2023 Oregon Coast Photography Workshop

Join Alex Armitage for a photography workshop and adventure on the beautiful Oregon Coast. We’ll wander the beaches, trek into water, capture beautiful sea stacks, learn new skills and make new friends.

SESSION 1: May 24th - 28th, 2023 Oregon

The Oregon coast combines incredible sea stacks, rugged rocky cliff sides, and luscious flora into a combination so unique that it’s one of the only places like it in the entire world. During this 5 day workshop you’ll experience the power of the Pacific Ocean, capture long wave formations cascading over beautiful sandy beaches, and hoping for the perfect balance of sunlight and clouds on the horizon. The Oregon Coast will present endless photo possibilities and, while we will have a general itinerary that you can find below; we’ll always capture sunrise, sunset, and anything in between based on what nature presents to us. When we aren’t out in the field we’ll spend time reviewing images and exploring new editing techniques, while breathing inspiration into both your new and older images. You’ll walk away from this workshop with new skills, both in the field and behind the edit, refreshed creativity and many new and lasting memories.

Itinerary | Lodging / Transportation | What You’ll Experience | Recommended Gear / Attire | Cancellation Policy / Legal

This workshop will be divided into two locations along the coast: Brookings & Bandon. We’ll start by meeting late afternoon at our beautiful coastal condo to get settled in and do a brief introduction. The best part is we’ll be in walking distance to our sunset location for this portion of the workshop which gives us more time to get out to shoot and less time in transit. Throughout the entire workshop we’ll be waking up for sunrise (5:40am) and staying out for sunset (8:40pm). Considering that leaves little time for sleep we’ll typically be spending the afternoon recharging, eating, and exchanging stories between one another. We’ll also take this time to breakout into editing and post-processing sessions using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

For the second half of the adventure we’ll head south to explore more of the Samuel H. Boardmann State Scenic Corridor. This area will provide completely different elements than the first half of the workshop. We won’t follow a set itinerary for each location as it will be dictated by weather which can be quite temperamental along the coast.

The majority of the locations we’ll be exploring won’t require much hiking but there are a few locations with steep inclines that require good balance. I recommend everyone be in good health regardless and depending on the group’s ambition we might find ourselves exploring some spots more off the beaten path!

This will be a very unique workshop experience because we’ll all be together as a group in our accommodations. This gives us the chance to get to know one another better, exchange stories, and create genuine lasting connections. It also allows us to all collaborate on our work and learn from one another; it’s an experience you simply cannot have staying in your own room at a hotel. What this does mean is that most sleeping spaces are shared while everyone has their own bed. There will be 2 private room options you can choose at checkout if that is something you would prefer. The remaining rooms typically have two beds per room.

The first location we’ll be staying at is a dual condo right on the beach. The second location is a centralized cabin area where we will be occupying 3-4 cabins, some of which have hot tubs! Both locations have access to kitchens and other amenities.

If you’d like to bring a significant other to accompany you and experience this beautiful location please book the private room option at checkout. If those are sold out feel free to contact me.

The closest and most affordable spot to fly into is Eugene (EUG) or Portland (PDX)

Transportation throughout the entire workshop is not provided. The travel time from Portland Airport to our first location (Bandon) is roughly 2.5hrs, while getting back from the second location (Brookings) is roughly 4.5 hours - Thus plan accordingly. If participants want to coordinate renting vehicles together we can discuss that in the discord group.

Food is not provided but each accomodation has amenities to cook. We’ll likely find ourselves eating together for certain meals and snacking throughout the day!

About Brie Stockwell

From her early years, Brie has always made time to pursue her creative interests. She experimented with jewelry making and fiber arts, entered her photography into the county fair at age 12 and studied music at university. After raising her 4 awesome kids, she decided to finally pursue photography in earnest by working toward a solo exhibition at her home in Austin, TX.

This journey was the catalyst for certifying as a creative coach as she continued to refine her vision. Brie is now an award winning nature/landscape photographer with a passion for the subtle colors and textures of the desert. She loves new adventures and looks for opportunities to make art anywhere she goes. She has appeared on well-known photography podcasts, been published in international publications, and continues to support the community through her creative confidence workshops.

Find her photography and creative coaching work here.

This workshop will be inclusive to all levels of photographers. Before the workshop we’ll send out a short questionnaire to understand where you are at in your journey and if there is anything specific you’d like to learn during this adventure. Below are a few concepts you can expect to learn throughout the workshop but these don’t describe everything we will cover. As a workshop participant, you’ll have access to the techniques and experiences of two experienced photographers, each with a different style. You’ll have full access to ask questions about ANYTHING!

In The Field - There is so much that goes into creating memorable images and it all starts in the field.

• Creating compositions with moving elements. Seascapes are defined by flowing water and their compositional element within a scene. Using different shutter speeds to get the perfect flow of seawater to create leading lines within your images.

• Using foreground objects to help ground your images. This might require us to take images to focus stack or perspective blended images, or just learning what we can get away with using small apertures to create larger ranges of depth of field.

• Selecting what lens is best for any given situation. Most traditional seascapes require a wide-angle lens but we’ll also be searching for intimate scenes as well.

• Operating your camera so that it stops getting in the way of your creative process. Shooting in manual mode, working with the histogram, deciding if you need to bracket your images, or anything in between.

• Drone photography if any participants have interest! Many spots along the coast are drone friendly if you can find the time to get it in the air!

Lightroom Processing - To start things off we’ll use Lightroom to process most of our images. This will depend on how adept you are in your editing journey but you’ll learn very quickly how powerful just Lightroom can be for your images.

• File organization and metadata. From importing to categorizing your images we’ll cover it all, especially different systems I use to rank my images for editing and my own portfolio.

• Understanding the foundation of the basics tab, what color profiles are and how they effect your images, or how to handle settings such as clarity, vibrance, and dehaze.

• When and why to use HSL sliders, how much sharpening your images should have, and most importantly - what’s the best crop for your image?

• More advanced tools such as Lightroom masking, color/luminance selection, and filters.

Photoshop Processing - Any heavy edits will be done with a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop, with Photoshop housing the most advanced topics.

• Using content-aware fill, healing brush, and all around image cleanup for possible objects in your images. Discussing when these tools work well and when to avoid them.

• Warping and transforming images to compensate for lens distortion or panoramic shifts.

• Deep diving into masking and luminosity blending your images. We’ll do a full walkthrough of techniques like this from taking the images in the field all the way to processing them through Photoshop.

• Combining focus stacked images manually or using programs such as Helicon focus.

Portfolio and Image Review - Editing isn’t everything and there is so much to learn by opening discourse about our past and present work. We’ll take the time to review your own images and dissect what makes images stand out within your own portfolio.

• We’ll review images taken during the workshop. This can be eye opening to see the differences people capture and expand our horizons to hopefully see things in different ways.

• I’ll be requesting you bring 5-10 of your favorite images you’ve taken that we can all discuss and talk about. This can be pre and post edit, you can ask for feedback on different images, or simply open up to anything you might want to know!

Creative Mentoring - We are looking forward to helping you grow as a photographer. Throughout the workshop we'll facilitate individual and group discussions around topics such as:

• Developing confidence in photography

• Defining and refining your creative vision

• Working on and achieving your photographic projects and goals

We can also help you work through anywhere you feel you might be stuck in your creativity. This will be an excellent opportunity to stay motivated in your journey!

Discord Discussion and Critique - Before and after the workshop there will be a discord channel created for all of those participating within the workshop to coordinate the event. We’ll also use this space to share images between each other both before and after the workshop. This will give you time to get home and edit your images how you want, share them in your leisure and receive critique from me or your peers.

Legal:

Participating in this workshop, you agree to hold Alex Armitage or Brie Stockwell irresponsible for any possible personal injury, damaged equipment, or loss that may occur throughout the workshop. You are responsible for your own safety throughout the workshop and should never push yourself past your own boundaries.

Cancellation Policy:

Alex Armitage reserves the right to cancel the workshop if the minimum (8) number of participants are not met or in the event of an emergency. In the event I do have to cancel the workshop you’ll be given a full refund.

I understand that life happens, and in the event you need to cancel your spot in the workshop, as long as it is prior to 60 days from the first day of the workshop AND the space can be filled by another participant you will receive your full deposit back. If you need to cancel within the 60 days before the workshop, you will not receive your deposit back as it’s very difficult to fill those spots on short notice. I will always try to work with you and do whatever I can in the event you do have to cancel.

I am not responsible for travel disruptions and highly recommend travel insurance for this reason!