Saturday Presentations
Saturday, October 29
- "Cultural Photography for Today's Camera-Toting, Web-connected Travelers" – Michael Mariant
- "A"Behind the Scenes as an AP Wire Service Photographer" – Machael Mariant
- "Wide Angle Magic, The Good, Bad & Ugly" – Truman Holzclaw
- "The Beauty of Big Sur" – Doug Steakley
- "HDR & Beyond" – Sean Duggan
- "Shooting Journalism Photos: Tips from the Pros" – Tom Debley
- "Photographing Cuba" – Mary Macey Butler, Joe Hearst, and Gene Morita
- "The Ethics of Travel Photography" – David Cardinal
- "Producing an Online Book" – Dianne Jones
"Cultural Photography for Today's Camera-Toting, Web-connected Travelers" – Michael Mariant
Understanding and working with the cultural differences and issues facing photographers in
today's global environment has to be one of the greatest hurdles to a newcomer in the global
reportage genre.
This lecture will address the theory behind successful documentary photography and the mental and visual challenges thephotographer faces while in the field. We will look at the approach of documenting the world around us, for the sole purpose of capturing situations that we deem encapsulates a story, a moment or a slice of humanity — and the pitfalls that go with it — while challenging pre-conceived mindsets and ideals.
Key to this topic is understanding and avoiding culture shock in order to quickly assimilate yourself into your surroundings while practicing the powerful art of observation to develop the visual story that is intimate, close and unobtrusive.
"Behind the Scenes as an AP Wire Service Photographer" – Machael Mariant
Breaking news! Celebrities! Big league sports! Traveling the world to photograph the major events in history as-theyhappen! ... Ah… the life of an Associated Press photographer, right? Well, not really. This lecture will take a humorous and anecdotal behind-the-scenes look at what really happens in the world of wire service photography. From the breaking news to the mundane, red carpet mayhem to media circuses, the good assignments, the bad assignments and the really ugly assignments, this talk will bring to light what a typical day for an AP photographer truly is like ... day-in, day-out … and all the excitement that goes with it.
Michael Mariant is a travel & documentary visual journalist based in California, while his travels have taken him around the world. Following several years as a newspaper photojournalist and desk editor, Michael moved away from local and regional coverage and up to wire service photography. For over a decade now, Michael has been a contract photojournalist for The Associated Press, responsible for coverage of the Central Coast of California along with sports and entertainment assignments in Los Angeles, notably anchoring the agency's coverage of the Michael Jackson trial from 2003 to 2005. Coupled with his domestic photojournalism, Michael has spent nearly a third of the year abroad shooting travel/documentary stock imagery along with lecturing on the topics of Cultural Sensitivity and Immersion in Travel Photography. Michael is also the consultant and multimedia coordinator for the Semester at Sea study abroad program, providing lectures and instructions to the college students while shaping the direction of the programs multimedia efforts in video, still photography and podcasts through social media. While still taking on editorial and Associated Press assignments, Michael has shifted his focus to DSLR cinematography projects, as well as educational travel photography workshops for Nikonians Academy and university lecture engagements so as to instruct others on the analytical, cultural and visual approaches to travel photography and cinematography.
"Wide Angle Magic, The Good, Bad & Ugly" – Truman Holzclaw
This program will discuss and explore the unique characteristics of using wide-angle lenses. These
characteristics will be illustrated using projected digital images. Topics to be explored are: What is a Wide Angle Lens? Sensor Sizes; Depth Of Field; Using Filters; Distortions; Shadows ; Flaring; Portraits; Macrophotography; Working Space; Crowds; Landscapes; Fish-Eyes; Big & Small; Foreground vs. Background; Truth vs. Lies; and Go out and give it a try!
From 28 years of serious photography Truman has perfected the skills to artfully blend his teaching experiences, biology background and his love of nature to create a collection of more than 140,000 beautiful images. Truman enjoys most all photographic endeavors which include attending & presenting workshops, leading field trips, competing & judging in local and international competitions, and leading commercial photo tours. In addition, he photographs individuals, groups, special events, weddings, banquets, architecture and sporting events.
From the beginning of his photographic exploits, Truman has always been fascinated with wide angle lenses and their results. His first wide angle lens was an inexpensive 20mm "Spiratone" which brought him much early success in his local camera club and later on in the P.S.A. competitions. Today his two favorite lenses are the Canon 16 - 35 mm and his newest, the Sigma 12-24 mm which he uses with a full frame Canon D5 Mark II. At his retirement in 2001, after 34 years as a Biology Teacher, he started his
own photographic company called "A Beautiful Image". He is past president of the Sacramento Audubon Society, Sierra Camera Club and the Gold Rush Chapter of the Photographic Society of America. He also has worked as a Park Naturalist for the State of California. Truman is a world traveler. Destinations include Canada, Africa, China, Europe, Japan and South America. He has traveled throughout the United States including Alaska and Hawaii. His favorite location for photography still remains the western United States. Contact Truman at (916) 966-2917 or email him at truman@otruman.com, Web site: http://www.otruman.com Send mail to: "A Beautiful Image", 7970 Archer Ave; Fair Oaks, CA 95628 For photo tours go to; http://www.photo6s.com.
"The Beauty of Big Sur" – Doug Steakley
California's rugged Big Sur coastline follows Route One as it heads south from the Carmel Highlands down to San Simeon. Route One is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the world, as the rugged and rocky coast rises from the Pacific Ocean to form the towering hills and mountains of the Santa Lucia Range. The landscape painter Francis McComas described it as "the greatest meeting of land and water in the world. In this presentation I will show images from many locations and under different conditions. I am interested in changing the shutter speeds to soften the motion of water and clouds, including long exposures by moonlight.
Douglas Steakley is a widely recognized photographer from Carmel Valley, California. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree from Indiana University and was a jewelry designer and gallery owner for many years. His interest in travel led him to pursue photography and in 1993, he became a full time photographer. His distinct images range from the Monterey Peninsula where he lives, to many international destinations where he enjoys traveling.
Two large format books featuring his color photography have been published: Pacific Light, Images of The Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur and Beyond, The Legacy of The Big Sur Land Trust. A Photographer's Guide To The California Coast, and Photographing Big Sur were recently published by Countryman Press.
High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging techniques enable the photographer to use multiple exposures of a scene to capture a wide range of contrast that is not possible with a single shot. HDR styles can range from subtle and realistic to wildly exaggerated and illustrative. In this session, Sean Duggan will cover the essentials of HDR camera technique as well as provide an overview of postcapture processing using Photoshop CS5, Photomatix and Nik's HDR Efex Pro. Sean will also cover techniques for further polishing and fine-tuning the image after the HDR process is complete.
Seán Duggan is a fine art photographer, author, educator and an Adobe Certified Photoshop Expert with extensive experience in both the traditional and digital darkroom. Through his writing and teaching, he has been helping photographers master digital photography and digital darkroom techniques for over 15 years. He is the co-author of Real World Digital Photography, 3rd Edition (Peachpit Press, 2010), The Creative Digital Darkroom (O'Reilly, 2008), and Photoshop Artistry (New Riders, 2006). His Lightroom Tips & Tricks column can be seen in Photoshop User magazine. He leads workshops at venues across the country such as the Maine Photographic Workshops, the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, the University of Hawaii, and Focus on Nature workshops in Iceland. He offers customized training and consulting on digital photography, Photoshop, Lightroom, and digital workflow issues online, as well as in person to clients in northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area. His web site can be seen at http://www.seanduggan.com and he also posts images as well as technical tips and musings on photography, digital imaging and the creative process to his blog.
"Shooting Journalism Photos: Tips from the Pros" – Tom Debley
Tom will look at how the journalism profession defines photojournalism, compare those concepts with the rules of photojournalism used by PSA, N4C and others, and apply these concepts with examples of some of the best news photos of 2010 and amateur images that have placed in competitions. Each participant will receive a pocket card summarizing what constitutes a "news photograph," a "feature news photograph," and a list of what a judge looks for in journalism photo competition.
Tom Debley is an avid amateur photographer who is retired from a career as a communications profession, including many years as a newspaper reporter, photographer and editor. Among his journalism photography awards, he won the California Newspaper Publishers Association second place honor for best spot news photograph in 1979 before Debley shifted to a public affairs career with the University of California and later Kaiser Permanente. There he applied his photographic skills to magazine and newsletter publications and later websites, both directing the photography work of others and his personal work in addition to his primary role as a writer and editor. He is a past president of the Alameda Photographic Society and the Northern California Council of Camera Clubs.
"Photographing Cuba" – Mary Macey Butler, Joe Hearst, and Gene Morita
Present-day Cuba is a magnificent venue for photography. This presentation gives three different perspectives. Mary's view is simple, graphic, and colorful, with a unique style of capturing motion. Joe examines how the people are able to create a vibrant culture in the ruins of once-magnificent surroundings. Gene shows the life of the people, by day and night, with music, dance, and the sheer joy of living. We also discuss the logistical issues Americans may encounter when traveling to Cuba.
Mary has been involved in photography since her first workshop in 1980 with Ernest Braun. She continued to attend workshops with various photographers over the years, most notably Freeman Patterson of New Brunswick, Canada, with whom she has studied for 25 years, in Canada, South Africa and New Zealand. It was through Freeman and his teaching partner, Andre Gallant, that she was first introduced to in-camera creative techniques such as multiple exposure, camera motion and blending images to produce impressionistic effects. Mary is a member of the Marin Photography Club, having first joined in 1990, and she won the Foto-Clave Founders Award in 1991. She has won many awards over the years, has led field trips to the Napa Valley wine country and has been exhibiting her prints at galleries, local venues and the Marin Arts Council in San Rafael. This past January 2011, she and her husband went on a photography trip to Cuba with Richard Martin of Ontario, Canada. He's led many trips to Cuba and has a unique and artistic style. It was a fascinating trip, with much to offer both visually and culturally.
Joe Hearst has been a photographer at some level for 60 years. He first began darkroom work in 1950, and joined a camera club in 1998. He is a past president for both N4C and the Contra Costa Camera Club and current Chair of the PSA Yerba Buena Chapter. He has studied with Freeman Patterson, Richard Martin, and other well-known photographers. Joe is the administrator of a PSA Electronic Image Study Group and the director of their Pictorial Print Division Picture of the Month contest. In 2009 he received the Charles Keaton Memorial Award in recognition of his 13 PSA Journal publications. He made a presentation, "Rust, Rubbish, and Reflections" at the PSA 2008 Annual Conference.
Gene Morita has been taking pictures all of his life. He joined the Marin Photography Club at the urging of the late Dr. Herb Kaufman in 1998 and through the years has reached masters level in prints and projected images. He has also been a member of Photochrome in San Francisco He was print chair for N4C for three years, and has also been a judge for the last five or six years. Gene has had many successful exhibits by selling 10 to 20 prints at a given show, and, in addition, he has won two major FotoClave awards. Over the years, he has traveled throughout the world, including Africa, Japan (in the winter) and China. His visit to Cuba was last December.
"The Ethics of Travel Photography" – David Cardinal
As photographers we're rightfully proud that our hobby and our work can communicate about the peoples and the habitat of our world. But along with our passion comes a responsibility to act ethically, not just the obvious avoidance of harassment of endangered species, but embracing a forward- thinking view of the impact we have on people, cultures and nature.
In this breakout session photographer David Cardinal will explore some of the ethical quandaries facing those who travel to developing countries and wild habitats and propose some guidelines on how best to address them. Whether you've been stumped by the right and wrong of giving a child a present when you take their photo or the ethics of feeding animals, you'll learn some field-tested guidelines from David's experiences illustrated with plenty of striking images from Southeast Asia, Africa, Alaska and Texas.
David Cardinal is a veteran travel and nature photographer who specializes in Southern Africa and Southeast Asia as well as North American mammals and birds. His images of creatures in the wild help communicate the importance of our natural heritage and our responsibility to preserve it.
David's clients include non-profit and socially responsible institutions such as the BBC, California State Parks Foundation, the City of Palo Alto, San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, Bay Trails, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, US Fish & Wildlife Service, NANPA, Bay Nature and Western Birding and National Geographic Kids magazines. David's work is part of the permanent exhibit at the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Center and has been featured in exhibitions at the Palo Alto Civic Center, the Seipp, Works and Allegro galleries, the Watsonville Wetlands Nature Center, on calparks.org, and on portolavalley.net. David is co-author with Moose Peterson of The D1 Generation, and has had his articles and images appear in publications including Outdoor Photographer, Studio Photography & Design, Photoshop User, PC Magazine and Dr Dobbs Journal.
David leads a limited number of wildlife and nature photo safaris, through cardinalphoto.com. David is the founder of Pro Shooters, which produces the award winning DigitalPro for Windows – software for organizing and managing your digital images, and nikondigital.org, the leading information website for serious digital shooters, with over 100,000 unique visitors each month, as well as DigitalPro Shooter, a leading bi-monthly newsletter for digital photographers with over 15,000 readers. David's background also includes many years of technical consulting on topics ranging from digital image management to color digital imaging for both Fortune 500 companies and the US Government.
"Producing an Online Book" – Dianne Jones
Workshop participants will learn about key tools used to create online books, calendars, and various ways of printing a collection of images using online service providers. We will discuss an assortment of solutions to produce your creative vision and present skills that would be useful for using the online media tools that are available. The fundamentals of visual style and design, along with the intention of the visual presentation of your work will be covered.
Dianne Jones works in the bay area as a photographer and arts educator. Currently she teaches photography at the Academy of Art University and Skyline College. In addition to teaching, she owns a photography business in Berkeley, volunteers for high school photography programs, and exhibits her photographs nationally and internationally.
For the last seven years she has been making photographs that visually explore the evidence of the rapidly changing landscape throughout California. Photographic and installation projects she has recently been involved with are the 40th street Cut, Oakland Art Gallery, Urbanism Studies, The Quarterly at Latham Square, Mini Show, SFMOMA Artists Gallery, New Visions, Pro Arts, Two Artists, Gallery 555, Oakland Museum of California, The Exhibition Landscape, Moldova Young Artists Association, and Transient Landscape, Art Space. She received a M.F.A. in studio art from Mills College in 2001. You can see Dianne's work at: www.diannejones.com and her commercial work at http://www.photosdiannejones.com.