I had a wonderful workshop this October. We had few moments with our cameras in the studio, as well as three days of shooting in one most amazing fall color seasons ever in the Eastern Sierra. On one of the afternoons we made a journey to the Patriarch Grove in the White Mountains. This situation presented an opportunity to explore an aspect of how I both find work on individual images. I have always mentioned in the workshops, an old Vince Lombardi quote (though football isn’t usually the most relevant thing in photography), but he mentioned “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect .You first have to practice the art of practicing”. How true in this situation. This was my third time at this location. There was a workshop in 2016, and New Year’s evening with my daughter Sabrina. January was ridiculously cold in the White Mountains. By the third visit, I had located the tree and done research on the best time for capturing the Milky Way at this location. I also had to refine my skills at capturing the Milky Way and the Bristlecone in the darkness. Now on my third trip, and with understanding of the art of practice, I made a better image. But, I can do better. In the moment of truth I was unable to focus a Nikon D810 correctly. I had forgotten my Milky Way bag in the studio, a student had rented a 24MM F1.4 lens, another student had a Nikon D810, but I was unable focus on the a star in LiveView! More things to learn. This image was captured on my Canon 5DS (easy focusing in LiveView) with the new Canon 24-70 f2.8 lens. This image is just fine, and I learn more every day. Maybe we don’t always need to use a 24mm f1.4 for the Milky Way. It’s always a combination of the left side brain stuff with the right side!
