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Lesson Info
14. Exploring on Foot
Lessons
M0: Orientation
1Series Hello & Introducing Benjamin Hardman
01:43 2Coffee with Alex - Benjamin's Story
22:38 3Benjamin's Workshop Introduction
01:39M1: Gear & Prep
4High-Resolution Setup
07:26 5Lightweight Gear Setup
05:33 6Backpack Breakdown
11:38Aerial Photography
05:51 8Gear & Clothing
07:26 9Research & Preparation
06:18M2: Shooting & Editing
10Seals of Glacier Lagoon
06:56 11Editing: Adobe Lightroom Basics
40:59 12Capturing Glacial Detail
08:23 13Editing: Macro Detail
15:17 14Exploring on Foot
09:47 15Editing: Image Stitching
17:18 16Photographing the Elusive Reindeer
07:21 17Editing: Subjects in Sunset Light
16:58 18Documenting Iceland's Jagged Peaks
06:21 19Editing: Atmospheric Mountains
14:56 20Mountain Drone Photography
10:50 21Editing: Aerial Abstraction
17:20M3: Finding Your Style, Curation, and Social Media
22Benjamin's Style
03:30 23What Inspires Benjamin
02:40 24Creating Your Own Voice
03:01 25Curation: Computer to Phone & UNUM
10:16 26Social Media Q&A with Alex
08:47M4: Running A Creative Business
27Benjamin's Story & Business Tips
05:23 28Presenting Professionally
01:39 29Printing Your Work
12:29 30Staying Inspired
01:02M5: Wrap Up
31Workshop Takeaways
06:03 32Workshop Summary with Alex
32:50Lesson Info
Exploring on Foot
We're at Midgard Base Camp currently. Just turning the car on to warm it up and getting ready for the day. We're with my friend Siggy and Gatney today who work here and they have the biggest of all beasts with them. So no getting stuck today with that car in the in the fleet, but it's a beautiful weather. And we have a little hiking mission plan so let's see what we can do. To touch on what we're actually up to today so I said before, we're planning a bit of a hike. I would like to try and have a person in the photo today to kind of demonstrate a little bit of how I would work if for instance an outdoor brand like 66North or someone employed me for a shoot that is combined with landscape photos and more lifestyle portrait stuff, which of course you don't see as much from me online but it is still a big part of what I do. So let's just dive into that a little bit and see what we can come up. (everyone cheering) We've just arrived to one of my favorite mountains. I've climbed this so man...
y times. We're in the valley of Thorsmork. As we were driving in, this mountain appeared on our left and we came the back way up. So I've actually never hiked up the way we did, which was quite interesting. But because we have the mountain men, the locals Siggy and Gatney, we are able to use their experience and you know, follow their path essentially up here. So having local connections has been the way that I've been able to really feel at home in Iceland and kind of take my adventures to the next level in a safe way. And, you know, I owe a lot of my knowledge of how to travel in the mountains to people just like Siggy and Gatney. So they have just ascended this rock spire which is pretty sketchy. Oh, at least Siggy has. So now we're gonna try and set up a wide shot. We'll see what happens with this wide lens. I reckon that it's gonna look pretty cool to get low angle and get kind of this foreground with like bokeh going up to the spire. Buried myself down here a little bit. Brought my mini lens bag from within my camera bag and it just got that one chilling in the snow and trying a few different options for lens choice. I really wanted to use the 20 for this. I think it's really cool to mix between the telephoto and the wide. And so far over the last few days I haven't had many wide shots kind of lining up. So this might require putting on the crampons and actually going a little further down towards Siggy. But before I do that, while I'm back up here I'm gonna just put on 135 millimeter and just snipe in a little bit and do a stitched image. So what I'm gonna do for that, I'm gonna take roughly I would say one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. I would say I would take about 12 photos in landscape orientation and build that photo together in Lightroom, which we'll touch on when we're looking on the computer. So for that, I need the big lens, the big boy. Always a challenge, not to get snow in the sensor. Yeah. We're really tied in now. So it's gonna require quite the stitch to get this to work. Settings wise, I'm trying to keep my ISO down at because we have plenty of light even though we're in the shadow and I'm able to get a shutter speed off roughly around 1/400th of a second here. I'm working with F3.2, but I'm also going to play with both a really shallow so 1. and also pushing it up to something like F8 if I can just to get both options. I like my options. (shutter clicking) So I've quickly realized that this is definitely not gonna be a 12 image stitch, but more like a 20 to 30 image stitch with this lens which is pretty insane. Ideally I would wanna be working with something like a 50 millimeter from this kind of vantage point but I'm just using the setup that I have and I encourage all of you guys and girls to just use what you have. Stitch if you need to to get like a wider perspective with whatever kind of tighter lens you have or of course move closer. You can always make it work. And these types of scenarios where you are stitching or you are working close range, they give you a more unique shot than if you just zoom in. So if you work with, yeah, work with what you have, you'll be able to get something quite cool, I think. Is it okay where I'm standing now? Oh, yeah. More than okay. When I've got this shot really worked out then I'll get you to face away from me. I think. But for now you can just chill while I kind of work it out. Okay. (shutter clicking) All right. Now I'm gonna get a little higher so that I can get the leading line of this ridge going down. One little tip, I have to go into manual focus for the stitch because I want to ensure that I am able to get the same focal point and it doesn't move in between shots. Alternatively, you could set your AF to be attached to a different button from the shutter, and then it will only lock when you push that button. But I don't know. I've just got used to having my shutter button also be my AF. (shutter clicking) Okay. I'm feeling confident that we have, I can scroll through and you can kind of see the shape of that final image when you're looking. Now I'm gonna try for the wider angle and that's gonna mean getting some crampons. So I'll go and do that now. I'm just gonna get some crampons and move down a little bit so I can get a lower angle. Having relationships with other local people especially when you've moved to a country that seems so foreign in the beginning is so important. And it's so fulfilling to get to know people and to share experiences both from my pers, like in Iceland from my perspective as a foreign person and from the perspective of my friends here who have, you know, been in this area for their entire life. And now being able to, you know, push through these wild conditions together, learning from them and of course, you know, I'm sharing anything that I can about photography and, you know, getting them really stoked to try and document the things that they're doing as well. It's just really fulfilling. And I think a huge part of my success in photography and the unique photos that I have is connections and relationships. So yeah, get out there and meet people, travel together, work as a team. And also of course take time to be alone. It's really nice to just sit and be kind of a little bit of a hermit sometimes. I think I really value my time. Just you know, take the occasional hike in the summer on your own, helps you to clear the mind and also to see things from kind of an uninterrupted perspective. So both things are very useful. But in this case, having friends is awesome. (soft music) I'm stuck. So I'm gonna start to get a shot now. (shutter clicking) Being in a place that I have come the most out of all places in Iceland, you really get to know it and summer is just one perspective of this place. If you Google Thorsmork it is just this green oasis, but winter has so many characteristics that for me are even more special. So to be able to push the limits I guess for me, it's pretty hard to get here in winter, it's really rewarding to document the different seasons, you know, also the fall is so beautiful, and get out and just see how the landscape develops and changes over time. It's quite interesting for photography. So I encourage everyone to try and go and see them in the different seasons throughout the year and analyze what is changing and the finer colors and consistencies that make it what it is in each season. Document it and then maybe it'll be cool to compare them. Might have some story behind it in that way.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
Matt Grandbois
Very Informative & Awe Inspiring Both Benjamin and Alex have played huge roles in my photographic style development over the years and it is great to hear first hand exactly what inspires and drives Ben to keep pushing his creative boundaries. Personally, I love his minimalist approach and it was super insightful to watch him explain how he developed that style and how he actively produces photographs in a cohesive manner. 10/10 recommend this workshop to anyone looking for a very unique and profound perspective with the intent of expanding your creative horizons.
Alec Brown
First Workshop The first workshop I have ever purchased. I've always been hesitant to invest in a workshop, however this went above and beyond my expectations. Fluid in progression, great insight and a super relaxed learning curve full of information. I feel this has prepared me to take my own personal photographic journey to the next level. Executed to perfection. Nice work guys! 10/10 recommended.
Janelle Dransfield
Moving to Iceland now...? Loved this workshop! I really liked the way the modules are split up, and the way you watch Benjamin go out on location for a shot, then immediately sit down and watch his editing process for that specific shot. So much editing to learn too, since he doesn't use presets! The workbook is also super thorough, so printing it out allowed me to pay close attention and just add little notes here and there. The Iceland road guide is also SO helpful and in depth. Can't wait to use it. Also loved that Ben talked about printing your own work. Would be cool to maybe see something from Wildist in the future that goes even more into depth on that (calibrating your own printer, working with a print shop, dropship sites, etc.) Awesome course. Thanks, Hardman.