Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers & Photographers
sharing the outdoor experience through words and photos
Leader: William Horton, Conference 2015, Ouray, Colorado
Description: The Dallas Divide is a viewpoint along Colorado Highway 62, west of Ridgway. It provides a vista of the aspens and oak forest down to the Sneffels Wilderness area. In leaf-color season, the viewpoint is spectacular.
Instructions: This PDF flyer provides driving directions for finding the viewpoint, plus a checklist of items to take and ideas on possible shots.
Editing Your Way to Beauty
Workshop by William Horton – William Horton Photography, Conference 2015, Ouray, Colorado
Description: No photograph is perfect right out of the camera. Many are seriously deficient. But don’t hit the Delete key just yet. With a little effort you can fix common problems such as skewed horizons, obnoxious backgrounds, camouflaged subjects, off-color color, over- and under-exposure, lighting that is harsh or flat or both, leaning walls, constipated compositions, sensor measles, and more. Don’t stop with fixing the problems: add interest and flare. See how to make the subject pop, experiment with black and white, night-for-day, and other techniques. You will see live demos of editing photos using Lightroom.
Resource: Fixing Flawed Photos – handouts (PDF, 2 slides per page)
What you need to Know to Get Started
Workshop by Kit Horton – William Horton Photography, Conference 2015, Ouray, Colorado
Description: This presentation is not about the craft of writing, but the practicalities of getting your oeuvre online.
We’ll talk about:
The range of choices available to meet your needs go from dead simple to somewhat complex (and powerful).
Of course you can blog!
Resources: Here are reference sheets, showing the slides I’ll be using. Choose either or both to download and print if desired.
*These are LARGE files. Right-click the link and download the handouts to your computer.
Article and Photographs by William Horton
Your Ouray-Area Fall-Color Cheat Sheet is ready for download here. It is in PDF format and will print out nicely so that you can take it along with you on your leaf-color tours. For each location, you will find specific directions and notes, plus CAUTIONS you should keep in mind on your journeys, such as road and trail conditions, where to park, and navigation landmarks.
Mosaic is an iPhone/iPad app that let you make 20-page, 7×7-inch photo book from photos you have taken and edited on your i-device. The books have a black cloth binding, allow one photo per page, automatically generates a photo mosaic that appears in cutouts on the hard cover, and provide for minimum customization (such as page order and black or white pages). With shipping, each book costs $25.00. And, each book arrives in a few days in a very handsome slipcase. Search the App Store for “Mosaic.” Or, learn more at www.heymosaic.com.
Blurb lets you make photo books, ebooks, and text-heavy books using a Web-based application or a plug-in for either Adobe Lightroom or InDesign. Blurb also has a storefront where registered members can market their books, plus they provide tutorials to help new and experienced authors get the most out of their relationship with Blurb. Blurb has quantity pricing for short-run jobs. They also have a print-on-demand service for authors who wish to reduce their upfront printing costs. Check them out at: www.blurb.com
If you are an Apply Computer user, you can print beautiful photo books from either the iPhoto or Apperture application. Apple provides a number of good-looking book styles and individual page templates. There is limited customization possible, but the built-in styles and templates are very good. The price for each size of book is fixed for the first 20 pages, with an charge for each additional page, up to 100 pages.
MyPublisher is a custom printer specializing in photo books, cards and stationery, canvas prints, and photo calendars. MyPublisher offers a variety of ready-to-go book styles and page templates. After downloading a program, novice users can simply import a folder of photos and the software will automatically build your book. For those who want control, the software allows you to create your own page templates and make other stylistic tweaks. The pricing varies greatly because the company runs specials nearly every week. Some specials reduce product costs by as much as 75%. For those who like their products Made in America, it is important to note that all MyPublisher products are printed in the Elmsford, New York. One other thing: MyPublisher has an app that lets you create photo books using your iPad. Learn more at: www.mypublisher.com
The American Society of Media Photographers, or ASMP, is a professional organization dedicated to helping photographers be more successful in their business endeavors. They provide a directory for potential clients, advocate for better copyright protections and fair terms of service, and offer training on all aspects of the business side of photography. Most of this training is free to non-members on topics such as registering a copyright, writing a contract, securing a release, using social media, and negotiating a licensing agreement. There are a number of membership levels to choose from. Check them out at www.asmp.org.
Lynda.com specializes in software training, including all the Adobe products like Lightroom and Photoshop. In addition, they have a variety of tutorials on many aspects of photography, such as lighting techniques, color correction, and printing. And, for photographers interested in creating their own blog, Lynda.com has numerous tutorials covering all aspects of using WordPress to power your site. There are various pricing levels available, from monthly to yearly. Learn more at: www.lynda.com