The Adventure of Photography
This past weekend I held a photography workshop at the Rockin H Ranch in Petaluma, California. What an incredible class, venue, and group of models. I wanted to share some of the images, both mine and those of my fellow photographers (who have already started posting their work), and share some sentiments from one of the participants.
Cowboy Dean Spinelli – just sat on his horse and everyone fell silent for about 5 minutes. He doesn’t pose, he just IS cowboy. Later he was riding while using the lasso and I noticed that the moon was in the background. I said to the others, “see if you can get the moon in the lasso”. Dean heard me, stopped his horse, turned sideways, and proceeded to lasso the moon for us. Thank you Dean.
First-class western performance and stunt rider Keli Hendricks can RIDE. Forwards, backwards, spins, no bridle, over and over again, with grace and power. Ask her to slide a little closer, and she skids to a hault just a few feet from your camera. Thank you Keli.
Triathlete, horse-lover, and fitness model Sarah Hallas effortlessly handled a horse with a lot of personality (including staying on a bucking horse while riding bareback), managed to make a very cool evening look like a hot summer afternoon, and remained authentic and at ease despite having 9 cameras in her face for two hours. Thank you Sarah.
“Thanks for a great workshop. Your class definitely ignited the creative juices and rekindled my passion for photography. I find myself looking at the world around me much differently; slower, more deliberately, with a greater appreciation… Photography keeps me in the present moment… The location, class size, and format were perfect. We spent 97% of our time with our camera in hand, not a pen and paper. You explained a key concept or two, how you would use them, why they are important to a photograph and then we went out and practiced… You didn’t tell us the best angle for a photo, you guided us through the decision making process. Just watching you and your approach to the photo subjects was a learning experience in itself… It was a terrific weekend for me. I was sad to see it end. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise but especially for changing my perspective!” – Victor C.
Photo by Barb Mitchell, demonstrates her mastery of depth of field and focal points.
Photo by Ali Grayeli, shows his incredible eye for great light and the key moment.
Photo by Fiona Andrus. Great background choice and selective focus.