On Landscape Photography

LesW_NORTH_2408_550pxLes Walkling: NORTH 2048, Inkjet Pigment Print, 1118mm x 1422mm, 2015

Studio Workshops Online – Live and Interactive
•  2022 Dates TBA

BOOKINGS – FAQ – TESTIMONIALS – ENQUIRIES

This two day Master Class explores contemporary landscape photographic practice from three perspectives:

• Pre and post capture equipment and technique
• Field work, workflow, and style
• History, critique, and review

Various approaches to landscape photography are engaged, from the representational to the picturesque, including mythical landscapes, poetic landscapes, politicised landscapes, commercial landscapes, and manufactured or altered landscapes. The workshop was first presented in conjunction with the National Library of Australia’s Peter Dombrovskis exhibition and accompanying publication ‘The Photography of Peter Dombrovskis: Journeys into the Wild’. In 2016 Les spent ten months in the preparation and restoration of over 200 of Peter’s images for the NLA publication and exhibition, and his preparation, editing and printing of Peter’s work along with an analysis of Peter’s camera craft and technique are a unique highlight of this workshop. The exhibition was subsequently re-imagined at Monash Gallery of Art (The Australian Home of Photography) in Melbourne whose collection now also contains the most extensive set of Peter’s contemporary exhibition prints. Specific topics this workshop has covered include:

Working in the Field:
•  Seeing the light – feeling the moment
•  Perspective and where to stand
•  Measuring and evaluating light and dynamic range
•  Water proofing cameras and cleaning lenses and sensors
•  Setting up a pano-head and capturing multiple images
•  Focus and exposure stacking techniques

Drawing with Lenses and Light:
•  Lens selection and perspective control
•  Sensor format – medium vs full frame 35mm
•  Weight and portability
•  Tripods – testing stability, ball heads vs geared heads
•  Filters – pre production vs post production
•  Panorama equipment – GigaPan vs Really Right Stuff

Landscape into Art:
•  A brief history of Land represented as Landscape
•  Pictorial design – how pictures function
•  Cultural design – how pictures think
•  Photographing Things
•  Photographing Feelings
•  Artist statements and contextual essays

Processing and Editing:
•  Backing up, cataloguing and processing in the field
•  Focus Stacking – controlling depth of field
•  Exposure Stacking – controlling dynamic range
•  Compositing images and how to drop-in skies
•  Luminosity selections, highlight bump masks, shadow luminosity masks
•  Increasing presence, depth and dimensionality

The workshop is presented through discussion, demonstration, critical analysis, case studies, practical applications, field work, and individual questions and answers. Participants work with their own cameras and lenses, and process and edit on their own workstations.

The workshop is supported by a resource rich website with detailed course notes and videos.

Venue: Multi-Camera Interactive Broadcast from Les Walkling’s Studio, Melbourne
Duration: 10.00am – 5.00pm – Australian Eastern Standard Time
Class Size: Average class size of 5
Cost: $660 including GST per person
Bookings & Enquiries: Email or phone +61 4 38 59 00 93

Updated 03 January 2022