Return to Oz - The Colors of Fall

Capture the essence of the season through renewed vision and enhanced craft

Student Image by: Dave Foster"Light, gesture, and color are the key components of any photograph.”
—Jay Maisel

Create timeless imagery by capturing the gesture of a moment with stillness. In this workshop, participants explore how to make unique imagery in camera as well as how to approach post processing in Photoshop not as if it is a verb, but as a noun.

There are few places on earth that are as full of light, gesture, color and the potential for timelessness than October in Maine. From the color and hue of the leaves to the mists of fog and rain, the diversity of light creates the environment for stunning imagery.

Working with lessons from his latest book "Welcome to Oz 2.0" and some of its key topics , the following are covered:

  • Bokeh- the quality of how a lens goes from in focus to blur
  • Depth of Field- how to use blur and focus to bring forth a more powerful image. (All students are provided with a free copy of Focalpoint2 software from onOne software)
  • Weather- how to use and make it in the computer when it doesn’t show as planned.
  • The Lazarus Effect- how to make an out of focus image come back into focus. (All students are provided with actions and configurator by the instructor. Also three free plug-ins from NiK software
  • Gesture- what is the gesture of a moment, how to capture it and how to use it to great motion within a stillness
  • Advanced Black and White- every black and white technique known to man, when to and when not to use them. (All students are provided with actions and configurator by the instructor.)
  • Shape and Color- How to use shape as the unwitting ally of color, so that color is remembered over shape in your images.


The result of this week’s intensive work in both the field and digital lab are images that echo the stillness and beauty of October in Maine - of the light, of the gesture, of the moment.  The photographs are upheld by the unique vision of the participants in combination with exquisite technical craft.

Instructors

Vincent Versace

Photo by: John EdwardsVincent Versace is an internationally recognized pioneer in the art and science of digital photography. His passion for natural light photography is manifest not only in his work but also through his role as a creative and technical leader, contributing to innovative breakthroughs across the entire digital image value chain.

Vincent is a recipient of the Computerworld Smithsonian Award in Media Arts & Entertainment and the Shellenberg fine art award. His work is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History. He is the photographer of Immediate Assistants Medical Rescue Go Team. He was commissioned by the San Francisco Presidio Trust to create a body of photographic work to permanently capture this National Park and Historic Landmark.

Vincent’s work has been highlighted in American Photo, Popular Photography, The New York Times, Shutterbug, Outdoor Photographer, Pro Digital Imaging, PDN, What Digital Camera, Petersen’s Photographic, PC Camera, Studio Design and Photography, Professional Photographer, Digital Imaging and many more. Nominated multiple times to the Photoshop Hall of Fame, Vincent has been recognized by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals through the creation of the Vincent Versace Award for Digital Photography Excellence. The “Vinnie” is a special category of the Photoshop Guru Awards, considered one of the most prestigious and coveted awards in the international digital imaging industry.

He is the author of the best selling books From Oz to Kansas: Almost Every Black & White Technique Known to Mankind and Welcome to Oz 2.0: A Cinematic Approach to Digital Still Photography with Photoshop . His book, Welcome to Oz has been selected as Shutterbug Magazine’s best how-to book of the year. Vincent was the original host of the Epson Print Academy and is a member of the Epson Stylus Pros. He is also a Nikon Legend Behind the Lens, an Xrite Colorotti, Lexar Elite Photographer, Team NiK Elite Photographer, an American Photo Magazine Mentor Trek and Master Class instructor and a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Instructor Dream Team. He teaches regularly at Photoshop World, B&H, the FBI, US Navy Combat Camera, US Coast Guard, Maine Media Workshops and Palm Beach Photographic Workshops.

Vincent’s passion for photography dates back more than four decades when, at the age of seven, his wedding-photographer uncle introduced him to the magic of the darkroom. Within two years, he had sold his first photo. Within ten, he had booked his first professional assignment. Today, based in Los Angeles, he divides his time between commercial and fine art photography assignments, teaching, and consulting for such suppliers as Nikon, Epson, Nik, OnOne, X-Rite, Adobe, Westcott and others.

http://www.versacephotography.com/