Nature Photography / Landscape Workshop @ Kensington Metro Park

Details

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Meeting at Kensington Metro Park - Nature Center. We suggest you enter the park just North of the 151 Exit on I-96. The Nature Center is just North/East of there beyond the Golf Course. If you use the "official" address for the park to reach Kensington, it will likely get you off on exit 155 and you will have an extensive drive through the park to reach the Nature Center. If you have trouble locating the group, Bob's cell phone is 248-941-4859.

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The meeting time is 6:30 am at the Nature Center Parking Lot in order to take advantage of the morning light and the cooler temperatures. The animals and bugs will be more active in the early morning hours rather than the heat of the middle of the day. Kensington offers a wide variety of birds and bugs and plants and animals to photograph. The group will start at the Nature Center Parking Area (Note, the Nature Center does not open until 10AM, so there are probably no restroom facilities) and move to several spots in the park that have been suggested for specific sightings for plants and vistas. There is a park entrance fee of $7 per vehicle or $30 for an annual pass.

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About the workshop:

I have conducted many DSLR basics workshops in a classroom setting. The response has been very positive, and I feel that these workshops have benefitted from the ability to convey a lot of concepts via illustrations and photographs. However, I noticed that every time we venture outdoors for the brief hands-on portion everyone is reluctant to return to the classroom. So, we are taking to the woods for this class.

For me, landscape photography is about slowing down and enjoying the world around you. For that reason I strongly encourage you to work from a tripod. If you don't own a sturdy tripod I have a couple that I can loan out. If you want to borrow a tripod please contact me to check if one is available.

The only "essential" equipment for this workshop is a camera and a lens. Having said that, I would bring everything that you own, i.e. lenses, flash, filters, diffusers, etc. If you don't own any of these things don't worry about it. Come on out and see how they are used and decide if they should become part of your kit.

Our agenda for the morning will be as follows:

Discussion of tripod basics - good technique for maximizing image sharpness.

Composition technique - using the tripod to slow down and "see" the image before you press the shutter.

Lens selection to support your "vision" of the final image.

Multiple uses of a polarizer - remove glare, saturate the sky, poor mans neutral density filter.

We will be hiking a couple of trails around the nature center. Come prepared for walking.

Questions from the participants. - come prepared with your questions. I am happy to do my best address your landscape related questions and problems.

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Things to Bring!