Birds of Florida

I'm down in Florida preparing to lead an avian photography workshop. The workshop starts Sunday so I have been scouting and doing some of my own photography. It's no surprise that the photography has been prolific, like my previous trips. I've been able to ad several new species of birds to my portfolio. I could jump for joy!

Upcoming workshops

May 6, 6pm - May 11, 11am

Florida Avian Photography Workshop (Titusville and St. Augustine, FL)

July 21, 6:30 - 9:30am

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Field Session (Washington D.C.)

September 8, sunrise - sunset

Digital Nature Photography One-day Workshop (Chincoteague Island, VA)

October 20, sunrise - October 21, sunset

Great Falls Digital Worflow workshop (Great Falls, VA)

November 16, 1pm - November 18, 1pm

Chincoteague Island Workshop (VA)

2011 West Virginia fall workshop report

Every outdoor/nature photography workshop leader stresses about the conditions that the group will be presented with during the workshop. In the end, we take what we get and make the best of it. Although, it's always nice to have good conditions to start with. The last 2 years I have lead a fall workshop in West Virginia there has been nothing but clear skies. While it is nice weather to be out and about in, it doesn't make for the most interesting landscape photo opportunities. Last year was tough but this year was better. Even though we had clear skies yet again the first 2 mornings we were treated to some spectacular foggy conditions. I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and ideas on how to take advantage of foggy conditions with the group. Since there were only 4 workshop participants it gave me the opportunity to make sure that everyone was making lots of quality images.

In previous workshop reports I have shared some of my images. This time I decided to show you images the workshop participants came away with and share some of their thoughts on the workshop itself. I hope you enjoy their images.

Thanks to Judy, Gale, Ni and Dick for making it a successful workshop.

Judy MacArthur's comments about her workshop experience:

I can't recommend Nikhil's workshop highly enough.  He is low key and knowledgeable and articulate in his explanations...quick thinking when conditions change and generous with his expertise...always making suggestions, constantly circulating among the group, encouraging us to try unfamiliar techniques and offering help.  The experience far exceeded my expectations, which were high to begin with!

Gale Smith's comments about his workshop experience:

The trip to West Virginia, Blackwater Falls Park and Dolly Sods could not have been better; great small group, excellent weather with wonderful colors and magical early morning fog, and Nikhil who seemed to know where and when to be for the best images.  Nikhil is not just a superb nature photographer but he is willing to share what he knows and taking time with each of us to help us see and capture images that for me are some of my very best photographs. In fact, some of my best images in over 30 years of photography came from the WV workshop; Nikhil is excellent in combining both technical and creative ideas to learn from. He sees and communicates to us not just good composition and what he called "organic" images, but finds elements that balance photographs. 

Wang Ni's comments about her workshop experience:

You have left me a good impression during this trip, which is unforgetable in my life. I do appreciate your professional instruction. 

Dick Pelroy's comments about his workshop experience:

• Great selection of venues.
• Excellent field instruction (superior).
• Invaluable information of time of day and location for my photography to this area in future personal trips.
• Overall, probably the best photography workshop I’ve attended (14 and counting).

2012 workshop schedule (JUST POSTED!)

April 14, 6:30 - 9:30am
Flowers & Close-ups Field Session
Brookside Gardens (Wheaton, MD)

April 21, 12pm - April 22, 7pm
Macro Boot Camp
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (Vienna, VA)

May 6, 6pm - May 11, 11am
Florida Avian Photography Workshop (Titusville & St. Augustine, FL)

July 21, 6:30 - 9:30am
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Field Session (Washington D.C.)

September 8, sunrise - sunset
Digital Nature Photography One-day Workshop (Chincoteague Island, VA)

October 20, sunrise - October 21, sunset
Great Falls Digital Worflow workshop (Great Falls, VA)

November 16, 1pm - November 18, 1pm
Chincoteague Island Workshop (VA)

Chincoteague Workshop Report

The last workshop of the year was probably the best in terms of the light we had. All 3 days were a treat!

I have mentioned that Chincoteague remains one of my favorite locations to photograph. It's very challenging to switch from photographing the wildlife to a landscape and then a detail shot. Not to mention the ocean which is a lot of fun to photograph. You really need to know your camera gear to maximize the opportunities.

I made the next three photos the morning before the workshop started.

Mid-Atlantic Photography Expo this weekend

I will be sharing a table/booth with my friend and fellow photography Bill Folsom at the Mid-Atlantic Photography Expo (Nature Visions) this weekend. If you will be at the expo please stop by and say hello.

More info on the expo can be found at http://www.midatlanticnaturephotographyexpo.org.

We had some nice conditions last weekend. Leading a field session I made sure the participants were taking advantage of the situation. I managed to take 15 exposures in 3 hours. This photo is not bad considering that :)

Misty Potomac, Great Falls Park, Virginia

Photo Impressionism - Zoom & Flick

I demonstrated the swipe/blur technique at a workshop this past weekend. This technique is all about coordinating the shutter release and the movement of your camera. Sunflowers make a great subject for this technique. The first time I visited this Sunflower field I made about 250 photographs. Out of those, over 200 were abstract and photo impressionistic.

It's very easy to create photos that are abstract. It's much harder to create a photo impressionistic image, especially in the camera. Being able to understand what the subject is and yet see it rendered in a different fashion is always more intriguing.

Just added - Hands on Photography Workshops to Improve Your Compositional Skills!

What you shoot, the lighting at that moment, how you frame an image and when you click the shutter, all combined create either a photograph we are proud of, or one we discard. Wouldn't you like to discard less and create more inspiring images?

West Virginia Fall Tour announcement

Announcing the 4 day West Virginia Fall Tour! Come photograph mountain ridges, fog in the valley, blueberry bushes, bogs, forests, streams, waterfalls and landscapes all covered with or surrounded by amazing fall color. This tour is designed to give you maximum time in the field and get you to the most photogenic locations at the best time of day. Limited to only 6 participants! Date: October 7-10, 2010. Location photographs, registration and details at - http://www.nikhilbahl.com/photography_workshops.html#wv

Chincoteague Island Workshop Report

Chincoteague is definitely one of my favorite places to photograph. I love it for the variety of photographic opportunities. It's not a very grand or large location, but I am attracted to it's subtle beauty and wildlife.

A couple of weeks ago I lead a spring workshop at Chincoteague. The weather held up and we were able to view and photograph some beautiful beach scenes and lots of birds.

Here are a few photographs I made while demonstrating various techniques. The image above was a "grab shot". We got to the beach the first morning and witnessed a colorful display of nature. This was one of two photos I made while the color was intense. I spent the rest of the time with the participants making sure they were making the most of this lovely sunrise.

Brookside Gardens Workshop Report

I just completed a workshop through VisArts. We spent some time photographing at Brookside Gardens. The Tulips were quite amazing! If you haven’t had a chance to visit Brookside while the Tulips are in bloom, you should.

The group was very enthusiastic and photographed non-stop for 3 hours. I demonstrated various techniques from optimal exposures to creating abstract images. The participants were fairly new to creating blurs and multiple exposures and seem to enjoy the process. Seeing their images in the critique session I was quite impressed how quickly they were able to pick up the technique and create some lovely images.

The blog image was made as the light started to get harsh. A diffuser was used to soften the light. Here are a few abstract/photo impressionistic images I made during the demonstrations and after the participants left. Click on the thumbnails to view the larger image.