Sweet Shot Tuesday - The Road Home

Posting this image for the Sweet Shot Tuesdays hosted by Kent Weakley. The day was quite bright with gorgeous clouds floating across the sky, and I had been eyeing this tree nearly every day. Literally. I drive this road each time I leave my house.

So on this day, I stopped the Tahoe in the middle of the road and hopped out for a few snaps. Because of the extreme range of light, the shot straight out of the camera was quite unappealing. So I processed the photo in Photomatix, tonemapping the image to bring the photo to life. I then finished the processing in Photoshop.

Would you like to see the original? Here it is, next to the processed image:

How it Went: {Workshop} Simple and Sweet Photography Basics

Before our photowalk.

 <---There is my first workshop class! I was thrilled that 20 photographers packed the presentation room at St. Peter's UCC last Thursday!

The skill range was from beginners up to serious amateurs, so I was a little nervous, hoping that I would be able to share at least one new thing for each person.

After my presentation, I answered a few questions, and then we headed outside. The sun was beginning its descent and was lighting up the clouds just beautifully. Our route took us to downtown Washington, pausing to snap photos of gardens and historic brick buildings. The sky was a gorgeous and dramatic background, making it easy for my class to find beautiful compositions.

Dramatic clouds to the east during the sunset.

The sunset was stunning as it lit the sky on fire.

I really enjoyed walking with the class, stopping every little bit to help them find the compositions and settings they had in mind. My favorite was watching as they put to use the knowledge I had just shown them in class.

Understanding and comprehending the relation between aperture and depth of field, as well as how the exposure triangle works, can be intimidating. But I think it "clicked" with some of the attendees.

With the overwhelming response immediately after the workshop from people who had not been able to attend, I am looking at holding the photography basics workshop again. And, I hope to develop a series of workshops that focus on specific subjects, like the moon, fireworks, bokeh, aperture and depth of field, composition, and post processing.

Are you interested in attending a workshop? Please join my mailing list! There is a link to the right ---> at the top of the blog to enter your email address.

Would you like to have one of my fine art prints for yourself? Visit my website www.marcinkdesigns.com to purchase one. Note that even if you don't see it on my website, you can still purchase it - just send me a message at tyann@marcinkdesigns.com. And don't forget to follow me on Facebook!

Self portrait after the workshop. :)