It was about as normal a summer afternoon as it gets in Pennsylvania. Hot, sunny, and humid. A typical June day in the countryside along the wide Susquehanna River. But the events of the day were all but normal! We were on a Lenspiration photography workshop, exploring every scenic spot we could find, looking for beautiful things in nature to capture with our cameras!

But annoyingly, our photos were not turning out that great.

Not Your Typical Photography Workshop

The workshop had started at 2:00pm at iconic Pinnacle Overlook. As could be expected at that time of day, the light was flat and colorless so I didn’t end up taking a single picture there. Instead, I was spending my time answering student questions and helping everyone get on the same page with their camera settings.

From the overlook, we drove down into the valley to photograph the picturesque waterfalls of Tucquan Glen Nature Preserve. . . but we never made it to any of the waterfalls. There was more water at a river-crossing than most of our group wanted to wade through, so we stayed up-stream and just hung out not too far from the trailhead.

Before heading down the trail, we had seen a small waterfall close to where we had parked. So after a while, we decided to head back to the car and check it out. I had never been there before so was hopeful it would be our first real, scenic subject.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a fantastic spot. It was a very tough place to photograph. I helped the students set up at the one angle that I thought was best, and then set my camera up at a different place to see if I could make it work. . . .

But it didn’t. There was too much brush and fallen logs around. And without wading shoes, there was no way to get in close to the larger, upper falls.

Fast-forward through the rest of the afternoon, and watch our little group rush to capture the non-existent sunset. For all you could tell, the normal day we had hoped would turn out to be extraordinary, looked to be rather normal after all.

You’d think the photography workshop had been a “bust”.

But it wasn’t!

6 Takeaways from the Day

In the words of David, the student who drove the farthest to spend the day photographing with us, wrote up the following blurb in an email to me after the workshop. Summarized below with his permission:

“First, James asks you what you want to learn at the meetup, and he tailors the experience to address what you want and need. So, what did I get from the meetup? Several things stick out in my experience. 

1. I learned to see objects with the light coming from different directions (front, back, and side). James pointed out how side lighting gives a more three dimensional look. 
2. Depth of focus – he helped me understand the connection between aperture and depth of focus using my own camera and lens, at both the widest angle and the maximum zoom. 
3. He diagnosed that I was confusing the camera’s light metering symbols with focus points, which is probably the reason many of my pictures have not been tack sharp. 
4. He showed me how to customize my camera settings to access the focus settings easily. 
5. While shooting a “white” water section of a creek, he helped me get an exposure that preserved detail in the light areas, rather than just blowing them out. 
6. He helped me figure out how to use my tripod and was able to fix a part that wasn’t working properly.

What I learned fixed problems I’d been having for years and had not been able to resolve on my own. 

James knows camera equipment, is excellent at explaining what to look for in a shot, and what settings to change to improve the image. He makes sure that you understand both how and why to make camera setting changes.”

Getting that email made the whole day worth it! Even if there wasn’t the sunset we hoped for. Or we didn’t get the shots we expected. It is so much fun to know enough about photography that you can help those who don’t yet know the things I do.

But you know, we actually did get some nice shots that day.

Finding Beauty Anywhere

In the middle of a sunny day you look for textures and shapes. If you’ve ever been to one of my “Making the Most of Any Time of Day” presentations or heard me talk about this at a photography workshop, you’ll know you don’t have to wait until golden hour to get intriguing photos!

Even a simple path on the side of a hill can look gorgeous when framed nicely and processed artististically.

Mordecai likes these photography workshops too. 🙂

Down at the river-crossing, I took this photo and doctored it up a bit by adding some “sunlight” to it in Lightroom.

Or you can just zoom in, and it won’t need doctored up at all.

The same boring overlook was more interesting to photography on the edge of golden hour. (We went back to it after our descent into Tucquan Glen.)

Covered bridges will always forever be incredible subjects.

And if a waterfall isn’t very picturesque, why not photogarph the photographers who are photographing them?

And when sunset isn’t glorious, who knows what glories you still can find on a sunset hike!

Or at your feet. 🙂

Or, a half hour after the sun has set, and you’re sitting around debriefing the day and you just can’t resist photographing the last light, just having to find a creative angle.

The normal day turned out to be an extraordinary photography workshop after all. 🙂

And that was our stop on our way through Pennsylvania!

In another blog post, I’ll have to tell you about our electrifying experience in West Virginia on the last leg of our journey home!

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I’m super excited about the final photography workshop of the year on October 11! We don’t know what the day will turn out like on Jekyll island, but you’re invited to come and find out with us! Whatever happens in this upcoming photography workshop, I’m sure we will still find great photos. Click here to learn more. There are already 4 attendees signed up! It’s going to be a fun event at a super incredible location.