Olympic National Park Photo Workshop, May 2019

With Rod Barbee

May 15-19, 2019
Forks, WA
Limit 7
$1149 ($200 deposit) Discount if paying by check.

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Olympic National Park

I live on the Olympic Peninsula. I love it here. Some of my best memories come from backpacking, exploring, and photographing in Olympic National Park. This May I'm leading a workshop to one of the areas I know best. I've actually lost track of the number of times I've led trips to Olympic.

Mid-May is traditionally the best time of the year for greens in the rain forest as well as good sunsets on the coast. For this reason, we'll spend our time based out of Forks and visiting the rain forests, coastal beaches, Lake Crescent and the Sol Duc area. It can also be a time of rain, so be prepared!

What We'll see

Based out of Forks, we’ll visit places like Rialto, Ruby, and Second Beach, the Hoh rain forest, Sol Duc Falls, Quinatault and Lake Crescent. Weather allowing, we may also make the trek to Hurricane Ridge. The spring is usually too early for any wildflowers but the view from Hurricane Ridge can still be spectacular. And if there's any fog in the morning, scenes along the road and near the parking lot can be magical.

Our itinerary will be somewhat weather dependent. With any luck, we'll get a bit of rain so that the rain forest will look like, well...a rain forest. Sunsets on the coast can be enhanced by clouds and unsettled weather, so we'll be hoping for a bit of both.

In the field I’ll place the emphasis on using proper technique and craftsmanship behind the camera. We’ll work on getting better close ups and spend time improving your landscape photography, including choosing foregrounds, using hyperfocal focusing, and knowing when to use graduated neutral density filters or digital techniques to capture the entire range of light in a scene. And I’ll be pushing you to look at the world in different ways, try something you’ve not tried before, or shoot with a specific purpose or digital darkroom process in mind.

Part of this workshop will be time devoted to critiques and photographic technique. I'll also offer demonstrations in Photoshop and Lightroom and cover High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography, stitched panoramas, and focus blending as part of learning to see the possibilities the world of digital photography offers.

We'll meet at 6 p.m. on Wednesday the 15th in Forks for introductions and an informal orientation and maybe even see if we can bag a sunset. We'll then start the workshop bright and early on the next morning. The workshop will end after the morning shoot on Sunday the 19th.

Hiking

There will be some hiking involved. None of it is strenuous and anybody who can walk a mile or climb stairs should have no problem. The trail to Sol Duc Falls is 3/4 mile one-way. It’s a little up and down but there’s no appreciable elevation gain. The toughest part might be the last 50 yards when returning to the parking lot, though it’s only slightly uphill. There may be a similarly long hike when we go to 2nd Beach, which is downhill to the beach, uphill on the way back. We'll also probably make the mile long walk down the length of Rialto Beach.

Rod Barbee Photography is an Authorized Permittee of the National Park Service.

Lodging and travel:

In Forks I've made group arrangements at the Pacific Inn. Rates are between $109 and $119/night plus tax depending on the type of room you choose. Upon registration you'll be sent information on making your hotel reservations. May is not typically the busiest time so if you want to arrive early or stay late, there should be no problem in obtaining a room.

Getting there:

If you're flying into Sea-Tac airport allow at least four hours to drive to Forks. More if you plan on stopping for lunch or seeing some of the sites. If you wish to share a room or a ride, I'll be happy to facilitate communications between participants.

Trip Insurance

I understand that sometimes folks need to make last minute cancellations due to illness, family, or business matters. Unfortunately, I'm unable to make last minute refunds or provide credit to future workshops due to these last minute cancellations. I therefore highly recommend travel insurance. See this page for some resources.

Questions

Many of your questions may already be answered on my FAQ page.

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