Season of the Good Light Photography Workshop Class Web Gallery

A new gallery of student images from this past weekend's "Season of the Good Light Photography Workshop" in the Hocking Hills of southeastern Ohio. I had 18 enthusiastic workshop students, from college students to those recently retired. It was an action-packed weekend of photography sharing, learning and fun, from Friday to Sunday evening. We were able to photograph locations in Hocking Hills including Ash Cave, Conkle's Hollow, Rockbridge and Clear Creek. The staff and facility at our classroom location - The Inn at Cedar Falls - was the best. The problem was I ran out of time before I ran out of material to cover, but the most important - getting out in the field and capturing images - was accomplished.

I was hoping for some flowing water down in the gorges of Cedar Falls and Old Man's Cave, however, the last few weeks here in Ohio have been very dry. Nonetheless we still found many beautiful subjects to photograph, from a brilliant, hilltop sunrise on Saturday morning to sandstone abstracts on the walls of Ash Cave to wonderful shapes and textures of macro subjects in the meadow at Clear Creek.

One of the last things we do is a class image share and critique whereby I ask each student to select his or her favorite six images from the past two days. This was a lot of fun. It's so rewarding seeing the variety and quality of the images that all the workshop students capture throughout the course of the program. Even though as a group we photograph in the same locations, it's always great to see how each photographer makes his or her unique photographic discovery based on what attracts his or her creative eye.

And of course we were impressed with the images captured by Josh Mayes and his Panasonic point-and-shoot digital camera. Josh participated in three of my one-day workshops throughout last year, at Cox Arboretum in Dayton.

The following Picasa web gallery also includes pre-workshop images of beautiful scenes in Hawaii by workshop student Don Baker. Thanks Don !

This workshop was my first two-day, destination program in Hocking Hills. It went so well that I am now in the early stages of planning a similar program at The Inn at Cedar Falls in Hocking Hills for a weekend in late January or early February, with the subject being winter nature and landscape photography. My next scheduled workshops are two half-day programs set for Saturday, November 6 at Cox Arboretum in Dayton.

Form Texture Pattern

Form, texture and pattern in black and white photography. The beauty of details in visually appealing shape and form. Naturally leading the eye through design, both natural and man-made. The art of presenting a sense of texture in two-dimensional, visual art. Depth in tonal range, from highlight to shadow.

Emerging Pawpaw in black and white by Jim Crotty

Antelope Canyon Arizona by Jim Crotty

Late Summer Farmers Garden by Jim Crotty by Jim Crotty

Rain on Mayapple in black and white by Jim Crotty by Jim Crotty

Inside Hunting Island Lighthouse South Carolina by Jim Crotty

Flowing Water and Tree by Jim Crotty by Jim Crotty

Emerging Pawpaw in black and white 1 by Jim Crotty by Jim Crotty

Trail to the End of Summer

Late Summer in Ohio by Jim Crotty 8.jpg, originally uploaded by jimcrotty.com.

Evening falls in late August, along the trail from Rockbridge State Nature Preserve in Hocking Hills, Ohio.

Season and Light Turn on the Ohio Landscape

The light on the landscape has finally turned toward what I consider the best season for nature and landscape photography in Ohio. The local parks here in Dayton offer some great opportunities for photographers, but I especially like this time of year at sunset. Late summer and through autumn provides skyscapes at sunset that are second to none, with beautiful foreground subjects in a haunting, subtle light. The following landscape photographs were captured this past week at nearby Sugarcreek MetroPark and Grant Park, both within a few miles from my home in Centerville. This is exactly the type of photography that I will be teaching the weekend of September 24-26 at my Season of the Good Light Photography Workshop, in the very best location for fall landscape photography in Ohio, Hocking Hills State Park. There are still openings available for those interested in attending a weekend workshop of photographic exploration and inspiration.

New Photo Workshop for November 6 in Dayton Ohio

Day of Photography will be a two-session program, the first of which will be for beginning-level photographers looking to gain a better understanding of basic features and settings of the DSLR camera as well as basics of fall nature and landscape photography. I will be teaching the most important settings on the DSLR camera for greater creative control and more pleasing results. The session will include a demonstration on how I set-up and compose for nature and landscape photography, and then my step-by-step process for brining the digital file into the computer for basic adjustments and editing. Topics covered in this session will include understanding exposure, color space, white balance, file format, building a basic camera system for nature photography and elements of effective composition. I will also be sharing tips on where and when to go for best nature and landscape subjects on the Southern Ohio landscape during fall and winter.

The afternoon session will be for those who are more advanced, providing instructional tips on the business and marketing of nature photography. Emphasis will be on social media with marketing the photography business, including web site, blogging, Twitter and Facebook. Topics will include business organization, fine art print sales and installations, stock image licensing and publishing, editorial assignment photo shoots and more. I will be sharing tips and lessons learned based on nearly eight years of experience as a professional photographer.

Also, the afternoon session will include my step-by-step process for HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography, from in-camera capture to final print. I began integrating HDR photography in my digital "toolbox" when it first came on the photography scene in 2007. Learn my top tips for obtaining best results, including tonal adjustments in Photomatix Pro and stunning monochrome conversions using Nik plug-ins.

Both sessions will be limited to the first 25 people who register. Cost is $45 per person, per session. $80 for both. Non-refundable $20 deposit required for registration, payable via check or PayPal. Please call 937-432-6711 or email jim@ohiophoto.org.

Framed Giclée Prints from Imagekind

Showing one of the framed, black and white Giclée prints that I recently ordered from my online storefront on Imagekind. This particular image is an excellent example of the pleasing results achieved when converting an HDR photograph to monochrome. The photograph is a combination of five exposures, combined using Photomatix Pro. I then fine tune using the tonal adjustment tool, bring the 16-bit TIFF file into Aperture and then convert to monochrome (black and white) through the use of Nik Silver Efex Pro plug-in, which I love because of its effectiveness when doing targeted adjustments. I'm excited about the coming release of Nik's HDR Efex Pro.

On Saturday, November 6, 2010 I will be presenting an afternoon workshop at Cox Arboretum, designed for those photographers who are more experienced and advanced with digital workflow and editing. I'll be going over my step-by-step process for HDR nature photography, from in-camera capture to final print.

Senior Portraits with Nathan Class of 2011

Sample images from a recent high senior portrait photography session I did with Nathan, Centerville High School Class of 2011. Additional information about my Senior Portrait Photography at http://ohiophoto.org/public_html/seniorportraits.html.