Hi and welcome to this edition of Workshop at the Ranch, and my new website design. My Workshop at the Ranch instructional articles are now entering their 10th year…..throw the confetti. Back in 2003 there were few photographers with websites and even fewer instructional articles being written on the web. Workshop at the Ranch started very modestly, but as requests from readers poured in I recognized that there was a hunger for learning. It didn’t take long before I began elaborating in-depth on each topic and image I wrote about. As my articles become more detailed the popularity and readership grew rapidly. Today’s Workshop at the Ranch monthly individual readership/Unique Visitors exceeds 75,000 and it has soared to well over 100,000 during months that feature creative lighting instruction or coverage of a major sports event.

I enjoy teaching nearly as much as photography itself. It is exciting for me to know that more than 75,000 of you come each month to read the articles, learn something new, and then apply it to your own photography.

It is my hope that this redesigning of www.daveblackphotography.com will be enjoyable for all of you. The list of categories begins with Workshop at the Ranch, which still archives all of the articles from the beginning way back in January of 2003. Rather than having multiple pages of specific sports, athletes, events and creative projects, I have placed my career images into 2 separate portfolios labeled: Sports Image Portfolio and Creative Lighting Portfolio. All categories have been updated with many new images and navigation within each category has been made easier for you. The most notable improvement is the image enlargements. Once you enter a category simply “click” on the image and an enlargement appears. You can then “click” the right side forward arrow to advance though the enlarged images. By “clicking” the left side reverse arrow you can view the enlargements in a reverse order. My long time IT guy, good friend, and creative brain building the new website, Eric Murphy of 2 Doors Design www.2doors.com has incorporated a new program that allows me to easily add additional images to any category whenever I want. So keep browsing the portfolio categories for new images as the months go by. BEST of On The Road has remained popular with readers as it is a window to learning sports event coverage and special project assignment work. My Book Store is where you can find my books and links to view example pages and purchase. The Contact category comes next on the list and the last category heading is called About. Here is where you can find my career biography, client list and a few extras. The left side column of the website contains a few extra categories. At the top of the list of categories is the search box where you can type in search words. The Upcoming Workshops is the calendar of when and where I will be teaching. This calendar will be updated with new listings as I book additional workshops throughout the year. Join The Black List, is where you can sign up and receive an email reminder that the latest Workshop at the Ranch article is posted, plus you can download an image and create a wallpaper for your computer.

Well, here are the Category Descriptions that might help you find what you are looking for. So grab your favorite beverage and a bag of popcorn and enjoy www.daveblackphotography.com

Image #1… Workshop at the Ranch: Welcome to Workshop at the Ranch. Each month I will be writing an instructional article about photography. It might cater to sports coverage, new cameras and gear, techniques with Off Camera Speedlights or Large Sport Strobe Systems, Lightpainting and more. These articles began in 2003. They are archived and available for you to revisit as often as you like. A broad pallet of my images with all camera data, equipment I use, special tricks of the trade, and my personal commentary will drive the content of these articles. Keep in mind some of these archived articles are several years old and the gear I used way back then may have been updated in more current articles. So, be my guest, settle back and “click” on any image you want to enlarge, and enjoy learning each month here on Workshop at the Ranch.

Image #2… Sports Image Portfolio: Welcome to my Sports Image Portfolio. Here you will find some of my favorite images from over 30 years as a sports photojournalist for publications like Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, ESPN, the United States Olympic Committee, and many others. Featured images from my assignment work of 12 Olympic Games, numerous World Championships and International Events, Professional Sports and Athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB, Golf, Tennis, Horse Racing, Motor Sports, Adventure Sports and more will be featured in this category. I invite you to experience the action, athletes, and events I have been privileged to photograph. Please “click” on any image you want to enlarge, and enjoy my Sports Image Portfolio.

Image #3… Creative Lighting Portfolio: Welcome to my Creative Lighting Portfolio. This section features a variety of subjects ranging from Action Sports to Portraiture to Macro Imagery and even Landscapes. The common thread with all these images is Light. I deeply believe that “Light is the Greatest Influence” with which to captivate an audience. Some of these images are lit with Large Sport Strobes, others are lit using smaller Off Camera Speedlights, while others are lit using the most artistic of lighting techniques, Lightpainting. So, relax and “click” on any image you want to enlarge for a closer look at my Creative Lighting Portfolio.

Image #4… BEST of On The Road: Welcome to BEST of On The Road. These articles were written to give photographers insight to some of my favorite Sports Event Assignments, Editorial Jobs, and even a few of my Travel Projects. Written in a casual teaching style along with images, camera data, and personal commentary these articles are both educational and entertaining. So, please “click” on any image you want to enlarge and have a look at what events, assignments, and locations topped my list over the past several years.

Image #5… Book Store: Welcome to my Book Store. This will be where you can find and order my books. The Way I See it… is a120 page instructional book illustrating via images, camera data, equipment, and in-depth commentary of how 50 of my portfolio images in Sports, Strobe Work, Speedlights, and Lightpainting were accomplished. Available in Hard Cover coffee table book edition, Ebook Download (the most popular format), and as an App for your iPad. My second book titled Thoroughbreds is a beautiful 160 pages of imagery that chronicles a decade of my horse racing coverage. Available in both Hard Cover coffee table book edition or as an Ebook Download for your computer. If you love horses and horse racing, you’ll love Thoroughbreds. So, come check out Dave’s Books and “click” on the book icon image you want to see details about.

Contact: This is where you can contact me via email. I like to keep these contacts to business related inquiries if possible. My office schedule and travel calendar prevent me from being a personal email photo mentor, but I always enjoy hearing from anyone who likes to say “howdy” from time to time.

About: Here is where you will find my career Biography and client list. For those clients needing an extended biography with example images for your Public Relation materials to promote your workshop, seminar, or article please “click” PR Pack to access the download material. This PR Pack download is also available to High School or University Students preparing for an educational research project.

If you are a regular reader of Workshop at the Ranch, or perhaps you are new to my website, I’m glad to have you along in 2012. I have plenty of new articles and teaching to write about this year, and a new Lightpainting book will hopefully be available in late March. Please enjoy the new website, categories, image enlargements and articles, and I’ll see you next time when we will resume learning about photography here on Workshop at the Ranch.

Adios, Dave