Keep up to date with the latest photography classes and workshops, as well as tips, articles and other information.
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March 2017 Newsletter
Spring has sprung, well maybe not if you are in the northeast, but here in Arkansas we are getting leaves on the trees, flowers are blooming and weather is great.  It's time to dig out the camera and get out and take photos.

I have not been doing much photography myself, I have had some health issues and just spent a few days in the hospital.  I now know what is going on and should be back up to full speed soon.
 

Recent Photos

Trumpeter Swans

In This Issue

News

Mid­-America Photography Symposium

Join me for the next Mid­-America Photography Symposium, May 19, 20 & 21, 2017, in historic Eureka Springs, Arkansas!  

The Mid-­America Photography Symposium is organized by a volunteer committee with the intent to provide a well balanced weekend of fun and education. Top photographers will give presentations on photography projects and practices designed for all levels of photography enthusiasts.

I will be doing a session on Sunday:

I Want to Learn to Take Better Pictures

When I start a workshop I always ask the participants what they want to get from the session and the response always includes "I want to learn to take better pictures".  Learning how to take better pictures involves something different for each person.  We all have a different knowledge and skill level, different equipment, photograph different subjects, and have our own idea of what is good.  In this class we will cover one of the most important aspects of creating a great photo "learning to see photographically".  As a photographer you need to have a vision, once you have that vision you can use your camera to capture that vision.  This is kind of like saying a carpenter needs to have a vision, then he can use his hammer to build that vision.  It's just a little more complicated than that, but imagine the carpenter starting without a vision of what he is going to build.

I will also be leading the Star Photography on Saturday evening:
 

New this year is a 3rd full day of activities

Free Route 66 Program

I will be available to do a program on photographing Route 66 and my Route 66: Ghost Towns and Roadside Relics slideshow.  This program is available to photography and other groups at no cost in December and January.  Please contact me or pass this on to your group leaders.

 Camera Club Program


Route 66, Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America, and the Mother Road are all names for what has become one of the most famous roads in the world.  Greg has been photographing Route 66 for the past 10 years and his photo book "Route 66: Ghost Towns and Roadside Relics" featuring 250 of his photos has just been released.  Greg will be signing copies of the book at the event.

During the program Greg will give an informative talk about Route 66 including the creation of the road, the decertification of Route 66, the resurgence, and the lure of the "Main Street of America".  Although it is no longer possible to drive US 66 uninterrupted all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles, much of the original route and alternate alignments are still drivable with careful planning.

The presentation will conclude with a multimedia slideshow which will be a virtual tour down Route 66.

Before and After

Here is the Before, a bracketed set of 3 images




The image is from Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah Georgia.  This charming site has been a world famous tourist destination for more than 150 years due to the old tree-lined roadways, the many notable persons interred, the unique cemetery sculpture and architecture, and the folklore associated with the site and the people. 

The image was taken in mid afternoon in harsh light and one image could not capture the full dynamic range.



As you can see here, even by bringing down the exposure and the highlights I can not recover the detail in the sky, if I reduce the exposure further it only becomes a darker grey.

I used the HDR feature in lightroom to merge the 3 photos into 1 32 bit image containing all of the dynamic range captured by the 3 images. After merging I just process the image as if it was a single exposure.



I then increased the Temp Slider to bring out the true color of the statue.





I used the graduated filter tool, dragging up from a little above the bottom to midway in the image and reduced the highlights and exposure sliders to darken the bottom of the image and draw the viewer into the image.







I cropped the image to eliminate some dead space at the bottom and to bring the statue to a more off center position.







Here is the After



Here is a side by side before and after.

Route 66 Book Project

Route 66:
Ghost Towns and Roadside Relics

 



 
Originally paved in the 1920s, Route 66 has been a staple of the American Road Trip through the Great Depression and was a major method of the bootlegging operation. Spanning a total of 8 states and stretching from Chicago all the way to the Pacific Ocean, Route 66 was appropriately named the Motheroad. An icon of American Folklore, between the pages there are a slew of old gas stations, restaurants, diners, rest stops, and other attractions. Each must-see vestige is peppered with the history of the area.

Order Signed Copies

I now have copies of my book available for sale and will be happy to sign them for you.  The book is $18 and $5 shipping or can be picked up in person at one of my programs.  You can use the "Buy Now" button to purchase through PayPal, or you can email me, or simply send a check in the mail the old fashioned way.


Subscribe to receive you own copy of this newsletter each month.  I will not share your email address or send you any spam.

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Lightroom Tip of the Month

On February 19th 2007 Adobe officially announced the release of Lightroom 1.0

Photographic Destinations

Great Places for Great Photos

Let me help you to find a great location  for your next photography adventure.  I will list many lesser known destinations, as well as the famous “Icon Locations” for photography.  I will provide photos (Lots of Photos), location information,  consisting of what there is to photograph as well as other information about the destination.  I will give costs, maps, directions, contact information, and other essential information for a successful photo trip.  I will only post for locations that I have personally photographed to insure a quality guide to great locations for photography.

Monument Valley

 


 

Monument Valley is one of the most majestic and most photographed points on earth.

This great valley boasts sandstone masterpieces that tower at heights of 400 to 1,000 feet. framed by scenic clouds casting shadows that graciously roam the desert floor. The angle of the sun accents these graceful formations, providing scenery that is simply spellbinding.

The landscape overwhelms, not just by its beauty but also by its size.  The fragile pinnacles of rock are surrounded by miles of mesas and buttes, shrubs, trees and windblown sand, all comprising the magnificent colors of the valley.  All of this harmoniously combines to make Monument Valley a truly wondrous experience.

Monument is what most people picture in their minds when they think of the American West. Monument Valley has been featured in many forms of media since the 1930s. Director John Ford used the location for a number of his best-known films.  The Navajo name for the valley is Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, meaning valley of the rocks.

Featured Gallery

Search from thousands of images online. I am excited to be able to offer my images available for browsing or purchase as stock photography, commercial usage or prints.

  • Browse Images
  • Create and Save Personal Lightboxes
  • Purchase Licensing Rights
  • Download High Resolution Files
  • Download Personal Use Files
  • Order Prints
The featured galley this month is:
 

Buffalo



The American bison, also commonly known as the American buffalo or simply buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds. They became nearly extinct by a combination of commercial hunting and slaughter in the 19th century and introduction of bovine diseases from domestic cattle, and have made a recent resurgence largely restricted to a few national parks and reserves. Their historical range roughly comprised a triangle between the Great Bear Lake in Canada's far northwest, south to the Mexican states of Durango and Nuevo León, and east to the Atlantic Seaboard of the United States (nearly to the Atlantic tidewater in some areas) from New York to Georgia and per some sources down to Florida.
Click Here to View the Complete Gallery

Workshops and Classes

Greg offers both classroom instruction and in the field hands on photographic workshops. Classroom sessions are normally held in Fort Smith Arkansas, but arrangements can be made to bring a class to your group.

All classes and workshops have small class sizes designed to provide an optimum student to instructor ratio, where you can get the personal attention you need.

Spring Photography Workshop

May 12-14, 2017

Limited to 6 particpants
 

 
This will be a two day field workshop near Jasper Arkansas  located in the area of the Buffalo National River in North Central Arkansas. Just about all of our time will be spent photographing the endless possibilities of this unique area, with personal instruction from Greg Disch.
During this workshop we will learn the techniques necessary for obtaining beautiful silky smooth waterfall photos.  We will also learn how to capture great close-up and macro shots using spring wildflowers as our primary subjects. 
 
Cost $489
 

Spring Photography Bootcamp
May 28-June 3

Limited to 2-3 participants
 

 

















 

This will be a week-long intense photography learning opportunity, including classroom work, photo shoots, and post processing with Adobe Lightroom.  This will be a very small group and a great way for obtaining one on one photography education, while having a good time and making new friends.

With only 2 or 3 people during this workshop we will have a great deal of flexibility as to what is covered, and be able to help each participant with the are that they wish to have in depth instruction..

 
May 28 – June 3, 2017

Limited to 2-3 participants

Cost $1449
Lodging and most meals are included in the workshop fee.
 

Click here for complete information

Palouse Photography Workshop
June 19-23, 2017


Join me for a photography workshop in the Palouse region of southeast Washington state to photograph the extraordinary landscape often refereed to as the Tuscany of America. The Palouse Is a region of where there are no continuous valleys, and the hills do not connect to make long ridges. These hills were not created by rivers and streams, as is most of our landscape, but formed more like sandunes, with winds depositing silt to form of some of the most fertile soil in the country.

The natural form of the land gives unique form, shape, and shadows. Add to this the lines and patterns of farming, a great deal of color, and you have the recipe for great photography.  This time of year the Palouse offers rolling hills of green wheat, yellow flowering canola, and pea and lentil for as far as the eye can see.  Toss in an old weathered red barn, a grain silo, and an old truck and you have picture perfect rural America.

Cost $1395 Lodging included

Click here for complete information
Here is a slideshow of some of my images from the Palouse.

Monument Valley &
Antelope Canyon
 August 27-Sept 2, 2017





This workshop will give you the opportunity to photograph some of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet at the peak time of year, and in a way very few people ever get to experience and with expert instruction for any level of photographer.  We will be photographing Monument Valley from atop Hunt’s Mesa which rises 1000 feet above the valley floor offering a birds eye view of magnificent sandstone formations sculpted by wind and rain over thousands of years.  Not only will we photograph from here, but we will actually spend the nigh camping out on the Mesa.  We will photograph and sleep under stars and the Milky Way, as  seen only from the remote dark locations of the American Southwest.
 
Cost $1695
Limited to 6 participants
 

Apostle Islands - Sea Caves
September 10-15

 
This is a workshop designed to provide you with an incredible photo experience combined hands on digital processing of your images with Adobe Lightroom.

The workshop will include a chartered boat trip to photograph the Apostle Islands Sea Caves from up close and personal. Centuries of wave action, freezing, and thawing have sculpted shorelines throughout the Apostles. Some of the Great Lakes’ most spectacular scenery occurs where nature has carved delicate arches, vaulted chambers, and hidden passageways into sandstone of the Devils Island Formation. 

We will cover very basic info and some advanced techniques, as well as cover how to get out of automatic, and into creative photography. You will learn many creative photography techniques, correct exposure and good composition. Learn to transfer your images to the computer and basic digital workflow.  There will be multiple location photo shoots, followed by image post processing techniques and digital workflow with image review and critique sessions. 



Registration is limited to 5 participants

Registration is at Dillman's Bay Resort and Workshops

Workshop Fee plus tax per student: $1,395  
Plus $250 for Boat Charter on Lake Superior
Colorado - September

Details coming soon

Private Instruction

If you are looking for a great opportunity to get personal individual instruction I do private workshops and classes at a location of your choice, whether doing a location photo shoot or coming to your home or business. This is a great way to learn digital workflow and be sure that your computer equipment is properly configured for optimum performance.

 I will be offering more private and semi-private travel workshops due to high degree of personal attention that participants receive and I find this to be the most effective and enjoyable way to learn photography.  This gives a chance to work on the entire process from capture to image workflow and post processing all at a pace and level for the attendee, photographing what and where they want. These workshops can be organized for 1 to 4 people on short notice, contact me about doing your dream trip.

 

Benefits of Private Instruction

  • Personalized Instruction
  • Flexible Scheduling
  • Concentrate on what you want to learn
  • A pace that works for you

Visit my website  blog.gregdisch.com


Contact Me:
Greg Disch
gdisch@gregdisch.com
479-414-6889
1918 N. 7th Street
Fort Smith Arkansas 72904

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