Yosemite Photography Workshop

Yosemite Spring Weekend; May 27 – 29, 2011

Phil Hawkins Photography — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 06:18:31 +0000

Memorial Day Weekend; a full house of some of the most INCREDIBLE photographers I’ve ever had. And, as you will see, one student insisted on using an iPhone and showing some of us with full-sized DSLR how it’s done!

We had screwy weather, huge crowds and a lot of changing weather. If you can imagine, we had snow on the highways requiring chains, they closed Glacier Point Road due to snow… It was crazy! But we got good shots and turned a lemon into lemonade with 7 solid hours of dramatic shooting conditions at Tunnel View.

This going to be a long post, especially for a 3 day workshop. I have 40-some-odd shots to post, all worthy of anyone’s wall.

Workshop student Jeff Perkins shot this tremendous image of a rainbow over Yosemite Valley.

Workshop student Jaime caught Greg Bull shooting his dad Philip at Washburn Point...

...and the result a fine shot with perfect fill-flash.

This is as close as we got to a group shot; if you have any experience herding cats, you know how hard it was to get everyone in the same spot for long enough to do it. Here, Brian, Randy, Jeff and Jaime stand still long enough to capture.

Greg Bull (blue shirt) shoots at Glacier Point

Roberta (driving) with Jaime (back seat) off to the next shooting location

Workshop student Jaime got this shot of the crowd at Washburn Point. This was the first day of Glacier Point Road opening for the season and there was a rush of people.

Workshop student Jeff Altman got this great reflection shot of Upper Yosemite Fall in Cook's Meadow.

Workshop student Greg Bull shoots Upper Yosemite Fall.

Workshop student Joel Hershman followed my advice and went wandering for different shots and came up with reflections in a standing pool of water in Cook's Meadow. We all went over to copy what he had done...

Workshop student Roberta got this reflection of Upper Yosemite Fall.

Phil Bull shoots Cascade Fall from under the bridge.

Workshop student Joel Hershman shot this pano from Cook's Meadow.

Workshop student Phil Bull saw this unique shot along the Merced River.

I absolutely love this shot. It captures the essence of the lure of shooting Tunnel View, probably one of the most photographed vistas in the world. Photo by workshop student Phil Bull

Another great shot from workshop student Phil Bull along the banks of the Merced River.

Workshop student Phil Bull shot this unique view of tree stumps at the Mariposa Grove of big trees.

One more from workshop student Phil Bull from Glacier Point

Workshop student Phil Bull with this nice shot of the night stars circling the North Star.

As promised, workshop student Jeff Perkins was a major show-off with his iPhone getting some truly unbelievable results.

These were done with an iPhone app called "True HDR"; can you believe it?? Magnificent!

Another iPhone shot from Jeff taken from Glacier Point

more from the iPhone as we shot the sunset and dusk on the Merced River.

Spring Week Long; May 16 – 20, 2011

Phil Hawkins Photography — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:20:43 +0000

What can you say about 13 excellent students, prodigies really, and a variety of weather we could not have ordered out of a Sears catalog! And for the second year in a row, the May workshop was greeted by wintery weather, rain, clouds, cold and yes, snow!! All perfect for shooting and learning new techniques.

The "Partial" group shot; some students opted not to do this hike, and Kevin, the ex-marine went all the way to the top with only a knife clenched in his teeth... (not really, but almost)

Dick composes his image.

Laurie enjoying the day in Cook's Meadow shooting panoramas.

Rudy and Laurie from Columbia Point on the Yosemite Falls Trail.

Marty and Shirley also from the Columbia Point Trail

Hal and Dave, brothers, from Columbia Point

From Cook's Meadow, capturing panos

Steve Bonswor captured this pano from Cook's Meadows.

Taking in the view from Columbia Point

Shooting Vernal Fall from the flat rock.

Kevin (red cap) prepares to shoot Vernal Fall

Kevin Black took this great shot of the Upper Yosemite Fall

We did night shooting from Tunnel View.

Interesting post procedures on this unique shot of grass in the Merced River by workshop student Steve Bonswor. Excellent example of when it's right to break all the rules.

Kevin Black shot this tremendous image of a Yosemite Black Bear. This is a rare untagged bear in Yosemite Valley in the vicinity of Bridalveil Fall.

Several students stayed after the workshop to shoot the "moonbow" at Yosemite Falls. They stayed until 2am! Steve Bonswor got this great one!

Workshop student Kevin Black got this neat shot from Tunnel View. Great black and white conversion!

Nice shot of Yosemite Creek below Lower Yosemite Fall by workshop student Shirley.

Yosemite Early Spring 4/8 – 4/9/2011

Phil Hawkins Photography — Fri, 13 May 2011 22:32:45 +0000

The March workshop was canceled due to the park being closed, so we had a make-up workshop with Ashim and Chet, students originally scheduled for that class.

We had perfect shooting conditions for the weekend! Lot’s of clouds, flowing water, etc. It was GREAT!!

Chet took this early morning shot

Ashim (left) and Chet shooting test shots at Valley View

The view from Tunnel View was outstanding!

Another great shot from Chet of Upper Yosemite Fall in the background and the Merced River in the foreground.

Ashim took this great shot from Tunnel View

Ashimm took this moving water of the creek below Lower Yosemite Fall.

Chet took this dramatic shot of Bridalveil Fall

The light was very dramatic on this day...

Mid Winter week long; Jan 31 – Feb. 4, 2011

Phil Hawkins Photography — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:39:31 +0000

I had the pleasure of showing Dennis from Dallas, Texas, the wonders of Yosemite. He’s got a natural eye and we spent a week shooting all over. All of the shots are his, except where noted. I dare say I could not do any better… He’s a tremendous talent!

The HDR processing you see was done with the new Nik HDR Efex Pro software.

Of course, I took this shot of Dennis at Columbia Rock on the Yosemite Falls Trail.

El Capitan with Horsetail Fall; it was too early for Horsetail, as the sun set before it hit the fall.

A close up of what could have been.

Another view of El Capitan from along the Merced River.

One of my favorites of Half Dome along the banks of the Merced River.

This was shot just as the last twinkle of light faded on Sunday evening. Upper Yosemite Fall.

Half Dome at dusk. GREAT light!

A great shot of Yosemite Fall from the Swinging Bridge.

Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View

Looking west along highway 41 south of the valley.

Cascade Falls

Motion blur shot of Bridalveil Fall

Winter Weekend Workshop February 11 – 13, 2011

Phil Hawkins Photography — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:02:24 +0000

8 folks convened on Yosemite Valley to capture Horsetail Fall, and even though there was very little waterflow from the fall, a great job was done by all to capture what there was to shoot. What a great bunch of people! from Tennessee, Ukraine (by way of Vegas), and California.

This was as good as it got for Horsetail. Shot by workshop student Tatyana.

The Group along the banks of the Merced River to shoot Horsetail Fall.

Mike (L) and Keith get set for Horsetail Fall on the bank of the Merced River

Tatyana from Ukraine getting set for Horsetail Fall.

Glenn and Carin from Tennessee

Mike scopes out his shot of Bridalveil Fall

Joel, from Alaska, standing in the freezing water of the Merced River scoping out a shot... What dedication!

Carin sets up for a shot of Half Dome from Columbia Rock on the Yosemite Falls Trail.

Tatyana hams it up at Columbia Rock

Keith along the bank of the Merced River assessing his photo opportunities.

Joel tries some macro shooting

We did some night shooting with a quarter moon out; it was perfect!

Tatyana got this shot of Bridalveil Fall at night on a timed exposure.

Mike setting up for motion blur shots of Bridalveil Fall.

Glenn also setting up for Bridalveil Fall.

Carin had her own perch for shots of Horsetail...

February 18-20, 2011; Horsetail Fall

Phil Hawkins Photography — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 07:19:34 +0000

Horsetail Fall did not cooperate with us this year, but we were more than compensated by a world-class blizzard that dumped 3 feet of new snow on the valley floor resulting in absurdly stupendous scenery to shoot. 15 folks from all over the country convened and got shots they will be hard-pressed to ever repeat.

The workshop was dealt some difficulties due to the snow, digging out the cars, waiting for NPS to open the roads, and having to put on mandatory chains… causing some delay in getting out to the shooting locations when we wanted. But everyone exhibited patience in dealing with the unexpected, and GREAT shots resulted, especially at night.

So far I have shots from only one student, Clair, but it’s early yet, and as soon as folks have a chance to process their huge inventory of shots I’ll be getting more to add to this post.

15 GREAT folks battled the elements to get a shot of Horsetail... but, alas, it was not to be. Conditions did not smile on us.

Night shot of Yosemite Valley

Clair got this tremendous shot of a coyote.

Keith Kountz, from Fresno, assisted in making sure everyone had their questions answered.

John Hampton from Sacramento always had a smile on his face.

Absolutely stunning vistas of snow-carpeted Yosemite Valley.

Another take on the scene.

Pam from San Bernadino came with a brand new Nikon, and learned to use it this weekend.

Clair got this great wide shot of Yosemite Valley.

The view of upper Yosemite Fall from the valley floor. INCREDIBLE!

Workshop student Lynn composes her shot from Cook Meadow

Night shot of Yosemite Valley as cars moved through the mist on the valley floor.

Tram provides the refreshments while waiting in vain for Horsetail Fall to light up.

Karen gets her shot in Cook's Meadow

Workshop student Clair got this shot of Upper Yosemite Fall

Bridalveil Fall appears as a ghostly outline in this shot from Valley View vista.

Lower Yosemite Fall during the blizzard.

A great night shot of Yosemite Valley from workshop student Jenny.

Workshop student Lynn composed this unique shot of El Capitan from Tunnel View

workshop student Jenny got this shot of the Merced River with Bridalveil Fall in the background.

Workshop student Jenny with a unique composition of Bridalveil Fall.

Nice shot of a deer that wandered into Cook's meadow, captured by Lynn

GREAT shot of Yosemite Valley from the Wawona road from workshop student Lynn

Winter weekend January 14 – 16, 2011

Phil Hawkins Photography — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:23:56 +0000

I never cease to be amazed at how such a diverse group of people can come together for a weekend of shared enthusiasm and become friends in such a short time. 8 folks from across the country, 2 from China, 1 from Delaware, Indianapolis and the rest from California. We had a GREAT time!! And for the first time children in our group, 3 great kids, and what a family we were!

Sometimes I wonder who is the teacher in this enterprise. The work the students produced on this workshop is nothing short of stunning. See below.

The Group!

Lining up for shots along the banks of the Merced River

Jim's wife Patty prepares for a shot

Jim Hammond, Patty's husband, also prepares for a shot

Kris from Santa Cruz

Paul, from China, now living in Canada, intent on his shot.

Shashank from Delaware

Francis, Paul's friend from Canada

Stephanie from So. Cal.

Shashank and no, it's not a backdrop.

Patty and Jim Hammond from the Sacramento, CA area

Night shot of Yosemite Falls. We did a lot of night shooting

Jim Hammond

Patty Hammond in shooting war!

Kris Hill

Patty, Your's Truly and Kris

Child prodigy photographer Ava von-Meeteren, a mere 6 years old blew us away with her talent.

Shot by 6-year old Ava von-Meeteren! Notice the composition! Not bad for a 6-year old!

Can your 6-year old shoot like this?

and now for the work of the students:

Shashank shot this of the moon rising over Half Dome along the banks of the Merced River. What a shot!

The moon rises over Yosemite Valley, captured by Patty.

It's amazing how the simplest of objects can be turned works of art. It's all in the eye of the...photographer!

Unbelieveable! What a tremendous shot! One of the best I've seen of this vista! Shot my workshop student Jim Hammond

A dead tree at night in the moonlight in Cook Meadow. Shot by workshop student Shashank

Half Dome over the Merced River! Great job on the HDR by Patty Hammond!

Workshop student Kris Hill took this shot of Half Dome and El Capitan bathed in alpen glow!

The remnants of the forest fire of 1991 against a great sunset shot by Jim Hammond. GREAT color!

Workshop student Patty shot this great image of lower Yosemite Fall.

So, what do you do when a 6-year old girl wants to do light painting? You do light painting!

Our little angel!

Baby bear!

Papa bear and baby bear!

Yosemite Fall Colors Weekend 11/12 – 11/13, 2010

Phil Hawkins Photography — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:57:46 +0000

Wow! 7 folks from all over California attended the two day workshop and the fall colors were exceptional! Great sunny weather really brought out the colors on both river reflections and the leaves on the trees.

And for the first time ever, all but one student, who hailed from Phoenix, came from California; virtual locals.

OH YEAH! I almost forgot! Another workshop first. Nick and Ann got engaged on Sunday morning. Nick dragged Ann out of bed to go shoot the sunrise, and while standing at the wall at Tunnel View, popped the question! She said “Yes!”

Ann said YES! to Nick's proposal! A workshop first! Congratulations Nick and Ann.

The group portrait; (l to r) Ann, Nick, Tom, Linda, Chris and Kelvin. Keith, from the SF Bay area, left early due to illness.

Linda clasping a hand warmer on the Mist Trail.

The first day shooting Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls.

Ann chimping on the Mist Trail.

Nick also chimping on the Mist Trail.

Tom setting his camera.

Kelvin making his way along the river rocks.

Tom shot this image of Lower Yosemite Fall.

Kelvin shot this great image of flowing water with tremendous color erflection along the Merced River.

A great shot from Tom along the Merced River

The moon was up, the sun was setting and magnificent colors were captured by the clouds. Kelvin got this one.

What a great view of the setting sun on Half Dome by Tom

The same shot above rendered in black and white.

It wass inevitible; Kelvin and Chris shooting Upper Yosemite Fall from the Mist Trail with.....iPhones... !!!

Great color reflections along the Merced River

Tom got a great shot of Half Dome in the fading sun along with the reflection on the Merced.

Tom got in tight on Half Dome in twilight. GREAT color!

Tom got some great shots along the mist trail of the river and leaves on the riverbank.

Another shot from Tom of colors along the Merced River.

Wow, what tremendous colors reflections on the river captured by Kelvin

It just never stops with color on the river.

Night shooting in El Cap meadow; captured by Kelvin.

Black and white conversion of a timed exposure at Tunnel View. Kelvon got this one.

Chris makes his way on to a rock for the angle on the water along the Mist Trail. We all trained out cameras on him to document falling in the water. Bets were laid down.

Chris took this great reflection shot.

Chris also took this great shot along the Merced River

The colors were really tremendous at sunset. Chris took this shot of the moon through the clouds.

There was a thin layer of clouds that just captured the glow of the fading sun. This shot was taken at dusk by Ann.

Motion blur shot of the Merced River by Ann

Yosemite Fall Weekend Workshop Oct. 15 – 16 2010

Phil Hawkins Photography — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:42:24 +0000

I had two great students this weekend. One had never been to Yosemite. I love showing people Yosemite for the first time! Keith, from the Bay Area of California had visited Yosemite many times but wanted to learn a bit more about how to improve his skills shooting landscapes, and Ashly, all the way from New York had never been to Yosemite and also wanted to improve her skills. We got lucky and had a good variety of weather, all roads were open and it wasn’t too cold. We went to Sentinel Dome, and other places along Glacier Point Road. We also hiked up to Vernal Fall and got great shots. We shot at night and got some TREMENDOUS night photos.

Ashly from New York on the left, obviously, and Keith from the bay area at Vernal Fall

Ashly hamming it up on the ledge overlooking Vernal Fall

Keith setting up his shot at Vernal Fall.

Keith got this great motion blur shot of Vernal Fall; f/22 at 100ISO at 3 seconds using stacked neutral density filters.

Tremendous motion blur shot of Vernal Fall by Ashly.

Keith got this great shot of the stars above El Capitan at night with light from a 1/2 moon.

Ashly also got a great shot of El Cap and the stars though a little tighter on the composition.

We did a lot of night shooting, and Keith got this shot from Half Dome on the last night.

Before the sun set, the colors were great! Ashly got this great capture of the fading sun on the clouds.

Before the last tidbit of light slid away, Keith got this 10mm shot of the clouds over Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View.

We shot along the Merced River and this reflection shot by Ashly was the result of the Photoshop lesson on Sunday.

Ashly fooling around on Sentinel Dome, and yes, it was that cold!

Keith's crown jewel shot of the entire weekend; a timed exposure of Yosemite Valley looking east from Sentinel Dome. White balance was set on "shade" for the warm lighting effect.

Ashly's favorite shot of the weekend from Sentinel Dome.

Just as the sun was setting Ashly got this shot with a 400mm f/5.6. Tremendous color and composition!

Yet another way to shoot Half Dome from an area along Glacier Point Road by Ashly.

This grouse showed no fear of Ashly's camera on Glacier Point Road.

Ashly and Keith on Sentinel Dome at dusk.

The High Sierra Wilderness Workshop Aug. 7-15

Phil Hawkins Photography — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:22:10 +0000

There just aren’t words in the English language to describe the experience of spending 5 days at 9,000 to 10,500 feet in the Sierra Nevada. Deep in the south end of Kings Canyon National Park in a place called Deadman Canyon, we camped completely removed from cell phones and the internet. We had a cook, wrangler for the horses, showers, a generator for recharging batteries, and lots of solitude.

Deadman Canyon is like going to another planet. We photographed, hiked, fished and got rained on briefly. Mosquitoes were virtually non existent. Weather was sunny but we did have clouds on Tuesday.

What follows is an extraordinarily long post with photos that will be added in the days that follow as shots start coming in from students.

Workshop student Bill Hallier of Fresno took this shot of a butterfly at the 10,000 foot elevation of Deadman Canyon.

There was smoke from a forest fire that obscured some of the meteor shower but Bill Hallier managed to get this shot of one.

The south end of Deadman Canyon

John Heaton of Chicago contemplates the scenery.

As we moved down the canyon and up toward Elizabeth Pass, we were only a speck on the image. Photo by Bill Hallier

Zack, the wrangler and guide, makes his way through the thick brush in Deadman Canyon.

Your's truly shooting a pano.

Wrangler and guide Brady Giles tries his luck fishing at Big Bird Lake at the 10,200 foot elevation.

Workshop student Bill Hallier extracts a hook out of the trout caught at Big Bird Lake.

Awesome Ranger Meadow in Kings Canyon National Park.

Kristy and Brady at Big Bird Lake.

Wrangler Dan takes in the scenery at the south end of Deadman Canyon.

Sue and John Heaton from Chicago pose for a picture near the campsite.

Day One

Saturday

We arrived at the Horse Corral Pack Station, operated by Charley and Judy Mills, at about 6pm on Saturday, the day before heading out. Refreshments were waiting, the wine was uncorked and the fun began! They had a spectacular dinner that night with ribs, pepper sausage, tri-tip and chicken! Plus, all the trimmings of potato salad, macaroni salad, green salad, vegetables, bread and then…awesome peach cobbler.

Charley Mills, owner of the Horse Corral Pack Station mans the grill.

Workshop student Gus enjoys his first glass of wine.

The wine station

Judy Mills, Charley's wife sees to details of the Hor 'dourves tray.

Goodies to nibble on!

The ribs are sliced... dinner is ready.

Come and get it!

The campfire is ready...

The kitchen is a marvel of efficiency and cleanliness. Terry is working on dinner.

Every spice you could possibly need

Day Two

Up at 6am, grab breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and much much more!) and assemble the loads. Watching the packers assemble the equipment and personal items and then pack the mules was an exercise in efficiency.

Cody the wrangler looks over the stuff we're taking...

Dan the wrangler, (left) and Charley decide what goes where. The panniers are filled.

Loads are arranged on the mules

Charley (left) and Cody check the cinches to make sure they're secure and tight.

Ready to roll! John and Sue Heaton from Chicago ready to move out.

Making our way down the trail; 21 miles to go to the base camp.

Taking a break from the saddle... SORELY needed! (pun intended).

Finally, after 9 hours on the trail, the tired and sore group arrive to the established camp waiting with food and drink.

It rained briefly on the way in, but wasn’t terribly disruptive. In fact, it kept the dust down.

The Cast of Characters

Although she didn't stay with us at camp, we have to say "Thank You" to Sarah who went in the day before with the camp staff to haul everything in and set up camp. She came back out again and was off to Wyoming for more adventure.

Zack, a mere 23 years old but already a 10 year veteran of packing with mules. He led the way in with the stock.

Cody, in his first year with the Horse Corral Pack Station nevertheless has won prizes in Bishop, CA (Mule Days) for his packing skills.

Austin, a long time cowboy, also in his first year with the Horse Corral Pack Station, helped with the trip.

And last but certainly not least, Dan, (right) resident comedian asked that I remember which one is the mule. He stayed with us all week and had us in stitches. He should be in LA doing standup comedy.

Brady and Kristy

I can’t say enough good about Brady and his fiance’ Kristy; Brady was our chief wrangler, taking care of the camp and stock, and Kristy who cooked every meal to perfection. They could not have been more attentive, friendly, efficient and fun! THANK YOU Brady and Kristy! We will be asking for you guys next year.

Two showers

The camp kitchen; although it looks small, it was efficient. The food was marvelous!! Kristy is a magician here.

Another view of the kitchen with our master chef.

Day Three

Monday

Monday, no one wanted to get back in the saddle. We all slept about 9 hours Sunday night from the trip in. The bedrolls provided by the packers were incredibly comfortable. We all slept very well all week. The morning was spent seeing to the final details of setting up camp, and checking photography equipment. In the afternoon we took a little hike up the Deadman Canyon Trail.

While hiking, I shot this portrait of John and Sue Heaton against the massive canyon walls.

Figuring out how to cross the creek.

Bill Hallier devours his dinner of roast talapia, steamed asparagus, rolls and salad.

And for desert, fresh Dutch-oven cherry cobbler!!

Day Four

Tuesday

We headed out to Deadman Canyon and Big Bird Lake on horseback. The hike up to Big Bird Lake was more arduous than any of us would have liked, but we made it and caught fish and had a great time!

John Heaton ties his raincoat to the back of his horse for the trip

Rounding the corner on the trail this vista of Ranger Meadow came into view. Tremendous!

Brady and Kristy came with us to handle the horses and mules.

Brady Giles

Off we go to Big Bird Lake.

Bill Hallier caught some fish.

Brady also tried his luck

Trout for dinner!

And on our way back we caught this dramatic view of Upper Deadman Canyon.

Day Five

Wednesday

Today we headed down to Cloud Canyon, and realizing the trip would be prohibitively long, we stopped at the ranger station and took adantage of the creek for a lesson in motion blur. This was going to be a long day as the Perseid Meteor Shower was peaking tonight and plans were to photograph them until late.

John Heaton gets his shot

Bill Hallier found a spot on a rock in the middle of the creek for some dramatic motion blur shots...

...like this

Stock wrangler Dan reads his book waiting for us to finish our shooting.

Back at camp, some unidentified person steals a nap. Photo by Bill Hallier

That night, even though a distant forest fire spilled smoke into Deadman Canyon in afternoon and evening partially obscuring the night sky, we still went out for the meteor shower and got some shots. Sue and Kristy laid on a blanket and laughed the whole time. Never did find out what was so funny. You had to be there, I suppose.

Bill's best shot was this one of a rather large meteor.

This was all I got that night; a tiny meteor seen here only after reviewing shots on the computer.

Day Six

Thursday

After some discussion with the packers as to the wisdom of going to Elizabeth Pass due to the snow that was still on top, we decided to head that direction and see where it took us. So, we packed up, Zack and Dan were our guides and off we went. The goal was to shoot the lower end of Deadman Canyon and see if we could get to the pass. However, the horses and mules were recalcitrant due to the poor trail condition and sheer terrain. So, given you can only force your stock to do so much, we turned around well short of the pass. (Dinner at the pass was canceled due to snow still on the trail and over the pass.)

With 25 years experience packing mules in the central Sierra Nevada, Dan watches the pack train carefully for anything out of the ordinary.

This is a 5-panel panoramic shot of Dan taking in the scenery. Entering the lower end of Deadman Canyon was like going to a different planet.

John Heaton poses for his picture.

Zack leads the way

Yours truly shooting the canyon

John, Zack and I decided to see how far up the trail we could go; Gus and Bill stayed behind to shoot various setups, and caught this shot of us moving down the trail.

Photo by Bill Hallier of the creek.

GREAT shot of trail guide Zack by Bill Hallier

We stopped for a break on the way back and Zack steals a catnap.

Definitely not the sweeping panorama shot one would expect to see, but a dramatic shot nonetheless captured by Bill Hallier.

From left to right; Gus, Bill, John and myself. Photo by Zack

Dan (l) and Zack goofing around for the camera.

Making our way down the canyon back to camp; the wildflowers were incredible.

Back at camp, Brady gave us a demonstration of his bullwhip skills. He makes bullwhips by hand.

The crack of the whip reverberated through the forest.

Kristy serves up seconds of the peach cobbler.

Took some cowboy shots. Brady fixing a bridle.

One more dealing with the bridle.

A cowboy's prayer

Day Seven

Friday

Today was a Photoshop day. Knowing we were facing 22 miles on horseback for the return trip, we opted not to go out on horses. Instead, we did Photoshop instruction, also Lightroom, Capture One, portfolio critique, and rest.

Going over Photoshop Elements 8 with Sue.

Grabbed this shot of the horses grazing by the stream.

Day Eight

Saturday

Pack it up and move on out. Up early to organize everything for the return trip.

Leaving camp at 9am.

By 5pm we were still 3 miles away from the Horse Corral Pack Station.

Sue and John Heaton posing beside Sue's trusty mount, Candy. Mules were smoother and more sure-footed on the trail as it turned out.

Gus Feissel of Northern California

Bill Hallier of Fresno

The gracious and lovely Kristy, our Master Chef of Camp "work-magic-with-what-I-got" Cookery.

Brady Giles, who, in the off-season, is a licensed hunting guide in 3 states, could not have been more accommodating and patient. See crosscountryoutfittersllc.com for more information if you like hunting.

See you next year!! Sign up for next summer’s trip at http://yosemitephotoworkshops.com/sierra_photo_workshops.htm