Workshop at the Ranch – September 2008 – Long Island Photo Workshop
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. I have had the pleasure to be part of many photography workshops over the years. Most of them revolved around sports and action photography although I have also been part of the faculty at a few landscape and nature workshops as well. Recently I was asked to join the staff of the Long Island Photo Workshop (www.liphotoworkshop.com) for their annual series of classes that take place each year in early August. The program’s director Jerry Small explained that this workshop centers around wedding portraiture, lighting, and the fine art of making a finished portrait. Those who would attend the workshop would primarily come from the wedding industry and fine portraiture studios. Continue reading article
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. For the past few years I have been invited to teach photography at a very unique event, the Best Buy Summit. Kevin Gilbert and Reed Hoffman of Blue Pixel, a leader in digital photography education, bring me on board to join their staff in teaching the top sales force from Best Buy stores from all over the country about digital SLR photography. This is a fantastic program to be involved with, I always walk away “amped up” and inspired. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. One of my favorite workshops of the year has just concluded, Rich Clarkson’s Sports Photography Workshop in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With the United States Olympic Training Center (USOTC) as the workshop’s primary venue the class of 60 participants had the opportunity to photograph some Olympians on their way to Beijing, China for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Also in the mix of venues were Coors Field and its MLB team the Colorado Rockies, Motocross at Wild Rat Race Track, White Water Kayaking, Equestrian competition, and a variety of other sports and athletic venues along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. For the past 10 years I have had the privilege of photographing on assignment at one of the premier sporting events in the world, the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. I not only photograph the main journalistic themes of interest, but I also document many aspects of the horse racing industry that might also be useful to the magazine for future issues. This is a week long effort of documentary coverage in which I tend to incorporate many photographic techniques to get the job done. This edition of Workshop at the Ranch will feature some of those techniques that I use not only at the Derby, but at many events that I cover. Here are seven techniques that I hope you will find both interesting and perhaps useful in your own sports coverage. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. I’m always trying to expand my photographic knowledge. I think it is healthy to do so. Although I am best known for sports imagery and have made my living for more than 28 years in the sports photography market place I have always tried to learn new techniques and challenge myself by photographing new subjects. This past year my business crossed into a new era. For the first time in my photographic career the majority of my annual income was not generated from sports related photography, and this came in one of the best business years of my career. I have successfully diversified my portfolio/talent to the point where sports coverage is not my only source of income and in fact I now have multiple avenues to work with. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Teaching workshops around the country is a lot of fun and one of my favorite groups to teach for is the American PHOTO Mentor Series. You meet great people, get to be involved in the participants discovery and improvement of their photography, and sometimes I even get to take some pictures while on the Trek. I’ve done several jobs in the San Diego area over the past few months, so a return to the Southern California coastline to teach a Trek with famed photographer Tony Corbel was a real delight. Tony is a fantastic photographer and wonderful teacher, and has written several books and pioneered many aspects of Photoshop and Nikon Capture NX. He is most certainly a Master of Light. In a word, Tony is “HOT,” and it was a joy to be teamed up with him as co-mentors in San Diego. We managed to photograph a lot of subjects during our brief stay in the area … sites, animals and even surfing ………. So, without delay let’s see what San Diego is all about. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Joe McNally’s new book “The Moment It Clicks” is a must purchase for any photographer, on any level, amateur or professional. As of this writing the book is placed firmly in the top 10 list of all books on Amazon. This book transcends most photographic books in that it offers far more than just stunning images and technical advice, it is quite simply Joe’s life. He introduces us to himself, in pictures, in text, in knowledge and in his character. And not only his character coming from within his heart, but, his “character” that spills out in the form of humor. The Moment It Clicks is the kind of read you can pick up, flip open to any page and begin leaning, enjoying, and laughing. With Joe’s permission I have photographed a few of my favorite images from various chapters to accompany my thoughts about a book that I consider an essential tool that is a must for all of us. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Commissioner Gordon had super heroes Batman and Robin to rely on when it came to fighting crime in Gotham City. Today’s photographer has the Nikon D3 and the Nikon D300. This Dynamic Duo of cameras offers the photographer a one, two punch that is perhaps unbeatable in the industry and, like Batman and Robin, they work well in low light situations … It’s kind of a bat thing. But, how does the photographer choose between these two terrific cameras, or can they use both. I have already written my thoughts about the Nikon D3 in Workshop at the Ranch and On the Road articles over the past few months, this month I want to take a look at the Nikon D300 in an effort to help some of you make your choice. ….. “Holy Decision Making Batman!” 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. 2008 is here and we are headed into the sixth year of Workshop at the Ranch and On The Road articles. Many of you email me asking the question …….. How can I make better pictures? At first glance this question seems difficult to answer without writing a book to completely convey what might be necessary, but perhaps this suggestion will help. “Shoot from where they ain’t” … pardon my cowboy grammar. That is to say, find a location to photograph from where other photographers are absent. It amazes me when photographers cluster in a group only to capture the same image as their colleagues. Part of the adventure of photography is rediscovering an old scene or subject in a new and fresh way. It can be a challenge to produce a different picture but it is well worth the extra effort to search out a new location to photograph a familiar subject from. Here are a few images that where photographed from different locations that my colleagues did not make use of. 
Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch. Well, last month’s articles on the new Nikon D3 camera in Workshop at the Ranch and On The Road created a lot of traffic on my website. In fact, there were so many people logging on at one time that the server closed down several times because of the overload. By the third day of posting, the site had far surpassed previous numbers of unique visitors. There were many email comments and questions regarding the new D3 and so I thought I would address a few questions and show a few more images. 