alaska Kenai Explorer has space available: July 7-12, 2026 Calving glaciers, whales, snow capped mountains, eagles and more. Read details
Our Iditarod Workshop for 2026 is starting to fill up. Photograph Northern Lights and the Last Great Race during the best month for winter photography in Alaska. Read more
Tom and Cree just returned from their Bears of Lake Clark Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. Nine photographers joined us in Lake Clark National Park in Alaska to photograph Brown Bears in their natural habitat. Highlights of the workshop were photographing bears courting in the meadows and clamming on the tidal flats
To see photos from our Bears of Lake ClarkWorkshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Cree and Tom are traveling with a workshop group to Redwoods National Park in California to photograph their favorite forest in the world. They just returned from the “Top of the World” Utqiavik (or Barrow) where they photographed eiders and other arctic birds in the midnight sun.
Our new workshop Alaska Kenai Explorer has space available: July 7-12, 2026 Calving glaciers, whales, snow capped mountains, eagles and more. Read details
Our Iditarod Workshop for 2026 is starting to fill up. Photograph Northern Lights and the Last Great Race during the best month for winter photography in Alaska. Read more
Tom and Cree just returned from their Tetons Photo Workshop and are sharing the highlights with you. Nine photographers joined us in Grand Teton National Park to photograph rugged, snow capped peaks and surrounding fields of flowers. Highlights of the workshop were photographing a mother moose and her calf and going to the Jackson Rodeo.
To see photos from our Tetons PhotoWorkshop, check out the trip report by clicking here
What’s Next: Cree and Tom are traveling to Lake Clark National Park to photograph lBrown Bears in Alaska. This continues to be one of our most popular workshops. We hope to find spring cubs this year and watch a rematch of ping pong between Tom and David the lodge owner!
Our new workshop Alaska Kenai Explorer has space available! July 7-12, 2026 Calving glaciers, whales, snow capped mountains, eagles and more. Read details
Our Iditarod Workshop for 2026 is starting to fill up. Photograph Northern Lights and the Last Great Race during the best month for winter photography in Alaska. Read more
Tom and I celebrate great images from workshop participants by selecting a Photo of the Month. For May we chose an image taken on our Badlands Workshop. The image was taken by Jim Seward while photographing bison in Badlands National Park. Jim is a travel and landscape photographer from the Chicago area.
Congratulations to May 2024 ‘s featured photographer – Jim Seward
Photographer Jim Seward
The Story…
I do not have a lot of experience shooting wildlife. First I got some of the iconic shoots of bison but I wanted to get something different as well.
We were on the long road with a fence line. I didn’t like the fence line in the background. On the left side of the road there were a pair of bison standing up but they were not doing much. I saw a little head pop up in the yellow flowers. He was lying down with just his head up. I got down low and shot at eye level.
It was all the things I have learned from taking pictures over the years. I wanted my mid ground to be sharp with interesting bokeh in both the foreground and background. I shot through the flowers to get the effect.
If somebody puts me in the right spot and I have decent equipment, I can take a decent picture.
Photo of the Month – May 2024
EXIF Data:
Camera: Canon EOS 6D Mark II
Lens: Sigma 150-600 mm with 1.4 extender
Aperture: f6.3
Shutter: 1/400 second
ISO: 500
Mode: Manual
About Photographing in the Badlands
I was completely surprised at how much color variation there was. This was especially in the rocks. The yellows and the reds blew me away. Before the trip I had looked at several sites to see what we would be shooting. None of those images did justice to what we actually shot in the park.
It was like shooting sunsets in Patagonia. The colors are so good right out of the camera that you barely need to do anything in post. I just let the colors speak for themselves.
The timing for the green grass in Spring was important. The green grass, yellow rocks and blue sky were tremendous. It is the right time to go to the Badlands if you like color.
These is also a great variety of wildlife. I got a couple shots of the Burrowing Owls. I had never seen them before in my life. I was amazed by their habitat. Just to see it was terrific.
Goin to the abandoned town was as fun as anything in the park. I have used ND filters before in New Zealand, Utah and in North Dakota. The sky was perfect for Cottonwood. With an ND filter I like spending a little more time. It is a more relaxed pace.
With the silo I kept repeating the process over and over to get the right sky. I wanted the clouds moving over my head. I like it when the clouds are moving into the background.
Abandoned Silo in Cottonwood
Jim’s Tips for Landscape Photography
Tip 1
When you are in the field and you think you might be done, wait another five or ten minutes. You might be surprised with a piece of light that breaks through or a change of color. Things can change just when you think it is time to leave.
Tip 2
Don’t be afraid of unusual light situations. On the last morning we had fog roll in. We thought the fog would obliterate everything. However, as the fog moved through the scene it created some interesting photos.
On Jim’s Horizon:
Namibia
Greenland
Oregon Coast and Redwoods
Harris and Skye in the Hebrides
Jim photographing Big Horn Sheep
Interested in joining us in a national park this year? We have space on our Bosque and White Sands National Park Workshop from Dec 8-12, 2024 Learn more
Tom and Cree just finished their Redwoods and Rocky Coastlines Workshop and want to share the highlights with you. We had a late season rhododendron bloom this year and the pop of colors was beautiful in the foggy forest. Cool, summer temperatures meant we had diffuse light for the trip and this gave the forest a moody feel. This is a great workshop for photographers interested in both landscapes and filter use with seascapes.
To see photos from our 2023 Redwoods and Rocky Coastlines, check out our trip report, click here
Next National Park Opening is Grand Teton National Park: click here
Cree and Tom are on their way to Arizona for the Arizona Hummingbirds Workshopnext. Then they are off to Ecuador to photograph some of the most interesting hummingbirds in the world in the Ecuador Cloud Forest.
Tom will be giving a free online talk on July 13 for Singh Ray Filters called From Sandals to Snowboots: Photographing Easter Island and Lofoten, Norway. If you were on either of those workshops you will see some familiar images. Register online here.
Be sure to check out our page of Immediate Openings to see where we have space available.
Tom and Cree Bol celebrate great images created on workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For December, we chose an image from White Sands National Park created by Julie Berryhill . We hope you enjoy Julie’s images as much as we do!
Congratulations to December 2021 ‘s featured photographer – Julie Berryhill
Julie in White Sands National Park
The Story …
The sun had already set. Brian and I were wandering around and we set up our tripods really low. We pushed out the tripod legs and were on our bellies in the sand. It was really fun. We were down and dirty.
We were underexposing because we did not want to blow out the red channel. I was also using focus peaking. After Tom recommended it, I used it throughout the workshop. I would start by using auto focus and then switch to manual to engage the focus peaking. It shows what is in focus in red highlights.
For me the three important elements of the photo are the sand, the yucca and the sky. I used a low perspective to put the yucca higher in the sky. I also wanted to keep some of the sand in the foreground. But what the image is really about is the sky.
December 2021 Photo of the Month
I used the comparison mode in Lightroom to chose the best image. I was looking for the image with the best light in the sky. I didn’t crop the image at all. I was also looking for an image that was sharp. It was windy that day so I made sure that there was not any blur in the plants.
EXIF Data:
Nikon Z7 with 24-70mm lens shot at 34.5 mm
F11, 1/200 sec, ISO 400
Aperture Priority with focus peaking
About photographing at White Sands National Park
You think it is just about photographing sand. But it is amazing how many different shots you can get there.
One day it was windy and the backgrounds became almost impressionist. The down side of the wind is that you can’t easily change lenses in those conditions. The upside is that the wind erases all of the footprints there.
A windy day on the dunes
About the orange photo below: It was a windy evening and there were different things happening in each direction. I turned around from where we were shooting and took the shot. I got down low to get a different perspective of the sand.
Evening skies over the dunes
Using a speed light on the yucca was really fun. I am glad Tom showed us how to do it. I get intimidated by using flash. Flash gives it a whole different look, which I really liked.
Soap Tree Yucca in stormy skies illuminated with a speed light
Julie’stips for photographing at White Sands National Park:
1) Bring two bodies if you have them. It is often difficult to change lenses because of the sand. This is especially true if you are shooting mirrorless.
2) Get the permit to enter the park early (available on the park website). That way there will not be people in the way.
3) Use focus peaking. It lets you see want will be in focus in the frame.
On Julie’s Horizon
Costa Rica in April
Back to Patagonia – the light is amazing and I love to hike
Eastern Europe – Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary
Julie and friends at White Sands
Space available on our next workshop in Bosque and White Sands – Nov 2023. Click here to learn more
Coming soon: Free Happy Hour in late January -all about the new Nikon Z9. In the meantime we will be off scouting Route 66 Oklahoma and Big Bend National Park. We just returned from Louisiana and have already posted our Louisiana Bayous and Birds.
Ready to travel and looking for a workshop? Space available on our Northern Lights in Fairbanks Workshop in March. Click here for more info. Want a warmer destination? Join us in Ecuador in 2023 to photograph birds in the highlands
Thanks for reading our posts and congratulations to Julie!
