This will be a rare overnight excursion, so bring a tent if you think you will sleep, last time we shot until 9am! Thom Johnson co-founder of the trust and author of the book Bannerman Castle (NY) (Images of America) will be on the island for a historical tour before we set up our tripods and focus on creating some truly outstanding images under the full moon.

Gabriel and Matt will go over the basics of night photography and how to successfully meter, capture star trails, paint with light, and hone your “night vision”. The majestic Castle and Residence will be the main focus but there are many little details on the island that will be yours to capture, including the Twin Towers, rising from the water, that guard the south harbor. This will be a very hands-on, one-night workshop that is sure to add some amazing images to your portfolio.

Logistics:

We are making this unique opportunity available on two separate full moon nights in 2012:

Saturday June 2nd from 4pm (sharp!) until 9am Sunday June 3rd.  SOLD OUT

Saturday  September 1st from 4pm until 9am Sunday September 2nd.  As of 5/1 there are a few remaining spots

Fee: $350 for one night.  Payable by check/money order to the Bannerman Castle Trust. Please contact me for this information.

Boat transportation to the island and from Cornwall on the Hudson are included in the price. We recommend that you bring your own food, snacks, and water. Tents and sleeping bags are recommended, if you want to sleep. No animals live on the island but there is plenty of poison ivy so please wear the appropriate shoes and clothing (shorts are not recommended). Portable toilets are located on one side of the island.

This extraordinary night adventure and is limited to 6 people each night.

Technical Requirements:
Film and/or Digital SLR Camera, Tripod, & Cable Release

Who should attend: You must be familiar with your camera, especially in Manual Mode. A full list of suggested gear will be sent to you upon payment.

Stop the presses!
I just got word from the Rocky Mountain School of Photography that the Neon Museum is letting students of our workshop shoot in their Neon Boneyard!!!
This is the ultimate photo opportunity to capture the bygone era of Vegas and one of the few times that they have granted access to photographers at night. The Neon Boneyard has over 150 classic Vegas signs from the 30′s-90′s in their 2 acre lot. Lucky for us the boneyard is not electrified, instead Tim and I will help you hone your light painting skills as we shine a new life into these nostalgic signs.

So if you were on the fence about signing up for Vegas to Zion: Dusk to Dawn, Lady Luck has just shined on you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Q5PrOnyXs

For those of you who have never had a chance to see my Night Visions talk at B&H’s Event Space – it is has been recorded and you can now watch this 2 hour lecture at your leisure.

B&H also just published a blog I wrote about Star trails vs Celestial skies.

I give a lot of useful information in the video but nothing beats the experience itself.  Taking a workshop and immersing yourself in the night with someone to guide you is the most successful way to improve your photography.  Oftentimes these Night Workshops offer access to a unique locations that would be impossible to get to otherwise.  The fear of security coming down on you or just fumbling around in the dark is taken out of the equation.  Light painting is often practiced so that you can become more comfortable with it as well as knowing when to use flash over flashlights.  Processing techniques are shared and 9 times out of 10 you will walk away with a unique set of images that you can add to your portfolio as well as inspire you to continue create more night visions.

Good friends and fellow nocturnalists Lance Keimig and Scott Martin made a wonderful 6 minute video about night photography and workshops.  Last year I was invited to speak at the Nocturnes 20th anniversary Night Festival in Mono Lake which offers entry to Bodie National Park, the surreal tufa’s of Mono Lake, and Yosemite.

Another popular Night Photography Workshop is Joe and Troy’s junkyard 3 day workshop.  Their spring class is sold out but you can get on their mailing list for future workshops.

There are still a few more spots open for Tim Cooper and my week-long Vegas – Zion night workshop in March.  I wrote about my experience of shooting 7 straight nights a few years ago and with the Vegas lights and Zion nights this is sure to inspire!

I will also be announcing the Bannerman 2012 Night Workshops, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Nights, as well as a new historic NY location that Matt Hill and I will be offering in the Spring and Fall by mid-February.  We are very excited about all these locations so stay tuned for more info soon!

See you when the sun goes down!

Hosted by:  Rocky Mountain School of Photography

Limited Availability!!!

Date: Sunday March 4th- Friday March 9th 2012

Instructor: Gabriel Biderman and Tim Cooper

Where: 3 nights in Las Vegas area and 3 full moon nights in Zion National Park

Cost: $1895

Join me and the Master of the Magic Hour, Tim Cooper, as we teach you how to capture iconic images of the Vegas lights and Zion nights.

We are very excited to be working with the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in offering this very unique course that is bound to better your portfolio. The days will be filled with classroom lectures that will teach you the skills to become better night photographer. At night we will practice the topics we covered and challenge you to bend time and capture the most inspiring images possible.
Lensbaby has also graciously agreed to provide all participants with a Composer Lensbaby during the workshop! These specials effects lenses will push our night visions even further as we sculpt the neon light around us. One lucky student who takes the best Lensbaby night shots during the class will win a Composer Pro!
To learn more details on the Dusk to Dawn weeklong workshop click here 
Check out Tim Cooper’s latest images from Vegas and Zion.

Post-pho-bi-a [post-foh-bee-uh]
noun
A persistent, irrational fear of blogging that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it. This typically happens when there has been a long interval between blogs and when work, life, and FB interfere with the amount of free time the blogger thinks he/she has.
See www.ruinism.com

There, it’s out of the way. I think it all started this spring when my Nikon D700 and newly acquired 35 1.4 lens was stolen while I was traveling in Milan. Thankfully I wasn’t physically hurt but it certainly depressed the hell out of me and sent me on a bit of a photo funk.
Now most of you know that I work for a small camera shop called B&H and have access to loads of camera gear. So instead of dropping another $2500 on a camera, I figured, now was a good time to really give some new and different cameras a workout. However what I failed to realize is that I had grown to love my D700. It, combined with either a Lensbaby or the Zeiss 21 2.8 lens had truly become an extension of myself.
So however many cameras I tried, I never felt “it” until my good friend at Fuji let me borrow the hard-to-get Fuji x100 for a month. Was it a perfect camera? No, but I also believe there is no perfect camera; we just try to find what best matches our needs. On a whim I brought the camera out to our last Bannerman Night Workshop of 2012. And that’s when I fell in love again. Yes, I was a sucker for the retro rangefinder design and the image quality was very impressive. But at night, during long exposures, it rocked!
The image above is called the Blue Hour. It was taken during the early morning as the night gave way to the day. You can see the small star trails at the top resisting the mists of the morning. It was a magical moment to capture but also to just sit back and enjoy.

However, soon after this shot, I had to return the camera to Fuji and it was again a long waiting list, even for a guy like me. But I’m a lucky fella, who married the right girl. Nancy had noticed how much I enjoyed “seeing” with this camera and surprised me by getting it for me for our 5th year anniversary.
So I’m back – inspired to shoot and back to blogging!

This will be a rare overnight excursion, so bring a tent if you think you will sleep, last time we shot until 9am! Thom Johnson co-founder of the trust and author of the book Bannerman Castle (NY) (Images of America) will be on the island for a historical tour before we set up our tripods and focus on creating some truly outstanding images under the full moon.

Gabriel and Matt will go over the basics of night photography and how to successfully meter, capture star trails, paint with light, and hone your “night vision”. The majestic Castle and Residence will be the main focus but there are many little details on the island that will be yours to capture, including the Twin Towers, rising from the water, that guard the south harbor. This will be a very hands-on, one-night workshop that is sure to add some amazing images to your portfolio.

Logistics:

We are making this unique opportunity available on two separate full moon nights in 2011:

Saturday August 13th from 4pm (sharp!) until 9am Sunday August 14th.

Monday September 12th from 4pm until 9am Tuesday September 13th.

Fee: $350 for one night.  Payable by check to the Bannerman Castle. Please contact me for this information.

Boat transportation to the island and from Cornwall on the Hudson are included in the price. We recommend that you bring your own food, snacks, and water. Tents and sleeping bags are recommended, if you want to sleep. No animals live on the island but there is plenty of poison ivy so please wear the appropriate shoes and clothing (shorts are not recommended). Portable toilets are located on one side of the island.

This extraordinary night adventure and is limited to 6 people each night.

Technical Requirements:
Film and/or Digital SLR Camera, Tripod, & Cable Release

Who should attend: You must be familiar with your camera, especially in Manual Mode. A full list of suggested gear will be sent to you upon payment.

Hosted by
Catskills Workshops
Limited Availability!!!
Date: Friday July 15th- Sunday July 17th 2011

Instructor: Gabriel Biderman

Where: Catskills Workshops and Retreats, Woodburne, New York.

Cost: $695 including room and board

I’m very excited to be coming back to teach at the Catskills Workshops and Retreats this July!

New this year, we’ve extended the Night Photography class to be 2 days-nights of complete immersion into the world of Night Photography!

Based at the 15 acre farm of the Catskills Workshops & Retreats in Woodbourne, NY ~ just 2 hours north of NYC.

In this workshop we will look beyond the fleeting moments of time and explore images that can be created at night when you expose for seconds, minutes, and even hours with your camera.

Gabriel Biderman is a self-taught photographer who has been specializing in the fine art of the long exposure with everything from pinhole to the latest digital cameras.

Far away from the city lights and with the full moon lighting our night, you’ll learn how to capture star trails and spectacular nightscape images. Gabriel will go into detail on how to meter and process your long exposures using either film or digital capture. This hands-on-workshop will include lecture time, in the field light painting and star trail techniques, as well as using models to create ghosts.

You will also have the opportunity to go on location to explore mixing twilight and urban lights in one of the small towns of the scenic Catskills.

Beyond the great instruction and ample time to practice the material covered, the Catskills Workshops & Retreats is becoming known for it’s healthy home cooking. So prepare your tasted buds for some great eats.

Please click here for additional information & to sign up for the workshop.

Pinhole hunting season is officially afoot! This Sunday, April 24th is World Wide Pinhole Day, so put aside those multicoated glass lenses and step back in time and try one of the oldest forms of photography. See my previous link for an explanation on what a pinhole is and what types of pinhole cameras are out there. You can adapt any digital camera to take a pinhole body cap or lensbaby pinhole/zoneplate but I find the best images come from homemade pinhole boxes or the beautiful Zero Image teak and brass high end cameras. Pinhole Photography will force you to slow down your process and be more reflective. Average exposures during the middle of a sunny day tend to be 8 seconds. If you shoot indoors you are likely to exposure for hours. The below image is a 2 hour exposure taken yesterday. If you can name all 5 cameras in this image I will send you a $50 B&H Gift Card! Leave your guesses in the comments section below.

This will be the 11th year in a row that the world celebrates WWPD. I was surprised to see that there aren’t any scheduled events in NY, so I have decided to host one! Here are the details for the DUMBO Pinhole Walk:

Where: Meet in front of the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory
When: 1pm Sunday April 24th – rain or shine
What you need to bring: Pinhole camera, film or digital capture, and tripod.
I will have extra cameras, film, and light meters if you are new to this and want to try it out, but there will be limited quantities and will go to the first arrivals.

From there we will walk and pinhole around Dumbo and Brooklyn Bridge area. This free pinhole photowalk will go until 5pm and we will end back at the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory for a celebratory scoop!

If you are not in the NY area and want to participate check here to see if there are any events near you or host one!

Click here to RSVP, one lucky attendee will win a signed 1st edition of Michelle Bates “Plastic Cameras, Toying with Creativity”

Hope to see you there!

I was in the desert.

I remember climbing up lots of stairs with the unrelenting sun pounding down on my burning skin. There was music blaring, but I could still hear the screaming. And when I finally got to the top, I understood why…you couldn’t see the bottom. And then someone pushed me into the half-pipe. The inch or so of water lessoned the blow and then propelled me down the tube. I joined the screaming until the very end as I shot into the pool.

That was my first waterpark experience and as you can see, I remember it fondly. I’ve never been a strong swimmer, but on a waterslide it is all the fun of watersports crammed into 20 seconds of an exhilarating ride. I remember watching the smaller kids shooting out the tube and skimming across the pool like skipping stones.

So when I heard of an abandoned waterpark halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I had to pay a visit. I want to thank Joe and Troy for suggesting a stop here. As I enjoyed my last sausage and mushroom frittata from Kristy’s Family Restaurant with Joe, we discussed the Rock-A-Hoola waterpark as our Night 5 locations spot. Both Joe and Troy have some amazing images from their night shoots at the waterpark and it was on our way north, an easy excursion.

We said our goodbyes to the rest of the Peasonville 12, and Barry, Heidger, Tor, and I made our way towards Barstow, California.
Stocked with sandwiches, water, and the everyhandy trail or munchy mix, we made our way towards Rock-A-Hoola. It was strategically placed right off the highway for the tourists of days bygone to take a quick dip.

Water has always flowed in this desert region, but unfortunately it has been flowing underground. In the early 1950s, a local businessman by the name of Bob Byers, purchased this land and turned it into a park/campground for his extended family. In 1962 Lake Dolores became one of the first official waterparks open to the public. Variations of the waterslides had been popular since the turn of the century but this was one of the first water parks in the the USA. It featured super fast stainless steel slides, zip-lines to pools, and a man made lake that had motocross racing around it. This little oasis’ height of popularity peaked from the early 70′s until the mid 80′s but then the water was turned off in the late 80′s. An investment group came in and replaced the stainless steel waterslides with red, white, and blue high density plastic slides. Their idea was to create a 1950′s themed waterpark adding new slides, rides, and taking back the title of the world’s longest Lazy River. Thus, in 1998, Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark was born, with 1950′s music playing from open to close. Maybe that was the writing on the wall. Or more likely it was the kid who severely injured himself on one of the slides during the off hours. The catch pool didn’t have enough water to break his fall and he became a $4.4 million paraplegic.
The investment group filed for bankruptcy two years later, but not before relaesing this awesome advertising campaign.

Two years and $400,000 later, another group attempted to breathe life into Rock-A-Hoola and renamed it Discovery Park. That lasted another two years, mostly open for the weekends before finally closing down for good. And there it sat, a wonderful little blip on the grid for millions of people to see on their way to Vegas.

We arrived on 5:30 pm on September 26th. A huge billboard exclaiming “Family Fun” greeted us in the desolate dirt parking lot.  There were no fences and no signs deterring passage, we didn’t even have to go through the entrance turnstile!  In fact I was shocked to find very little graffiti and vandalism given that it was a stone’s throw from a major highway.

As the sun started to sink…I made my way to the giant Coca Cola water tower standing solo at the top of the hill.
Most of you know that I am definitely drawn to infrastructures, and this was one of the finest examples of a water tower that I have seen. The red coloring of the tank was beaten and pealing off after many cycles of the sun and I just imagined this tank filled with coke instead of water shooting the soda down the slides!

We had about 1 hour and 15 minutes of complete darkness before the moon was to rise, which meant more stars in the sky and longer exposures at the beginning of the night. The first image of the water tank was taken in complete darkness and with an old Nikon 28mm AIS PC lens. A PC, or perspective control lens, allows you to correct for converging lines when pointing your camera up at buildings. Instead of tilting the camera at an angle up towards the subject, which gives it a wide base and skinny on the top look. A PC lens lets you keep the camera level and the lens actually shift up about 11-12 degrees to give a more normal perspective. The PC and Tilt Shift lenses are most commonly used by architectural photographers but there has been a big movement to also use these lens and actually distort the perspective as well.

During the second image, a bit of the Milky Way can be seen at the top of the tower, like the fizz coming off a bubbly coke. I like this shot, looking up the ladder to the sky, but I wanted to amp that feeling even more. So I got into one of the most difficult low angle shooting positions I have attempted and tried to line up the wide Zeiss 21mm lens for the third image, titled Starway. It was a banger. I took two 15 minute exposures of this and was pleasantly surprised to have a star trail fit exactly through the top of the hole. I spent close to 3 hours working the Coca Cola tower, shooting different angles and interpretations of the same subject matter. Barry joined me up at the tower halfway through my shoot and we both began working the angles. And as we waited the 15-30 minutes per exposure we lay down on the cement and stared at the stars. We were all alone at an abandoned waterpark in the middle of the desert. The stars were incredibly bright and we talked, laughed, and felt the earth rotate beneath us.

Draining the coke of all of its images, we made our way down to the slide area. We checked in with Tor and Heidger, who were popping gelled lights and long exposures in the entrance/storefront area. I was fascinated with the slides, or the support structures that supported the now missing slides. They reminded me of the Japanese Shinto Toriis, or Shrine Gates, and I became one with them for the next few hours. Barry ventured along the lazy river, now filled with dust and debris, as he made his way to the kiddie park.
I climbed to the top of the highest slide, I could see the streaks of the car lights zipping along the freeway. I couldn’t see Lake Dolores, but I saw plenty of tracks from recent off-roading, people were still using the land even though the man-made aspect had fallen into ruin.

By the time I finished up with the Shinto Shooting, it was approaching last call. I found Barry over in the kiddie pool and Tor and Heidger were still shooting the retro shops in the entranceway. Rock-A-Hoola was incredibly expansive and I commented that each of us really only explored 1-2 aspects of the park. Luckily they were all different points, so if you look at all of our images you should have a better perspective of the place.

We decided one last exposure before packing up, and I made my way over to the Rock-A-Hoola billboard in the parking lot. I set it up for a 6 minute shot with 6 minutes of noise reduction and then went and hung out with Barry by some other retro billboards he was shooting. It was during this time when I saw a couple cars pull into the lot. We were on the other side of the billboard, so they couldn’t see us but I could see them; and them were cops. Now my camera and tripod were in full view on the same side as the cops were, I wasn’t going to hide and risk losing my gear, and images.

They shined their bright flashlights on me as I slowly approached them. I kept a very positive, non aggressive attitude, and explained that we were just here taking pictures. I was quickly put into handcuffs as they told me I was trespassing, etc etc. Barry came around the corner and started calming reiterating that we were just photographers as he got patted down. It wasn’t until he mentioned that he was a San Francisco City employee and worked with probation officers that they started to listen. A quick check on both of our records came back clean and the cuffs came off. I was only worried for a moment that I would be sleeping on a cement floor. The female cop noted that it was a cool place to shoot but it was dangerous and definitely trespassing, no matter if we saw the sign or not. They asked us to pack our things and leave, so we rounded up the troops and just like little kids, sadly left the waterpark.

It is typical to meet security or police officers while doing night photography. I advise always carrying a small portfolio of your images with you and staying apologetic and non-aggressive, there usually won’t be a problem.

I love the images from this shoot as well as the experience, even including our run in with the authority! I’m glad I went and hope to take a dip in the kiddie pool next time I’m driving through!