Imagine walking around the city markets and rural coffee communities of Nicaragua, the Western Hemisphere’s second poorest country next to Haiti, with a big black camera and large, white 70-200mm lens hanging from your neck. Or changing from telephoto to wide angle to macro lenses on dusty, steep slopes of a coffee farm. As nice as it was last year to have my best lenses with me, the inconvenience, lost spontaneous opportunities, potential for sensor contamination, and being an attention and theft-magnet persuaded me to simplify for my 2011 trip.

I invested in a Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD lens and it performed well, if not admirably, for telephoto to macro shooting given the conditions. All of my project shots (documenting the usability of a new coffee-harvesting bag) and from-the-hip stealth shots in town were taken with this lens. I used my Canon 7D with a 580EX II Speedlite for indoor, low light, and shaded coffee field shots. Full disclosure time: I threw in my Tamron 90mm macro lens and Macro TwinLite MT-24EX (“twin flash”) at the last minute in case I had spare time to chase bugs, and boy did I, but that will be for another blog post.

The 7D has an APS-C sensor with a 1.6 crop factor so my 18-270mm lens was effectively 28-430mm, which was wide enough for groups and landscapes with little distortion, and long enough to capture things at a good distance. It was perhaps best at the “normal” mid-range for portraits and shorter-range shots where I could take advantage of a wider aperture and better bokeh. For shooting macro, well, it was okay in a pinch when I added a 20mm extension tube and twin flash (with adapter ring), but the magnification I can get with my 90mm macro lens was three times better. Still, being able to shoot a subject at a distance of only 3” at 270mm is remarkable to me.

More valuable than an extra lens was my Speedlite. The farmhouse offered only window light indoors, and the light out in the fields was often blocked by coffee bushes and trees. Despite the risk of an artificial light appearance and the illusion that it was darker outside than it really was (more due to my ineptitude at adjusting the ISO), the clarity and focus of this year’s field shots were much improved. The Speedlite stayed on my camera’s hotshoe except on two occasions when I had time to stage group shots and use my Pocket Wizard FlexTT5 remote units.

Here are some sample images taken on my trip, all shot with the 18-270mm lens. If you’d like to see more (actually…many more), you are welcome to peruse them in the “Nicaragua 2011…” galleries on my website.

Regardless of your current familiarity (or lack thereof) with a digital SLR, you would be most welcome to join us for our Basic Photography course that is held in several regions of the country in 2012. As the title implies, this course will start you out with the very basics of your camera’s functions and what all the dials, buttons and menu options can do for you. We say what they “can do for you” because at the heart of this instruction is the belief that you are, and always will be, inherently smarter than your camera’s so-called brain. Computerized as it might be, you as the photographer have the ultimate creative control and choice with every shot that you take. For this reason, we will teach you how to take images with a comprehensive understanding of the critical concepts of photographic exposure that will help put all of the power in your hands and teach you to let the camera make decisions for you only when you want it to. The “Program mode” of your camera can only get you so far and you want to go farther. In this course, we guide you to the world of hands on, “manual mode” photography. This immersion-style experience takes place in six consecutive days and will help lay that oh-so-important solid foundation in your photography skill that will positively effect your work for the rest of your shooting days.

In addition, what makes a photograph strong – or not – will involve an understanding of simple elements of design. It’s one thing to take good consistent exposures, it’s entirely another to create consistently effective compositions in your photographs. The Basic course will bring these elemental design concepts to the forefront and you will immediately be able to apply them in your own shooting. If someone has ever said to you that you have a “good eye,” then they’ve more than likely recognized your inclination toward good composition already, but you’ve not learned the language of design. We’ll teach you the basics of that language so you can use them consciously.

This information and inspiration packed course involves step-by-step classroom instruction, field shoots with the instructor and assistant present to help you practice the concepts being taught, and constructive critiquing of your work in the field to reinforce your learning. The locations will be interesting and relevant to the instruction, and the instructors are there strictly focused on your photography. It’s a full and progressive learning experience from beginning to end. And one added benefit is the amount of inspiration you stand to gain not only from your instructor, but also your fellow creative classmates. You won’t believe what you’ve learned in less than a week’s time!

Consider joining us for one of our Basic Photography courses offered throughout the year in the following locations:

In Missoula, Montana-
February 18-24 with Doug Johnson
June 9-15 with Doug Johnson
July 7-13 with Kathy Eyster
July 14-20 with Doug Johnson
September 8-14 with Kathy Eyster

In Fredricksberg, Texas-
April 7-13 with Lynn Hoffman-Brouse

In Boise, Idaho-
May 19-25 with Doug Johnson

In Salt Lake City-
June 23-29 with Lynn Hoffman-Brouse

In Indianapolis, IN-
October 13-19 with Eileen Rafferty

Basic Photography is appropriate for absolute beginners including young people and those with a little more experience. You may register either online at www.rmsp.com or by phone at (800) 394-7677. If you might have any questions about the workshop please contact Workshops Director at suel@rmsp.com or by phone at (800) 394-7677.

This course is not exclusive only to people with digital SLR cameras although most students will bring one with them. If you’d like to learn about a new generation of camera that would be just fine to take our photography classes with, you may want to read about it in this informative article.

An accomplished business owner and marketing professional, she founded, and is the creative director of Fala Creative, a marketing and advertising agency in Texas which serves clients from Fortune 100 companies to one-person businesses. This professional background lends itself well to expanding her photography interests. A passionate artist, businesswoman and community member, here are some of her latest accomplishments:

• Her image Paintersville Bridge was was selected for the 2010 Pinot Noir LangeTwins Winery Label
• In both 2011 and 2012,  she’s exhibited at Wine & Chocolate Weekend at LangeTwins Winery & Vineyards in Lodi, CA
• Eight of her fine art pieces were selected for a new Fort Bend County Annex Building in Texas
• Chosen as a State Visual Arts Judge for the Texas PTA
• Does outreach work through an organization called ARTreach which teaches kids photography in juvenile detentions centers and foster care as a form of expression and communication through their own life experiences. As a result, these kids produced a project call “Port in the Storm” based on the premise that their current location is their port during the storm and offers them time to reflect on their current life situation.
• Teaches her own photography workshops in the Katy/Houston area
• Shoots for clients
• Sells her fine art work in galleries as well as commercial, residential and personal collections nationwide

 A lover of travel by nature, she’s been to Africa, Europe as well as all over North America and the Caribbean Islands.  Currently she’s planning trips to Hawaii, Australia and an adventure in Tuscany, Italy that will combine Italian cooking with photography (for an e-cookbook).

Overall, her experience with RMSP has lead to a more passion-filled life. She has loved meeting all of the amazing people she’s now proud to call friends and colleagues in this industry, all through the foundation laid by the instructors, staff and everyone affiliated with the school. Her photography is her outlet as she loves to photograph everything either at home or afar. As she puts it, “Everything is my specialty! Why create boundaries when there’s limitless possibilities!” This outlook helps continually to sharpen her skills and keep her current on the latest technology leaving her feeling like she always has something to learn. Her RMSP  experience has been truly life changing, both professionally and personally.

We couldn’t be happier for Fatima and her life-expanding endeavors. The capacity to grow in a new field, even when already having major accomplishments under your belt is the hallmark of any true adventurer. To see more of her work, please visit her website at www.fatimaphotography.com.

Along with fellow Career Training program alumnae Brenda Lindstrom and Serena Lissy, Fatima will be exhibiting her work at the Wine & Chocolate Weekend at LangeTwins Winery & Vineyards on February 11-12, 2012.

As the ninth-most populated metropolis in the country, Atlanta is a diverse cultural and economic urban environment. This historic city has developed into a vital hub of commerce, culture and modern day American flavor. Considered the “hip hop” music capitol of the U.S., there’s much in the way of entertainment, theater, museums, festivals, sports, etc., to keep the city’s population busy for centuries to come. The world came to Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic Games and this experience only added to its already rich southern and ethnic traditions. The art of photography is definitely alive and well, and we believe one of our biggest fan bases lies in the heart of Atlanta. We hope to see many friendly familiar faces at our upcoming event there. Actually, Neil also founded one of the largest and most active photography groups in the area several decades ago – The Southeastern Photographic Society- and has maintained connection with them throughout the years. As you can probably guess, Neil has definitely left his mark on the area. There is definitely a huge community of passionate photographers who connect, share and inspire one another via the many active groups in the region. As for our weekend event, the amazing team of instructors Tony Rizzuto and Eileen Rafferty will be educating and inspiring the hometown crowd. We’re excited to be returning to Atlanta and once again experience an urban version of good old southern hospitality!

If interested in keeping your focus – pun intended – on photography after the Photo Weekend, consider joining one of the active photography groups below in the Atlanta area. What better way to stay active yourself than by being connected with like-minded enthusiasts?!

Atlanta Photography Group
Women in Focus
Atlanta Photography Society
Cobb Photographic Society
Georgia Nature Photographers’ Association
Roswell Photographic Society
Sweetwater Camera Club
Cherokee Photography Club
Athens Photography Guild
Middle Georgia Camera Club

Join us for the Atlanta Photo Weekend on March 3-4, 2012.

If you were one of the many, many people who watched the Screen Actors Guild award show last night, you have probably heard enough “thanks you’s” to last until next year.  If this is the case, we’ll go ahead and apologize because we simply have to throw out one gigantic thank you to the fine folks in Dallas, Texas.

Instructors Eileen Rafferty and Tony Rizzuto wrapped up our third Photo Weekend of the 2012 season yesterday in Dallas. By all accounts, a solid amount of fun was had by instructors and participants alike.

Here are a few comments we have received since the event wrapped up yesterday:

“Tony is a fabulous presenter.  Course content was great.”

“Eileen did a great job.  She covered the material very well.”

“People aren’t exaggerating when they talk about how creative Eileen is! She blew my mind during this session and really inspired me to expand my creativity and taught me how to as well.”

“I learned SO much in a span of two hours!! Thanks so much to Tony Rizzuto for being such an interesting and fun teacher!”

If you were at the Photo Weekend and want some more RMSP-style photography education, or are ready to jump into learning more about photography, we will be returning to Texas from April 7 – 13, 2012 with our Basic Photography in Fredericksburg, TX workshop. With longtime RMSP instructor Lynn Hoffman-Brouse at the helm, you will spend your week learning from classroom lectures, on-location field assignments and engaging in group critiques as you confidently move from shooting in Program mode to Manual mode.