Springtime in the Northwest
2023
May 8th – 12th, 2023
Capture the amazing scenes of
the Pacific Northwest in this
Olympic National Park Photography Workshop
Dates: May 8th-12th 2023
Fee: $1,995 per person, $400.00 deposit at time of booking. Balance due by March 1st 2023.
Participants: Min. of 4, Max. of 8
Cutoff Date: March 1st, 2023
Skill Level: Amateur – Professional
Info: JonathanSteelePhotography@gmail.com
Phone: 860-984-3810
Workshop Overview
Photograph amazing landscapes and seascapes in Washington’s beautiful Olympic National Park. The park has three distinct ecosystems of which we will be working in two. The first being the rugged coastal areas which includes soaring sea stacks, pounding ocean waves and vibrant tidal pools. The second being the temperate rain forests including old-growth forests with jaw dropping 200 plus foot sitka spruce and western hemlock trees , moss framed streams and silky waterfalls. This time of year the nights are short, for this reason the middle part of the day is left open for your personal time (consider napping!).
The areas we will be working in can get upwards of 140 inches of rain per year. Make sure you come prepared for all types of weather because we will shoot in it. You will get wet! My first trip Olympic National Park I had one rain coat for me and three for my camera!
Jonathan Steele Photography operates under Commercial Use Authorization in all National Park workshops and always carries proper permits and Red Cross certification.
Workshop Features
- Learn how the histogram will help determine how you can capture the dynamic range of your scene.
- Learn how bracketing properly will help you achieve maximum detail in your images
- Learn how to use ND filters in the field and when to use the different types
- The importance of your remote control, whether hard wired or wireless
- Working in the digital darkroom, Lightroom and Photoshop instruction
- How to use focus stacking for increased Depth of Field
- Become familiar with using a DOF calculator
- Learn to look at a scene for differing compositional components
- Shot planning and the tools I use for location scouting and weather monitoring
Workshop Itinerary
Olympic National Park does get crowded on weekends. Our workshop is held during the week to avoid the crowds.
Day 1: Attendee arrival day, plan to meet with the workshop group at 3 PM in the Forks area (location to be determined) for a meet and greet. We will then proceed to a location for sunset photography.
Days 2-4: Up early but probably not before sunrise, keep in mind the sun rises on the other side of the mountains. We will then proceed to a pre-selected morning photography location. It may be rain forests, the beach for tidal pools or sunrise on Lake Crescent. We’ll shoot through late morning at which point we’ll take a mid-day break. We will reconvene mid-afternoon if we are doing Photoshop and Lightroom sessions or late afternoon so that we can get to our location for sunset photography.
Day 5: It’s the last shoot of the workshop a decision will not be made until the night before as to where we may go. Weather is going to be the main factor in where we go to bring your awesome adventure to a close. We’ll shoot through mid morning at which time the workshop will end.
Bring your laptop computer and we’ll review/critique photos as time and location allows, either in the field or at a yet to be determined meeting time & place
Accommodations
Lodging, meals and transportation not provided. We will be based out of Forks and highly recommend making reservations as soon as you sign up for the workshop. The preferred location will be the Forks Motel.
When arranging for your transportation keep in mind that we will be traveling on primarily paved roads but there will be some dirt and gravel roads. You will not need a high clearance, off road vehicle. The preference would be for workshop members to pool together in their vehicles when going out on location. This will help you to get to know other members of the group and to make parking availability at locations easier for all.
Preferred airport destination is Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The town of Forks is a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive to the west. If you are flying in from other parts of the country it is recommended that you arrange your flights so that you can arrive in Forks no later than mid morning of the first day. If interested we will share your name and contact information with other participants should you want to coordinate your flights and share car rental fees.
Physical Difficulty
Attendees should be in good health and capable of working outdoors in bad weather. It is important to note that the Forks area can get upwards of 140 inches of rain per year. Figure on getting wet. There will be several hikes that are 1.5 miles round trip with 2 hikes of roughly 3 mile round trips. Some hikes will be on trails through the woods and others will be along beaches with sand, pebbles and trees on them. In a couple of locations we will have to climb over tree trunks that have washed up along the shore. Some hikes will have short but steep areas that we will have to navigate both up and down. The workshop is timed to take advantage of lower tides which will be advantageous for tidal pool and sunset photography.
You will be asked to sign a waiver to participate
What to Bring
- Digital SLR Camera
- Wide-angle to telephoto lenses. I usually cover from 17mm-500mm with my lenses but 17-300mm will work also.
- Sturdy Tripod
- Camera remote control
- Filters including polarizing and Neutral Density both graduated and solid. These are very important!
- Memory cards
- Headlamp
- Extra camera batteries, make sure your headlamp has fresh batteries also. Laptop (not required but useful for image editing and storage)
- Camera manual
- Sturdy walking shoes or hiking boots and water boots
- Rain gear for both you and your camera!
- Warm Jacket, spring temps can go into the 40’s at night
- Bigfoot spray canister
Note: In the past I have used water boots along with rubber rain pants and have found them to be very comfortable when working along the coast for either sunset shots or working the tidal pools.
Booking Olympic National Park Photography Workshop
You can sign up for the Olympic National Park Photography Workshop securely using your credit card via the PayPal link on this page or by calling Jonathan Steele Photography at 860-984-3810.
There is a $400.00 deposit due at time of signup and the remaining balance is due in full by March 1st 2023.
This workshop will go rain, shine or snow, as this time of year can be very dynamic with rapidly changing weather systems. No two years are quite the same.
There must be 4 signups by the cutoff date of March 1st 2023.
Final payment is due by no later then March 1st 2023.
The only refunds issued after the cutoff date of March 1st. would be the result of Jonathan Steele Photography cancelling the Olympic National Park Photography Workshop.
Click here to view Jonathan Steele Photography’s Olympic National Park Gallery for additional images of what you will see on this workshop.