Mountain Laurel blossom season in the Hudson Valley is a wondrous time of the year. The Hudson Valley is magical any time of year, but lush thickets of star shaped pink and white Mountain Laurel blossoms add a special and magical touch.

Join award winning photographer Greg Miller, a Hudson Valley resident, on a morning shoot followed by an afternoon indoor session that focuses on Photoshop workflow and general landscape photography topics.  The morning will include photographing at some of Greg's favorite Mountain Laurel locations in Harriman State Park and/or Sterling Forest State Park.   Greg will work with each student to optimize composition and exposure.   A special feature of this workshop, for those who desire,  is an in-the-field narrative by Greg about his thought process and methods as he actually selects and shoots a photograph.  This feature is offered because of experiences Greg had in workshops he attended early in his photographic career where he was left wanting to know more about how the workshop leader went about capturing images in real life.  This takes the workshop beyond an understanding of the principles of photography to the practical application of those skills in the field.

The class will then  move to an indoor facility within Sterling Forest for a provided lunch.  Following lunch, each student may select an image to be optimized jointly with Greg in front of the class.  Adobe Camera RAW and Photoshop will be utilized and Greg will demonstrate key elements of his image optimization workflow.  Students will see Greg's RAW workflow in practice as each participant's image is optimized. 

Other topics to be covered in this workshop are:

• Pre-visualizing images

• How to see the way the camera sees and what that means to your photography.  This includes how 3D landscapes translate to 2D images and also how film/digital sensors see light vs. how the human eye sees light.

• Photography gear for the landscape photographer including cameras, Lenses, Filters, and other accessories

This class is appropriate for serious photographers of all abilities.  Ability to hike 2 to 3 miles on trails is required.  Digital SLR and tripod are recommended. The workshop will be held rain or shine.

10 reasons you must not miss this workshop:

• Learn 2 ways to instantly improve all of your your compositions

• Learn why a compass should be the next piece of photography gear that you buy

• Learn why your images don't look the same as what you remember seeing

• Learn 3 reasons why "near / far" compositions may not be your best friend

• Learn the reasons why you should shoot RAW (instead of jpg or tiff) for your landscape photos

• Learn everything you need to know about your camera's Histogram.

• Learn the 2 biggest downsides to using HDR to expand your camera's dynamic range

• Learn how to get really deep blacks in your images but maintain shadow detail

• Learn 2 very powerful uses of blending modes that you will use for optimizing almost all of your images

• See what is in Greg's camera bag