Hi and welcome to the January 2018 WATR 15^th Anniversary Year edition of my Instructional BLOG – Workshop at the Ranch. Let’s take a walk down the memory lane of photographic tutorials.

 

I began my Workshop at the Ranch monthly photography tutorials way back in January 1, 2003. It started as an off-shoot of writing a daily blog for Photo District News magazine during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. At the conclusion of the 2002 Winter Games tons of emails began filling my mail box requesting that I continue writing and teaching … and so my monthly instructional blog known as Workshop at the Ranch (WATR) was born.

During the past 15 years I have written 180 Workshop at the Ranch (WATR) articles, posted 1,250 images with camera data and written 270,000 words of instruction as to how the images were made. 

NOTE: All 180 WATR articles, images, camera data and instruction remain posted on my website for anyone to read and learn from: https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch/  … To find a specific topic simply type in any subject into the SEARCH box (example: Speedlights) and press ENTER on your computer key board, … all WATR articles pertaining to that subject will come up.

This 15^th Year Anniversary WATR article will feature some past tutorial milestones … I hope that you enjoy it.

Image 1   Workshop at the Ranch: January 1, 2003 … https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-january-2003-light-paintings/   

The first Workshop at the Ranch article was posted on January 1, 2003 … and this Lightpainting image of my antique Fly Fishing Gear was the first post in my new venture into writing instructional articles on my website. 

This image was not only the first post in the first Workshop at the Ranch article, but was also my first attempt at a technique that I called “Lightpainting.” For the record, I did not invent “Lightpainting” but many would say that I reintroduced the creative lighting technique into the digital age, and that I took it out of the studio into the great outdoors.

Image 2   WATR May 1, 2004 … https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-may-2004-documenting-the-masters/

Sometimes in WATR I would post a recent event I covered for Sports Illustrated, Newsweek, and the US Olympic Committee or in this WATR article I posted images, camera data and a brief documentary on photographing my first Masters Golf tournament for Golf Digest.

The article covers my first experience at the Masters and features a breakthrough piece of equipment, Nikon’s first mirrorless camera with RAW file quality, which allowed me to “silently” make images of Tiger Woods and other Masters contenders during their backswing.

Image 3   WATR December 2006 …    https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-december-2006-trek-to-peru-and-machu-picchu/   

It’s not always about SPORTS here at Workshop at the Ranch … Numerous assignments, projects, and teaching workshops and seminars each year prompts me to write a variety of in-depth articles.

Some Workshop at the Ranch articles include images and instruction featuring Travel photography from the US and abroad including the December 2006 article showcasing travel to Peru and Machu Picchu.

Nikon has always been in the business of “Education and Inspiration” … and so it is that the NEW “Nikon School” https://www.nikonusa.com/en/learn-and-explore/nikon-school/index.page  offers any photographer at any level to come and learn from the BEST photographers – instructors in the business. So come experience “Nikon School” and learn something new.

Image 4   WATR December 2008 … https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-december-2008-year-in-review/  

I usually finish each year at WATR with a “Year in Review” This is a recap of key moments, events, new techniques and gear that occurred during the past year.

On December 1, 2008 the annual WATR Year in Review article featured everything from Joe McNally’s new book “The Moment it CLICKS” to Panorama Landscapes, Location Lighting portraiture, Lightpainting in Teton National Park, and High Speed Sync ACTION with Nikon Speedlights.

The BIG highlight of 2008 was that over 100,000 individual “Unique Visitors” came to read the Workshop at the Ranch article each and every month. This statistic was mind blowing, especially when there was no Instagram to promote it, simply word of mouth along the web trail. People just wanted to learn about photography … and still do!  

Image 5   WATR April 2009 …

https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-april-2009-my-book-is-available/

On April 1, 2009 I released my first instructional book “The Way I See It” … This was a hard cover self-published coffee-table book … and it SOLD like crazy despite the high price tag due to the self-publishing Print on Demand (one book printed at a time) … instructional Chapters include SPORTS Coverage and Athletes, Arena SPORT Strobe Lighting, OFF-Camera Speedlights, and Lightpainting.

To date, The Way I See It is still available in hard cover but it’s Re-Release in 2014 for iPad and computer formats at $29.95 has been a HUGE success:  https://daveblackphotography.com/daves-book-store/Image 6   WATR October 2010 …

https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-october-2010-velo-light/

The October 1, 2010 edition of WATR perhaps best typifies the in-depth instructional aspect of my monthly articles. This WATR article featured Off-Camera Speedlights in High Speed Synch mode to illuminate Action during competition at the US Olympic Training Center Cycling Velodrome in Colorado Springs, CO.

The article featured 16 images with all the camera data, and all the gear I use including the FourSquare bracket and soft box: http://www.lightwaredirect.com/ … and of course the step-by-step technique by which to capture each image.

…But this this WATR article also includes 3 links to youtube where I explain the how and why each image was made, plus I critique my own images. This was one of the most popular articles ever posted on my Workshop at the Ranch.

Image #7   WATR October 2011 …

https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-october-2011-kelby-training-video-debut/

A NEW phase of teaching began in WATR on October 1, 2001 … I joined the instructor’s team at Kelby Training – now known as KelbyONE: www.kelbyone.com …and a much wider audience for my teaching endeavors, along with a lot of fun times with Scott Kelby.

At KelbyONE my photography instruction joined the ranks of Joe McNally and Moose Peterson and opened the doors to annual teaching gigs at Photoshop World including this year’s PSW 2018 conference-workshop in Orlando May 31-June 2, 2018: https://photoshopworld.com/

Teaching had always been a substantial department in my business model, but thanks to Scott and KelbyONE the reach of my instruction on SPORTS action, Off-Camera Lighting with High Speed Sync, and my Lightpainting become world-wide.

Image #8   WATR September 2014 …

https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch-october-2014-your-questions-my-answers/

The October 1, 2014 WATR made two significant announcements:

FIRST: The Re-Released iPad-computer version of my book “The Way I See It” continues to be popular today:  https://daveblackphotography.com/daves-book-store/

SECOND: I launched my Instagram … @daveblackphoto.  My Instagram is very similar to WATR in that it teaches FOLLOWERS how the image was made.

Instagram is the BEST social media outlet for the photographer … I truly love posting images with back-story and details as to how the image was made … and so do nearly 30,000 FOLOWERS as of this WATR writing.

Image #9   WATR January 2015 …

https://daveblackphotography.com/2015-january-watrnew-nikon-d750-review/

The January 2015 edition of WATR featured an NEW “look” to my website: www.daveblackphotography.com which features 3 Portfolios: SPORTS, Creative Lighting and Planet images … plus Dave’s Gear page: https://daveblackphotography.com/daves-gear/  which features all the gear I currently use from Cameras & Lenses, to Speedlights and Strobes, to my Lightpainting flashlights and Spotlights.

Also in the 2015 January article was a Camera Review of the NEW Nikon D750: https://daveblackphotography.com/2015-january-watrnew-nikon-d750-review/

Over the course of writing-posting 15 years of Workshop at the Ranch many of the articles have featured the latest and greatest gear from Nikon. The web is loaded with reviews of new products by a host of people, but my camera reviews on WATR have something special … images from my jobs and assignments in the real world of photography rather than a studio set-up.

This being said, here is my 2017 November WATR article featuring my Review of the NEW Nikon D850 camera: https://daveblackphotography.com/2017-november-watrnikon-d850-game-changer/   … enjoy!

Image #10   WATR January 2018 … Moon Eagles … Nikon D850, ISO1000, 1/1000 at f9, NIKKOR 200-500mm f5.6 lens.

https://daveblackphotography.com/workshop-at-the-ranch/

Well, here we are 15 years – 180 articles – 1,250 images, and 270,000 words later. So, let’s ring in the New Year of 2018 by continuing to learn about photography, but let me also say Thank You so very much to all of you who come read the Workshop at the Ranch each month … It is for all of you that I write and teach about the passion for photography that we all have.

See you next time here on Workshop at the Ranch.

With heartfelt Thanks to all of you … Adios. Dave