Harold Davis's Blog, page 124

Last few days to enroll for Get Your Camera Off Auto; November Workshops

I’ll be leading a session of Get Your Camera Off Auto here in Berkeley, California this Saturday—so there are only a few days left to enroll. This is the perfect workshop if you are new to photography and want to get the concepts and controls on your camera right in the first place, or if you are a more experienced photographer wanting a refresher in the core creative photographic ideas. The session is currently a little light on enrollment—which is good for you to get the maximum individual attention. I do not plan to schedule another session of Get Your Camera Off Auto until the autumn of next year at the earliest.

Please also note two workshops scheduled for November: Advanced LAB Color Seminar on Saturday November 12, intended for those with some Photoshop already under their belt who want to learn about the stunning creative possibilities inherent in LAB, the weirdest color space; and Black & White in San Francisco, the weekend of November 19-20.

Black & White in San Francisco is one part field photography, and one part classroom instruction in creative black and white post-production. I’ll be demonstrating some of the techniques explained and developed for my new book, The Photographer’s Black & White Handbook: Making and Processing Stunning Digital Black and White Photos from Monacelli Press.

Also note my free webinar coming up on Tuesday September 20 sponsored by Topaz Labs, A Touch of Art with Harold Davis and Topaz.

Full Day Workshop: Get Your Camera Off Automatic with Harold Davis

Have you always wanted to take fantastic photos, but somehow they never seem to come out as well as you see them in your mind’s eye?

By leaving their camera in one of the programmed automatic modes many photographers fail to realize their full creative potential. At the same time, if you don’t shoot manually you won’t learn the basic concepts of photography. In this intensive one-day workshop you will learn all you need to know to successfully support your creative vision by using your camera to its full potential.

Cordes-sur-Ciel at Sunrise © Harold Davis

Besides presentations from award-winning master photographer Harold Davis, this workshop uses hands-on exercises to “cement-in” the concepts you will learn.

Where: MIG Meeting Place, 800 Hearst Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710

When: September 17, 2016, 9:45AM

Tuition: $99 per person.

What to bring: Your camera, camera manual, tripod (if you have one), and a sense of fun and wonder!

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

So please bring your camera, camera manual, and tripod (if you have one).

Upper White River Falls © Harold Davis

Who is this workshop for?

If you’ve been enjoying shooting digital photos, but don’t really understand the underlying photographic concepts or what the camera settings do this workshop is a fun way to get quickly up to speed.

Perhaps you are used to shooting film and want to get up to speed on the concepts of digital photography. Then this intensive “Digital Photography 101” workshop may be for you.

Intermediate digital photographers may also be interested in this workshop as an easy way to help them reinforce and remember what they’ve previously learned.

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

Manarola © Harold Davis

Curriculum

9:45AM – Workshop orientation

10:00 – Fundamental concepts: Exposure, the exposure triangle, aperture, f-stops, shutter speed, sensitivity (ISO), sensor size, focal length, focus

11:00 – Setting your camera using the basic concepts

11:30 – Camera Clinic – first session

12:00 – Hands-on exercises

1:00 – Lunch break

1:45PM – Exercise review and concept refresher

2:30 – From camera to computer and digital post-production

3:30 – Hands-on exercises

4:30 – Review, wrap-up, and Q&A

5:30 – Camera Clinic – second session

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

Rooftops of Paris © Harold Davis

What past participants have said about this workshop:

“It was a great day filled with both opportunities to practice and many words of wisdom from Harold.”

“This was a most informative and interesting workshop. It covered the things I wanted to learn about, and I left satisfied. I recommend it to anyone who wants a good basic class.”

“Great workshop! Learned a lot! Also appreciate the effort that went into putting the class together – the small conveniences like water, snack, handouts, and a nice meeting space made it easier to get through the day without being overwhelmed. Highly recommended.”

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

In a Blue Hour © Harold Davis

 

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

When Flowers Talk © Harold Davis

Two new tote bags added to the Harold Davis Vida collection

Low Geostationary and Decaying Orbits around the Clematis Inversion © Harold Davis

Two new tote bags have been added to the Harold Davis Vida Collection. The Geostationary Orbit and Edge of Night tote bags are made in California. Each retails for $55.00.

 

Edge of Night © Harold Davis

Farmhouse in Maine

This farmhouse down east in Maine struck me as quintessentially chic-shabby, or in Lewis Caroll’s turn of phrase, “sweetly picturesque in rags.” Not that there are any rags in view, but clearly this once somewhat grand structure was a little worse for time and weather.

Farmhouse in Maine © Harold Davis

I processed the image to make it look almost like a photo taken on a stormy night (it was in fact a bright and humid day!), and then painted in the second-story window, and added a faint glow to the car headlights—moving from Lewis Carroll to Steven King country.

Exposure data: 58mm, 1/1250 of a second at f/8 and ISO 250, handheld.

San Francisco and all that Jazz!

This is an in-camera multiple exposure from Battery Spencer of the Golden Gate Bridge. There were five exposures overall. Each exposure was five seconds in duration. For the first three exposures I left the camera on the tripod, and panned between the exposures slightly from left to right. For the last two exposures, I took the camera off tripod and wiggled it quickly and slightly in my hands. Using the Autogain setting made sure that the five exposures were balanced, and that nothing predominated.

San Francisaco and all that Jazz © Harold Davis

Announcing the Harold Davis Textile Collection

I’ve really, really wanted to create textiles from some of my floral images, so I am pleased and excited to show the Harold Davis collection of scarves and wraps (and one or two blouses) on Vida. Vida contributes to world literacy programs, and the scarves are made of a luxurious cashmere-silk blend. If you order now, these custom-made designs will be ready in time for the holidays. Also, there’s a $25 gift certificate in it for the first ten purchasers, so why not check out my collection today?

Kiss from a Rose

by Harold Davis



Kiss from a Rose

Wrap

 

Kiss from a Rose

Scarf

 

Dragonfly 4

by Harold Davis

 

Dragonfly Wrap

Back View

 

 

 

Sunflowers and Friends 2

by Harold Davis


Sunflower Wrap

Anemones 1

by Harold Davis

Anemone Scarf

 

Flowering Quince by Moon

by Harold Davis

Quince-by-Moonlight

Sleeveless Top

Click here to shop the Harold Davis Textile Collection on Vida!

A Touch of Art with Harold Davis and Topaz—Free Webinar

Upper White River Falls © Harold Davis

Master photographer Harold Davis is well known for his books, prints, and extraordinary images of a wide variety of subject matter. “I’ve been called a digital artist who uses photographs as my source material,” he says, “and I believe this is a good way to consider my work.” Harold Davis likes to take his imagery slightly beyond conventional photography using digital painting, but not so far beyond photography that he would “lose the suspension of disbelief inherent in the photographic capture.”

The Webinar will be live on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 at 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM PDT. Click here to register. Registration is completely free, but seating is limited and Harold’s presentations are always in demand—so don’t wait to register.

Coming to Life © Harold Davis

In creating this syncretic mixture of photography and digital art, Harold Davis says that among his favorite “go-to tools are the brilliant Topaz Labs Photoshop plugins.”

In this webinar, Harold will explain how he uses Topaz Adjust, Topaz Simplify, Topaz Glow 2, and Topaz Impressions 2, and provide concrete examples. He’ll discuss two of his ideas about using special effects in Photoshop: If you’ve ever wanted to know how the Hegelian triad and homeopathy relate to the use of the Topaz plugins in Photoshop, this may be the webinar for you. Finally, he’ll explain how he uses a touch of Topaz in his workflow to create his unique photographic art.

There will be time for Q&A following the webinar.

The Webinar will be live on Tuesday, September 20, 2016 at 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM PDT. Click here to register. Registration is completely free, but seating is limited and Harold’s presentations are always in demand—so don’t wait to register.

Orchids in a Blue Bowl © Harold Davis

Pigeon Tower

This is an image of a stone tower pigeon coup in the Lot River valley in the southwest of France. I photographed it while staying at the Mas de Garrigue on a foggy morning, through a screen window for even more diffusion. Pigeons were esteemed in rural French farming for their ability to fertilize, and their value was signified by the elaborate structures built for them, such as this elaborate pigeon-home tower.

Pigeon Tower © Harold Davis

I’ll be leading another small group of photographers to the southwest of France in April, 2017 (click here for more info). While we won’t be visiting this precise location, we will find many interesting and unique ancient structures in rural villages and small towns.

From iPhone to ART: A weekend iPhonegraphy workshop with Harold Davis

From iPhone to ART: The Art of iPhoneography

A Two-Day Weekend Workshop with Harold Davis, Saturday January 28 – Sunday January 29, 2017

Tuition: $645 until September 30, 2016 (early-bird special); $695 thereafter.

Registration: Click here for registration

The iPhone is the most used camera in the world. As they say, the best camera to use is the one you have with you, and this is often your iPhone camera. Harold says, “While I haven’t given up my ‘big-boy cameras’ by any stretch, my iPhone camera and its apps have opened a whole new world of experimentation and creativity. Bravo being a photographic kid again!”

But the fundamental rules of photography still apply, and you can become a powerful photographer with your iPhone by learning the fundamentals of exposure and composition.

Of course, your iPhone is more than just a camera. The computing power within a contemporary iPhone is greater than the computing power that sent NASA to the moon—and many photography apps take advantage of this “darkroom” in your pocket.

In From iPhone to Art, we will learn how to leverage our talents to make the best iPhone imagery we can. Demos, lectures, and hands-on exercises will explore the principles of photography as they relate to the iPhone camera.

Tender Dance © Harold Davis

Since the iPhone is the camera we always have with us, and since so much of our photography is done with the iPhone, why not be the best iPhoneographers we can be?

Master photographer and Photoshop guru par-excellence will show you some of the apps he uses to finish his iPhone images. Advanced topics will include texturizing and layering iPhone images.

The workshop will include several guided field sessions, in class processing help, and image critiques. Those who have attended Harold’s previous iPhone workshop are encouraged to attend; newcomers are also welcome. Class materials provided includes a list of suggested apps.

Registration: Click here for registration

About Harold Davis

Harold Davis is an internationally-known digital artist and award-winning professional photographer. He is the author of many bestselling photography books including The Way of the Digital Photographer (Peachpit Press, awarded as a Top 10 Best 2013 Photography Book of the Year by Photo.net). Harold Davis’s most recent book is Achieving Your Potential As a Photographer: A Photographer’s Creative Companion and Workbook (Focal Press). His Photographing Flowers (Focal Press) is a noted photography “classic,” and is rated the Best Guide to Flower Photography byDigital Photographer Magazine.

Giverny © Harold Davis

In addition to his activity as a bestselling book author, Harold Davis is an Adobe Influencer, a Moab Master printmaker and a Zeiss Lens Ambassador. Harold Davis’s work is in collections around the world. It is licensed by art publishers, in annual reports, and has appeared in numerous magazines and many publications.

Harold’s black and white prints have been described as “hauntingly beautiful” by Fine Art Printer Magazine, and his floral prints have been called “ethereal,” with “a purity and translucence that borders on spiritual” by Popular Photography.

Recently Harold Davis’s work has been exhibited in venues including Photokina in Cologne, Germany, PhotoPlus Expo in New York, the Gallery Photo in Oakland, California, the Arts & Friends Gallery in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Awagami Gallery in Japan.

Harold Davis has led destination photography workshops to many locations including Paris, France; Spain and Morocco; and the ancient Bristlecone Pines of the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains in California.

Harold’s popular online course on Craftsy.com, Photographing Flowers, has thousands of students. His ongoing photography workshops in partnership with institutions such as Point Reyes Field Seminars, the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, California, Maine Media Workshops, and the Heidelberg Summer School of Photography are continually in demand and popular.

According to Rangefinder Magazine, Harold Davis is “a man of astonishing eclectic skills and accomplishments.” You can learn more about Harold and his work at his website, www.digitalfieldguide.com and on his blog, http://www.digitalfieldguide.com/blog/.

Registration: Click here for registration

Carcassonne in Black & White

Carcassone Outer Fortifications © Harold Davis

The techniques shown in this image—bracketed sequence photography, processing for extended dynamic range, layer stack monochromatic conversion, all with an added antique effect—are detailed in my new book. It is available for pre-order on Amazon and the publisher’s website. Thanks to everyone who has made The Photographer’s Black & White Handbook: Making and Processing Stunning Digital Black and White Photos the #1 New Release in Black & White Photography on Amazon and Amazon’s #1 “Hot New Release” in this category!

Juxtaposition—Windows, Entrances, and Bridges

I’ve added a new gallery and slide show of windows, entrances, and bridges to my website. Here are two of the images from the set juxtaposed, of the Yaquina Bay Bridge along the coast of Oregon, and the Bridge of Sighs at night in Venice, Italy.

Under the Yaquina Bay Bridge © Harold Davis

Bridge of Sighs at Night © Harold Davis