"Paradise for Photo Fans" Blog Review by MC & DJ, Carl Mindling

Mr. Carl Mindling posted a story and review of Aperture Academy on his blog, reachcarl.blogspot.com, the blog for his website, iMCevents.com. This was an unsolicited review, and we want to thank Mr. Mindling for sharing his opinion of Aperture Academy and our intrepid leader, Stephen Oachs. (Carl, we are very glad you enjoyed your time with us, and we look forward to seeing you again!)

Following is an excerpt from Carl's blog post; please visit his blog to read the full article and learn more about Carl and iMCevents.com...

It was one of their recent events that got me to make the trip from Santa Cruz. Stephen held a holiday party for many of this students, family, friends and associates. I had been to Aperture Academy once this summer for an industry event and walked away raving about the facility. It's like the motto there is "Go Big or Go Home." Every inch of their 4,000 square feet leaves a positive impression. Their new Mac workstations, brochures, furnishings, their website and every tiniest detail is a lesson in image and branding. You just can't help but feel like you're dealing with experts here. [Read the full article here]

Get Tack Sharp Wildlife Photographs

Following is an excerpt from photography instructor Stephen Oachs' article at ApertureAcademy.com...

How to get the sharpest wildlife photos possible

In the summer of 2010, I spent two weeks in Newfoundland photographing a cute little bird called the Atlantic Puffin. Over the years I've photographed a wide variety of animals, but this trip to Newfoundland, Canada, pushed the boundaries...high winds, difficult light and tiny little birds much smaller than I realized. I found myself using every strategy in the book in hopes of coming home with sharp, high quality images of these clumsy, fun little birds. I hope these tips will help you with your next photography adventure.

Fill the Frame (if you can!)

My next challenge was to get as close to these little critters as possible without harming their environment, scaring them or changing their behavior. As a wildlife photographer it's important to be respectful and remember you are the guest. What's the saying, "Take only pictures, leave only footprints." It's important to me to live that.

When I'm on a photo shoot with an intended target (in this case, the Atlantic Puffin) I always spend the first day getting to know the subject...their behaviors, their comfort level with me at 100 yards, at 75 yards, etc. I sit, wait and watch. I spend this time mostly observing and taking test shots; learning the light and the compositions I like best. You'd be amazing at how much you can learn just watching for a short time.

Knowing your subject will help you approach safely for them, and for you. You'll find with some observation and patience, you can get within range for quality photography. Always be respectful of this space, as you can never fully predict a wild animal's behavior.

The other method I like to use is the placement of a blind, a couple days prior to the shoot. This allows your subject(s) to get used to it, then you can sneak in under the cover of darkness and sit in wait. Often times this will put you right in the middle of the action!

Read the full article, get great tips, see photo examples and a couple videos of Stephen's location experience in Newfoundland at  http://www.apertureacademy.com/how-to-tack-sharp-wildlife.php.

New Digital Photography How-To Articles at ApertureAcademy.com - Newest is on Composition

We are building a library of articles designed to provide a wealth of information to help any level of photographer improve his or her skills, techniques, or just think outside the box a bit. Our instructors are sharing their experience and knowledge, and it is available for everyone. We launched the page and have the first articles available. Following is a small portion of our newest article. Please let us know if you find these helpful, and if there are any subjects you'd like to read about!

What is Composition?

Composition is a tricky thing. There's no right and no wrong. Often a photographer's uniqueness, his or her style, is attributed largely to their approach and vision to composition. I'm going to share with you mine, and how I often teach it, and if you learn something from my approach you'll likely go on to develop your own eye for composition.

So what is it? To me, it's an ingredient, a balance and a flow. It is a means to tell the story, to pull the viewer into that single moment in time. It's a rock in the ocean that anchors the lower portion of the scene, tying the surf to the horizon and a warm, colorful sunset in the distance. It's the depth of field that isolates a subject from it's busy background. And sometimes, it's as simple as fresh perspective, the notion of conveying a common idea such as a road winding into the forest, but inches off the pavement where the freshly painted yellow stripe leads the eye out with great detail...you can almost feel the road, it's cold and rough.

Read the full article here: Tips for Better Photography Composition
Read more of the growing collection of articles at our How-To Better Your Photography article library.

It's not easy getting "The Shot"

Post written by Brian Rueb, Photography Instructor for Aperture Academy

Often times, when we see an image in a magazine, online, or in a gallery, we’re impressed at the beauty, composition, or presentation of the shot. Most of the time we don’t stop to think of all that goes into actually getting "The Shot."

After completing seven days of photography in Southern Utah and Northern Nevada, I decided to give you a brief recap of exactly how hard photographers work to come away with a few images they can be proud of. 

The goal of any landscape and wildlife photographer is to be in a position that allows them to spend as much time during the day shooting as possible. This means putting in hours and hours of research ahead of time so that we have a general idea of the layout, sun position, weather and composition possibilities before we even get to a scene.

With a good 50 hours worth of research already under my belt, I set off for the Southwest United States on a Tuesday afternoon.  

Over the following days I endured:  

1. Six nights sleeping in the back of a Toyota Prius. Photographers need to adhere to a budget in order to maximize the time we spend in the field, and to save cost, and put myself closer to the areas I want to photograph I’ve chosen to sleep in my vehicle. This saves cash…but the rest I get isn’t the best.  



2. One shower. During the middle of the trip we broke down and got a proper hotel one night to clean and get a good night sleep. A shower does amazing things to rejuvenate you after five days of hiking grime has built up.



3. I hiked nearly 50 miles over the week. About half of that was in water that required special equipment to keep me warm, safe, and my gear dry.  



4. I watched as rain began to fall while I was in the middle of a slot canyon. Slot Canyons are amazing places for photography, but during a storm they can be deadly. Watching rain drops keep fallin’ on my head while I was in the middle of one of these canyons was quite nerve wracking. Luckily, the sun came back out, and I was treated to a canyon all to myself for photography. Which is rare.



5. I drove over 2300 miles in seven days. A lot of photography is being in the right place at the right time. This means constant watching of weather reports, and changing plans on the fly to give yourself the best opportunity to be where the photography is hopefully great. 



6. I was in a different location for sunrise and sunset every day….and spent the afternoons in still different areas. Being in the right place for sunrise photography requires that you get up at least an hour or two before, usually hike somewhere in the dark…and this is all before you really know whether or not you’re going to have conditions worthy of photographing. Over those seven days, I had only two sunsets that were worth photographing (one was amazing…which made up for the others).  I had only one sunrise that was even decent…the rest were bland, but still required that I get up, break down camp, and get to my location before there was light to see.

This is hard work for only a couple of images, but these trips serve another purpose, too. They allow us to get out and experience places firsthand…so that when we’re conducting a workshop, we know where to be and the time of day to be there. We’re familiar with the types of issues students are going to come in contact with, because we’ve lived through them ourselves.  

When you sign up for a workshop with us, you’re getting that experience and research working for you…so all you have to do is show up and shoot.  It’s just up to you whether you sleep in your car or not.