Travel Photography in the Digital Age

Unravel the mysteries of digital photography with Ralph Lee Hopkins and Bob Krist as they explain the nuts and bolts of this exciting technology — from choosing the right camera to developing your own workflow to strategies for covering your travel destination. Learn the secrets of these two top nature and travel photographers and get lots of useful, real-world advice to help make the most of the potential of digital photography while avoiding the pitfalls and exploding the the myths that surround the medium. This seminar is intended for amateur to advanced amateur photographers new to digital or considering making the switch from film to digital capture. Using a slide show/lecture format, Ralph and Bob will help ease your transition into the digital world.

Topics

Welcome to the Digital World
Travel photography is experiencing a renaissance in the digital world where the lines between creativity, art, and technology are disappearing. Although the basics of making photographs have not changed, digital technology has changed forever how we go about it. Photography at National Geographic Traveler is also changing with the times. Bob will present a behind-the-scenes look at how National Geographic Traveler is making its own transition into the digital world with real-world examples from his assignment work. Ralph will then discuss why digital cameras have made travel photography easier than ever.
• National Geographic Traveler in the digital world
• The travel photographer in the digital world

Choosing and Using Your New Digital Camera
Navigating the digital world can be like learning a new language — where taking a photo is called “digital capture” and processing images is done in the digital darkroom. Beginning with which camera to buy, Bob will help streamline the decision-making process and offer suggestions on which camera is right for you. Ralph will then discuss the basics of how to use your new digital camera.
• Choosing your digital camera Point-and-shoot vs. SLR Camera resolution
• Using your Digital Camera Basic settings (ISO, white-balance, image size and resolution)
• Shooting modes and the histogram
• Memory cards, downloading, and storing your images

Creative Tips to Improve Your Travel Images
Travel photography is more than just taking your camera on vacation. Making good images on the road is challenging and requires a little extra effort. Ralph and Bob will offer tips for improving your travel images and being in the right place at the right time.
• Improving your travel images
• Light, composition, and the power of moment

From Digital Workflow to Creative Flow
Workflow, the new buzzword in digital photography, sounds intimidating. Ralph and Bob will help de-mystify this process and discuss ways of making the transition to creative flow — where the technical side becomes an efficient part of your creative process, not a distraction. They will also discuss various options for editing and cataloguing your images.
• De-mystifying digital capture
• Making the most of your megapixels
• Raw vs. JPEG
• Sorting, editing, and cataloguing your images

Sharing Your Digital Travel Images
With digital photography and the internet, there are more options than ever for sharing your travel photos with friends and family. Ralph and Bob will discuss shortcuts for sharing your images on the web, via email, prints, and digital slideshows.
• Telling a story with your pictures
• From digital capture to print
• Making your own books, slideshows, and DVDs

The Digital Photographer’s Camera Bag
The equipment travel photographers take on a trip has changed. With digital cameras come battery chargers, cables, memory cards (digital film), and portable storage devices. Traveling comfortably requires that you pack efficiently. Take a look inside Ralph’s and Bob’s camera bags and learn what you need to pack.
• Traveling with digital
   - What to pack
   - Downloading and storing your images on the road
   - Camera care and maintenance

Travel Photography in the Digital World
will be offered in the following cities:

Online registration for Atlanta is CLOSED.

Online registration for San Diego is CLOSED.

Online registration for Dallas is CLOSED.

$195.00 per person (includes lunch)
Sessions will run from 9:00 am — 4:00 pm

Ralph Lee Hopkins
Ralph Lee Hopkins travels to the world’s wild places as photographer and expedition leader with Lindblad Expeditions, which operates six ships worldwide including the National Geographic Endeavour. He is also the Director of Photo Expeditions for the Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic alliance. His images are represented by the National Geographic Image Collection and are regularly published in National Geographic Books and publications. Ralph teaches photography workshops for Lindblad Expeditions, National Geographic, Arizona Highways, and the Santa Fe Workshops. He is also author of the popular guidebooks Hiking the Southwest’s Geology and Hiking Colorado’s Geology. His website address is: www.wilderlandimages.com.

Bob Krist
Bob Krist is a freelance photographer who works regularly on assignment for National Geographic Traveler as well as Smithsonian, Islands, and the German magazine GEO Saison. These assignments have taken him to all seven continents. He has been stranded on a glacier in Iceland, nearly run down by charging bulls in southern India, and knighted with a cutlass during a Trinidad voodoo ceremony. His awards include “Travel Photographer of the Year” from the Society of American Travel Writers, and his work was featured on the cover and in a 10-page portfolio in a recent issue of the prestigious publication, Communication Arts.

An accomplished writer as well as a photographer, he is a contributing editor at both National Geographic Traveler and Outdoor Photographer, where he writes a travel photography column. He also lectures at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC as part of the Society’s ongoing “Masters of Photography” series.

His books include Spirit of Place: The Art of The Traveling Photographer (Amphoto Books, NY), hailed by American Photographer magazine as “the best book about travel photography we’ve ever read”; In Tuscany (Broadway Books, NY), which spent a month on the New York Times bestseller list, and the coffee table books Caribbean and Portrait of the Caribbean (Graphic Arts Center Publishing). His website address is: www.bobkrist.com.