Greetings!

I hope your holiday's were pleasant, peaceful, and Santa brought you that new camera you wanted. Last week Val Doherty and I signed a lease on a gallery/workshop studio space in downtown Two Harbors. We take occupancy in March, and plan a Memorial Day weekend Grand Opening. The gallery will be called "Waterfront Gallery" the address is 632 1st Avenue, Two Harbors Minnesota 55616.

Once again this year our workshops are proving to be extremely popular. While we currently have openings in all workshops, they are filling fast. You can check all of our workshop listings at www.coldsnap.com. John Gregor

One of my favorite places to shoot in Victoria is Butchart Gardens. Our workshop is scheduled for the peak of tulip bloom! It's an incredible sight to see 250,000 bulbs, the crabapples, plums, cherries, azaleas and rhododendrons all blooming. Walking around the bend and down each new path I felt it couldn't get better than this, then I would discover another incredible display of springtime color. I felt compelled to stop frequently (nearly every 20 feet) to compose my next shot. With 55 acres I had my work cut out for me!

Fisherman's Wharf is another of those photographically rich spots, great for macro work, reflections, fishermen with their catch and colorful houseboats. It was hard to drag myself away.

Victoria, known as the City of Gardens and the capital of British Columbia, lives up to its name with an abundance of parks, waterfalls, harbors and Victorian and Edwardian castles, including Hatley with its salt water estuary, bridges and historic gardens. By the time we arrive, the poppies and Japanese gardens will be in full color.

I am excited by the itinerary we have planned and I know you'll find Victoria as alive and inspiring as I do.

During a workshop you “live” photography from sun up to sun down which offers enormous opportunities to try various techniques at different sites. The workshops provide time to learn to see potential images in different ways and to try to capture those images with a variety of setups. Workshop leaders are there to guide you when you need it and to let you work on your own when you want. And, I found that I learn not just from the leaders but from the other participants as well. Since photography is a common interest among the group it is the prominent (but not only) topic of conversation over meals and while moving around to different sites.

After several years of taking workshops, I still find them worthwhile. Progressing into the digital realm opened up new possibilities – not just for images but processing the images after the shoot. With each workshop – I take on new challenges in understanding and utilizing my “eye,” in addition to expanding my knowledge of the capabilities of my equipment. Photography, after all, is an ongoing process – there is always something to learn and try and you never stop learning.

With the workshop experience, I have become a better photographer. I have captured a number of images that have been enlarged, framed, and exhibited locally – and, they have been well received.

Camera—SLR type either film or digital with Depth of Field Preview, Lenses: Wide Angle lens 28-70 or equivalent , Telephoto lens 70-200 or equivalent, Close-up lens or extension tubes, Tripod, and Cable Release.

There is nothing very exotic in that list. About the only thing that may throw many aspiring garden photographers is the “depth of field preview” (DFP.) Not all modern cameras have this feature. I consider it a necessity. Check your camera manual to see if your camera has this feature and read up on how to use it.

To practice the use of your DFP set up your camera on a tripod in a well lit place. Arrange your camera with its 50mm lens (or equivalent) in front of a softball sized object, as close to the object as the lens will focus. Place a few other objects in the background several feet behind the closest object. Look through the viewfinder and arrange the closest object so it occupies approximately the right third of the frame, this may require you to back off from the closest focus distance, and that’s ok. Notice how out of focus the other elements in the background are. Now select an aperture of f11 using either manual or aperture priority exposure mode. While you are looking through the lens locate the DFP button and activate it. The first thing you will see is a much darker viewfinder. This is normal and unavoidable. You should also notice the relative increased sharpness of the background objects. Changing the aperture settings should increase or decrease the relative sharpness of these objects, while also increasing or decreasing the viewfinder brightness. Practice using the DFP feature until you understand its function.

Your selection of focus in garden photography is probably the single most important visual feature in composing a photograph, therefore an intimate understanding of your camera’s depth of field preview is a critical step toward understanding how to improve your garden photography.

Using the depth of field preview will, in fact, force you to practice good photography habits that allow many other prerequisites to fall into place for great photographs. In order to effectively use the DFP your camera should be mounted on a tripod. Carefully considering the DFP should allow you to consider all visual elements that have been included in the composition of your photograph. This leads me to my next tip for better garden photographs: If an object is in front of the lens the moment you trip the shutter it will be included in the image! While this tip may sound obvious and self evident, I cannot tell you the number of times that I have heard from beginning photographers “I didn’t see that branch, tree, stick, person, when I took the picture!” I tell them that it was there—I guarantee it. Carefully consider every element that is included in your composition before you take the photograph, weather it is the object of focus or simply in the background of the image, and the only way to know its true visual impact in the final image is to use your depth of field preview.

Most photographs that are not successful suffer from visual elements that have been included in the original composition but do not contribute to the structure of visual order that the photographer has attempted to achieve. Understanding and using the depth of field preview will help you eliminate unwanted elements in your final images.

Relax !! Actually this has happened to me and probably everyone else at sometime or other. These feelings can be caused by a variety of reasons and can be solved in a variety of ways. What I see most of the time is that people just don’t take the time to relax and familiarize themselves with their new environment. If you find your anxiety or dissatisfaction rising put the camera gear down and walk around. Isolate yourself if you must. Calm down. When you start back to work don’t grab for that new camera or lens right away. Start out shooting with the camera or lenses you’re most comfortable with and what you know works. Back to basics! For me after a long hike, isolation and a close-up lens seems to get me going.

New people, new gear, new location, and concerns about work or family matters, all these are distractions and can lead to disappointing images. I find the key is to empty your mind of all distractions, get comfortable in your new environment. Begin the photographic process at the beginning, which is seeing something interesting. You don’t need and probably shouldn’t even try to do this through a camera. Spend whatever time you need just looking for interesting scenes or subjects. Bring your camera back into the process when you have worked through your initial visual jitters.