Marshes, estuaries, grasses. Wildlife and beautiful winter light should make for a great workshop experience for everyone.  I’ve posted a few images I shot today as Dave and I drove through the area.  Come back to the site, we’ll be posting pictures on a regular basis..wish you were here!!

Bald eagles in the Blackwater Refuge

I’m shooting this workshop almost exclusively with the Olympus Pen cameras-all the photos on this page were shot with the Pens.  My lenses range from a 9-18mm (18-36mm length in 35mm equivalent) to a 75-300mm (150-600mm equivalent) Incredible portability, high quality and awide selection of lenses makes this my “go to” system more and more often.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out “The Photo Society”, I strongly urge you to visit this website.   It’s one place you can see the work of National Geographic photographers, built by NG photographers…it’s well worth your time.

A last bit of news: I’m finally updating my website, this is a complete makeover, and we’re really excited to hear your reaction once it’s launched.  I’ll be Tweeting and FB’ing that notice in the very near future..love to hear your response!

Edges of Blackwater

Morning over the Blackwater Refuge

Snow geese taking flight above the Blackwater Refuge

Old home adjacent to Refuge

         Start planning now for our July 1-7 “FirstLight Absaroka Ranch Workshop.“  We’ll be photographing cowboys in action, driving horses, roping, saddling up, and portrait sessions in the incredible environment of the Wind River Valley.  Always a highlight, we’ll also be photographing the Dubois Rodeo.

          We have a couple of positions left in our “Winter Light on the Chesapeake” Workshop, January 26 – 29  click here for more information about this wonderful, three-day workshop on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

          On Sunday, December 4, I spoke at the National Geographic Traveler Seminar in Washington, DC.  With over  325 people attending, it was a sellout in the Grosvenor Auditorium at the Geographic.  As part of the Traveler Seminar series, this was the 5th city in 2011 A great audience with a lot of great questions.

          Entitled “The Versatile Travel Photographer”, the seminar centered around the process of photography “on the road.”   With almost everyone carrying a smart/cell-phone camera these days, a segment of the talk had to do with the downsizing of travel cameras.  This smaller footprint makes it much more conducive to carry the equipment with access to a wide range of lenses, which the cell phone cameras don’t provide.

          I’ll be working with the National Geographic Traveler Seminars in 2012, with presentations in Houston on March 4, Los Angeles on March 11, and Minneapolis on March 18.  Click here to be taken to the NG Traveler Seminar websitefor more info.

          In our recent FirstLight Aeolian Islands workshop in Italy, I shot almost the entire event with the Olympus Pen cameras.  With lenses ranging from a 18mm all the way out to a 600mm equivalent, I never felt “shorted” by my lens group.  Plus, the ability to carry all this gear in one small bag was very satisfying.  (A common complaint I hear from almost all photographers in the travel world regards the heavy weight and large size of today’s DSLR’s, many photographers reluctant to carry that weight for hours on end)  I’ve found that I don’t mind carrying a Pen E-P3 and an E-PL3 or E-PM1 for the day.  On those bodies, I’ll have mounted a 9-18mm lens and a 14-150mm.  This range pretty much allows coverage of anything I’m shooting, unless specifically wildlife or sports.  Late afternoon, I’ll switch the 9-18mm to the 12mm f2, providing that extra lens speed for low light photography.

E-P3, 12mm f2

E-PM1 , 9-18mm

          Image quality is quite high on these cameras, allowing reproduction quality imagery from the micro 4/3^rd’s sensor.  Are there things the full-bore DSLR will do that these cameras won’t?  Of course, as the old saw goes, “there’s no free lunch.”  But I’ve found that for 90%+ of my travel photography needs are handled by this equipment, and I’d rather have one of these on my shoulder when coming upon that photographic opportunity than only my iPhone camera.

Both workshops offered a lot of photographic opportunities and I think our students used those opportunities to full value.  Below you’ll find a representative photo from each and I really think they capture an essence of what this place is about.

Enjoy the work and we appreciate your having visited the Aeolian Islands Workshop blog!

Winter Light on the Chesapeake will be our next workshop, which will offer great photographic possibilities.  Information on that workshop can be found on this website.

Photo by Roger Colaizzi

Photo by Deeva Garel

Photo by Libby Lush

Photo by Bruce Male

Photo by Sue Morris

Photo by Richard Sandor

Photo by Mark Silverman

Late afternoon on Salina, from the terrace of the Signum Hotel Olympus E-P3 75-300mm lens

Saro, local resident of Santa Marina on Salina Olympus E-P3 9-18mm lens

Week two is well underway; it’s been a great experience for all with many incredible photographs captured.   Giorgio Cosulich, our Italian FirstLight instructor, has done a fantastic job as our Lipari-based instructor: everyone not only loved his great insight into their work; they also really enjoyed his company in the islands.    All the FirstLight students will take away great memories of this trip, they’ll also all have new and powerful additions to their photographic portfolios.

Week one, FirstLight student Steve Hudson photographing local residents of Santa Marina Olympus E-PM1 9-18mm lens

We’re wrapping up the week, I’m sitting on the veranda of the Signum Hotel looking over the islands of Panarea and Stromboli in the pre-dawn light.  These islands have been a favorite place of mine since that assignment for National Geographic in late 1990’s.

Piazza Malfa on Salina, Olympus E-P3 14-150mm lens

We’ll post a final blog soon, thanks for visiting!

Cliffs of Pollara, Olympus E-PM1 Diorama Art Filter

Wednesday, September 28.  Half of our group is with Becky and me on the island of Salina.  There’s been a bit of rain but that has provided some wonderful light we’ve been able to use.  Working with our local expert, Libby Lush, several great photo opportunities were provided to our students.  This included a portrait session with the S. Marina police chief and an afternoon in Pollara photographing the incredible cliffs there.

Wednesday we’ve chartered a sailboat that will pick up those students on Lipari, then sail to Salina where we’ll join them heading out for a day on the water.

A few images are included below…

Cliffs of Pollara, Salina Olympus E-P3 9-18mm lens 1/125th second f7.1

Salina fisherman Olympus E-PM1 1/4000th second f2

Overview of village of Malfa on Salina Olympus Pen E-P3 12mm lens ½ second f2

Students photographing lunch Olympus E-P3 9-18mm lens 1/160th f6.3

Sunset on Pollara, Salina. Olympus Pen E-P3 14-150mm lens 1/500th second f11

Police chief of S. Marina in Lingua Olympus E-PM1 14-42mm lens Diorama Art Filter

Lipari, Olympus E-P3, 14-150mm lens

September 25, 2011, our students are arriving in the Aeolian Islands of Italy.   I’d photographed a book project in the Aeolians  for National Geographic, a beautiful cluster of 7 volcanic islands located directly above Sicily.  Considered the most remote one can get in Europe, getting here is an experience in it’s own right.

With our workshop attendees split between the islands of Lipari and Salina, one group will be with Giorgio Cosulich, the other group with me.  Mid week, we’ll have a sailboat pick up both groups for a day-sail of the islands.  At that point, the groups will sway, Giorgio’s group going with me, and vice-versa.

The islands are really beautiful with a unique character for each.  From the busy feel of Lipari city to the rural quiet of Salina, and a visit to the island of Vulcano, the photographic opportunities are abundant.

We’ll be posting a blog, hopefully on a daily basis, or at least every other day.

I’ve posted articles on this website and in other publications as to the Olympus Pen system.  I’m shooting with the Pens on this trip, having the luxury of using the just released E-P3.  I love the idea of minimizing what I carry so the assignment and subject become the focus of my intent.  My bag weighed a fraction of what my normal travel gear weighs, and the quality of the images is extremely high.

I’ve posted camera and exposure info under each of the photos, will post the next group soon

Jay

Vulcano mud baths, Olympus E-P3, 9-18mm lens

Vulcano, Olympus EP-3, 9-18mm lens

Vulcano, Olympus Pen E-P3, 9-18mm lens

Lipari during fish festival in Marina Corta

In Tracy Arm, a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) prepares to lift off

National Geographic Expeditions:  Alaska’s Inside Passage

Although I’ve worked, cumulatively, for many months in Alaska, I still do not fully know the state; the scale of the territory is pretty much beyond my comprehension.  It’s a series of superlatives ranging from the wildlife to the landscape to the people, all of which make it one of my most favorite destinations.

With much excitement I recently headed out for two, back-to-back National Geographic Expeditions to Alaska’s Inside Passage.  Over a thousand miles in length, this waterway parallels the western coast of North America, mostly protected from the Pacific Ocean by over 1500 islands.  I’ve been in the Passage several times: a story for American Way Magazine aboard a small cruise ship, (American Airlines in-flight magazine-thanks to an assignment from the editor, John Ostdick!); trips on the Alaska Marine Ferry from Bellingham to Haines/Skagway (while working for National Geographic magazine); and a number of flights over the Passage on various other stories. 

National Geographic has two ships that regularly travel the Inside Passage:  the Sea Bird and the Sea Lion. These are smaller boats, both carrying about 60 guests, and I was aboard the Sea Bird.  These smaller ships allow a much more intimate experience for the traveler/photographer, as the ship can get into locations that a larger ship couldn’t fit.  Also, the smaller groups allow more time photographing and assimilating the ambience of this incredible place.

The first of the two Inside Passage trips was a Photographic Expedition, so there were a high percentage of photographers aboard as we left Sitka on the ship’s first Alaskan trip of the season.   These trips start in either Sitka or Juneau, with the following trip reversing the just finished Expedition.  Departing Sitka had us working our way towards Lake Eva, the Inian Islands, Elfin Cove and George Island. Glacier Bay National Park was next on our schedule and the immensity of this park is staggering.  A 60+-mile trip, all within the Park, took us to our northernmost destination, Margerie and Grand Pacific Glaciers.

Days 4 and 5 took us to Iyoukeen Cove, Basket Bay, LeConte Bay and the Alaskan town of Petersburg.  Then, we finished trip in Tracy Arm, always on the lookout for whales- and we were not disappointed because they were in abundance.  Bears were also just coming out of hibernation, feeding along the water’s edge.

Finishing in Juneau, we took on the next group of travelers that also included another pod of photographers.  This was a great way to do the trip, as revisiting several areas allowed me to be “prepared” for those photographic situations.  Hope you enjoy the images; I’ve attached information as to what equipment was used.

** If you want a good overview of Alaska and her characters, read John McPhee’s Coming into the Country.

Tracy Arm, a bald eagle takes flight

Steller Sea Lion enjoying a lunch of flounder, Inian Islands

It’s April.  That means this year is almost 1/3^rd over??

I just returned from Central and South America by Private Jet for National Geographic.  Someone has to do these…

Starting in Orlando we flew to Guatemala to visit the ruins of Yaxha and Tikal, cradles of the Mayan culture.  A short flight to Peru for a stay in Cusco and on to Machu Picchu.  Two days later, we were in Bariloche, Argentina for a couple of nights in Patagonia, then on to Buenos Aires for some tango.  More flights to Iguazu Falls, the Amazon and Costa Rica.   Hope you enjoy the images…you can click here to see more photos

Iguazu Falls, Brazil – Olympus E 5, 7-14mm @ 7mm (14mm 35 equivalent) 1/250th @ F7.1, 100 ISO

Machu Picchu – E 5, 12-60mm lens @ 18mm, 1/250th @ F8, 200 ISO

enroute to Machu Picchu on the Hiram Bingham train – E 5, 7-14mm @ 7mm 1/500th @ F4.5, 200 ISO

Flying over Patagonia – E 5, 12-60mm @ 16mm, 1/200th @ F7.1, 200 ISO

Gulls on Lake Nahuel Huapi, near Bariloche – Olympus Pen E-PL2, 9-18mm @ 18mm, 1/250th @ F8, 200 ISO

Tango in Buenos Aires – E 5, 14-35mm @ 20mm, 1/15th @ F2, 1250 ISO

Tango in Buenos Aires – E 5, 14-35mm @ 23mm, 1/13th @ F6.3, 1250 ISO

Tango in Buenos Aires – E 5, 14-35mm @ 23mm, 1/13th @ F6.3, 1250 ISO

“Horse Whisperer” Gaucho, near Buenos Aires – E 5, 50-200mm @ 104mm, 1/500th @ F 7.1, 400 ISO

Polo match near Buenos Aires – E 5, 50-200mm @ 200mm, 1/500th @ F 5.6, 400 ISO

Canopy walk, Amazon Rainforest – E 5, 12-60mm @ 12mm, 1/160th @ F6.3, 1250 ISO

]]> http://www.firstlightworkshop.com/south-america/central-and-south-america-by-private-jet/feed/ 0