Yosemite Photography Workshops

09/09/2024

Join us for an intensive, 3-day photo workshop in Yosemite National Park. Thursday, Oct. 31 to Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. We'll spend 3 full days shooting the familiar vistas, but also locations in Yosemite only the local photo community knows, not listed in the guidebooks. You'll learn polarizing filters, shooting techniques to maximize the quality of your results, the value of patience, and much, much more! $895 per person.
See https://yosemitephotoworkshops.com/

Schedule "Phil, I want to thank you so very much for the incredible workshop. I learned so much about enhancing landscape photography. Being able to implement techniques immediately and see the results is very rewarding. Your teaching style works so well; you are very specific and explain things cle...

16/08/2024

I've been going through some of my earlier work and re-processing the images through updated software and the results are incredible.

This 2-panel, pano image was one of the first I shot after going digital. Captured with a 6mp Canon Digital Rebel (300D) with the horrible 18-55mm kit lens in June of 2004, I had no tripod, so balancing on my knee which was braced on a rock, I shot hand-held. I think it went better than I was anticipating!

It was a raw file, so I reconverted through DxO Photolab leaning heavily on the noise reduction and sharpening. Converted to a 16-bit TIFF file in ProPhoto, I reduced the very bad chromatic aberration in this image and boosted the relatively pale color from the Digital Rebel.

08/08/2024

Join us for an intensive, 3-day photo workshop in Yosemite National Park. We'll spend 3 full days shooting the familiar vistas, but also locations in Yosemite only the local photo community knows, not listed in the guidebooks. You'll learn polarizing filters, shooting techniques to maximize the quality of your results, the value of patience, and much, much more!
See https://yosemitephotoworkshops.com/

All workshops are conducted by me. I do not use “workshop leaders”. I offer help and guidance to all who ask. Some people know their equipment and only want to know where to go. Others are new to digital photography and have many questions. I give my attention to anyone and all. There is no such...

08/05/2024

I'm with my workshop class this week; Yosemite waterfalls are raging right now... Here's a tight shot of Upper Yosemite Fall shot from Cook's Meadow.

12/04/2024

The 2024 Solar Eclipse from Lampasas, Texas. We had a thin cloud cover, but it was awesome nonetheless.

25/03/2024

Join us for this very special photo workshop in Yosemite National Park for the fall colors. Plus, by popular demand, I'm doing a 7-hour, intensive post-processing class during the workshop.

Mon - Fri, November 4 - 8, 2024

All the details are here:

The Yosemite Fall Colors Week Long Photo Workshop 5 days in Yosemite National Park for the Fall Colors! Mon - Fri, November 4 - 8, 2024 We’ll shoot extensively in Yosemite Valley, accessing vistas that are not in the guidebooks.We’ll go up to Glacier Point, Sentinel Dome, Washburn Point and poss...

19/03/2024

26/02/2024

Join us for the 2024 Yosemite National Park Early Spring Photo Workshop. This year has seen exceptional snowfall and the runoff is anticipated to be epic! It will be an o**y of full-bore waterfalls and moving water for motion blur lessons, lots of green color and smaller-than-summer crowds!

Your guide and teacher has 37 years experience in Yosemite!

3 days of expert instruction and shooting from vistas not in the guidebooks.

See https://yosemitephotoworkshops.com for details and registration!

Learn landscape photography with a 38-year veteran of Yosemite National Park.Reduce the amount of time thinking about your camera and increase the amount if time thinking about your subject matter and still get mind-boggling shots.

15/12/2023

Join us for the 2024 Winter Photo Workshop! 3 days of seldom-experienced winter in Yosemite! Feb. 23-25, and Feb. 27-29, 2024! We could get snow, maybe a storm or two. Plus, shooting Horsetail Fall while avoiding the crowds in a secret location.

Your leader has 37 years experience in the park and will take you to places not even the park service knows about.

Learn landscape photography with a 38-year veteran of Yosemite National Park.Reduce the amount of time thinking about your camera and increase the amount if time thinking about your subject matter and still get mind-boggling shots.

20/07/2023

Tioga Road is opening...finally!

The NPS states the following: "The National Park Service has announced that Tioga Road, the continuation of Highway 120 East through Yosemite National Park will reopen on Saturday, July 22nd at 8am.

At this time, vault and portable toilets will be available, but there is no access to drinking water or food services. Visitors are encouraged to bring food and water with them. The Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center will be open and a general information desk near the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center will be staffed from 9 am to 5 pm.

Motorists should prepare for traffic delays near Olmsted Point where there is road damage and one-lane traffic controls. We recommend that anyone planning to enter the park through any entrance including the newly opened eastern entrance on Tioga Road, arrive before 7 am to avoid queues and traffic.

26/06/2023

It's bedlam up in Yosemite this year. From the USPS: "Yosemite is experiencing extremely high visitation with limited park access due to ongoing winter impacts. Be prepared for long waits at entrance stations, traffic in the park, and difficulty finding parking. Plan to arrive early or give extra time to enter for your bus parking time slot.

Yosemite has been very busy this summer. Arrive by 8 am to avoid long lines to get into the park and full parking lots once in the park. If you arrive later than 8 am on weekends and some weekdays, here is what you should expect:

-You will wait in line at park entrances for two hours or more.

-You will encounter additional delays with very slow or stopped traffic once inside the park, especially in Yosemite Valley.

-You will not be able to find parking.

-You will not be able to get to eastern Yosemite Valley. Once the Valley is full, all vehicles are turned around near El Capitan.

-You will not be able to use shuttle buses because they are full (if possible, bike or walk to get around).

-You will see lots of people on trails.

-You will wait in line at visitor service facilities (visitor centers, food service, restrooms, etc.).

Reservations are not required to visit Yosemite this year. Reservations were required in the summers of 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and in summer 2022 when numerous key visitor attractions were closed for critical infrastructure repairs. We have been grappling with congestion—even gridlock—for decades. We want to build from the lessons learned from the last three summers of managed access. To stay up to date on long-term visitor management planning and upcoming public comment periods, visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/projectHome.cfm….

This will all smooth out once Tioga Road and Glacier Point Road open. But there is nothing on the horizon showing they are anywhere near ready for either.

Basically, the USPS is saying "Go somewhere else; at least for the time being."

16/06/2023

Photographers, and anyone else who doesn't want their car burglarized, stay OUT of San Francisco! Apparently, there is no safe place in the city at all.

Read it and weep: (I especially emphasize the part where the Hertz rental guy says "We get 30 break-ins a DAY in SF with NO response from police")

"The police have been defanged."

15/06/2023

Join us for an unforgettable journey through Yosemite's unknown vistas and views, plus the old standards you've only heard about.

The Yosemite Fall Colors Photo Workshops from a 37 year veteran of Yosemite National Park! Yosemite Valley, Tioga Road (if open), shooting locations not in the guidebooks. 2 sessions in late Oct. and early Nov, 2023. https://yosemitephotoworkshops.com

We have two workshop sessions from which to choose. You'll have access to the well-known Yosemite vistas and other shooting locations not in the guidebooks!

Schedule 2023 Previous Next Yosemite Fall Colors #1 Mon-Tue-Wed, 10/30/23 to 11/1/23 The brilliant fall colors of Yosemite. Majestic oaks with their huge plumes of color, golden ferns that carpet the valley floor, and the dogwoods that line the riverbank.Yosemite in fall is one of my favorite season...

24/04/2023

The High Sierra Camps will not operate this year.

Want to go to the high country? It's going to be a while...

The Yosemite high country has a snowpack that is 240% of normal as of the April 1 snow survey. This image of the Tioga Road entry station shows around ten feet of snow. It'll be deeper at snowdrifts in other areas, and there's the rockfalls, tree falls, and road damage so don't expect Tioga Road (Highway 120) to open before July 4th, if then.

And if you have backpacking plans this summer, cancel them. We are! The backcountry, over 8,000 feet elevation, will not clear out until late July. And even if it does clear, it'll be a muddy, soggy mess at campsites, PLUS, mosquitoes will hatch in biblical numbers and be ever present. The trails will be in horrible condition, even eroded to the point of impassable in places.

The High Sierra Camps will not open this year. NPS statement: "It is with our deepest regrets that we share with you that the backcountry camps in the High Sierra will be unable to open this year due to the record-breaking snowpack in the High Sierras."

The Tuolumne Meadow area may have the shortest season on record. The road may open around July 4th, but the lodge and campground, if it opens at all, may open around mid-late-July and close mid-September.

Want to go to 10k, 11k or higher? Forget it. It may never melt this year.

Welcome to Yosemite where weather and climate rules. That's why being able to get into the high country is such a treat when you can.

16/03/2023

Yosemite Valley with 4 feet of snow!

Here's a video of my last-man-out trip out of Yosemite National Park back in February. The park was shut down to all in the morning of Saturday, Feb. 25th. I got the word rather late, and was literally one of the last people out, so I captured video fo what it's like with no people. Surreal. Check it out.

This year has been a record-setting winter season. Record-shattering amounts of snow have fallen in Yosemite Valley and even more so in the high country. Thi...

23/02/2023

Well... Winter in Yosemite!

Things are VERY intense! Workshop students are TROOPERS!

Snow, snow, snow... Here's a couple of shots so far:

16/11/2022

THIS is why I never store images in "the cloud".

Any photo or video file stored on Amazon Drive is accessible through Amazon Photos.

05/10/2022

DxO Photolab 6 has just been released! See the lesson on the new Deep Prime XD Noise Reduction!
https://youtu.be/43KCuy68XS4
Plus, see the complete 5 hours Photolab 6 course at https://www.photo-editing-tutorials.com/.../dxo-photolab...

The new and improved noise reduction function DeepPrime XD improves the detail in an already excellent noise reduction capability.

05/10/2022

DxO Photolab 6 has just been released! See the lesson on the new Deep Prime XD Noise Reduction!

https://youtu.be/43KCuy68XS4

Plus, see the complete 5 hours Photolab 6 course at https://www.photo-editing-tutorials.com/courses/dxo-photolab-5-the-complete-course

The new and improved noise reduction function DeepPrime XD improves the detail in an already excellent noise reduction capability.

05/10/2022

The new Hasselblad 100mp camera is out (X2D 100C) at $8,200. Gulp. And the lenses are astronomically high. BUT...you can use Canon or Nikon lenses with this adapter:

Buy FotodioX Canon EOS Lens to Hasselblad XCD-Mount Camera Adapter featuring Canon EF/EF-S Lens to Hasselblad X, Allows Focus to Infinity, All-Metal Construction, Chrome-Plated Brass Mount, Useful for Shift Photography. Review FotodioX null

21/03/2022

Last Call for the Dolomites - https://mailchi.mp/c9a95986b86e/last-call-for-the-dolomites-11343310

For details, Go Here After putting this workshop off for two years we are finally at a place where we can DO THIS!!  However...  we need to confirm our reservations at the lodging we have secured.  For groups of this size, our commitment needs to be nailed down in the next 30 days. So...  I nee...

07/03/2022

The Waterfall are flowing during the spring workshop. Here is your chance to photograph amazing water and waterfalls.
https://yosemitephotoworkshops.com/

05/03/2022

Join us for the Yosemite Spring Waterfalls Photo Workshops in May 2022! TWO 3-day sessions, May 9-11 and May 13-15, 2022. https://yosemitephotoworkshops.com Don't miss it! We'll see all the standard shooting locations in Yosemite Valley and Tioga Road (if open; Glacier Point Road is closed for renovation during the 2022 season) Don't wait! This is a very popular workshop!

See http://yosemitephotoworkshops.com for more information.

The whole reason one comes to Yosemite is to find the best opportunity to get the best shot. And that is dictated by the weather. You will be able to take advantage of my 37 years shooting Yosemite to know where to be, and when. Understanding these patterns comes from long experience, enabling me to...

17/02/2022

Yosemite bringing back the reservation system! I KNEW this would never go away...

"Beginning Friday, May 20, Yosemite National Park will implement a temporary peak hours reservation system. Building on lessons learned during the summer reservation systems in 2020 and 2021, the peak hours reservation system is designed to spread visitation out and reduce chronic congestion in the park.

Park visitors will need a reservation to enter the park between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. seven days a week. Visitors entering the park outside of the peak hours are not required to have a reservation."

17/02/2022

Wanna see something cool?

https://youtu.be/_e3sGA2b2SQ

Yosemite National Park is an incredibly beautiful area, and it changes significantly with the seasons. I've spent many nights in Yosemite, always in awe of t...

13/02/2022