Sean Bagshaw Outdoor Exposure Photography

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Sean speaks at IrishLight Landscape Photography Festival in Dublin, Ireland

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Registration and more information

“IRISHLIGHT is a landscape photography festival with a range of events that we hope will help to inspire and educate the landscape community in Ireland and abroad.

The festival is run by Peter Gordon and Jelena Derk as a forum to pull the best professional Irish based landscape photographers together, bring international photographers to Ireland while also mobilizing the amazing enthusiast talent that exists both here and abroad.”

Presenters this year include Marc Adamus, Joel Tjintjelaar and Paul Sanders.

Sean will be speaking on October 6th at The Royal Marine Hotel in  Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland.

 

My Favorite Images of 2013

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Another wonderful year of traveling, exploring, searching, watching, waiting. These are the photographs I took in 2013 which are my favorites. Which is your favorite? (Each image can be viewed larger by clicking on it.)

Lonely Coast. Late twilight on cliffs edge somewhere on the southern Oregon coast.
March. Lonely Coast. Late twilight on a cliff edge somewhere along the southern Oregon coast.

Fortuna-Falls
March. La Fortuna Falls, Costa Rica.

The-Mighty-and-The-Meek
April. The Mighty and The Meek. Trillium growing in the shadow of a towering redwood.

Tattered-and-Swift
May. Tattered and Swift. Thunderstorms looming over Steens Mountain.

Shadows-Call
May. Shadows Call. Spring lupine beneath the stars in the Shasta Valley.

Gates-of-the-Imnaha
June. Gates of The Imnaha. Fleeting spring green in the Imnaha River Canyon.

Reflection-Lake
August. Reflection Lake. A classic sunrise view and reflection of Mt. Rainier.

Two-Guardians-of-Cape-Arago
September. Two Guardians of Cape Arago. Intricate sandstone formations on the Oregon coast illuminated by a fantastic sunrise event.

Panther-Creek-Falls
October. Panther Creek Falls. One of the most delicate and beautiful waterfalls in the Northwest.

Stillness-and-Light
October. Stillness and Light. Compelling geometry, light and color at one of Oregon's most loved landscape scenes.

Golden
November. Golden. A country road disappears into the colors, light and mists of fall in the Rogue Valley.

Early-Winter
December. Early Winters. Alpenglow light at dawn in the central Oregon Cascade Range.

Sharpened-version
December. Ice and Fire. Delicate ice and reflected sunrise light on the Crooked River after an early winter cold snap.

December 31. The final hours of 2103 spent on the Oregon coast.
December 31. End Of A Year. The final hours of 2103 spent on the Oregon coast.

Chasing Light – A Presentation at The Ashland Outdoor Store

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Join me on Thursday, November 21 at the Ashland Outdoor Store for an evening of images and stories. I will be sharing the vision and spirit of exploration that guides my search for rare light and dramatic landscapes as well as a glimpse into the techniques I use to create my photographs. The presentation begins at 7:00 PM and is free and open to the public. The Ashland Outdoor Store is located at 37 Third Street, Ashland, Oregon.
Chasing Light [1.0]

Photo Cascadia Reception

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Location: The Cascade Center of Photography

December 14th, 6-8pm

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Come hang out with the members of Photo Cascadia at a reception at the Cascade Center of Photography. Photo Cascadia consists of six of the top northwest landscape photographers: Chip Phillips, Adrian Klein, David Cobb, Zach Schnepf, Kevin McNeal and Sean Bagshaw. We are all from the Pacific Northwest and share the common interest of photographing the striking beauty of the outdoors, especially the Northwestern United States. It’s rare that all six photographers are together in one place.

Come meet the whole team at the Cascade Center of Photography, 390 SW Columbia Street, Suite 110, Bend, Oregon.

No registration necessary.

Vision of Light Presentation (with Zack Schnepf)

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Autumn-Sunrise-on-the-Deschutes-RiverFriday June 27 2014, 7pm

Location: Cascade Center of Photography

390 SW Columbia Street, Suite 110, Bend, Oregon.

Google Map

Doors open at 6:30pm

Sean Bagshaw and Zack Schnepf will present a slide show of their images at the Cascade Center Of Photography. Magical light in the landscape is elusive and difficult to capture, and yet is it the single most important element in a great landscape image. Sean and Zack will discuss their dedication to searching for, seeing and capturing light in the landscape to create their stunning images. They will be sharing some of their favorite rare light images and telling the back story of how each image was created.

Sign up for the Central Oregon Landscape Photography Workshop with Sean and Zack on June 28 & 29

Limited space, seat reservation only for workshop participants.

Image Developing Workshop Review

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Steve Cole, a photographer based in Washington, recently attended two of my digital image developing classes in Bend, Oregon. Steve is serious about photography and has spent a lot of time researching techniques and developing his skills. He drove to Bend from Seattle hoping that he could add some new techniques and skills to his repertoire.

Steve, it turns out, is also a very good writer. After the class he was motivated to pen a detailed review of the classes. His description of what goes on during the class and what content was covered is better than I could do myself. For a well written, unsolicited overview of what we were up to in Bend I encourage you to give Steve’s article a read.

Here is a short excerpt. “So were the two classes worth it? Without hesitation, I can say YES. From the minute you first meet him, Sean is friendly and engaging without any elitism or arrogance. He is just a guy who is passionate about nature and photography and who doesn’t love that? Before becoming a “pro” photographer 8 years ago, Sean was a middle school teacher and that really shows in his ability to teach and explain concepts.”

As Steve says in the article, I haven’t yet scheduled these classes again in the near future. If you have a venue and a group of 10 to 15 people who are interested give me a call.

Steve’s Blog: scolephoto.blogspot.com

Steve’s Website: www.scolephoto.com

March Show At Illahe Gallery – Earth Palette

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Last summer I had a private exhibit of my latest photography show entitled Earth Palette in the gallery at Rogue Valley Manor. I am excited to invite you to attend the opening of the first public showing of this body of work. The show will be featured at Illahe Gallery in Ashland, Oregon opening on Friday, March 4, 2011 from 5 to 8 PM.

Illahe Studios and Gallery is located on the corner of 4th and B Street in Ashland. The show will be on exhibit for the entire month of March so if you miss the opening stop by any time.

The show consists of a series of my landscape and nature images from locations in the western US that all share a focus on color, light, texture and form. The title of the show, Earth Palette, comes from my experiences photographing in the Painted Hills of central Oregon. The images are vibrant, surreal, dramatic and perhaps in many ways represent my romantic impressions more than a literal representation of the world.
In keeping with my ongoing interest in moving beyond the traditional in landscape photography, I have created this entire show on a medium that is somewhat new to the art form, namely canvas. All of the images in this show have been printed in large format, some as large as 60 x 40, on gallery wrapped canvas. This gives them a painterly quality very different from what we usually expect from photographs. It is also a more raw and simple presentation, allowing one to view the images without competition from frames or separated by a layer of glass.

I hope to see you there!

Exploring Hart Mountain Wildlife Refuge In Winter

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Admittedly, winter is not my most prolific photography season. Cold, darkness and unpredictable weather often get the better of my psyche and I find myself making excuses or prioritizing office work. However, once or twice a winter I do manage to gear up and head someplace windswept and snowy with my camera. This winter Chuck Porter, one of my oldest and best friends, and I spent a couple days exploring the lonesome high desert in the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge. Back when we were more energetic Chuck and I spent a lot of time climbing cliffs and mountains all over the western US and spurring each other on to complete questionable feats of endurance. Once we hiked the entire length of the Wild and Scenic Rogue River Trail, all 40 plus miles, in a day. Another time we climbed Mt. Shasta, Mt. McLoughlin and Mt. Thielsen in a 21 hour push. These days we are happy just to get out and camp for a weekend and do a little ski touring.

Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is a national wildlife refuge on Hart Mountain in southeastern Oregon, which protects more than 422 square miles and more than 300 species of wildlife, including pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep, mule deer, sage grouse, and redband trout. The refuge, created in 1936 as a range for remnant herds of pronghorn antelope, spans habitats ranging from high desert to shallow playa lakes, and is among the largest wildlife habitats containing no domestic livestock. Located in a remote region of southeastern Oregon at an elevation over 6,000 feet, Hart Mountain is a wild and desolate place any time of year. In winter, blanketed by snow, it becomes a quite and seemingly endless surreal landscape.

During our visit, Chuck and I skied through a couple of different areas, both very small in the total scale of the refuge. We talked about coming back one winter and skiing all the way across, but we’ll see if I ever get the winter motivation to take that on. The two areas we explored on this visit were the hot springs basin below Warner Peak and Petroglyph Lake. Petroglyph Lake is sheltered on one side by a low cliff band that houses several panels of Native American rock art.

Instead of going on at length about the skiing, sleeping in the car, eating bad food and all the other standard tales from a trip like this I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves. You can click on each image to see it larger and then hit the back button to return to the article.

Hart Mountain rising out of the clouds above Hart Lake.

Old building at park headquaters.

Winter Landscape

Rok Chuk

Hotsprings basin black and white

Meandering hotsprings stream

Skiing toward Petroglyph Lake

Desolate and windswept

Warner Peak above the high desert plain

Skiing around Petroglyph Lake

Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs

Wind sculpted snow

Skiing in a snow shower

My Favorite Images From 2010

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Despite their ubiquity this time of year, I always look forward to year end reviews in which we, as a society, look back at the previous year and what came of it. There is something intrinsically valuable about the practice of remembering the year gone, both personally and as a community. I appreciate the sense of closure it gives; a sort of taking stock and clearing of the air, a brief pause before barreling toward the future again. We do this for all aspects of life. The media loves to inundate us with lists and images recalling the year in politics, movies, economics, environmental crises and sport. Many of us take stock of what our personal lives brought in the past year as well.

Like many of my photographer colleagues, much of my year is wrapped up in the places I traveled and the photographs I made. Much effort and time is spent in pursuit of those few defining images that rise above the rest. They alone tell the story of my success or failure to communicate the vision I strive to capture and share. Despite success or failure, it is really about going for the ride. Whatever the outcome I take heart in adding another year to my photography story.

With those thoughts in mind I share some of my favorite images taken in 2010. Enjoy.

Camino de Oro
Camino de Oro, Guanajuato, Mexico

Lost In A Winter Forest, Crater Lake, Oregon

Copper Coast, Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Shasta Lavender, California

Sparks Lake Columbine, Oregon

Twilight Grove, Redwood National Park, California

Unforgettable Fire, Cascade Pass, Washington

Mineral de Pozos Doorways, Mexico

Teardrop Of Sky, Bandon, Oregon

Starvation Creek, Columbia Gorge, Oregon

Thanks for looking. I’d love to read any comments questions you might like to share, so please post those below. If you’re feeling it, please share this blog on your social media site of choice. Here’s to 2011!

SOPA Presentation, May 11

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Puerto Escondido Lighthouse

On Tuesday, May 11 at 7:00 pm I will be giving a slide presentation to the Southern Oregon Photographic Association. In images and words, I will share a retrospective of my year in photography. Since last spring I have had some wonderful adventures with my camera including photographing locations in the Columbia Gorge, the Oregon Cascades, Lassen Volcanic National Park, the Utah desert, the Oregon coast, Mexican mining towns and beaches and many great spots right here in the Rogue Valley. In addition to sharing some of my photographic vision of the natural world, I will also tell some tall travel tales and discuss some of the techniques I use to create my images. Call Terry Tuttle at 541-779-3396 or go to www.sopacameraclub.org for information.

Pacific Northwest Photography Podcast Interview

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Talented outdoor photographer, Adrian Klein, is now producing a great podcast called Pacific Northwest Photography. Adrian recently interviewed me for his podcast, which you can listen to on the player above. During our conversation we chatted about favorite locations, adventures and photography equipment. I also give the behind the scenes tales of the two images below. You can also get the complete story behind my intolerance of goat flavored food products.

I highly recommend checking out Adrian’s photography at www.adrianklein.com

and his photography blog at http://adriankleinphoto.blogspot.com/

On Adrian’s home page you can subscribe to his PNWP Podcast by clicking the red musical note.

Lunar Eclipse Over Mt. Shasta
Lunar Eclipse Over Mt. Shasta

Double Falls, Glacier National Park
Double Falls, Glacier National Park

Photo Tip: Blurry Trees

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Much of my photography is of the greater landscape and I’m often trying to present sweeping vistas with sharp detail. However, I also like to photograph more intimate scenes and abstracts. One of my favorite abstract techniques is motion blur. This can be achieved a few different ways and is a particularly good technique for emphasizing leading lines in a photo while smoothing out distracting elements. The final result can often look more like a painting than a photograph.

I really like to use motion blur with trees that have staight trunks. The technique is more an art than a science, so a lot of experimentation and throw away images are required to get something that I like. I start by setting a relatively slow shutter speed and making a vertical pan (movement) with my camera. I have found that shutter speeds between 1/4 of a second and 1/20 of a second work best. I move the camera up or down, in as straight a line as possible and depress the shutter release as the camera is moving. At slower shutter speeds I pan slower and at faster shutter speeds I pan faster. It is hard to know exactly what will be in the frame so I repeat the process over and over so that I will have many images to select from. Panning the camera while it is on a tripod can help keep the motion steady and smooth, but also limits flexibility.

Physically panning the camera is often all I need to do to achieve the abstract look I’m going for. Other times I selectively add more blur by using the Motion Blur filter in Photoshop (Filter>Blur>Motion Blur). To do this I’ll create a duplicate layer of the background image and blur the duplicate. Then I’ll add a layer mask to the blurred layer and paint with a black brush on the mask to bring through any detail from the original image that I want to keep. This digital blurring technique can also be applied to images that were taken in focus without panning the camera. Digital blurring often takes just as much trial and error as panning the camera.

Several of my favorite photographers have used these techniques to create some wonderful abstract images, including Jesse Spear, Eddie Soloway and William Niel.

Red Willow Sea Wins in the ICP Awards

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Red Willow Sea

Two of my prints were juried in to the International Conservation Photography Awards exhibit this year. Red Willow Sea was the winning image in the Flora category and Lunar Eclipse Over Mt. Shasta was also accepted in the highly competitive Landscape category.

Lunar Eclipse

The International Conservation Photography Awards (ICP Awards), is a premier worldwide photography event. The biennial juried photo competition includes an online exhibit, a six week museum gallery show at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle, Washington, and publication in a prestigious photography magazine. The selected prints celebrate the world’s diversity along with the creativity and originality of photographers.

Known for his passionate advocacy of the environment, world renowned nature photographer Art Wolfe created a conservation-themed photo contest in 1997 as “an event for the advancement of photogaphy as a unique medium, capable of bringing awareness and preservation to our environment through art.” The 2008 International Conservation Photography Awards is the latest incarnation of Art Wolfe’s vision. The ICP Awards is a biennial (every two years) community event involving foundations, sponsors, politicians, and photographers to promote environmental and cultural conservation.

Featured Photo: Land of Pure Sunlight

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land of pure sunlight

When I go out in search of colorful sunrises I am normally met by either complete cloud cover or complete blue sky (anyone else have that experience?). This photo falls into the latter category. However, the crystal clear spring air made for some great stretched out sunrise shadows and direct sun did a nice job of back lighting the new grass and blooming vetch. I like the drama that extreme lighting like this provides. There are a few strangely dark areas in the oak trees that are part of the original RAW files. There isn’t much data there, so I’m not sure how to deal with that.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L lens, ISO 100, f/18, two different exposures blended manually in Photoshop to contain the wide dynamic range between the sun and the foreground.