nws_27_mar

May 31, 2006

Wow, what a spring we've had! Four workshops were conducted in late April and three more in early May, so things were really hopping around here. Plus two more leave in the next week. There have been a few bumps along the way, such as the stomach virus that went around on two of our trips, but overall reports are that participants are having fun and getting some terrific photos. I'm starting to work on the 2007 brochure and could use some more fine photos to include in it, so if you just got back from a trip and would like to submit photos for consideration just let me know and I can tell you what you need to do.

TIPS FROM THE PROS
"Tried and True Techniques" by J. Peter Mortimer

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should … take a million-trillion digital pictures, that is. At a recent Arizona Highways Photo Workshop, a participant handed me a stack of at least 200 digital pictures that he had printed eight to a page. "Tell me what you think", he said. I found six really nice images and then told him, "I think you should slow down!" Six out of two hundred isn't a very good percentage.

Back when we had to pay for film and processing, every click of the shutter caused us to ask if the picture was worth the cost. With digital there's little expense, so we tend to blast away. But quantity doesn't usually relate to quality and there's an advantage to holding back and working on a higher average of "keepers."

The fact is, those old "tried and true" techniques work well with digital:
- Look for great subjects to photograph.
- Pay attention to light, shadow, and time of day.
- Be totally cognizant of what's included and excluded
in your picture.
- Look around the edges of the viewfinder and crop in the camera.
- Keep in mind effective compositional elements such as "Rule of Thirds",
"Leading Lines", etc.
- Check the background to be sure it doesn't conflict with the
subject of your picture.

The list goes on, but I think you get the point.

(Thank you for sharing your insights, Peter. Peter has a number of workshops on our schedule, with notable ones on July 1, July 29 and September 15-16. You can find them here:
http://www.friendsofazhighways.com/calendar.htm)

SHARING PHOTOS
Kevin Zarmer was on our "Yellowstone in Winter" workshop in January and came back with some stunning images. If you'd like to visit his website, his work is presented in three galleries:

Wildlife:
http://www.zarmer.net/pix/YellowstoneWinter2006/WildLifeSite/

Outfitters:
http://www.zarmer.net/pix/YellowstoneWinter2006/AlpenGuidesSite/

Landscapes:
http://www.zarmer.net/pix/YellowstoneWinter2006/LandscapeSite/

OFFICE CLOSURES
The Arizona Highways building is being renovated starting in about late June and hopefully ending in early August. As a result, Michelle and I are busy packing up the office and moving most of our items to storage. We'll be doing a majority of our work from home this summer, especially in July. We'll do our best to maintain our prompt responses to both emails and phone calls but there may be delays, so please bear with us until the dust settles.

Thank you for your continued interest in the workshops.

Kind regards,
Robyn Noll
Director
Friends of Arizona Highways / Arizona Highways Photo Workshops
2039 W. Lewis Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85009
Phone: toll-free (888) 790-7042

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