Welcome To The New

I had a new design concept for my workshops and the new site last week… and on a wild hair, I completely redid my slatonworkshops.com website in just a few days. And I absolutely love it. I hope you do too.

My goal with this new site is to try to give back more than I’m asking of people. It’s a new way of approaching things, but I feel really good about it.

For each exciting destination, the viewer is greeted with an iconic shot that sets the scene for the workshop.

Come on… don’t be shy. Check them out… you know you want to!

And just so it’s worth everyone’s time, I added a few limited time discounts to celebrate the launch!

I’ve even created a customizable Private Destination Workshop adventure. An affordable, one-on-one dream workshop… anywhere in the world!

There’s a really cool “Resources” section that I’m very excited about. I give a ton of great info on it already, and plan to keep posting more and more.

I hope to continue to build a marketplace of ideas for like minded people who love nature and photography, and desire to get out and do!

Will you join me?

— andrew

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If you are interested in learning more about photography, taking your art to a new level please check out my new workshop dates:

Grand Teton Photographic Tour/ Workshops 2014

More Destination Photo Tours/ Workshops 2014

If you are interested in licensing any of the images/ video from this post, please visit my stock agency:

Tandem Stills + Motion // andrew r. slaton

If you are interested in purchasing prints from this post, please check my prints for sale, or email me directly for a custom request:

andrew r. slaton // photographer // prints

For assignment work requests, please email me: andrew@andrewslatonphoto.com

Thanks for visiting AndrewSlatonBlog.com!

all images and content © ARS Media, LLC 2014

nature, photography

Hurry Up And Wait

I remember this old adage being used frequently when I was an assistant to several commercial photographers in Dallas and Austin in my younger days.

“Today will be a lot of ‘hurry up and wait'”, they’d say. Stylists, make-up artists, talent, creatives, account execs, clients, big wigs, etc. Everyone has their part to play in a commercial shoot, and the bureaucracy at times, made for really long days.

I still shoot some commercial work, but the transition back to my first love, nature photography has reminded me that this old saying still rings true.

You can’t rush the elements. And sometimes, they just never come together the way you visualized.

This image below is from my most recent trip to several northern Arizona/ southern Utah National Parks. I drove over 1500 miles each way, hiked 20+ miles round trip with 60-75 lbs of gear, woke up at 3:30 AM, and waited for an image that was in my head of stars over the incomparably beautiful Havasu Falls. I waited in vain, in the dark, for two hours until the sun rose. But the clouds never broke long enough to capture the nighttime star picture I wanted.

I still came away with a few images I liked, but not what I truly wanted and envisioned.

Sometimes it’s really hard work to capture images such as these… and when dealing with nature, there are no guarantees.

But sometimes, it all comes together, with little work on your part other than being there… and being prepared.

When we arrived at Grand Canyon National Park, all the elements came together. No long hikes through deep canyons and sand with all my gear. Just amazing drive-up vistas, dramatic clouds, and phenomenal light.

However, there was still the need for patience.

Then there are the opportunities that occur when you least expect them… as can happen often with wildlife. We were driving to a trailhead when my wife spotted a group of desert bighorn sheep scrambling up the slick rock of Zion National Park. Thankfully, I stay prepared for even these chance encounters.

When traveling, I always have a camera body ready for wildlife. 70-200mm lens with a 2x teleconverter, fast shutter speed and wide aperture set. Because you never know.

Waiting. Prepared. They are the ever present realities of the nature photographer.

Often we’re waiting on the individual elements; the light, the animals, the weather, etc.

But much more profound than just these, it is the moment we seek to capture. The culmination of all the elements in space and time, artfully composed in our frame. We are dutifully ready and able to use whatever tools are necessary or at our disposal to lock the “paint onto the canvas”.

We’re fortunate as photographers if this happens perfectly even a few dozen times in our our career. It is elusive, truthful, and beautiful. It’s addicting too.

And it’s why I still desire to continue learning and growing… and venturing out into the wild.

Hurry up and wait my friends!

— andrew

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

If you are interested in learning more about photography, taking your art to a new level please check out my new workshop dates:

Grand Teton Photographic Tour/ Workshops 2014

More Destination Photo Tours/ Workshops 2014

If you are interested in licensing any of the images/ video from this post, please visit my stock agency:

Tandem Stills + Motion // andrew r. slaton

If you are interested in purchasing prints from this post, please check my prints for sale, or email me directly for a custom request:

andrew r. slaton // photographer // prints

For assignment work requests, please email me: andrew@andrewslatonphoto.com

Thanks for visiting AndrewSlatonBlog.com!

all images and content © ARS Media, LLC 2014

art, film making, landscape, nature, photography, travel, wildlife, workshop, writing

brazos bend | where the wild things are

If you’ve visited this blog more than once, you probably know that I love Brazos Bend State Park. And I LOVE alligators. Strange, I know.

But an interesting new development from this last trip to the park uncovered a love for birds that I never knew I had.

Thanks to my amazing wife, this interest has been unlocked and given new life to the park I’ve been visiting for a decade.

I actually spent more time on this trip looking for different species of birds than with my alligator friends. Go figure!

Don’t get me wrong though, I still love my gators. But my appreciation and knowledge for the feathered fauna is growing.

I can’t wait to share this park with students and teach them the amazing nuances of nature/ wildlife photography at such a phenomenally bountiful and biologically diverse place.

We will also spend some time on time lapse and video… If you’re interested in learning more, visit my Brazos Bend workshops page.

Also, all images and video will be available for purchase as stock via Tandem Stills + Motion.

american alligator

white ibis

tree lined trail with spanish moss

american alligator

male cardinal

yellow-crowned night heron

black-bellied whistling-duck

american alligator

great egret

juvenile yellow-crowned night heron

live oak landscape

butterfly in showy primrose

eastern bluebird

yellow-crowned night heron

wild blackberries

herbertia

texas dandelion

anhinga

white ibis

cattle egret

ellie and hunter bird watching

white-marked tussock moth (orgyia leucostigma) caterpillar

red tailed hawk flying

red-tailed hawk

male cardinal

yellow-crowned night heron

american alligator

alligator time-lapse… watch in HD!

american alligator

elm lake time-lapse… watch in HD!

elm lake

elm lake time-lapse… watch in HD!

elm lake

elm lake time-lapse… watch in HD!

elm lake

40 acre lake

yellow-crowned night heron

white ibis during it’s first spring

american alligator

swampy landscape

white ibis during it’s first spring

northern rough-winged swallows

snowy egret

white ibis flying

pilant lake, swamp

swampy forest

black-bellied whistling-duck

40 acre lake

american alligator

white tailed deer fawn

red shouldered hawk

live oak and spanish moss time lapse… watch in HD!

live oak and spanish moss

live oak and spanish moss time lapse… watch in HD!

american alligator

barred owl footage… watch in HD!

barred owl

yellow-crowned night heron

pilant slough

ellie stoking fire at dusk

full moon

full moon time lapse… watch in HD!

full moon

horseshoe lake time lapse… watch in HD!

horseshoe lake

large black wild pig

live oak with spanish moss time lapse… watch in HD!

male cardinal

tri color heron flying

juvenile yellow-crowned night heron

black-bellied whistling-ducks

american alligator

black-crowned night heron stalking it’s prey

yellow-crowned night heron

common moorhen

yellow-crowned night heron

water hyacinth

male alligator during breeding season

anhinga swimming

yellow-crowned night heron

red-bellied woodpecker

anhinga sunning

red tailed hawk

snowy egret

red slider turtle crossing the road

violet wood sorrel

red-bellied woodpecker

great blue heron

american alligators

american alligator

snowy egret

red slider turtle on a log

snowy egret

texas rat snake

art, photography, travel

the goosewing ranch | part 2

the beautiful goosewing ranch had us out again for a week in september, and it was fantastic.

with wildlife abounding and the trees aflame with fall colors, this time of year in the mountains is my absolute favorite.

below are just a few of the images we captured during our week at the ranch.

to see more, visit our ranch HAND website, and check out our trip to the goosewing this past june!

a huge thanks to the goosewing, all of the amazing staff, and the gorgeous guests (who were kind enough to be our models).

we are so blessed to have clients that we enjoy working with so much!

we are really looking forward to the Dude Rancher’s Association convention this January, and to meeting all the new ranches that we’ll partner with next year!

art, photography, travel

ranch HAND | the goosewing ranch

we traveled back up to wyoming in june to service ranch HAND | photographic’s newest client, the Goosewing Ranch.

just minutes from jackson, wyoming, the Goosewing is a phenomenal guest ranch for the whole family. they offer phenomenal views, amazing wildlife, horseback riding, daily activities, and even the finer amenities like massages and fine wine. they have their own trout stocked pond, and the gros ventre river right in their front yard; a true angler’s paradise. they are also at the doorstep of grand teton and yellowstone national parks!

here are just a few of the images we captured for them this summer… and we can’t wait to go back in september to shoot their fall photos.