NEW ZEALAND FEBRUARY WORKSHOP - READ MORE
For 14 glorious days, we’ll explore and photograph the most dramatic locations within six of New Zealand’s most magnificent national parks: Mount Cook, Mount Aspiring, Fiordland, Westland, Paparoa, and Aurthur’s Pass, plus the beautiful regions surrounding Queenstown and Wanaka. We’ll travel in 3 comfortable SUVs during this all-inclusive adventure, with 4 & 5-Star Qualmark-Rated accommodations, excellent dining venues in some of New Zealand’s finest restaurants, ground transportation, two private customized 1hr helicopter flights plus one 1hr fixed-wing flight over the most dramatic portions of the Southern Alps, plus 2 private wine tastings at two of New Zealand’s world-renowned vineyards. It’s a long way to New Zealand from North America and with such a tremendous diversity of landscapes and photographic opportunities, if you’re going to devote the time to do it, you might as well do it right.
Our main goal during this workshop will be to assist you with image composition in the field throughout the day in a wide variety of lighting conditions; not just during the magic hours of sunrise and sunset. In other words, we won’t spend the midday hours reviewing images on our laptops in our lodge with the shades drawn; we’ll be out in the field, every day, exploring and learning how to compose images in some of the most stunning landscapes on earth. This means you’ll not only experience a tremendous variety of photographic opportunities, you’ll return home with a larger variety of images than you ever imagined possible from 14 days in the field. Jim will work closely with you at each of our locations, offering suggestions on how to improve your image compositions in real time before you trip the shutter release. If we encounter difficult weather conditions which prevent us from being outdoors, or based on the desires of the group, he can also conduct image reviews and critiques or offer instruction on Lightroom/Photoshop techniques.
We’ll be visiting during New Zealand’s mid-summer season. February in the southern hemisphere is analogous to August in the northern hemisphere. While New Zealand’s weather can be capricious at any time of year, February offers the best chance of not having the mountains socked in for two straight weeks with typically-fine weather interspersed with quickly-passing storm systems – they didn’t name it the “Roaring Forties” for nothing. This constantly-changing weather provides dramatic clouds, crystal-clean air, comfortable temperatures, and often fresh dustings of snow on the peaks. Even during this more-settled time of year, prepare for some wild weather.
With a maximum of 8 participants, you can look forward to working one-on-one with Jim at each location as he provides instant feedback on the intricacies of image composition; the most subjective and challenging aspect of landscape photography. He’ll offer guidance on how to work in a variety of lighting conditions throughout the day and will teach you how to “see” what’s around you; how to slow down and begin noticing details which you might have otherwise missed. He’ll also provide detailed information on the technical aspects of camera functions, histograms, exposures, depth of field, white balance, filters, etc. We’ll discuss specialized digital techniques such as merging images to create very high-resolution files; what to look for when shooting for B&W conversions; using Live-View to aid in composition; and focus stacking to achieve extreme depth of field. He’ll offer insight into what inspires and motivates him and will help each participant to develop a style of their own.
Our philosophy is to offer an unsurpassed photographic experience for discerning travelers. We work overtime to ensure that your entire experience will exceed your expectations. We personally conduct each workshop; we do not hire others to do this for us. We are confident you’ll recognize the increased service level this arrangement provides. We care, very much, about your experience and satisfaction.
Our workshops are about much more than spectacular photography; or as one of our guests once put it; “Your workshops are a wonderful, photographic, social, and cultural adventure“. We look forward to having you join us.
Too see more about what you’ll learn on our workshops, visit this link: Learn More
To see why we have so many return guests, check out our Guest Testimonials