Learn to better harness your camera and your artistic imagination to improve your nature photography and expand your naturalist skill set. In this weekend-long course, we’ll delve into each part of the nature photography workflow, including conception, composition, exposure, camera technique, editing, and production. We’ll visit local natural areas in the morning and evening to take advantage of prime photography light, then return to the nature center for post-processing, evaluation, and instructional topics designed around the interests and experience of the group. Participants will leave with a group-critiqued portfolio of beautiful photographs, and a powerful new approach to walking in the north woods.

Course Goals

• Participants will gain new techniques and frameworks for composing, photographing, and processing images of the natural world.

• Participants will develop or strengthen their full artistic workflow by establishing and mastering routines and techniques that capitalize on each individual’s style and interests.

Course Objectives

• Practice techniques for mastering creative use of shutter speed, aperture, focus, and exposure.

• Instruction in topical subjects such as macro photography, wildlife photography, insects, botany, landscapes, etc. Topics chosen based on student interest.

• Instruction and practice in post-processing technique and workflow.

• Field-based photography activities exploring the intersection of composition technique and natural history investigation.

• Develop fluency in analyzing and critiquing photographs via group evaluation of photographs taken during this course.

Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop with photo editing software. This course will primarily use Adobe Lightroom Classic, but alternative software that the participant is familiar with will be fine.

Course credit available through Castleton University

This course is part of North Branch Nature Center’s Biodiversity University
Register at BiodiversityUniversity.org starting Jan 1