Every year we try to make a pilgrimage to the Palouse region in Washington, not just to encounter the stunning landscape but to take a break from street photography. An unspoken rule in the industry says that in order to be a successful photographer you need to focus on one area of photography. There is no question that this approach is highly marketable but I strongly disagree with such an approach. Taking a break from your usual visual interests not only allows your seeing to expand but also allows you to rest visually.
This year’s trip to the Palouse was very special for two reasons. First, I was privileged to lead a private workshop with a small group of amazing people and photographers. Second, the weather conditions we encountered this time provided us with a remarkable range of light and visuals. It fact the light got so crazy that while processing our images we had to tone down saturation (Vibrance, usually –10), otherwise we might be accused of some sort of colour manipulation.
Fortunately, we had the right tool for the job thanks to the amazing team at Fujifilm Canada and the cooperation of BIGHEADTACO. We travelled around the Palouse with the Fujifilm GFX50S medium format beast coupled with the GF 120mm F4 OIS and the GF 32-64 F4 zoom lenses.
Over the course of five days we captured stunning sunrises and sunsets.
Unfortunately, three days in a row, rainbows blocked our stunning vistas so we had to include them in our compositions 🙂
Did I mention some crazy lighting?
Most people associate the Palouse just with landscape photography but the region offers great street photography opportunities.
With our group, we visited and photographed the annual Hot Rod show, which is where my students had a primer on street and portrait photography. In fact, one of my students shot the best street photography image I have seen for a very long time – stay tuned because we will share it here in one of our upcoming posts.
We also visited a derelict house we found a few years ago. The GFX and the right lighting allowed us to complete the “The Forgotten Place” series, which we will share with you shortly.
All images are processed in LR, the Fujifilm Astia, Velvia and Classic Chrome.
There is much, much more to come in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
And don’t forget about our upcoming Vancouver Street Photography Workshop! There are still 2 spots left. I promise, NO rainbows!
2017 © Olafphoto. All rights reserved.
That is incredible work – well done!
Mark,
Thank you a lot.
All the best,
Olaf
Hey I noticed that you are tagging your instagram photos with a type of camera they were taken with. WHy would it have ANY meaning for the image? I think it actually takes away to think about technical stuff, it is completely irrelevant if we are talking seriously about photography. Have you ever seen photography masters writing technical information about their photographs? I feel like it only encourages gear porn and making people think they always need a better camera which is simply not true. Kind Regards, Kris
Kris,
I appreciate your interest in my photography.
Why would it have any meaning for you what sort of tags I am using with my images? If you were really interested in my photography and visuals you would discuss my imagery not my tags!
Thank you for visiting.
Olaf
P.S. Please note that I am certainly not a master of photography. Just the student of light and design and I hope to remain one to the end of my life.
Wow! You may not consider yourself a landscape photographer but I would suggest you might want to reexamine that opinion. Sunning photographs sir.
I really appreciate your kind comment. You raised a very good point – maybe I will write about it 🙂
All the best,
Olaf
Olaf , excellent work. Yours are some of the best Palouse images I’ve seen. What a range of light you had too. Great stuff.
Thanks Don! Indeed, I have never ever had a better photography trip in regards to the quality of light. Amazing! Now I will need some rest. We were shooting from 4AM to 10PM every single day.