Exploring Light and Color in Cuba

I’d been wanting to visit Cuba for decades, but it had somehow evaded my priorities. Then a call came in with an invitation to fly to Cuba and contribute to the documentary project In the Footsteps of Walker Evans. I didn’t need many details. I signed on without hesitation. Since then I return annually and bring photographers like you. But here’s my story… My first visit to Cuba: Our objective was to photograph contemporary Western Cuba … more >>

Photographing Color and Composition in the Palouse Region of Washington

Springtime and Summer Harvest brings color to The Palouse, an outstandingly photogenic region crossing the borders of Eastern Washington and Idaho. I travel there each Spring and Summer for my Palouse photography workshops when varied hues of wheat, canola and legumes blanket the vast rolling landscape. Ribbons of rural roads and tractor trails add leading lines to the patchwork quilt of this agricultural gem. Dazzling blue skies and vast open spaces set the stage for … more >>

Tips for Photography at Burning Man

Awakening by Ryan Elmendorf, Nick Geurts

August is when I prepare for another trip back to Burning Man. Despite the complicated logistics, endless details and physical challenges of photographing in the intense heat and alkaline dust, I am drawn to return again.  . When I post my Burning Man photo galleries after each event, many people ask me for details on how I photograph there, and how I protect my gear (and myself) in such conditions. They also ask what gear I use, so … more >>

Photographing Rural Industrial Abstracts in B&W

I recently led a full workshop in Washington’s Palouse region, where landscapes are most people’s major focus. But when traveling in the countryside, I love the meditation of photographing graphic abstracts in abandoned and industrial spaces. Such details provide an opportunity for me to get close, and provide a mental balance to photographing grand landscapes, local people and rural life. I believe those shapes, rivets and splinters have stories to tell me. I try to seek out graphic compositions where various materials overlap … more >>

Capturing the Historic Palouse in B&W

Sheep farm, Palouse

There is deep American history imbued within every stalk of wheat and worn wooden plank in eastern Washington’s Palouse region. I sensed it when I slowed down and quieted my anticipation. I paused intentionally and inhaled the sweet air to further inform my senses. I love the panoramic landscape, big open skies, owls and authentic friendliness of the citizens, but I am even more captivated by their stories and traditions. . The region is a … more >>