Dates: July 11 - 15, 2010
Leader: Rod Barbee
Location: Port Angeles, WA
Cost: $995
About the Workshop
I live on the Olympic Peninsula. I love it here. Some of my best memories and photographs have come out of Olympic National Park. It’s one of the areas I know best. Mid-July is traditionally the best time of the year for sub-alpine wildflowers and mountain landscape images. It’s also a great time for some lowland flowers, Columbia blacktail deer (and fawns), coastal sunsets, waterfalls, and forest images as well.
Olympic National Park is one of the most diverse parks in the National Park system. From teeny, tiny tide pool critters to ancient forests to snowy mountains, Olympic has it all.
We’ll not only hit the classic places, but a few others that I know of. Places that not too many of the other workshop companies even know about. We’ll have opportunities to photograph mountains at sunrise and sunset, probably even deer in front of those very same mountains. We’ll find wildflower meadows and marmot colonies, streams, waterfalls, and rainforests. We’ll visit the coast, a flower-filled lavender farm, and maybe even a pristine subalpine lake.
We’ll visit Hurricane Ridge more than once. We’ll also explore the Sol Duc area, including Sol Duc Falls, the Lake Crescent area, the coast, and probably the Hoh rainforest. We’ll also spend one morning at a local lavender farm, always a highlight of my Olympic workshops.
Gallery
Included in the Workshop
The workshop fee includes individualized field instruction, classroom instruction, honest critiques, ample teasing.
Needless to say, your fees include the professional instruction of a PAW leader. All workshops have leaders, however a PAW leader is an expert on the location and has proven skills as a workshop instructor. Our instructors are there to help you make better images and fill your portfolios, not theirs. PAW leaders don’t photograph on our workshops; they teach.
Meals are not included. You will also be responsible for all transportation to the workshop and travel during the workshop.
The workshop will allow a maximum of 12 participants and requires a minimum of 6 participants.
PAW workshops: the best leaders, locations, and instruction.
Transportation and Lodging
Airports
Seattle Tacoma International; Sea-Tac (SEA)
17801 International Blvd. (Pacific Highway So.)
Seattle, WA U.S.A. 98158
Sea-Tac is approximately 3 hrs from the hotel.
Portland International (PDX)
7000 NE Airport Way
Portland, OR 97218
Portland’s airport is also approximately 3 hrs. from the hotel.
Lodging
Portside Inn/Days Inn
1510 Front Street
Port Angeles, WA
360-452-4015
www.daysinn.com
All rooms have microwave and refrigerator
Schedule
Plan on arriving at the Days Inn (even if choose to stay elsewhere) July 11th in time for a 6 pm meeting in the hotel’s conference room. The workshop is over July 15th after the morning shoot, before hotel checkout.
Equipment and Gear
Clothing and Personal Items
Clothing should be casual and comfortable. Bring clothes you can layer for warmth and that provide protection from cool winds and cold mornings. Early morning on Hurricane Ridge can be cold and windy, even in July. It can also be windy on the coast. Day time temperatures will probably be in the 70 to 80 degree range, depending on the local weather. Be prepared for rain or sun or anything in between. Sunscreen and insect repellant are highly recommended (I’ll have some with me, never fear).
Packing suggestions:
- Wind-breaker shell
- Warm sweater or fleece
- Hat and gloves for those cold mornings
- Hiking boots or sturdy walking shoes
- Hiking poles (if you need or like to use them)
- Rain gear including rain pants
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellant
- Water bottle
Camera Equipment
- Camera body or two.
- Lenses in the following ranges:
- 12-24mm zoom (digital) 18-35mm (film)
- 28-120mm zoom
- 70-200mm zoom
- Macro lens for flowers.
- Longer lenses, like 300mm or 400mm can be very useful for extracting details from a landscape or for the occasional wildlife shot.
- (I can practically guarantee we’ll see deer)
- Lots of digital memory cards, or about 4-5 rolls of your favorite film/shooting day.
- Cable release or self-timer.
- Sturdy tripod and head.
- Equipment manuals.
- Extra batteries
- Polarizing filter.
- Graduated neutral density filters (2 or 3 stop). These are a must unless you want to “blend” exposures in Photoshop.
- Notebook/pen.
- Laptop or other digital image storage
- device.
- Camera backpack or carrying system.
- Lens and sensor cleaning supplies.
Exertion
There will be some hiking involved. None of it is strenuous and anybody who can walk a mile or climb stairs should have no problem. The trail to Sol Duc Falls is 3/4 mile one-way. It’s a little up and down but there’s no appreciable elevation gain. The toughest part might be the last 50 yards when returning to the parking lot, though it’s only slightly uphill. There may be a similarly long hike to 2nd Beach, which is downhill to the beach, uphill on the way back.
The Leader
I don’t know how many times I’ve been into Olympic National Park to photograph, let alone hike or backpack. Too many times to remember. I’ve led at least half a dozen workshops here as well. It’s simply one of my favorite places to be, that’s why I live on the Olympic peninsula.
Many years ago, I was taking a workshop in Olympic National Park. During a critique session I showed a picture I was rather proud of. It was of a back country lake that I’d hiked miles, and miles, and miles to get too. (I’m still tired, that’s how much effort I put into getting this picture). As we all know, the quality of an image is directly proportional to the effort put forth to obtain said image.
Anyway, the instructor proceeded to kindly point out everything that could be improved. And there was a lot of room for improvement. Well, after recovering from this (see, we do know what it’s like to sit in a critique session) I took the advice to heart and the very next day I made an image that ended up on the cover of a magazine.
Ah, the power of the critique session.
Contact:
Rod Barbee
Email:
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Website: www.rodbarbee.com
Skype: paworkshops
General Info: 877.384.PAWS(7297)
Cell Phone: 360.774.6341
Phone: 360.437.1124
People are talking about Rod:
“Thank you for the awesome workshop...I hadn’t imagined I would learn so much....I appreciate the enthusiasm you put into teaching me about close up techniques and composition. Your ability to teach was evident when I looked at my slides. (My family) just kept saying “WOW!”
--Lise Butler
Final Thoughts
Ansel Adams said, “Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer - and often the supreme disapointment.” We are going to work on the former to prevent the latter!
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