Wow. Oh wow. The Palouse was looking the best I’ve ever seen it! Canola all over the place and new fields seeming to blossom on a daily basis. And this year's Palouse photo workshop hit it all at just the right time.
The weather was ok, not the best I’ve had, but it was still plenty good enough for good sunrises and sunsets from Steptoe Butte and some dark and ominous clouds conveniently located behind a barn.
We had good light that lasted only momentarily, and good light that lasted long enough. We had blue skies and gray skies, but we didn’t have puffy white clouds in blue skies. (well I did, but that’s only because I came out two days early—sorry about that).
We didn’t see a Palouse moose, but we did see a deer bouncing through a canola field. One of the group even got a picture!
And on our last morning we had some low lying mist between the low rolling hills along with some great early light from the top of Steptoe. Then on to the middle of a canola field, which was placed fortuitously in front a set of giant wind turbines. Lots of fun with multiple exposures was had.
And one of my favorite red barns died. I was sad. Not only was it a nice looking barn in a nice location only 10 minutes from the hotel, but it was a great sunrise location in that the sun didn’t hit it until about 6 a.m. So you could either sleep in and still get a great sunrise, or you could grab the sunrise somewhere else at 5 a.m. and then get to this barn just as it was looking its best.
And now….it’s a collapsed hulk. The second barn on this same road that has collapsed in the last few years.
This is why I always arrive to scout the area one or two days ahead of time.
The dates for next year’s Palouse photo workshop are already set. This trip may be a tour rather than a full-blown workshop though. But since I always teach and look at images anyway, maybe it’ll be a tour-shop. Or something. Anyway, the dates will be June 17-21, 2017 and will be limited to six or seven.
That’s Saturday through Wednesday. And here’s a suggestion: If you decide to sign up, book your room for a few extra nights after the tour. Believe me, you’ll be glad you did. You’ll have already visited a few good locations that you may wish to return to and you’ll also already be familiar enough with the area to go do some exploring on your own. Plus, we never get to all the areas I have on my list; either weather or time conspire to keep us away from a few of them. And during the tour, there are only so many sunrises and sunsets to exploit. So I’ll have more suggestions for places to explore and you may pick up some suggestions from locals as well.
I have a block of rooms set aside for duration of the trip, but if you want to come early or stay after, book your room early; Found it buried in the backlight settings. the hotel we use in Colfax is already starting to sell out some nights and I’d hate to see you have to pack up and move to another hotel.
Join me for next year's Palouse photo workshop / tour
Come photograph a classic American landscape!
