Botanical Dreaming showcases more than 100 one-of-a-kind flower portraits, and is an art book, a photo seminar, and a self-help book all rolled into one. Through his optimism and life view, Mark shares his belief that art must come from the heart. In sharing his in-depth knowledge of photography and his Photoshop artistry, he shows how you too can capture close-up images of flowers and turn them into masterpieces. Mark uses easy-to-follow text and stunning imagery to take you on an inspiring journey through the world of macro flower photography. Photographers and Photoshop users of all levels are sure to experience a creative harvest from Botanical Dreaming.

If you are not familiar with Mark or his work, an excerpt from the acknowledgements section of his book perfectly captures a slice of his personality and humility. He writes, “As much as I might like, I can’t take credit for these images. Proper acknowledgment for this body of work belongs to a power that I can barely understand and perhaps never fully articulate. Each spring, when brilliantly colorful flowers burst through the soil, the embers of my imagination catch fire. I recognize the mystical force at play in this creative process, which, much to my delight, remains well beyond my comprehension. This is a force to which I forever extend my humble gratitude.” And these words are just a small glimpse of the larger experience that Botanical Dreaming provides.

If, after being taken aback by the images and message in Botanical Dreaming, you are inspired to learn from and work with Mark from behind the lens, you can join him on our Creative Compositing workshop held in Boulder, CO from June 15 – 21, 2013.

Don, you are leading a workshop in Olympic National Park for RMSP in May. Can you tell our readers what they can expect if they want to join you?
First, Olympic National Park is an absolute stunner of a place, and participants can expect to capture a wide range of diverse landscapes with their cameras. The greens are out of this world! Besides the diversity of this park, which I’ll talk about more in a bit, folks on the workshop can expect to have tons of fun in a supportive and positive environment. We’ll spend lots of time outside getting the best photos we can all week.

This isn’t your first time to Olympic National Park. How many times have you been there? What is it about the area that keeps you coming back?
I’ve been to this area 10 or 12 times throughout my career, and can’t wait to go again. Each time I visit something new happens. I’ve had rainbows over the beach, massive waves crashing the shoreline, orange sunsets, bald eagles fishing, seastack rocks covered in colorful starfish, fog, mist, forest sunshine making beams of light, and always those green greens of the deep rainforest – and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Much more awaits us in this awesome park.

Walk us through the workshop. Where are you going to start and end? Photographically, what will you focus on throughout the week? (For example, will you teach macro techniques in the rainforest, landscape techniques on the beach, etc?)
We’ll begin in Forks, Washington, where we’ll be close to the Pacific Ocean and all its glory. From here we get to photograph sunsets, beach scenes, seastacks, ocean waves and more. Then we move on to Port Angeles, where we point our cameras at old growth rainforests, massive trees, crashing waterfalls, babbling brooks, and so much green that you won’t believe it’s possible. Landscape photography is definitely the focus of this workshop with intimate scenes and some macro photography thrown in as it comes along. Wildlife is also a possibility. There are seabirds, eagles, forest elk, and more, and if it presents itself, we’ll certainly take time to get photos of it.

Before becoming a professional photographer, you were trained as a zoologist and worked as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife ranger and endangered species researcher. Does this experience come through in your photography and teaching style? If so, how?
I think that it must as all of us constantly draw on our past experience as we go forward. My love for, and knowledge of wildlife means that, as I said above, if animals present themselves we’ll do our best to try and capture compelling images of them. But more than that, I feel as if I really have a true respect and connection with all things nature related. My passion is showing or teaching others about the wonders of nature, and there aren’t many places better for this than in the hugely diverse Olympic National Park.

Olympic NP boasts some pretty amazing beach scenery as well as views of the Olympic Mountains and lush rainforests. How will you squeeze it all in to this workshop? Can someone expect to create images of all the park has to offer?
They certainly can! We’ll have plenty of time to get those ocean views as well as the deep rainforest scenes, numerous waterfalls, and even some snowcapped mountain peak views as a bonus. Olympic National Park is perhaps the most diverse park within the U.S. but the good news is that it’s all in a relatively compact area, so getting from one habitat to another doesn’t take too long.

Besides the obvious gear someone should expect to bring with them, what are three otherthings participants should throw in their bag?
Be sure to have some sort of protection to keep your camera equipment dry. We will be photographing in a rainforest after all. Even mist from waterfalls is prevalent so a heavy plastic bag for your camera (at the very least) can be handy. A polarizing filter is one accessory that participants will certainly need. From waterfalls to wet rocks, to forest greens, this filter is invaluable for popping colors. A third thing would be good, solid, waterproof shoes or boots. Nothing makes a photographer happier than dry feet when out shooting (ok, gorgeous light, amazing scenes, cooperative wildlife, rainbows, perfect waterfalls, “God beams,” and such make photographers happy too, but dry feet do help you to see all those things).

Since I can’t resist, will you be talking at all about the Twilight phenomenon? Maybe a lecture on how to photograph vampires?
The craze has definitely taken over the Forks area and I can promise we’ll keep our eyes open and our wooden stakes at the ready. Thanks for the opportunity to answer your questions. I look forward to getting people excited about Olympic National Park and all it has to offer!

To read more about this workshop, check it our on our website here.
View Don’s website here and his full bio here.

Landscapes & Lightroom in Big Sky, MT September 15-21, 2012

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Yellowstone in Autumn September 22-28, 2012

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Click here to view the embedded video.

And in case you missed it, here’s a slideshow of work produced by the Intermediate Photography workshop students from a few weeks ago, including Margaret’s!

Mark S. Johnson will be teaching RMSP’s workshop Creative Compositing: The Impressionistic Photograph in Boulder, Colorado on June 16-22.

Below is the schedule and a brief synopsis of each tutorial:

Thursday, May 3

Episode One – Content-Aware Move and Patch

Learn how to move a subject while simultaneously (and miraculously) hiding the original.

Friday, May 4

Episode Two – Camera Raw Improvements

Discover the brave new world of Camera Raw editing, complete with improved tone correction sliders, better clarity and brushable white balance and noise reduction.

Saturday, May 5

Episode Three – The New Blur Gallery

If you’ve ever dreamed of selectively controlling depth of field during post-production, you’ll get a kick out of the new Blur Gallery.  Use Field Blur to produce a graduated blur, Iris Blur for shallow depth of field, and Tilt-Shift Blur to simulate the look of photographing a toy model.

Sunday, May 6

Episode Four – Adaptive Wide Angle Lens Correction

Fix geometric distortion and perspective issues caused by a fisheye or wide-angle lens using blazing fast on-canvas controls.

Monday, May 7

Episode Five – The World’s Best Oil Paint Filter

Adobe holds the title for the best and easiest to use Oil Paint filter.  Come see what I mean.

Tuesday, May 8

Episode Six – Crop Tool Refinements

Experience the completely reengineered Crop Tool and the new Perspective Crop Tool.

Wednesday, May 9

Episode Seven – Color Range Skin Tone Detection

Learn how to quickly create selections of skin that make color correction a snap.

Thursday, May 10

Episode Eight – The Overhauled Lighting Effects Filter

Discover a faster, more dynamic Lighting Effects Filter that produces stunning lighting and texture results.

Friday, May 11

Episode Nine – 3D Enhancements in Photoshop CS6 Extended

Learn how to generate realistic 3D effects complete with lights and shadows using a more intuitive user interface.

Saturday, May 12

Episode Ten – Little Improvements that Make a Big Difference

These “Just Do It” (JDI) improvements won’t get much hype, but boy will they make a big difference!

This is a question we have fielded many times over the years, and although it is a question that requires a photographer-specific answer, we thought it would be helpful to put up a post addressing some details of our Basic Photography workshops.

Naturally, your own personal experience and level of knowledge should help steer you toward finding a photography course which is right for you. However, above all else you need to make sure you are 100% honest with yourself when you assess your abilities. Just because you have been photographing for years, or even decades, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are beyond the basics. In our 25 years of experience, we have noticed a remarkable difference between those who “enter in” to the process with Intermediate Photography thinking they are beyond the basics, and those who take our Basic Photography workshop and progress on to Intermediate.  Sure, the former can be done, but more often than not, skipping the all-important first step reveals “gaps” in one’s knowledge. If not adequately addressed, these “gaps” can become potholes and eventually craters down the road.

How does that old saying go?  Something about a house only being as strong as the foundation it’s built upon….  Yep, It applies to photography too!

Basic is Basic is Basic … right?

If you have decided that starting at square one with your photo education is the best thing to do, you must find a course that will work for you. A quick Google search, or scan of the course catalog at a nearby Community College might reveal dozens of options to choose from. But what differentiates one Basic Photography course from another? After all, they’re all called “Basic Photography”… right?

During a Basic Photography workshop at RMSP we focus heavily on two aspects: teaching the nuts and bolts of photography and making sure participants enjoy and engage in the “experience” of photography.

When we say nuts and bolts, we are referring to the things that actually make photography happen. In tangible terms, this means that you ignore most of the settings on camera and go straight to using Manual mode. By learning in Manual mode, you see firsthand how f-stops, shutter speeds and ISO determine your exposure. Learning how each affects the other, and ultimately the outcome of your images, is vitally important and is the foundation of every image you will create in your photography career. Added into the mix during this learning process are other topics including depth of field, selective focus, file formats, outsmarting your camera’s meter, histogram, white balance, the temperature of light, composition techniques, and downloading images to your computer to name a few. By the way, if you just read that list and now suddenly feel overwhelmed because it all sounds foreign, take a deep breath. Relax.  Remember, on a workshop, you are learning these things incrementally, from a professional photography instructor with a group of people who are at your same level. And most likely you are laughing a lot too!

This brings us to the other aspect we focus on during a Basic workshop, which can be summed up in one word: experience. At some point in your learning process, you actually need to get up, get outside and introduce the rubber to the road. That is why approximately one third of your time in an RMSP Basic Photography workshop is spent on location learning to shoot with your camera.

We have always been of the belief that photography is an around-the-clock pursuit. Great light usually doesn’t appear when it’s convenient for you, so it doesn’t make much sense for a workshop to limit your learning hours to 9 – 5, or for a few hours in the evening. Long, hands-on and involved (yet fun) days define our Basic workshops.  For example, during our Missoula-based workshops you might spend a morning photographing on the campus of the University of Montana, in the nearby Rattlesnake Wilderness, or an afternoon on the grounds of historic Fort Missoula or at Moon Randolph homestead, located in the hills just two miles north of downtown.  These location visits offer unique experiences and wonderful shooting opportunities where trial-and-error learning is encouraged. Since shoots are followed by critique sessions, your successes can be celebrated and your mistakes identified prior to the next days shoot.

In 2012, we offer nine different sessions of our Basic Photography workshop. Five of these are held in our hometown of Missoula, MT. and are taught by Doug Johnson or Kathy Eyster.  The other four are offered “On The Road”in Fredericksburg, TX, Boise, ID with Doug Johnson, Salt Lake City, UT with Lynn Hoffman-Brouse, and Indianapolis, IN with Eileen Rafferty.

Instructor Lynn Hoffman-Brouse recently wrapped up the session of Basic Photography in Fredericksburg, TX. To see the slideshow of images created by her students, go here. To see the work of Doug Johnson’s February Basic Photography workshop, go here.

So, what do you if you are simply blown away by all of the creative work from this tremendous group of photographers, and can’t seem to narrow down your decision to just a single image? You choose TWO, of course! That’s right, Scott Kelby himself is inviting two photographers from the workshop to Photoshop World as his invited guests. We’re happy to announce both Wendi Kennedy and Matthew Trabold are the chosen winners for this honor. Below are the outstanding images deemed to be his favorites. Congratulations, Matthew and Wendi!

Truly, every single one of the nine Vegas to Zion workshop participants are to be congratulated for their amazing work on this workshop, as well as both Gabe Biderman and Tim Cooper for the excellent instruction and inspiration they provided. If you missed it before, here’s their concluding slideshow that gives you an idea of the overall experience and what these folks were inspired to produce. Heck, we’re as blown away by their work as Scott and certainly don’t envy him having to make a decision like this! Great job to all involved and many thanks to Scott Kelby for his generous offer!

Also, due to Gabe’s due diligence (Thanks, Gabe!), each participant was able to shoot with a Lensbaby Composer lens courtesy of Lensbaby. As another added bonus, the person producing the best shots of the workshop (as deemed by the Gabe & Tim) would win a free Lensbaby Composer. Congratulations are in order for Anna Gerling for taking home this honor and the complimentary lens (but we sure don’t envy Gabe & Tim for having to make this choice amongst so much outstanding work)!

Enjoy the fruits of their labor and consider joining us next year for this spectacular experience!

Led by longtime RMSP instructors and macro aficionados, Elizabeth Stone and Tony Rizzuto, Macro Photography: A Closer Look takes place July 1 – 6, 2012 in Missoula, MT. This week long experience is your chance to dedicate yourself and your curiosity to nothing but macro photography. The dynamic duo of Tony and Elizabeth start with the basics and don’t look back.  From composition to specialized equipment to lighting techniques, they roll out the educational red carpet for you! Many photographers choose to explore flowers with their macro lenses, and on this workshop you will too – from shooting a bouquet in a studio setting to flowers crawling over the grounds of a local nursery.

If you are interested in pursuing your curiosity or existing passion for macro photography, I encourage you to give us a call to discuss the details. As of today (3-14-2012) there are four spots remaining in this workshop. Remember, as with every RMSP workshop, you can take advantage of our early bird discount of $50 if you register before the early registration date, which in this case is April 2, 2012.

In the meantime, check out these macro images taken by Tony and Elizabeth. Yeah … i’d say these two know a thing or two about macro!