…FirstLight Workshop is thrilled to be offering this unique, hands-on photographic workshop…

 

Summer in Wyoming: perfect temperatures during the day, often brisk at night, a breathtaking panorama of stars, wranglers gathering horses in early morning, evening cocktail parties with friends (or, soon to be friends) and wonderful photographic opportunities.  This is what FirstLight will be serving up this July 3 – 8.  Join FirstLight at the Absaroka Ranch, bordering Yellowstone National Park for a “Cowboys, Workflow and Printing Workshop.”

This workshop is designed to equally emphasize shooting, workflow, and printing.  We’ll be photographing incredible scenes of wranglers working horses, amazing landscapes and portrait sessions.  These shoots will be during the optimum light of early morning or late afternoon, to achieve the best possible photographic quality.  During the middle part of the day, we’ll critique your photo shoot, providing important feedback to your photography followed by instruction in workflow and optimizing images for output.   Each day you will print your best photo from each photo session on very high quality digital printers. We’ll be using Moab Juniper Baryta Rag, an incredibly beautiful and highly reviewed digital paper.

These critique sessions will be led by Jay Dickman, Pulitzer Prize-winning and National Geographic photographer also founder of FirstLight Workshops. Jay’s co-instructor is Frank Varney, Associate Professor in the Commercial Photography Program at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.  Prior to this position, Frank held the Photography Department Chair at the Colorado Institute of Art for 19 years.  FirstLight is one of the only workshops that provide this incredible ratio of instructor to student.

All gourmet meals (the food is simply amazing; you won’t go away hungry!!) as well as accommodations are included in the price of this signature workshop.  Absaroka Ranch will provide an opening cocktail “meet & greet” party on the day of your arrival, Sunday, July 3, as well as evening cocktail parties each day before dinner at the ranch.

***In addition, our sponsor, Olympus, will be providing camera kits of their top-of-the line Micro Four Thirds cameras as well as lenses.  If you’ve been thinking of “going small & mirrorless,” this is your opportunity to test drive one of these cameras***

Historically, our students have flown in and out of Jackson, Wyoming Airport (JAC), an hour and a half drive from Absaroka Ranch.  The majority of attendees rent their own car, often taking advantage of the proximity to Yellowstone National Park, visiting there at the end of the workshop.  The Absaroka Ranch Workshop will culminate after breakfast on Friday, July 8.  This provides plenty of time to drive to Yellowstone.  FirstLight can also connect you to a transportation service to handle getting to and from Jackson Airport, this will be at your expense.

Due to the limited amount of rooming available, you will be sharing a room with another FirstLight student.  Each cabin has two rooms with two beds in each room, both rooms share a bath.  This is a good incentive to check with your best-friend photographer about attending the workshop.

This workshop will fill quickly, if you are interested, don’t hesitate to call or email with any questions.

What’s included: 

Workshop fee: 4 days of instruction and critiquing, with a morning and afternoon shoot each day, except Thursday, which will host a morning shoot only. Opportunity to use Olympus digital camera equipment.

Printing:  1-13 x 19” print per photographic opportunity: 1 print Monday, 2 prints-Tuesday, 2-Wednesday and 2 -Thursday. You’ll be printing on our favorite digital paper, Moab Juniper Baryta Rag

Accommodations:  5 nights, Sunday, July 3 ~ Friday, July 8. You’ll get to room, at no extra charge, with another FirstLight student!!

Meals: FirstLight  provides all your meals, from the opening night, Sunday, July 3 – final breakfast, Friday, July 8. The gourmet food of the Absaroka is another featured highlight of this event.

Cocktail events:  FLW and Absaroka will provide wine and beer at the opening night event, as well as an evening event each of the 4 days of the workshop

What’s NOT included:

Liquor: wine and beer is provided at cocktail events

Transportation:  most attendees of our other events in the Dubois area have rented cars, as they enjoy the photographic possibilities of this incredible area.  We can connect you with a transportation service to get your to the Absaroka from the Jackson Airport and back, at your expense.

Airfare: The closest airport is Jackson, Wyoming (airport code: JAC).  Almost all major carriers fly into Jackson.  Salt Lake City is another choice, please be aware it is about a 5 ½ hour drive from SLC to Dubois.  Denver International Airport is about an 8-hour drive.

Laundry & other amenities:   There is a Laundromat in Dubois, the Absaroka does not provide laundry services

 

What you’ll need to bring:

1. Laptop with at least 10GB of space
2. A latest copy of Lightroom, if you don’t have this software, it can be downloaded from the Adobe website as a fully functioning, 30-day free trial.  If working with a trial version, you MUST make sure you have allowed the software to function throughout the workshop.
3. I suggest bringing two camera bodies–to work with both as well as covering the possibility of a camera failing–this is NOT mandatory, but a strong suggestion.  Don’t forget that we will have Olympus cameras to borrow!
4. Clothing for the week: FirstLight is a very laid-back group, so don’t even think of bringing a sports coat or dress!!  Laundry is not available at the ranch, but a small Laundromat is located in Dubois, if necessary.
5. Enthusiasm and the openness to push yourself creatively–and plenty of energy!

Cost for the Absaroka Workshop

THIS WORKSHOP IS SOLD OUT….We are taking “wait list” registrations, by clicking here…..

 

 Proposed schedule for the Absaroka Workshop

(subject to change)

 Sunday, July 3

Participants will arrive at the Absaroka Ranch, 3PM check in. We will host an opening beer and wine cocktail event followed by dinner and opening session.

Monday, July 4                                    sunrise 5:44 am     sunset 9:03 pm

Happy 4^th of July!

5:15 am    We will be heading out of the Absaroka in time to arrive at the CM Ranch, where we’ll photograph an early morning horse drive.  We’ll then head back to the Absaroka in time for a gourmet breakfast

8:00 am Breakfast at the Ranch

Mid-morning(time announced after morning shoot)  we’ll meet at the workshop headquarters, just steps from your cabin, where Frank will provide instruction on downloading your images.  He’ll also provide a tutorial on how to go through your photos, selecting the 10-15 best from the morning session.  You’ll then call upon Frank or Jay to sit down with you at your laptop, where you’ll receive invaluable information on your images.  This is one of the most instructive and critical components of this workshop: getting feedback on what is working, and as importantly, what is not working in your images.  We’ll further narrow this selection down to 5 images, which we’ll collect.  After the critique session is over, we’ll project all those selects from each participant-and hear from Frank or Jay as to why the image was selected and why it “works.”  We ask those who are waiting for their critique to begin, to please pull a chair up to one of the review sessions that are occurring.

Lunch at the Ranch

Early Afternoon Frank will provide his first tutorial on working in Lightroom to optimize your images.  During the afternoon session, you’ll print a 13 x 19” print from your morning shoot.

Cocktail party followed by dinner

 8:00 pm         head into Dubois to photograph fireworks (we’ll go over low-light photography earlier

 

Tuesday, July 5                                 sunrise 5:44 am      sunset 9:03 pm

5:15 AM    We will depart Absaroka for an early morning landscape shoot, which will include horses and riders, returning to Absaroka for breakfast

8:00 am Breakfast at the Ranch

 9:00 am    Meet at workshop headquarters for downloading, selecting, critiquing and reviewing images.  Followed by projection session of best images

Lunch at the Ranch

 1:00 pm   Opening afternoon session by Frank on optimizing images-followed by printing of two large images, from previous photo sessions.

6:00 pm cocktail party followed by dinner at Ranch

8:00 pm  late afternoon photo session of horses and wranglers on Absaroka property

 

Wednesday, July 6                                     sunrise: 5:45 am   sunset   9:02 pm

6:00 am  photo shoot of horses being “turned out” into Absaroka pastures,

7:30 am    Breakfast at the Ranch

 9:00 am    Meet at workshop headquarters for downloading, selecting, critiquing and reviewing images.  Followed by projection session of best images

Lunch at the Ranch

 1:30 pm  session by Frank on optimizing images along with conversions to black and white–followed by printing of two large images, from previous photo sessions.

6:00 pm  cocktail party followed by dinner at the Ranch

 7:45 pm  portrait session at Absaroka.  We will be there to work with you in the process of photographing people.  Natural light and reflectors are the theme of the day, and we’ll end the day with photographing wranglers around the campfire.

 

Thursday, July 7                                     sunrise 5:46 am       sunset: 9:02 pm

6:30 am shoot on ranch of horses being driven in to corrals from mountain pastures

8:00 am  Breakfast at the Ranch

 9:30 am  Meet at workshop headquarters for downloading, selecting, critiquing and reviewing images.  Followed by projection session of best images

Lunch at the Ranch

 1:00 pm  Opening afternoon session by Frank on optimizing images followed by printing of two large images, from previous photo sessions.

6:30 pm  cocktail party and dinner at the Ranch

 8:00 pm  Final slideshow of the best images from the week.

 

Friday, July 8                                    sunrise: 5:46 am

8:00 am   Breakfast at ranch

Guests all depart after Breakfast

 

Happy Trails!!!!