Adirondack Waters Sublime!

A pastel sunrise over Shaw Pond before we were chased away by a thunderstorm… high clouds creating a soft box over the rocks and spray of Buttermilk Falls… puffy clouds colored pastel blue and pink by the setting sun, reflected in Lake Abanakee, later evolving into a crimson stream over Lake Adirondack. And there were fluffy afternoon clouds mirrored in Lake Durant… and boldly lit sunset clouds reflected in a nearby pond, where, the following morning a patrolling beaver slapped his tail in annoyance at us... and an unforgettable 1:30am image of the Big Dipper reflected in one of Durant’s quiet bays. The scenery and the ever-changing summer light combined to make these Adirondack waters especially enchanting.

API staff instructor Mark Bowie led lively, interactive sessions with tips and strategies specific to photographing the diversity of Adirondack waters. He also covered digital workflow in Lightroom and Photoshop, and techniques for creating multiple exposure images, including panoramas and high dynamic range images. With so many photogenic waters nearby, a knowledgeable guide, and receptive and talented students… it was a fabulous workshop of creative image making.

Our First Light of Midnight Workshop

Photo by Sue Schwer

As the late night images materialized on the projection screen, participants gasped, “This is fun!", "This is nuts!", "This is neat!”. It became the catchphrase of the Photographing the Night Landscape workshop led by night shooting specialist Mark Bowie in Inlet. Surely, participants go home excited about their images from each of our workshops, but here they were absolutely astounded at the beauty and mystique of what they captured in the dark of night. Mark led sessions on capturing long exposures with only natural light, as well as painting with artificial lights: from streetlights, head lamps, mini flashlights, one million candlepower flashlights, on-camera flash, speedlights, and flash extenders. The depth and breadth of Mark’s coverage of nighttime photography exposed them to the many opportunities of capturing the natural landscape in the context of the heavenly skies. If you haven’t photographed much at night, consider joining Mark for our next night workshop. You’ll see: It’s fun! It’s nuts! It’s neat!

Watch for Mark’s new e-book, The Light of Midnight: A Guide to Photographing the Landscape at Night, available soon through our website as a downloadable .pdf file.