I thought it might be fun to have Dave Klein who attended my recent Palouse trip as a helper. write the trip report. Dave was not only fun and kind as usual, but his driving assistance to me was invaluable. He also assisted guests and offered many helpful tips to the participants. I know everyone benefitted from him joining the group—so thank you, thank you Dave.

Palouse Trip Report by Dave Klein…

The Palouse region of southeastern Washington state is a photographer’s paradise, with rolling hills of rich, textured greens and tans interspersed with old barns, grain elevators, homesteads and vehicles, all succumbing to age, rust and dilapidation. The colors of this region emanate from the vast amount of wheat production for which this area is important and famous. Whitman county alone produces the most wheat of any county in the US and the broader region, according to a local farmer, accounts for 1/3 of the world’s wheat production! The locals are hardworking and dedicated, and generally quite helpful and supportive of photographers as long as you ask nicely, respect their property and crops, and say thank you.

Our workshop group assembled on Tuesday, with introductions and a review of Denise’s plans for our shoots. Like many workshop locations, sunrises/sunsets and weather played a deciding factor on where and when to shoot. Some days we were on the road at 4:00 a.m. and others afforded a bit of extra sleep. We were fortunate to miss the heat wave of the preceding week and the smoke from Canadian wildfires. Early afternoon downtimes were either spent on image processing, group image review and/or Photoshop/Lightroom technique demonstrations by Denise. Ok, I may have taken a nap once or twice!

We visited many known locations as well as new ones Denise more recently learned about. Though I was here 5 years ago on a Denise Ippolito workshop and visited many of these areas, it is still a thrill to hear someone new to the region shout on location when seeing the rolling fields of wheat for the first time, “This is soooo beautiful - I love it!!” This was said many times at many of our locations. I would like to thank Denise for bringing me along and to all on the workshop who attended: Kathy, Mandy, Rachel, Mai, Noreen, Sonia, Ann, Frances and Louise. Denise’s good friend Muriel made a cameo appearance toward the end. You were all wonderful, helpful, great listeners and learners. I really enjoyed meeting each of you and you all came away with fantastic images of the Palouse.

Here are a few of mine from the trip. I also brought along an IR setup, which is ideal for the Palouse. I hope you enjoy them!