Just finished up another fantastic workshop in Washington’s Palouse. Thanks to everyone for making this year such a great trip! As always the Palouse is amazing and the diversity year to year in crops always delivers a new experience exploring the landscapes. This year was looking great around the region, wonderful hues of greens and yellows with the occasional red barn thrown in. I’m really looking forward to getting back and if my schedule allows may head over for harvest this year. I now have the 2019 Palouse workshop listed with limited space available.
Top Ten Favorites from 2017
It’s been a busy year and a fantastic one! Meeting new friends and seeing old friends along the way. We’ve had some really awesome workshops with some wonderful travelers (you know who you are!). There’s certainly been some memorable moments and I really love what I do because of the people I get to meet. I think as photographers we definitely share some like-minded thinking, which explains the great camaraderie, sense of adventure, and too much fun we seem to have on our trips!
This year, like I said, certainly has had some memorable moments and below are just a few of my favorites (top ten to be exact) from our trips. I’m anxiously awaiting 2018’s new workshops and I look forward to meeting those of you who will be joining me. Finishing off 2017 I’m reminded of why I love photography, I can’t think of anything better than exploring the natural world through a lens with amazing people in amazing places. Wishing everyone the best in the New Year!
Washington’s 2017 Palouse Workshop
Finally getting caught up on some editing here and thought I would share a few images from our Palouse Workshop this spring. We had a fantastic trip in eastern Washington’s amazing landscape and old Americana towns. Despite a couple days of rain we managed to work some great scenes and explore some new locations this year.
Whenever inclement weather rolls in, it’s easy to get discouraged, especially when you have your sights set on certain scenes and images you’ve envisioned. I’ve learned a while back that great images can be made in any conditions and instead of fighting the weather, use it to your advantage. Making lemonade out of lemons. Adversity in nature photography or any photography for that matter is a great teacher and forces you to really reach in and dig deeper for your inner creativity. It also is a great way in training the eye to work for compositions and studying elements.
On this trip we had a couple days where we shifted gears from big landscapes to things that would work in our couple days of rain. Classic cars, fading paint, abstracts, old Americana. Focusing more of our attention on one of the Palouse’s endearing qualities, it’s history. After a day or two of wandering some of the small towns, I was really impressed with what our group came away with. Especially seeing everyone’s unique perspectives.
Despite the initial rain, the Palouse did not disappoint as usual. For our night at Palouse Falls, the skies began to clear, giving us an epic sunset, intense colors, and great atmosphere that night. We came away with some of the best shots I’ve seen there. In the morning we were treated to the classic Palouse shots from Steptoe Butte and had some brilliant light turning the hills into a pastel painting.
All in all our trip to the Palouse had some great variety, which is why I love shooting here. Barns, classic Americana, and stunning hills reminisant of Tuscany can keep landscape photographers busy to no end, especially if you visit from season to season. As the crops are harvested the landscape is ever changing making it a different scene year after year.
Thanks to all my travelers this year for making this trip so much fun! I didn’t want to leave:)
Olympic National Park Workshop 2017
Just wrapped up another fabulous trip to Olympic National Park on Washington’s stunning peninsula. A week of beaches, rainforests, and great company made leaving hard to do this year. I started my week off with a couple days of backpacking on Shi Shi Beach located near the town of Neah Bay, scouting some new locations and visiting Point of Arches before kicking off my workshop. Shi Shi was hard to beat and certainly didn’t disapoint, it’s probably one of my favorite beach locations on the peninsula, with some epic sea stacks and tidepools, not to mention some stunning sunrises and sunsets. I was however bummed to miss the classic line of rocks that protrude out of the sand and add some amazing foreground shots at Point of Arches. These can be hit or miss depending on time of year and whether they are covered by sand which is determined by the ever changing conditions there. Still pretty sweet though.
Our workshop kicked off mid week, just in time for the rain to start and boy did we get rain! Our first day in the Hoh Rainforest it poured all morning giving us a wet day, but great conditions for the rainforest. As unwelcoming as the rain can be, it really helps bring out the colors and contrast, adding great elements to the foliage. The waterfalls and rivers were also flowing very nicely this year. The winter had brought heavy snows, wet conditions and combined with the persistent cold and rainy spring, made some small falls and creeks very photogenic this year.
Our second day of the trip we ventured down to the Quinault Rainforest, which I think has become my absolute favorite place to shoot as far as rainforests go. It can be a little off the beaten path for a few visitors as it sits on the Southwest edge of the park, making it a longer drive for some travelers and maybe doesn’t get as much attention as the Hoh and Sol Duc do. However I think its ferns and interior forest offer up some of the best compositional opportunities and its small creeks and falls add a well-rounded shooting experience. We lucked out while we were there and had a nice break in the rain, giving us time to wander the forest a little more easily.
On our last night we decided to take a drive out to Cape Flattery which is a phenomenal area located just about as far northwest as you can get in the lower 48. It’s located just outside Neah Bay and managed by the Makah Tribe which requires a recreation permit when visiting. Its views are stunning as you wander the tops of the cliffs viewing cormorants, tufted puffins and sea stacks from above. Pretty amazing place and well worth a trip for photographers.
Now I’m sitting here editing images, playing catch up, and planning for more trips before I head back out. I’ll soon be posting my 2018 itinerary for this workshop and can hardly wait to get back!
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Washington Palouse Workshop
Now that my spring and summer workshops are winding down I thought I would share a few images from this past June’s Palouse Workshop. We had an amazing group of travelers on this trip and some of the best conditions I’ve seen in Palouse over the last few years! The hues of greens and yellows were pretty epic and we also had some great old barns and the usually old americana that you can find throughout the area. We also had some pretty spectacular crops of canola and mustard seed, giving us at times almost blinding fields of brilliant yellows, adding some nice landscape foregrounds around the Colfax area.
At Steptoe Butte, we had the usually great crowd of photographers, getting to see some familiar faces from years previous and I think everyone was pretty pleased with the views we had up top this year. The greens were amazing and the light cooperated more often than not, giving us the classic overlook views of the Palouse. We were treated again this year to one of the yellow crop dusters making some passes in front of us, adding a nice element in the sea of green.
Overall it was an awesome trip and I’m anxiously awaiting next years!
Olympic National Park
Had a phenomenal workshop this year at Olympic National Park! Such a fantastic and great group of travelers and conditions in Olympic’s rainforest were looking better than ever. Our weather cooperated with only one day of serious rain and we managed to get some sunsets on a couple days of our ocean and seascape work down at Ruby and Rialto beaches. One of my favorite things about photographing Olympic is its diversity. We can be in the lush rainforests one minute and move over to the beaches the next. Later in the year the high alpine areas open up and ample images await up on Hurricane Ridge in the park’s northeast corner of the park.
I’m already looking forward to next year’s workshop and will be opening up 2017 to six spots on this workshop.
Here’s a few from this year:
Palouse Photography Workshop
Hard to believe spring is already here! It’s definitely time to get back to the blog and I have unfortunately been neglecting it during my travels this winter. Plus I have been secretly enjoying some time away from the computer:) But alas it’s time to get back to it, I’ll be posting regular updates from this spring and summer on workshops, travel, and new images from around the western U.S.
On another note, we’ve just had two last minute spots open up on the Palouse Workshop in Washington State. This is a landscape photographer’s paradise and one of my favorite locations out west to photograph. If you’re itching to get out west and explore the pastel hills of the Palouse, visit my workshops page at www.jasonsavagephotography.com/workshops to secure your spot.
In the meantime happy shooting out there!
Top ten favorite images from 2015
It’s been a fantastic year full of adventure and new friendships and I’m grateful for all the new photographers I’ve got to meet on last year’s trips and looking forward to many more in 2016. We had some great workshops this year in Olympic National Park, Montana, Yellowstone and Oregon. I want to thank all those who joined me on the 2015 workshops and those who have supported and followed my work. Being able to share my images and meet such fantastic and amazing people along the way is a real blessing. Happy New Year to everyone, wish you the best!
Here’s my top ten favorites from 2015
Palouse, Washington
Now that the year’s winding down, I’m finally back home for a bit getting caught up on some of last year’s images. I thought I would share a few from this last June on our Palouse photography workshop in Washington State. The Palouse sits in a unique area of eastern Washington and is home to a major agricultural area producing wheat and other crops. The beautiful topography of this area provides endless places to wander for landscape photographers as its rolling hills and pastel hues create painterly scenes reminiscent of Tuscany.
A tip for those who plan to visit: Make sure to pack your telephoto lens as a lot of the classic landscape shots are surprisingly far away and compose better with a focal length in the 300mm-400mm range and even beyond. I routinely will pack my 500mm and use with and without teleconverters to isolate some of the tighter compositions. Apart from the scenic overlooks such as Steptoe Butte there are still plenty of places to use a wide-angle.
I’m really looking forward to getting back out there this next year on my June workshop and revisiting some of these spots. The great thing about the Palouse is it’s such a dynamic and ever changing landscape, between what’s been planted, harvested, the changing light, and weather conditions, it’s never the same scene twice. As of this blog post, there are still a couple of spots open on the 2016 workshop, visit my workshops page for more details.
Spring Photography Workshops
Well I’m finally back home after a busy spring in the Pacific Northwest. I had some fantastic travelers and amazing destinations this year. April I was out in Oregon working the Columbia River Gorge, exploring some new locations and it really seems like the waterfalls here are just endless. The more I explore further into both Oregon and Washington the more I am amazed I what I keep stumbling upon. Beyond the green and waterfalls, wildflowers were early this year and I was fortunate enough to catch them at the beginning of the month, but towards the end of April things were definitely winding down, still some great stuff though.
The month of May had me tromping around one of my absolute favorite locations in the western U.S., Olympic National Park. I can never get enough of Olympic Peninsula’s rainforests and the endless compositions you can find as you wander through the old growth sitka spruces and big leaf maple trees. We also had great beach stuff as well, visiting the iconic Ruby beach and Rialto and lucking out with some pretty sweet sunsets while photographing the seascapes.
June I was in Washington’s Palouse region and had a fantastic trip photographing the soft rolling hills of eastern Washington and visiting the many classic barns throughout the area. We also had a fun night photographing Palouse Falls under the milky way while a group of fun and wild photographers lent their light painting skills and helped light up the falls. All in all a great trip and one of my favorite areas to shoot close to home.
It’s nice to be back in the mountains of Montana though and to see all the new life that’s happening here in the Bitterroot Valley. We’re beginning to see arrival of new fawns in our backyard, nesting birds, and young goslings growing up. Summer is officially here. In a couple weeks I will be heading back out to Washington’s Olympic peninsula, this time on official family vacation with the promise of putting down the cameras and soaking it up at Lake Crescent for the week:)
In July I will be gearing up for more Glacier National Park workshops and should have some more stuff to share soon. Thanks to all the great travelers on my workshops this year, you all have truly made it such a pleasure and a whole heck of a lot of fun being out there doing what we do!