|
Hi Reader,
We have good news to share! Jennifer's surgery in early August went extremely well, and the hardest part of recovery is behind us. This is the first week she's starting to feel human again (her words). She still has about four weeks of healing ahead, but we're through the worst of it and so relieved.
Thank you for every note, reply, and kind thought you sent our way. Your support was truly heart-warming, and so appreciated.
August is a quieter month for us by design: I am catching up on a mountain of work while looking after Jennifer, and we're both making sure everything is in order before we hit the road in September. More on that below, including one piece of time-sensitive news for anyone who's been hoping to join us in Yellowstone.
In this issue: a rare opening on our sold-out Yellowstone workshop next month, images from our Crested Butte wildflower week, a thought on what the quiet months are actually for, where you'll find us this fall, and a first hint at something I've been building all summer.
|
|
|
What the Quiet Months Are For
Most of our year is spent in motion, always thinking about the next trip, the next season, the next light. August is different. Jennifer is healing, I'm at the desk, and the cameras are mostly sitting in their bags. It would be easy to call this lost time.
But some of the most important work happens when we're not photographing at all. This month we've finally had time to sit with our images. Not editing in the excitement right after a trip, but weeks, months, sometimes years later, when the memory has faded enough that we can see the photographs for what they are. Time has a way of sorting them out. Some images that thrilled us in the field don't hold up, while others we nearly skipped past keep pulling us back. The quiet months are when we figure out which is which.
If you want to try this yourself: pick a set of photographs you made at least a month ago and haven't looked at since. Go through them once without touching a slider. You may be surprised by which ones grab you now.
|
|
|
A Week Among the Wildflowers |
What the Group Made in Crested Butte
Last month we told you about our July wildflower week in Crested Butte. Now that we've had a few weeks for our participants to process their images, we want to show you what the group made.
"I was in awe from day one. They're patient instructors, always attentive to each individual's need in the workshop." — Thea, Crested Butte Wildflower Workshop "With the changes in weather and the warm, dry winter our group found ourselves in Crested Butte after the wildflowers had peaked. David and Jennifer spent days scouting for places with flowers and interesting places to photograph. Each location was better than the one before." — Matthew, Crested Butte Wildflower Workshop "They taught me to see more and learn some new great processing skills. They are so much fun to be with and learn from." — Gail, Crested Butte Wildflower Workshop We hope that you can join us next summer in Crested Butte, where we will be doing something a bit different; teaching for the Crested Butte Wildflowers Festival! There are two ways to join us: a workshop focused on finding your creative vision, and an off-road adventure exploring the alpine country above Crested Butte.
See Both Festival Workshops →
|
|
|
Latest in Nature Photography |
A couple of fascinating reads from the community this month:
|
|
by Colleen Miniuk
Colleen shares a wonderfully detailed explanation of notan, the Japanese principle of balance between dark and light, and shows how it reveals whether a composition truly holds together, then guides your burning and dodging to strengthen it. It's the same thinking behind the Notan tool in the Rethink Toolkit, which lets you check your own images directly inside Lightroom.
|
|
|
by Adriana Sanz
Adriana shares five photographs of ordinary subjects that she reinterpreted in camera with white balance shifts, filters, and vintage lenses. I love seeing how another photographer's imagination works, and it's a good reminder that expressive images don't require a special location or special light.
|
|
|
|
A Rare Opening: Yellowstone Night and Day, September 9–14, 2026
Here's news we didn't expect to have: a spot just opened on our Yellowstone Night and Day workshop, September 9–14, which has been sold out for over a year. This is the only opening we have this year. We have a room being held at the Holiday Inn in West Yellowstone, but only through this Thursday (Aug 20th), so you'll want to act fast. And if Thursday slips by, don't let that stop you; you're welcome to book your own lodging anywhere in West Yellowstone.
Workshops with Space Available
2027
2028
Join the Waitlist
These workshops are sold out, but spots occasionally open up:
|
|
|
Where You'll Find Us This Fall |
The Road Ahead
September puts us back in motion. First, the Yellowstone Night and Day workshop, September 9–14 (see above if you'd like the last seat). Then, at the end of the month, we'll both be at the Out of Grand Teton conference, September 27 – October 1, based at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. David will be teaching in the field alongside a lineup of photographers we admire, and Jennifer will be running the conference itself.
It will be quite the shift from the quiet month we're having now, but we're going a bit stir crazy and look forward to getting back into nature again.
|
|
|
A First Look at What's Coming |
Something Big for Rethink
One more thing. All summer, in the gaps between everything else, I have been building the largest update in Rethink's history: Rethink is growing from a preset system into a complete working environment for your Lightroom processing, with a new desktop app at its center. It's in beta right now, and the response from early users has been overwhelmingly positive.
I'm excited that this release will include a free version that's a complete workflow, not a set of samples, along with free linear camera profiles, and more. Not to mention new courses and refined tools across the full toolkit.
There are a few videos left to record and some final polishing to do, and then I'll share everything very soon.
|
|
|
So that's our August: healing, catching up, and spending real time with our photographs. If your summer has a quiet stretch in it too, we hope you'll put it to good use. The images you've already made still have plenty to teach you.
Since our September is incredibly busy, you'll likely hear from us next in early October from the road. Until then, hit reply if there's anything on your mind. We're here, and this month we're even home.
|
|
|