Last weekend I spent at yet another Lepp Institute weekend class: Available Light Photography: Vineyards and Wineries, with Andy Katz (See above.) Since I have a winery client, Casa Cassara, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to learn some tips and tricks among the grapevines and barrels. I'm going to jump right in here and say the class didn't meet my expectations: I had hoped for some one-on-one and group focus on shooting grape clusters, barrels, vineyards, etc., with Andy first showing just what he would shoot, including actually shooting it with his new Sony Alpha DSLR and then discussing his results and work with each in turn to achieve our vision. But several things worked against this: it isn't Andy's style and the weather, both the weekend overcast and the early frosts this season, didn't lend itself to what I was after. To make up for the lack of spectacular vineyards, Andy spent about half the field time working on available light portraiture, both indoors and out, which wasn't all that interesting to me as I have shot portraits for forty years.
Andy showing how to use light working with a model:
So, while I was a bit disappointed in very specific ways, there are always many unexpected benefits popping up at Lepp and I actually felt as though I got my money's worth before we ever left the Digital Darkroom on our first outing. In his "Warm Up" image presentation and discussion, Andy walked us through about thirty of his images, all stunning, and talked about his vision and particulars for many of them. If Andy has anything, it is vision, the very thing I miss the most in my own work. And then, Andy proceeded to thump one of my own big emphases, using a tripod! I am always amazed how few people use a tripod! But to top it off, Andy even espouses the use of "Mirror Lockup" ... a tremendously overlooked feature of most high end DSLRs that can make or break telephoto images. So with Andy's pep talk still ringing in my ears, off we went for some field work.
Off we went to Jada Vineyard and Winery where we walked the vineyards shooting, then tasted their current vintages with matching cheeses. A glorious experience. Then off to Booker Vineyard & Winery for more vineyard and winery shooting and another tasting ... and here I've got to mention Booker Alchemist ... knock your socks off wine! I am buying it for my wife's Christmas present ... seriously! From there to lunch at Midnight Winery, some more shooting, and then off to review at the Digital Darkroom at Lepp.
And this is where Andy Katz really shines! He had each student select 10 to 12 images from the field work, post process them as desired in Lightroom and/or Photoshop, and then we critiqued. Andy's critiques are eye opening. He can find images within images, extraneous material that detracts from the gestalt, power, strength, romance and really sees the light. And he is merciless ... which is a good thing. This was the first time I'd even been exposed to world class image review in person and it is enlightening. It will change the way you see. You will be a better shooter just for being in the room. Geez, I'm a romantic!
So, without flogging you about our dinner Saturday night or the activities on Sunday, rest assured the trip to the Edna Valley was also treat. And while I am hoping that next year we into the fields before the harvest and frost, I expect the wine tasting in San Luis Obispo will always be a superb experience. Here's Hal listening intently to Andy:
Be Safe!
Dwight
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