Basin Mountain, Approaching Storm -- Barnbaum -

The three instructors, Mark Gardner, Al DaValle and Bruce Barnbaum fully cover today’s photographic field. Al DaValle and Mark Gardner are digital experts; Bruce Barnbaum is a traditional film/darkroom expert (with a bit of knowledge of digital methods, as well). All three are deeply committed to helping you progress to meet and exceed your own goals. From the technical to the artistic, these three will supply answers to your questions and worthy suggestions for your further development.

Take advantage of this unmatched expertise in a setting that cannot be topped: the awesome the Sierra Nevada Mountains with its thick winter blanket of snow. The 14,000’ summits rise more than two miles above the Owens Valley (North America’s deepest valley), where the workshop is based. In late February those mountains are draped in snow, making them even more awesome than at any other time of year. We’ll make the most of that mountain wall, the extensive and bizarre boulder fields below it named the Alabama Hills, together with photographic sessions to the ancient bristlecone pine trees (the oldest living things on earth), the nearby semi-ghost town of Keeler (yes, there are still a few ruddy residents there, they welcome all photographers, and they can be willing portrait subjects!), and the unique rock formations of Westgard Pass. The photographic opportunities are endless, and it’s not just this eye-popping landscape.

This workshop is for anyone with the enthusiasm for improving your photography.

Outdoor field sessions are not photo tours taking you to the same “known places” where you can take the same well known photograph as thousands before you; they are places where you can find your own unique imagery. We’re not there to replicate what others have done. Instead, we’re there to produce new, unique imagery. Indoors we’ll review everyone’s work, uncovering your strengths, helping you through your weaknesses, and truly raising you to a vastly higher level of photographic quality. It’s all done in a supportive, enjoyable manner, with lots of camaraderie and laughter.

The indoor sessions also cover the instructors’ complete photographic workflow from initial vision, effective image exposure, to the finished digitally post-processed image or traditional darkroom imagery. We’ll focus on the art of photography through insightful seeing, better understanding of light, and using the elements of composition to produce photographs that make viewers stop, look and think.  

In the indoor sessions, we’ll review the photographic work of all students, with instructors and students all providing input, ideas and encouragement to one another. We’ll also review the work of the instructors, with questions about their equipment, materials, workflow and, above all, their thinking behind the imagery being shown. As time allows, we’ll also review images made during the workshop and explore topics of interest to the group in lectures and discussions. There are no secrets; instead there is remarkable sharing of everything photographic. This is a perfect time to dig into instructors’ brains—and those of fellow students—about their thinking and approach to photography, knowing that all question are valid, worthy of thought and consideration. There are no “dumb questions.”

In the reviews, we’ll focus on the complete process from initial vision to finished photograph.  We’ll dive into the heart of your work and your photographic goals, unlocking ideas that you may never have considered in your thought process. These sessions will not only reveal things about your work that you never consciously recognized; they’ll also provide new paths to explore in making your photographs. All reviews will be done in the most encouraging and supportive way possible. They’ll be totally honest—no pandering allowed—but, with an open mind, the reviews of your work will boost you to levels you never believed possible.

Our accommodations, as well as our workshop conference meeting room, are at the Dow Villa Motel, a remarkably clean, airy, wonderful motel that is extremely comfortable. (For those who wish to camp, nearby campgrounds are available. You can also make your own reservation elsewhere for the duration of the workshop, if you so choose.)

The workshop begins on Sunday, February 23 in the town of Lone Pine, in the southern end of the Owens Valley, North America’s deepest valley, bounded to the west by the Sierra Nevada mountains, and to the east by the Inyo and White mountains. We ask all participants to arrive the day before that, Saturday, February 22, and join us for an informal “get-to-know-you” dinner that evening, when our motel reservation also begins. The workshop begins shortly after breakfast the following morning.

The workshop runs until noon Saturday. March 1. Please make your travel plans with that in mind, so you don’t miss any of the workshop. If you are coming from a long distance you can fly into either Reno, Las Vegas or Los Angeles, where you can rent a car for the drive to Lone Pine. (From Reno, Los Angeles or Las Vegas plan on a 4-hour drive.) During the workshop, we will carpool to our various outdoor field destinations. Detailed travel plans will be sent to you once you apply for the workshop.

Accommodations have already been secured at the Dow Villa Motel in Lone Pine for the duration of the workshop. Once you sign up for the workshop, you'll be asked for your room preference—either a single or shared room—and your accommodations are taken care of. You simply pay for your room at the desk when you arrive for the workshop. (If you plan to camp or make your own motel reservation elsewhere, just let the workshop know. We accept that, as well.)

Covid-19 is still not defeated or fully contained. We recommend all participants—students and instructors alike—to be up-to-date with the latest anti-Covid boosters. Let’s try to be as safe as possible.

To register for this workshop via the website, please return to the top of the page, and click on the button Add to Cart. Fill out the information, including your choice of a deposit ($250) or full payment ($2,150) for the workshop. If you register with a deposit, the final payment will be due 6 weeks prior to the workshop. You will receive an email response to your application shortly. (If you are applying for more than one workshop, please do this for each workshop you wish to attend.)

If you do not wish to apply and pay via the website, we accept registration with a check (deposit or full amount) and an application. Please download and fill out the the application (Workshop-application.doc or Workshop-application.PDF). Specify whether you will pay the deposit or full payment, and make the check payable to Bruce Barnbaum. Mail the check with filled out application to the address below. We will notify you by email to confirm your resignation.

Bruce Barnbaum Workshops

P.O. Box 1791

Granite Falls, WA 98252

If you have specific questions, please contact Bruce by phone at (360) 691-4105 or by email: barnbaum@aol.com.