Dolomites: The Roof of the World, with Venice extension

Join Mike Shipman to photograph and explore this Roof of the World. The hard, crystalline structure of dolomite, the rock giving the area its name, has eroded over time to form high-elevation mountain ranges of sharp, dramatic crags reflecting a wide range of colors in the shifting light. Tarns and lakes dug out by glaciers are dark to bright blue and the source of many of the streams carving their way through the landscape. The rural nature of northern Italy also offers a peaceful, serene atmosphere that belies its turbulent and violent past that existed during both World Wars.

Emphasis during this workshop will be your interpretation and exploration of the mountainous terrain, historical features of the landscape, and the changing aspects of weather using your senses and perceptions to make photographs that as much as possible express your experiences and interests. We’ll discuss in a group and individual one-on-one guidance about using light and shadow to create form, improving composition, setting exposure under difficult lighting conditions, abstract impressions, using filters, long exposure, time lapse, and sensing and perceiving the environment to help find subjects and make meaningful photographs. Weather permitting, we’ll photograph the stars and learn a little astrophotography.

A 5-day extension in Venice is available for participants in this workshop. See website listing for details.