Archive for the 'Workshops' Category

Zanzibar and Chumbe Island, Tanzania

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

Join me in Zanzibar, Tanzania, November 16 - 27, 2010 for a 12-day photography workshop covering Stone Town, Nungwi, Prison Island and Chumbe Island Coral Park. Details and registration at http://www.blueplanetphoto.com/zanzibar.htm. There is a limit of 6 on this workshop and 2 spots are already taken. Your early registration will ensure a spot.


Zanzibar and Chumbe Island Coral Park, Tanzania, Africa from Mike Shipman on Vimeo.

Here is a nicely done segment from a film about Zanzibar, featuring Omari, the head ranger at Chumbe Island Coral Park. Omari talks about the threats to coral reefs, not just in Zanzibar but world wide. Some beautiful film of the reef as well.


Bruneau Dunes State Park Workshop

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

Last weekend I lead a workshop to Bruneau Dunes State Park in the Owyhee Desert of southwest Idaho. About 20 miles south of Mountain Home and 80 miles from Boise, it’s a location easily reached for a day or weekend getaway. Spring and fall are the best times for color (other than brown) and temperature (other than scorching hot), but really any time of year is good. The main dune is the tallest single dune in the U.S. at over 400 feet. Several smaller dunes and dune fields are found in this unusual catchment basin for sand. Two small lakes are adjacent to the dunes and an astronomical observatory provides exploration of the night sky spring to fall. Tent pads, RV and trailer spaces, and a couple small cabins await the weekend or weekday warrior. The wind blows almost constantly, sometimes very briskly, so protection of camera equipment is important since sand gets into everything.

Ducks, geese, jackrabbits, osprey, great horned owls, kangaroo rats, lizards, snakes, songbirds, coyotes, insects, wildflowers, clouds, sky, and people.

We had a fun time exploring and learning.

Bruneau Dunes. © Mike Shipman. blueplanetphoto.com. all rights reserved.

Upcoming Photography Classes

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

Classes that are coming up in the next couple months:

Photo I
This 8-hour class (meets for 2 hours over 4 weeks)lays the foundation from which to build a successful hobby or career in photography. Covered are the fundamentals of light and camera operation from the light meter to the histogram, how all these components work together to create the photographic image, and how you are in control of the results. Weekly assignments and reviews help you to practice the principles and techniques learned. Held in Caldwell, Idaho, Nampa, Idaho, or other location. When weather permits, we will shoot outside during the class. $195
1/4 - 1/25
1/14 - 2/4
2/1 - 2/22
2/4 - 2/25
Go here to register

Before You Buy
This 2-hour seminar is for people thinking about purchasing their first digital camera. We will cover the pros and cons of digital photography, explore the models and brands available, their features, costs, accessories, and try to fit a selection of camera recommendations to your personal shooting style and expectations. There are no sales pitches during this class. I do not sell photo equipment, so you will not be pressured to buy anything. You will, however, be better prepared when you are shopping at the store or online, knowing what you want, what’s available, and less likely to get talked into spending more than you intend or to buy something you don’t want or need.

If you would like to schedule a different date please select “open date” to register and I will contact you after registration to arrange a date and time.
1/7
2/3
3/10
Go here to register

HDR Photography
HDR photography is one of the most popular tools in digital photography to increase the dynamic range in your photographs (the ability of your image to represent detail in the darkest shadows and the brightest highlights). In this 7-hour workshop you will learn what conditions and subjects are best for HDR photography, how to bracket exposures for HDR, using Photoshop and Photomatix Pro to create HDR images (realistic and illustrative looks), create pseudo HDR images from a single RAW file, and more. We’ll spend part of the day in class covering the background and application details, go out for some photographing, then return to the classroom for hands-on processing. You will need a camera that allows you to manually change the esposure, a laptop computer with at least 1 GB of RAM, a means to download your files from your camera/memory card to the computer, a tripod, Photoshop, and Photomatix Pro (free trials are available for both applications).

If you would like to schedule a different workshop date for a group, please contact me to arrange a date and time.
1/23
3/13
Go here to register

Creating Art: Why you do it and what’s holding you back?
This 12-hour workshop (over 6 weeks) will help you discover your reasons and background for creating art, inspire you to explore and experiment, explore the barriers preventing you from creating your art, find the solutions to breaking those barriers, and assist you in getting your art out into the world for people to see and appreciate. Based on the books Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland, and The View From The Studio Door, by Ted Orland, we will work through exercises and discussions to get you on the right track of creating satisfying and successful art. Both books (signed by the authors) and a workbook are included in the workshop fee.

If you would like to schedule this workshop for your group, please contact me to arrange a date and time.

2/2 - 3/9
Go here to register

Critical Feedback for Photographers
Many photographers and other artists dread both receiving and giving criticism, believing (wrongly) that crtique is a negative process, only pointing out failures. While criticism can be judgmental, the purpose of giving and receiving feedback is positive and, if in the spirit of helpfulness, is one of the most useful tools available to you for improving your work. Criticism can be defined as “informed discourse about art to increase understanding and appreciation of art”. During this 4-hour class I will describe the three main processes of critique (Description, Interpretation, and Evaluation) and work through these steps using our own work and examples from other sources. This is an interactive class and at the conclusion you should be more comfortable with receiving feedback, know how to use the feedback you receive, be able to provide useful feedback to others when requested, and be able to apply this process to the evaluation of art forms other than photography.

This is a good class for camera clubs and other art groups. Contact me for group rates. If you’d like to schedule a workshop on a different date than is listed, please select “Open Date” in the drop down list and I will contact you after registration to arrange a date and time.
1/16
3/20
Go here to register

2010 Photography Workshops

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

Here is a list of my 2010 photography workshops currently scheduled. There are others in the planning stages, many of them weekend workshops in the Boise, Idaho area or elsewhere in Idaho. Keep up to date on workshops being offered by going to http://www.blueplanetphoto.com/workshops2.htm to see the schedule. Click on the workshop name to go to a description and registration page. You are also welcome to subscribe to my workshop newsletter, sent out quarterly. Go to http://www.blueplanetphoto.com/newsletter.htm to subscribe.