Category Archives: Community

Ansel’s Moon

Edie Howe has posted a delightful little slide show made at this week’s Yosemite Valley event, sponsored by the Ansel Adams Gallery, that commemorated the making of the famous Ansel Adams photograph of Half Dome and the rising moon. The idea was that position of the moon and timing relative to daylight would duplicate those at the time of Adams’ original exposure. I enjoyed Edie’s sequence (nice final photograph, Edie!) and looking at some of the (pardon the awful pun) luminaries of Yosemite photography as they held forth in Ahwahnee Meadow. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there!

Perhaps ironically, the moon was hidden behind what appears to be a bit of a snow squall above Half Dome, though it appeared to be clear both before and perhaps after the historic moment! In a way I think that this might have been the most appropriate thing that could have happened. While I don’t think that trying to re-make Ansel Adam’s photograph has any more validity than trying to re-write a Mozart symphony, the event seemed like a great opportunity to: gather together on a beautiful evening in this wonderful meadow, contemplate the evening with the additional context of thoughts about Adams and his photography, meet a number of people influenced by Adams’ legacy, and focus on Adams’ photograph rather than trying to create one’s own version – since the imitative exercise turned out to be impossible!

I wish I had been there.

California Nature Photographer: Photographing in my own ‘backyard’

I just posted a new piece at the California Nature Photographer blog: Photographing in my own ‘backyard’. It concerns doing photography in places you know very, very well – and it includes a few recent photographs that have not been posted here yet.

List of RSS feeds for photography web sites from 1001 Noisy Cameras

The folks at 1001 Noisy Cameras have started to put together a listing of photo blogs with RSS feeds. If you can’t get enough photo news from the web already you ought to check it out! ;-) While you are at it, subscribe to the 1001 Noisy Cameras feed – a lot of interesting stuff comes across the internet by way of their site. My blog has a feed – obviously, since it is included in their list – that you can access in a number of ways including a click on the button near the top of the page.

A couple of interesting workshop announcements

From The Ansel Adams Gallery BlogMaking a Photograph: From Field to Print with Charles Cramer and Keith Walklet

This 2-day lecture/demonstration July 18 & 19 presents highlights from the 3-5 day workshops that Walklet and Cramer present for the Ansel Adams Gallery. Participants will learn valuable insights on photographing in the field, exposure of film and digital captures, and creating effective compositions, plus techniques that allow you to optimize these images to their fullest potential using Lightroom and Photoshop, all leading to the creation of compelling prints. This course will “open your eyes” to imagine the many possibilities within your image.

Rooms in Yosemite Valley are available for this workshop, but you must register by June 15th to reserve one.

I know Charlie and can confirm that he has a ton of useful information and insights to convey, and that he knows how to present them. I’ve only met Keith once… on the trail… last summer, when I briefly visited the two of them and a couple other photographers who were working out of Booth Lake near the Vogelsang High Sierra Camp. I first encountered Keith while I was photographing near Townsley Lake and I saw what looked to be a heavily-laden backpacker approaching – but it was just Keith carrying a giant load of photo equipment. (If I understood correctly, he was using a full DSLR system, a full MF digital system, and LF film… in the backcountry. Sheesh!)

Also…

Gary Crabbe announces a Photo Business Workshop in Utah

I’m very pleased to announce that I will be co-teaching a workshop on The Business of Outdoor and Nature Photography in conjunction with fellow photographer Charlie Borland and Aspen Photo Workshops. The workshop will be held November 5th through 8th, 2009 at Ruby’s Inn & Conference Center near Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Joining us will be Marv Johnson, CEO of the online stock agency, Fogstock.

The focus of this workshop is about business, and takes place during the day, so photographers are free to shoot during the sweet light hours. As many people will know, Ruby’s Inn is within a few minutes drive of Bryce Canyon National Park, famous for it’s geology and wildly-shaped hoodoos.