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Mountain Light 3-day Workshop

Reviewed for photo.net by Piaw Na

Why a workshop?

I've been taking photography seriously since I finally broke down and bought an SLR camera in May 1997. Since then, I've had my share of successes and failures in photography, but felt that my approach lacked structure. I knew how to make a proper exposure, I knew to take pictures mostly at sunrise and sunset, but I still had a few nagging doubts.

First of all, I felt like I was doing things by instinct. I shot mostly on manual mode, and exploring the other modes yielded inconsistent results. I felt that my successes were due more to the spectacular nature of the scenery I was surrounded by when the picture was taken, rather than talent or understanding. Finally, I felt the need for more structure, but could not bring myself to participate in a community college class which would emphasize time in the darkroom, something I had no interest in. A workshop format, with field sessions and critiques felt like the appropriate combination of spontaneity and structure.

My early growth had been due to reading books by John Shaw ("John Shaw's Landscape Photography" was my favorite) and Galen Rowell. While Shaw provided technical details in an easy-to-understand fashion, Rowell, through "Mountain Light," was my inspiration. His descriptions of chasing rainbows and combining photography with outdoor adventures spoke to me deeply, because ultimately I'm a cyclist, backpacker and sailor who carries a camera with him at times, rather than a photographer who goes cycling, sailing, and backpacking at times. The publication of "Bay Area Wild" solidified my interest in his work (I'm a firm advocate of the Bay Area, as my out-of-state friends will tell you), and I decided to sign up for his Spring workshop (March 13-15, 1998) after a visit to his Emeryville studio.

Details

The cost of the workshop was a hefty $695, payable in two installments, which included 2 field trips, 2 critique sessions over 3 days at the Mountain Light studio, but did not include meals, lodging, or overnight film processing. Through his professional connections, no doubt, participants received on the first day of the workshop, 2 rolls of Velvia, a roll of Provia, and a roll each of E100S, E100SW, and E200, a powerbar waterbottle and 3 Powerbar "harvest" snack bars (something I'd never seen before the workshop), an information package with the usual film brochures and some information tables (a hyperfocal table, information of film batch-testing, etc), and a selection of Rowell's columns from "Outdoor Photographer" detailing the use of fill-flash and the graduated neutral density filter.

Workshop participants got a 20% discount on any Mountain Light product purchases up to two months after the workshop is over.

Class Size

Rowell restricts the class size to 15 people, which was about the upper limit of manageability. Much of the class was from the software industry or retired from it, a fairly representative of the typical denizen of our audience here on the 'net. Students were generally friendly and approachable.

Lectures

Rowell started with what was probably a typical introductory lecture: "Seeing like film." It starts with the usual declaration that your eyes see way more than the 3 stops that film can typically handle, and proceeds rapidly to techniques that enable the compression of the 2000:1 sight range into the film's 8:1 range. Given the workshop format, Rowell did not cover the obvious things like f-stops and shutter speeds, and jumped straight into the use of graudated neutral density filters and fill-flash. He projected a slide which had been taken with 5 stops of grad. ND filtration and fill-flash, turning an impossible situation into a usable photograph. The lecture also covered saturation, apparent sharpness, and how film perceives colors differently from the human eye.

The second lecture was supposed to be an inspiration "Visionary Wilderness" slide-show, but students expressed so much interest in the technical details of grad. ND filter and film differences that Rowell pulled a lecture out of the 4-day advanced workshop and covered more material. It would have been an overwhelming amount of material if I had approached it the first time, but I had read most of "Galen Rowell's Vision: The Art of Adventure Photography" and "Mountain Light", so his talk served to hammer several points home (for instance, how the foreground gets overemphasized in most photographs), and I could relax and concentrate on the show.

There were other lectures scheduled, but they were jettisoned (and rightly so, I felt) in favor of longer critique sessions and more time in the field, as well as a long Q&A session with Rowell. Rowell is an excellent lecturer, and packs a lot of information into a talk. But what impressed me more than anything else was his willingness to deviate from lesson plan towards student interests (such as recent developments in digital photographic processes). I never felt like I couldn't ask a question, and every request and question I had for him was answered---he never made me feel stupid for asking a question.

Field Sessions

There were two field sessions, scheduled in the afternoon of each day. The advanced workshop has optional morning field sessions too, but in the regular workshop, students were encouraged to do field work in the morning, rather than having a structured field session setup.

Rowell declared at one point that for him, "photography is as much a sport as it is an art." And certainly, the physical aspects of outdoor photography could be exhausting, running around with all your photo gear. Since I opted to return to the previous day's location to do a morning shoot, the second day of the workshop was particularly exhausting for me, getting up at 5:00am and not getting back to the apartment where I was staying until 9:30pm.

Since film had to be delivered to lab at 7:30, we were often in the position of shooting until the last minute and then running for the van. Rowell is an amazing physical specimen---I could not even begin to keep up with him on a run, and I'm not particularly out of shape.

Rowell believes that after an initial demonstration (use of hyperfocal distance, or the grad. ND filter, or use of the fill-flash), students and instructor should be turned loose to make their images separately. This is an important factor that will determine whether you'll enjoy one of his workshops or not. It will certainly be very frustrating for photographers who want the instructor available within shouting distance for answering questions or students who want the instructor to provide instant field-critiques. For me, it was exactly what I wanted---I wanted to see how I would do in the field compared to Rowell as well as other students.

Critique Sessions

These are the heart of any workshop. I paid $700 so that I could have Galen Rowell look at my slides and tell me where I screwed up. Film was processed overnight and waiting for us the next morning, where students would grab boxes of film and rush to the light tables to hurriedly edit out 10 slides for use in the critique sessions. With 15 students, that's 150 slides.

Rowell uses a simple but effective technique of projecting each slide, and standing in front of the projector with cropping squares. The first session was humbling, because every student seemed to make the same mistake of over-cluttering the foreground, and Rowell would manage to crop each picture somehow to find a stronger picture within a picture. He would nevertheless provide encouragement to everyone, so that while ego-bruising, the critiques weren't crushing. Rowell would point out where a grad. ND filter would help, where a polarizer would be useful, where composition could be improved, and just as important, when each of those photographer's tools were overused.

The second critique session was much more varied, and students clearly shot more film and experimented more. Strong images were common, and some students showed dramatic improvement. Critique sessions tended to run over, but I felt like I got more than my money's worth out of it. Rowell was also happy to look over my portfolio when I asked him.

Effectiveness

I just got back a couple of boxes of slides taken before the workshop, and compared them with slides I took during the workshop. It would not be exaggerating to say that my photography has improved ten times because of the workshop. Not only has the intensity of the workshop concentrated my mind, but I also gained great confidence in the tools used to control lighting and allow beautiful pictures even in extreme conditions (I had bought an ND grad filter just before coming to the workshop, and can now confidently predict what kind of ND grad filter I would want in a particular situation). My nagging doubts were also resolved---I could tell that I didn't suck as a photographer, compared to my classmates, which was an ego boosting experience.

I learnt that just because the daylight was harsh didn't mean I couldn't take a good picture. I learnt that shooting Velvia at ISO 50 gave me better color saturation. I learnt that you could use Velvia to take photographs of people and they wouldn't necessarily look funny. I learnt that having other people around to edit and critique your work was a wonderful thing. I learnt that projectors are pretty cool (and the movie-screen size projector at the Mountain Light workshop was a delight). I learnt that Galen Rowell was as cool a person in real life as he comes across in his books. I learnt that even he makes mistakes like forgetting to put film into the camera before snapping the shutter sometimes.

I also got to see what others used to do their work. There was a Contax user, a smattering of Minoltas and Pentaxes, and the usual Canons and Nikons. You soon realize that the limitations experienced by some students were mainly due to the differences between cheap zooms and higher quality zooms and primes, and the availability of grad. ND filters. All the equipment was capable of taking nice pictures, however. I certainly didn't feel like my Elan II put me at a disadvantage compared to the students with F4s and EOS 1s. The student with the 28-200 Sigma, however, might have felt a little different.

For me, the results were obvious: given the chance to buy a new lens or to join the workshop, the workshop was a much better choice for me. I now know what tools I was missing, how to choose between them, and how to test them when I do acquire them. I think Rowell has saved me about 50 rolls of film's worth of experimentation just with this 3 day workshop, and along with everything else, felt the money to be very well spent. The experience was very intense (which was what I wanted), and very enjoyable. A world-class operation by a world-class photographer.

Misc

Mountain Light's staff was amazing. Questions were happily fielded and answered at great length. If you share a common interest with any of the staff or Galen, you won't have any trouble talking to any of them. This was a happy, friendly, tightly knit crew and entering their space for 3 days was a great experience.

Students were expected to supply their own film, and processing was done at The New Lab in San Francisco at $8.50 a roll. Lunch could be handled by the student or arranged by Mountain Light at $10 (worth it to avoid going out for lunch so you can have more time to jaw with others and talk about photography). A typical student would shoot about 6-10 rolls of film during the workshop.

Students could shoot any subject they chose. I'm a landscape and scenic photographer by choice. One of the students specialized in taking photographs of people. Many students did macro photography, flower shots, and in fact, most students were a lot more generalized than I am. From talking to others (and listening to the critiques) I feel that everyone felt like they got help from Rowell no matter what subject they chose, as long as it was done in the outdoors.

Pre-requisites

As I mentioned earlier, you shouldn't show up at any workshop expecting to be taught what an f-stop is. Mountain Light encouraged you to read "Mountain Light" and "Galen Rowell's Vision" before showing up so you'll have proper background and I agree. For exposure and equipment selection, John Shaw's "Landscape Photography" would also be recommended reading before attending this workshop.

I feel that a major tool taught in this workshop is the use of the grad. ND filter. If you can afford the $100 a pop Singh-Ray graduated filter, you can wait until you get to the workshop to buy them if you don't want to experiment with them first. I bought my Hi-tech grads from The Filter Connection insteads and have been happy enough with them to order a full set. Do your own research and caveat emptor!

The other tool useful to have upon entering the workshop is a flash with exposure compensation. I didn't miss having one, but you might.

You can see thumbnails of the students' photos at Mountain Light Gallery .

Conclusions

In case you can't figure it out, I loved every minute of my workshop. It was exciting, intense, and most of all, great fun. When I took up photography as a hobby, I had no idea it could be this much fun. Intellectual challenge combined with spending time outdoors enjoying our beautiful bay area scenery combined with hanging out with others who enjoy the same thing. You will eventually forget the injury to the pocketbook this workshop represents, but you will not forget the experience.

Copyright 1998 Piaw Na
piaw@mpath.com

Readers' Comments


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Piaw Na , March 18, 1998; 01:21 P.M.

I mentioned that no meals were included. Oops. There was a pizza party the first night where spouses and significant others were invited. I forgot about that.

Michelle Maria , July 27, 1999; 03:10 A.M.

I took a class with Galen Rowell in the mid 80's at the Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado. This was just prior to my entry into a full time photography program so there is some blurring of memory. I can agree on him being a great person and in amazing physical shape. We did a group hike to the top of one of the mountains near Independence Pass (at the continental divide and above the tundra line). While we all walked slowly across the crest of the mountain, he (and his dog if I remember correctly) ran along the path with amazing ease and agility. We were at this point somewhere between 12,000-14,000 thousand feet and many of us huffed and puffed while sheltering ourselves from a fierce wind.

We also had the opportunity to meet his wife who showed us the effects of the ND filter(and told many cool insider stories). I must admit I have not purchased one, as my style of photography at the time did not often require one, but it left a lasting impression as to situations where they would be called for. Prehaps something to reconsider now after reading the workshop critique.

Nature photography was not my main area of interest at the time, but as a novice the Galen Rowell workshop was certainly a great introductory photographic adventure.

Andy Biggs , February 12, 2001; 06:57 P.M.

I, too, will be attending Galen's 3-day workshop. I picked up a pair of Singh-Ray ND filters a few months ago (the 2-stop 'soft' and the 3-stop 'hard'), and have seen an improvement in my photos since I first used them. I cannot wait until this September (yes, 7 months away!) to attend Galen's workshop.

Wish me luck!

Piaw Na , August 13, 2002; 06:58 P.M.

It's now too late to sign up for this workshop. Galen and Barbara Rowell were unfortunate victims of a fatal airplane crash on August 11th, 2002. They will be much missed.

Joe Garrick , September 04, 2003; 12:43 A.M.

The Mountain Light gallery is continuing to offer workshops based on Rowell's. Details are available at Mountain Light.

Jim Emery , October 16, 2003; 10:44 P.M.

Just returned from a Mountain Light workshop with Pat O'Hara. Mountain Light Gallery is thriving remarkably despite the great loss. The workshop was awesome and challenging and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Jim Emery

Tony Mindling , October 25, 2003; 02:46 P.M.


South Fork Bishop Creek, October 2003

I, too, have just returned from the Fall Mountain Light Workshop with Pat O'Hara and the gallery staff, and would strongly second Jim's comments. I would also like to add that Mountain Light is providing support for digital photographers, which included about a quarter of the participants this time. We were able to download our images, group the selects, and get decent projection for the critique sessions (although digital projection is still no match for a projected slide). Although the workshop did not profess to offer content related to digital workflow, Pat and the staff were seemingly tireless in their efforts to follow up on all of our interests and questions. Through Pat's generously provided Photoshop "aftersession" I came home much advanced in digital darkroom technique, as well as a better and more enthused photographer.

Michael Daly , September 17, 2005; 09:56 A.M.

I'm an older guy who recently retired and hence now has the time to spend renewing his ancient hobby of photography. Over 40 years ago, when a student in the Bay Area, I used to love to walk through nature and make photos, mainly B&W, which I developed and enlarged in a small darkroom.

My photos weren't too bad, although the printing quality wasn't very good. I didn't like the darkroom. What I really enjoyed was having an excuse to go out and just walk around, actually seeing the natural beauty around me and enjoying the fresh air. Now, as mentioned, I have time to be able to go out every day of the year, at any time of day, to do just that.

And so I bought a photography magazine and read about graduated ND filters. Then I began researching on the net and came across this article and these comments.

I left the USA for Europe 36 years ago and currently live in Germany. Although we have been back to the Bay Area occasionally throughout the years (most recently two years ago, when my wife exhibited at the Sausalito Art Festival), our old dream of moving back to the Bay Area has had to come to terms with the reality of the Bay Area real estate bubble: housing is just too expensive (and the commuter traffic is terrible).

Nevertheless, coming back to the Bay Area remains our dream, of course. Bearing this in mind, you can imagine how this wonderful description of a course on nature photography in the Bay Area by this wonderful outdoor photographer impressed me. It made me feel increasingly inspired and hopeful. I wrote down the titles of his books and thought how I would someday like to meet him, maybe even take his class.

Then came the hammer: the news of the plane crash and deaths. Three years after the article was written, but now three years in the past. I guess you could call it the Christmas Carol effect. Dickens, you know, Scrooge and the spirits. Tears came to my eyes. For a few moments, it was like being a young man again, when my father died suddenly.

The great lesson is that life ends. Time is limited, it is, indeed, of the essence. And so you'd better make hay while the sun's still shining. Get out there and train physically and photographically. Give it everything you've got. The Lord giveth and He taketh away. Enjoy, appreciate, praise and photograph the beautiful Nature which He has made.

Amen


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