The Versatile Travel Photographer with Ralph Lee Hopkins and Jay Dickman

Great travel photography requires a command of many types of photography – from close-up portraits and loose candids, to off-the-hip street photography at festivals and celebrations – from architecture and cityscapes, to landscapes and nature. Becoming versatile requires that you become like a one-man band, utilizing what technology has to offer while developing an eye for composition and a feel for being in the right place at the right time.

Join National Geographic Traveler photographers Ralph Lee Hopkins and Jay Dickman as they share their secrets and insights into how to make travel photos that convey a powerful sense of place and capture rare moments. Learn simple tricks for using flash to expand when, where, and how you shoot, as well as collecting audio so you can produce multi-media slide shows of your work.

Get real-world advice to help make the most of your travels. Using a slide show/lecture format Ralph and Jay will show you how to add depth and “local color” to your images to make your travel photography zing!

This one-day seminar is intended for amateur to advanced photographers looking to take their travel photography to the next level.

1. Introduction
   Travel photography is experiencing a renaissance in the digital world where the lines between creativity, art, and technology are disappearing. Jay will present a behind-the-scenes look from a recent assignment at the elements that are needed in a travel story – Portraits, architecture, festivals and celebrations and landscapes and cityscapes. Ralph will then review digital cameras, de-mystifying technical aspects while offering tips on shooting modes and understanding exposure and histograms.
   • Understanding the Elements of Travel Photography
     Rome cover story for National Geographic Traveler (July/August 2008)
   • The Digital World
     Although the basics of making photographs have not changed, digital technology has changed forever how we go about it
     - Review of Camera Basics (ISO, Color Space, White-Balance, Resolution)
     - Shooting Modes and the Histogram
     - A note about Tripods
2. Improving the Quality of 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 will offer tips for improving your travel images by discussing ways to make images that have impact. Jay will follow with a presentation about using flash and time-tested techniques for approaching and photographing people.
   • Ten Tips for improving your Travel Images
     Establishing Shot, Seeing the Light, The Right Lens, Impact of Color, Elements of Composition, Showing Motion, Sense of Scale, Time of Day, Waiting on Weather, Power of Moment
   • Making Effective Use of your Flash
     Fill Flash, Bounce Flash, Off-Camera Flash, Slow Sync, Multiple Flash
   • Photographing People
     The Art, Gesture, Candid vs. Posed
3. On the Road
   The equipment that travel photographers take on the road has changed. With digital cameras come battery chargers, cables, memory cards, and portable storage devices. Traveling comfortably requires that you pack efficiently. Take a look inside Ralph’s and Jay’s camera bags and learn what you need to pack. Ralph will then outline his workflow from capture to catalogue.
   • What’s in the Bag
     - Ralph ’s Bag
     - Jay’s Bag
   • Work Flow for the Road
     Capture, Download, Back-up, First Edit, Catalogue
4. Putting it all Together
   One way to challenge yourself to put it all together is by tackling an assignment. Whether photographing an exotic destination for a major magazine or a self-assignment in your own backyard, photographing with a narrative in mind will help you grow as a photographer.
   • Street Photography at Festivals and Celebrations
     - Tribal Faces of Papua New Guinea
     - Mexico’s Day of the Dead Celebration
   • People, Architecture and cityscapes
     - The cultural landscape of India
5. Sharing Your Images with Others
   With digital photography and the internet, there are more options than ever for sharing your travel photos with friends, family, or prospective publishers. Jay will discuss shortcuts for sharing your images on the web, digital slideshows, and for adding sound to your presentations. Multi-Media and Digital Presentations

The Versatile Travel Photographer
will be offered in the following cities:

$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. 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.

Jay Dickman
A Pulitzer-Prize winner and National Geographic Photographer, Jay has spent three months living in a stone-age village in Papua New Guinea, a week under the Arctic ice in a nuclear attack submarine and sank on a boat on the Amazon. In addition to more than twenty-five assignments for the National Geographic Society, Jay has taught workshops for the American Photo Mentor Series and Photography at the Summit. Jay and his wife Becky are founders of the FirstLight Workshop series. He also co-authored “Perfect Digital Photography”, a comprehensive resource book on digital photography published by McGraw-Hill. Jay's website is: www.jaydickman.net.

Cancellation Policy: If for any reason you need to cancel prior to ten days before the seminar, a $45 cancellation fee will be assessed. There will be no refund for cancellation less than ten days before the seminar. Failure to attend seminar will be treated as a total forfeiture of money paid.