Sean Duggan Blog

Santa Fe Bound...

Vintage Observation Car  [Canon 5D]
Santa Fe, New Mexico   July 31, 2007
(click in the image for a larger version)

I am heading to New Mexico early Sunday to teach a new 5-day class at the world famous Santa Fe Photographic Workshops: The Creative Eye: Digital Photography & Digital Darkroom Essentials. There's actually a few spots left, so if you're one to act on impulse and you're in the area and you have the time, think about joining me in "the City Different" for a week of photography, Southwest style, stunning landscapes and creative imaging.

The photo above was taken on my last trip there in the summer of 2007. This old train car has been a fixture in Santa Fe for years and I always love to stop by and admire its fine lines and retro styling (and take a few photos, of course!). The raw image was processed entirely in Lightroom, which is one of the areas we'll be covering during the workshop this coming week. The Before and After view, as seen in Lightroom, is below (click in the image for a larger cversion).

My aim is to try and post an image each day of the workshop (Monday through Friday), but sometimes during a workshop week the days are very full and we'll see how successful I am at keeping to that goal. After the class ends on Friday I'll be exploring New Mexico for a few additonal days in search of new vistas for my pinhole photography project, Artifacts of an Uncertain Origin.

Upcoming Workshops:

Photoshop Retouching & Restoration Essentials
May 16 – 17, 2009  Monterey, California

Real World Digital Photography I
June 7 – 13, 2009  The Maine Media Workshops
Rockport, Maine

The Creative Digital Darkroom
July 6 – 11, 2009  CT Media/Photography Institute
Farmington, Connecticut

Boogie Boarders

Boogie Boarders  [Canon 5D with a Lensbaby Composer]
April 2, 2009  Honolulu, Hawaii
(click in the image for a larger version)

Another image from one of my end of day Lensbaby strolls along Waikiki Beach last week.

Next Workshop..

The Creative Eye: Digial Photography & Digital Darkroom Essentials
Santa Fe, New Mexico, April 27  May 1

Desert Highway

 
Desert Highway  [Canon 5D]
Valley of Fire, Nevada - March 5, 2009
(click in the image for a larger version)

I was in Las Vegas this past week at the PMA convention and trade show, leading a half-day hands-on Photoshop class on The Creative Digital Darkroom. On Thursday morning I headed out early to explore the Valley of Fire State Park, where the image above was taken (for the technically curious, this has had only minimal adjustments applied to it in Lightroom). More from the Valley of Fire and another very interesting nearby location in the days ahead.

Upcoming Workshops
And speaking of the days ahead, my next workshop in sunny South Florida is fast approaching and will start on Monday, March 16. There's still room if you want to sign up.  I'll be in another tropical location teaching three short classes in early April in Hawaii, and a third will be offered near Morro Bay, California in mid-April.  The beautiful and incredibly scenic Santa Fe, New Mexico will be the site of a digital photography and digital darkroom workshop in late April and early May. See below for dates, details and links to more information:

Selections, Masking and Creative Collage
Palm Beach Photographic Centre
March 16 - 19, 2009

**Early April Workshops in Hawaii:
Adobe Photoshop CS4: Restoration & Retouching Essentials
Adobe Photoshop CS4: Creative Digital Black & White
The Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS4
More Info

Secrets of the Mask: Selections & Masking in Photoshop CS4
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
April 18 - 19, 2009

The Creative Eye: Digital Photography & Digital Darkrom Essentials
Santa Fe Photographic Workshops
April 27 - May 1

 

Purple Wall

San Francisco Home [Canon 5D]
February 27, 2009
(click in the image for a larger version)

Outstanding in Their Field

The Obligatory Valentines Day Image  [Canon 5D]
(click in the image for a larger version)

This was taken a few days ago here in Grass Valley. A local organic ranch is always very creative with their roadside displays. There is minimal post-capture processing on this image and all of that was handled in Lightroom. It was an obvious choice for a Valentines Day image.We have a lot more snow now (about 18 inches), with more scheduled for Saturday night and Sunday.

The next workshops I have scheduled for mid March and early April are filling up so if you're interested in attending a Photoshop class (4 of them in a warm climate!), I have classes coming up in South Florida and Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as Morro Bay, California and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Follow the links below for more information.

Selections, Masking and Creative Collage
Palm Beach Photographic Centre
March 16 - 19, 2009

**April Workshops in Hawaii:
Adobe Photoshop CS4: Restoration & Retouching Essentials
Adobe Photoshop CS4: Creative Digital Black & White
The Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS4
More Info

Secrets of the Mask: Selections & Masking in Photoshop CS4
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
April 18 - 19, 2009

The Creative Eye: Digital Photography & Digital Darkrom Essentials
Santa Fe Photographic Workshops
April 27 - May 1

 

The Sweet Light of Dawn

Meadow View Dawn  [Canon 5D]
January 7, 2009
(click in the image for a larger version)

This was taken not far from my house. I stopped to record the scene early one morning a few weeks ago as I left to head down to the San Francisco Bay Area for some consulting appointments. I posted this image now because tomorrow morning at zero dark thirty I am heading down to the airport for a 6am flight to Florida. Unfortunately for me, I am leaving much earlier than the time when this image was made and it will still be quite dark out.

I'll be in Delrey Beach for the week giving some presentations and leading some hands-on computer labs at FOTOfusion, the annual festival and conferrence on photography and digital imaging put on by the Palm Beach Photographic Centre. If you will be attending the conference, stop by one of my sessions and say hello!

The next workshop is on Feb 7th and 8th in Sacramento, California. The next edition of the newsletter is going out towards the end of this week.

Red Curtain

Red Curtain  [Canon 5D]
San Francisco - Jan 15, 2009
(click in the image for a larger version)

I was in San Francisco last week and found this image while enjoying an evening stroll. A shopkeeper was putting up a new window display and making final adjustments to this red curtain. I was intrigued that just her hand was visible, and the bright red paired with the yellow wall in the background made for a pleasing color scheme. This is a good example that night photography can also include tight detail-oriented compositions such as this, as well as those that take in the larger scene. For the technically curious, this was shot using an ISO of 1250 hand held at 1/40th of a second (with an image-stabilized lens).

Best Photo Book of the Year Nominee
My co-author Katrin Eismann and I were honored that our book The Creative Digital Darkroom was included as one of the nominees for Best Photo Book of the Year for 2008 over at The Online Photographer (ours is the 3rd down from the top).

Workshops
My next workshop will be in Sacramento on February 7 & 8th. Other upcoming workshops will be offered in Monterey, California, South Florida, Hawaii, Morro Bay, California and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Check out my workshops page for a full listing of 2009 workshops.

Irresistable

 
Golden Gate Bridge  [Canon 5D]
August 5, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

This was taken last summer on one of my regular consulting trips down to the San Francisco Bay Area. It's pretty much posted as shot, with only some minor adjustments to contrast and brightness made in Lightroom. It's hard to go wrong with end of day light on the Golden Gate Bridge. And even though it's a view that has been photographed countless times before, and will be again, there are some scenes that are just hard to resist.

I'm headed down to the San Francisco area again today for a few days of consulting and one-on-one digital darkroom training. I am generally in that part of the state once or twice a month so if you live in the greater S.F. Bay Area and are interested in setting up an appointment, check out the consulting page on my web site and drop me a line.

Red Boot

Red Boot  [Canon 5D]
January 11, 2009
(click in the image for a slightly larger version)

My daughter went horseback riding yesterday and her red boots next to the horse's side made for an interesting study in color, shadow and texture.

Workshop in Sacramento This Weekend:

Photoshop for Photographers I: The Basics
Jan. 17 – 18, Viewpoint Photographic Art Center - Sacramento, California 
$285 (members) or $335 (non-members)  |  More Info
(requires that you bring your own laptop with Photoshop)

And, a follow-up class will be offered three weeks later:

Photoshop for Photographers II: Beyond the Basics
Feb. 7 – 8, Viewpoint Photographic Art Center - Sacramento, California
$285 (members) or $335 (non-members)   |  More Info
(requires that you bring your own laptop with Photoshop)

Above it All

Above it All  [Canon 5D]
Union, Maine  August 19, 2008
(click in the image for a larger version)

Here's a color version of the same image in the previous post. This has been "seasoned" with some blend mode-based sepia toning. Although I like the black and white version, I feel the color interpretation is much better suited for this particular image, especially given the colorful subject matter of a county fair.

Upcoming Workshops

Creative Collage with Adobe Photoshop CS3
Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, California
October 18 - 19. 2008

Creative Digital Black and White
Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging
November 3 – 7, 2008
Los Osos, California