Learn to photograph the Suisun Marsh

Check out this fun way to explore the Suisun City area that I saw in the Vacaville Reporter:

A one-night workshop on full-moon night photography will be held May 17 at the Rush Ranch Open Space. It will be taught by Tim Baskerville of the Nocturnes.

The session will start off with a few docent-guided tours (in daylight!) of the Ranch and the three hiking trails surrounding it. The 2-mile marsh trail leads down to the edge of Suisun Marsh, and the hike up Suisun Hill Trail provides scenic vistas of the Marsh, the Ranch, and the adjacent hills - all unique parts of this gentle, quiet landscape.

The Ranch itself provides a wealth of interesting subjects to photograph at night - a number of old buildings (corral, stable, barn), plenty of old farm equipment and weathervanes. After the tour, participants will meet in the new visitor center for a brief introduction to Night Photography, followed by plenty of detailed information about the evening's "shoot."

Emphasis will be on evaluating existing lighting situations and exposing specific films accordingly.

Supplemental lighting possibilities will be discussed and demonstrated, with an emphasis on "Light Painting" techniques. Transparency, B&W, color negative films, and digital will be discussed and compared. This is an intensive workshop limited to 15 participants, closely supervised on location.

For more information, visit www.thenocturnes.com/workshops/rushranch.html. Partial proceeds from the workshop will benefit the outreach and education programs of the Rush Ranch Educational Council.

There is a $100 fee and the deadline to register is May 1, 2008. For information call 645-9860 or e-mail: nichols@thenocturnes.com.