Question: What is included in a full-day class?
A full day for $800 includes:
- One professional photographer who spent a decade as a classroom teacher
- Two photography sessions in the Eastern Sierra (Sunrise and Sunset, or Sunset and Night Session)
- Classroom time is approximately 6 hours depending on the length of photography sessions. Classroom time is in my home office in Big Pine with an editing station, printer, and matting table. We have a cat (very friendly), so if allergies are an issue, I have another location I can use to accommodate you.
- A one hour Zoom session. This can be used before the day to bring you up to speed, or after the day to debrief what you have learned.
- Access to my secondary camera setup if you would like to try it (mirrorless Sony camera, lenses from 16-200mm, filters, and tripod)
- Up to three students. My fee is a flat $800 per day and is unrelated to the number of students.
Question: What kind of teacher are you?
I am told I have great patience. I have enough experience to know that explaining the way I photograph is not enough for a student to learn. I teach by questioning and ask you to think about your process. I don’t take students to locations that have only one obvious composition. I prefer target-rich locations so that my students can practice their creativity. I will help you find different ways to approach your photography whether it’s learning a new technical skill or finding a more effective way to express your visual story. I love teaching, so while I may photograph alongside you for demonstration, my primary focus will be your learning and photography.
Question: What are some accommodations in the area?
We live in Big Pine, and it is central to many beautiful natural landscape locations. The Bristlecone Motel and Starlight Motel in Big Pine are both well-kept and reasonably priced for a basic motel (a little more than $100 per night). There are also campgrounds available in town. Baker Creek Campground is $14/night for tent and car camping. Electricity is available at the Glacier View Campground for $20, and showers are available for $2. There are also more options in nearby Bishop, including Airbnb units. Mammoth Lakes also has many Airbnb units and tends to be on the pricier side (especially in winter).
Question: What content will we cover?
This is entirely up to you. Generally, I recommend focusing on refining one skill per day of class. Some quick options that are by no means exhaustive:
The Exposure Triangle (balancing aperture, shutter speed, and ISO)
Photo Editing
Portfolio review (Composition and Editing)
Focus stacking
Exposure Blending
Printing and matting (Extra cost for materials)
Choosing your shutter speed using filters
Night Photography
Planning
Question: Where will we go?
We can go anywhere in the Inyo National Forest that isn’t wilderness which has a huge number of options. There are more than 100 miles along scenic 395 from Mono Lake down to Mount Whitney, though the bristlecones are my go-to as wonderful subjects that are difficult to photograph. The photo classroom is in Big Pine in our home, but this doesn’t need to restrict us. We will choose our location based on your preferences, weather, cloud cover, special conditions, drive times, and the amount of sleep you need to function. I always have suggestions and will recommend certain locations based on learning goals. I will ask you some questions to help me narrow down our options.
Question: What equipment do you recommend?
- An interchangeable lens camera (DSLR or mirrorless)
- A variety of lenses (generally 24mm-200mm for full frame or 18-150mm for a crop sensor). My own setup covers 12mm-600mm and I generally favor longer focal lengths
- A tripod
- Filters
- Polarizer
- A variety of Neutral Density Filters (I have 3 stop, 6 stop, and 10 stop)
- A cable release. Vello brand works well for this.
- None of this is required. I have taught phone photography as well and you can also borrow materials from me
Question: What if I can’t get to Eastern Sierra easily for an all-day session?
Flights into Bishop Airport (about 15 minutes from Big Pine) are possible in Summer (with limited flights also in October) and Winter. If you would like to learn to be a more thoughtful landscape photographer, there are few places in the world that offer the kind of subject variety like the Eastern Sierra (dark night sky, Bristlecone Pines, rugged mountains, fall color, snow, Death Valley, Yosemite High Country). It is worth it! Big Pine is about 6 hours’ drive from San Diego, 4 hours from LAX, 4 hours from Reno-Tahoe airport, 4 hours from Las Vegas, and 6 hours from San Jose when the passes are open and 7 hours if the passes aren’t open. If making it out to the Eastern Sierra isn’t possible, have you considered a Zoom Session? There are many subjects I can help you with over Zoom, and you will have a complete recording of the session for you to review.