Olympic Peninsula Photo Tour - May 11-15, 2021

I’m heading to the Olympic Peninsula for some forest bathing-care to join me? The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries created the term shinrin-yoku, which translates to “forest bathing” or “absorbing the forest atmosphere.” The practice encourages people to simply spend time in nature — no actual bathing required. So you see you don’t have to get your toes wet just clean your soul with nature…

This will be a great opportunity to explore the Olympic Peninsula. I plan on bringing my Infrared camera along as well. Lots of opportunities to create one of a kind shots and to have some peaceful time in nature.

Olympic Peninsula Photo Tour - May 11-15, 2021

5 Full Days: $1899.00

Join Denise Ippolito and local naturalist Roy Kropp for a five day photo adventure through three distinct ecosystems; Rain forests, coastal beaches and glaciated peaks. We will experience forests covered in moss and ferns, Big leaf maples, Douglas firs and Sitka spruce. Roosevelt Elk frequent the rain forests and are visible from the trails. Waterfalls and cascades galore. On the coast we will photograph sunsets, ocean sea stacks, and tide pools.

Participants will learn to “embrace the chaos” as many of the scenes can feel overwhelming at first. Learning to recognize and extract a good composition will be paramount for this trip. Another great lesson on this workshop will be to “fear no light” — learning how to see light in the forest and use it to your advantage takes a bit of getting use to.

Our schedule will need to be flexible and may include locations such as: Sol Duc Falls, The Hoh Rain Forest, Ruby Beach, Rialto Beach and Lake Crescent, Hurricane Ridge, Salt Creek, Madison Falls, Upper Dungeness, Marymere Falls, Moments in Time Trail and more.

Participants should be physically fit and able to walk at least two miles at one time, most trails are level and easy with some being a little but more rugged but still very doable. We will not be walking at a fast pace since photography is our goal-not hiking. Photoshop and image sharing sessions via Zoom during the workshop - weather permitting (if it's cloudy we'll opt to shoot in place of Photoshop).

A detailed PDF file will be sent upon registration. Please check your schedules carefully before signing up, I have rearranged my schedule to conduct this workshop and will not be able to issue refunds or credits for cancellations. Thank you for understanding.

Meet & Greet 7:00pm at our hotel on May 10th. (address and details given at sign-up).

Our bases for this trip are: Port Angeles and Forks, Washington. Participants should plan to fly in and out of Seattle Washington and drive to Port Angeles, Washington. It is best to plan your flights home in the late afternoon of the 16th.

*Please note meals, lodging, park fees and transportation are not included in the price of the workshop.

*For the health and safety of all participants, proof of vaccination or a negative PCR viral COVID-19 test result within 72 hours of departure is required.

TO SIGN UP CLICK HERE. unless you have a credit you would like to use—then email me.

The Sister Shot

One of the most difficult jobs when reviewing your images is to know which ones to keep or delete and which ones to process. I even struggle with this as many times I am considering artistic renditions, teaching opportunities and such when I am going through my images. The “sister shot” is usually an image captured within minutes of the first one and has enough merit to be a keeper. And a keeper doesn’t necessarily mean an award-winning shot-but rather a shot you would not toss out.

On my first round I get rid of the obvious junk. Unsharp, poorly exposed or framed images. On my second round I am looking for images that are not only technically good but also have some interest. On my third round I am selecting only the images that speak to me. I usually do this within a few days so that I don’t get back logged.

After I am done with the final cull, I add all my Lightroom processing to each of my keepers, then bring them all into Photoshop and do one at a time until I have completed them all. Usually the keepers don’t require much work so the job is done fairly quickly. I always keep the RAW file intact and save an unsharpened full resolution Tiff file which becomes my MASTER FILE. It contains all my changes and is used for print. I also create a jpeg of each to be used for my blog, website, or slide programs.

The hard part comes when I have two similar images and can’t decide which one to keep. I have learned to keep both. Years ago, I was taught to ruthlessly delete. But as storage space becomes cheaper and cheaper, I have kept more and more. That turned out to be a good thing as during this pandemic I have rescued several from my files.

Below are a couple of sister shots that I like. Some have been rescued and some were never even considered for the bin…

A Pinch and a Pull

To create the image above I started with a mediocre shot of a close-up tulip (original capture, straight out-of-camera, shown below). I took the image into Photoshop and cloned out the green area at the top of the frame, next I added the Pinch Filter, under Filter> Distort> Pinch then I added the Transform Tool> Warp to pull the flower center out of the center. Voile, my image was almost complete. I added a slight bit of sharpening and did some clean-up work to get rid of some of the blemishes (that could have been done beforehand).

I know that image manipulation is not for everyone—but I thoroughly enjoy spending time at my computer working on artistic creations. In 2010 I won my first Nature’s Best Highly Honored Image in the Creative Digital Category-they have done away with that category now. But many other competitions celebrate creative artistry. Best to check the rules carefully before submitting to any competition.

For more ideas on how to add some artistic flair to some of your photos, check out one of my eBooks-sold only through A Creative Adventure HERE.

Original Capture

My Junkyard Dogs

I have fondly been referring to my fox family as my junkyard dogs, notice how I say “my”. Anytime I spend more than one shooting session with a species I start to form a bond, probably my maternal instincts. I adore baby animals and birds, they are so clumsy and innocent. I could watch them play for hours and I have been watching this family for days now.

The two images below were captured moments apart. As soon as I pressed the shutter I knew I would be smiling when I got home. I was surprised that the photo I thought I would be most happiest with turned out to be my third favorite of the day. Do you know which one of these I like best? To see my favorite shot of the day check out my Facebook post HERE.

I also want to thank all of you that have been supporting my blog by using my B&H affiliate link. It is very helpful to me, especially now.

Fox Kits

My friend told me there was a fox that had five kits and was bringing them out of the den. He said it was an urban decay area and I might be interested. I was. I went there on the first day and did not see the kits. The background area was full of debris and you must stay behind a fence that encircles the mostly removed structure. The mother made her den under the boards that remain.

I decided to go back a second time to see if I could get a glimpse of the kits. It was a sunny day and I felt my chances were good. At least better than the cold overcast day before. Bingo! She brought all the kits out to play in the sun. At first just two followed her out of the den then another and then again another…Here are a few of my images, I plan to go again today, it was so much fun to watch them. I shot every image with my Sony Alpha a9 Mirrorless Digital Camera and my Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens. I tried to be mindful of the sun direction and the backgrounds, using a shallower depth of field for some.

I’m sure when the den area was selected by the fox there were not too many people around as the area is an eye sore and the cold weather would have kept the crowds away. Now with warmer temperatures there are people everywhere. The fence is helpful in keeping the curious at a distance and allows the fox some privacy…well, just some. The folks passing by are the real issue for the fox as they are curious, loud, and ignorant of what is right in front of them. The photographers have been wonderful, most have been taking time to educate the public to make them aware, asking them to keep their voices down, not to feed the fox and to be respectful of the site and not go into the enclosed area.

Unfortunately, there have been some folks that go into the fenced area, I have not seen this but there is a photo circulating of someone sitting right next to the den.  I have also seen evidence of feeding trays being left out for the fox. Probably some neighbor that thinks they are helping. Feeding wild animals is not helpful, it only leads to trouble for them. So, if you visit a fox den, please be respectful of the animals. Know how hard it must be for them to survive and give them their space. I fear it will not be long before officials get involved.