Tag: Online photography instruction

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What’s Coming Up

Greetings Photographers!

Brrr it’s cold! Places all over the country are seeing record temps and we have been busy photographing winter. Between backyard birds puffed up from the cold, ice crystal macros and our local eagle tree, Tom and I have been on the go. Here is what is coming up at Tom Bol Photo Workshops….

Upcoming Onine Classes – the last few!

We have posted our last three online classes in March. We are so impressed with the learning and images that have been created by you during these classes. After March we plan to be scouting new locations and offering workshops in the field.

Here is what we are offering in March:

New Class: Travel Photography  Details:  Ready to take your travel photography to the next level?  Can’t wait to hit the road this summer? Join Tom and Cree for five days of creative ideas and techniques for travel photography-all online.  After photographing over 80 countries and frequently shooting assignments for tourism bureaus and travel publications, we have some tips to help you learn new techniques. March 15-19 M-F from 10-11:30 am or 5-6:30 pm. Cost $349

Last Class: 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.  March 8-12 M-F from 3-4:30 Cost $349

Adobe Portfolio: Are you an Adobe Lightroom or PhotoShop user? Did you know you have a free portfolio program included in your subscription? Move beyond posting on social media and create a portfolio to share your best photos with friends and family. This class covers everything you need to know including writing an artist statement, creating galleries, setting up a contact form and choosing an overall theme. March 13 and 16 from 10-11:30 am. Cost: $249

The local eagle tree in Fort Collins, Colorado

Scouting Report

One of our favorite parts of running a workshop company is scouting our new locations. We continually offer new destinations and want to be sure that our new locations will be perfect for you. With all the interest in bird photography we will be heading to Madera Canyon in Arizona to photograph hummingbirds in the next few months. We also plan to visit the swamps of Louisiana to look for nesting herons and egrets among the cypress trees.

Last summer we scouted the Colorado high country for a wildflower workshop with jeep access to the higher alpine bowls. Look for that workshop based out of Silverton in July 2023.

Interested in whales and calving Glaciers? We plan to visit Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska to scout for an early June trip.

In the Media

Check out Tom’s recent blog for Singh Ray Filters on using their Gold N Blue filter to create dramatic winter images: click here

Are you signed up for Tom’s tri-weekly blog? He writes about everything from the warmest socks around, to customizing camera buttons. This is a great place to learn about the newest mirrorless lenses and shooting techniques.

Upcoming Events and Presentations

Join us for our Happy Hour Image Celebration on February 19 at 7:00 SMT to see the best images created in February’s Macro for Cabin Fever, PhotoShop 2 and From Lightroom to PhotoShop. classes. See our latest portfolios from our current Adobe Portfolio class. Contact Cree at creetbp@gmail.com for a Zoom link.

Tom speaks online with the Evergreen Camera Club in Colorado on 15 Tips to Improve Your Photography on Wednesday, March 10 at 7 pm.

Tom will be presenting online to the Loveland Photographic Society on 15 Tips to Improve Your Photography on Monday March 8.

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

Warm regards!

Cree and Tom

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November Photographer of the Month

Tom and I celebrate the great images being created by our community of photographers each month by selecting a Photo of the Month. For November we selected Dianne Biddison’s image of a reddish Egret from our Bird Photography Class. We hope you enjoy Dianne’s images as much as we do

Congratulations to November’s photographer – Dianne Biddison

Dianne in the lavender fields of Provence, France

The Data: ISO 1250 500mm 1/1250 f f13

The Gear: Canon EOS 6D with a 150-500mm lens

The Story … 

I signed up for Tom and Cree’s online Bird Photography class, and knowing there would be assignments, I planned to take a Friday off work to go to Fort DeSoto State Park. I had been there before with a local photography group. The park has a website with a list of birds that have been seen there by season and where to find them. I also used eBird hotspots to see what birds had been seen recently.

The Reddish Egret was very interesting. There was a photographer walking 30 ft ahead of me photographing the egret. I slowed down so I wouldn’t spook the bird. When the photographer left, the Reddish Egret almost seemed disappointed that his audience was gone. I moved in closer and started taking photos of the bird and his behaviour.

The November 2020 Photo of the Month

The sun came out from the clouds just at that moment to light him up the right way. I chose to go to the North beach because I anticipated that the sun would come from the east and look best.

I used my new tripod with a new Neewer gimbal head. It was the first time I had used either. This made it very easy to move the camera. I could manipulate my movement easier as the bird changed his position.

I found that shooting 3 ft off the ground was ideal. Because the beach was uneven, I did not want to get too low.

After photographing the egret, I turned a corner and found a sandbar with 100 American White Pelicans. While other photographers were waiting for them to fly and hopefully come in closer, I started looking around. I found a pair of American Oystercatchers and photographed them.

On my way back to the car the Whimbrel appeared. The birds at the park are used to people and don’t get scared. I lowered the tripod more and it started walking towards me.

I was able to get both a profile and a straight on shot. I like them both. The straight on shot helped me identify the bird because I could see the darker eye band.

Dianne’s Whimbrel on the beach at Fort De Soto State Park

About Photographing Birds:

It’s fun! Being down here in Florida, I can usually find a bird. I like watching what they are going to do and how they interact with each other.

Bird photography is a challenge, especially getting them in flight. But it is a fun challenge!

American Oystercatcher

Tip from the Photographer

Keep looking around you when photographing birds. You never know what is watching you.

When everyone else was watching the pelicans, the oystercatchers were creeping up behind them.

Get as many shots as possible from different angles. Even if the image is blurry, it may help you identify the bird.

Dianne roaming the beaches of Tasmania with her Canon in hand

On Dianne’s Horizon

The Winter Yellowstone Workshop in January

Going back to Fort De Soto. This time I plan to go in the evening. I want to photograph Roseate Spoonbills in warm evening light.

I have plans to put in a backyard bird habitat, after I cut back some Elephant Ear Philodendrons from my pond and waterfall. This will clear the way for birds to take a bath. We have Red-Shouldered Hawks, Cardinals, blue jays and finches regularly in this area. It will be exciting to see what other birds are around here, too.

Our next online Bird Photography class starts this Monday. Learn more about our upcoming classes, including Power Workflow, Advanced Landscape and PhotoShop 1 Click Here

You are also invited to join us for an online Happy Hour on Friday Dec 4 at 7 pm SMT to see a virtual gallery of images from our latest classes. Leave a comment below to receive an invite.

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What’s Coming Up at TBPW

Greetings Photographers!

Happy summer from Fort Collins, Colorado! Tom and I just returned from a short trip to Utah to photograph landscapes and the night sky. Tom will be using some of those images in his brand new class Advanced Landscapes. We saw very few people in Capitol Reef National Park or Escalante National Monument during the height of summer. We especially loved having the place mostly to ourselves at night.

Online Classes

Our first round of speedlight classes in early August was a big success. Students used gels and softboxes to photograph everything from stemware to film noir in a phone booth in Iowa. If you are looking for ways to stay creative and learn something new, it is not too late to get involved. We have five online classes coming up via Zoom in the next few months. To read more or sign up, just click on the title of the class to learn more:

All About Speedlights:  Whether you own a dedicated speed light or are brand new to flash photography, we will teach you all about speed lights! Even better, we’ll show you how to get started for less than $100 in gear. Transform flat gray urban scenes into moody, compelling photos using a single speed light. Create a compelling travel portrait in 5 minutes. August 24-28 M-F 4-5:30 pm Cost $329

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.  Sept 14-18 MWF from 5-6:30 Cost $249

PhotoShop for Landscapes and Travel: 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. Oct 26-30 from 2-3:30 M-F Cost $329

PhotoShop for Landscapes and Travel: 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. Nov 2-6 from 2-3:30 M-F Cost $329

Creative Camera Craft:  Learn to transform the ordinary to the extraordinary with your camera. Whether you are an engineer or an artist, this class will offer new camera tips and creative solutions in your photography.  Technology has changed what camera settings we use, and how we shoot.  New creative styles are evolving with this new technology.  This class will show you how to approach a variety of subjects, and how camera craft will bring your vision to reality. Oct 26-Nov 6 from 5-6:30 M-F Cost $329

Not what you are looking for? We also offer Private Editing Lessons if one on one is more your style!

See all of our online classes by clicking here

Update on Workshops in the Field

Like many of you, Tom and I can hardly wait to get back in the field and teach workshops in person. We have been continuing to monitor the news on covid19 and are developing our own covid protocol for trips. We plan to hold meetings on Zoom before trips to discuss our safety guidelines and recommendations before trips depart.

Colorado Getaways

We launched our first “Colorado Getaways” Workshops last month. These trips are designed to be shorter, less expensive and have fewer people on them. Both sessions of the Elk Rut in Colorado filled within two days of our last newsletter. We will be adding a new set of dates for the elk workshop and 2 Colorado Getaway Night Sky Workshops in the next few weeks.

We love hearing from you and seeing your work on social media. If you are a facebook user, please consider joining our private group called Photos for Inspiration TBPW at https://www.facebook.com/groups/653824312128583. We encourage our supporters to use this site to share their current work and receive supportive feedback from the TBPW community. We feel very lucky to have your in our community!

If you are signed up for a workshop and have any questions about it’s status, please get in touch at creetbp@gmail.com or (907) 631-9383  

Warm regards to all of you!

Cree and Tom

  • Capital Reef NP, Utah
  • San Juan Scouting trip