Canadian Rockies Workshops

This is a must see location for any photographer

The original workshop sold out so quickly that I added a second session.  After some juggling between the session, there are now a limited number of seats in both workshops.  I do, however, expect both sessions to sell out so don't delay.

By the middle of September you'll be tired of the heat and the Canadian Rockies will be a treasured respite from the sweltering thermometer.

The two sessions are now..

• September 10 - 14 (Wednesday - Sunday)
• September 14 - 18 (Sunday - Thursday) 

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3,200 Miles in one week!  Whew...

Last week I hosted the Grand Teton National Park workshop and we all had such a great time.  The weather wasn't the best for photography - days without a cloud in the sky, but everyone still was able to capture wonderful images.

I ended up putting 3,200 miles on my car in a little over a week but it was well worth it.  Grand Teton National Park is best summed up by workshop student Donna Anglin, "it's one of those unique areas that you just don't want to leave".

I'm also amazed at the level of work some students attain and this workshop was no different.  Mitch Strew captured several eye catching images, including this one of the Mouton Barn on Mormon Row.  Congratulations Mitch on a wonderful image.

Mitch was also lucky enough to encounter a grizzly bear when he was driving out of the park on Sunday afternoon.  A rare site indead.   

Shooting Panoramic Images

It used to be that if you wanted to shoot a panoramic image you needed a big fancy pano camera and special tripod mounts.  Not anymore.

One of the favorite topics addressed in the workshops is how to shoot panoramic images using your digital camera.  The process involves capturing a series of images that are then stitched together using panoramic stitching software.  Both Photoshop CS and Elements have nice stitching tools.

The key to success when planning a panoramic image is ensuring that you have high quality images in the first place.  It's not hard, follow these important steps. 

• Set everything on the camera to manual.  Use manual focus, manual metering, etc.

• Turn off any "auto" settings such as auto white balance.  You need to ensure that each of the frames that will be stitched together will have consistent focus, exposure and color. 

• When metering your scene, consider the entire finished panoramic as one image and meter for the highlights and shadows regardless of where they fall in the series of images that you will use to create the final panoramic. 

• Shoot wide.  You want to include extra space - especially on the top and bottom.  You'll find that after you stitch the panoramic you will be cropping quite a bit from the top and bottom.

• Start shooting from the left and overlap each subsequent image 50%.  (Some places will give figures much less than 50% but this is an easy number to work with.  When your done with one image, identify something that is on the right edge and then pan over until it ends up in the center)

• After you download the images, make sure that any processing you do on one image is done on every image in the group.  You can adjust white balance, tone, contrast etc but don't resize the image.

• Using your favorite software, stitch the images together and then crop to your liking.

Panoramics are fun and certainly allow you to open up your view of the world. 

Pano Paper! What a concept.

Print your panoramic photography on your inkjet printer. Red River Paper has the premium photo papers in sizes you need to make your panos look their best.

Both Epson and Canon inkjet printers can utilize extra long sheets of paper - perfect for printing your own panoramic images.  I do believe that most canon printers are limited to 23 inch prints but check your printer's manual.

With readily available software, or a little Photoshop work, you can make great looking pano shots that are sure to impress.

• 13" x 38"
• 8.5" x 25"
• Custom cutting of these and other sizes available

Once printed, you can also protect your panoramic prints in clear display bags.  Frame Destination has bags for 13" x 38" prints.  Shop Here and use code RRBGR13387 when checking out.