Photographers’ Field Day
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens
Saturday, June 1, 2013 Gates open 5:30 a.m. Admission Fee is $5 per person until 10:00 a.m. After 10:00, regular admission fees and discounts apply.
Come early to Meadowlark to catch that lovely first light. Garden gates open before sunrise so you can get your best shots. Participate in one of our class offerings, or walk the gardens in search of your own unique subjects. Three classes will be offered: “Cool Creatures Photo Ops,” “Capturing Insects Through Your Camera,” and “What’s in Bloom.”
Cool Creatures Photo Ops
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Meet in the Log Cabin
Photographers and nature enthusiasts of all ages will be able to enjoy a unique photo opportunity with some native creatures of Northern Virginia. Join Roving Park Naturalist David Garcia and some of his naturalist friends at the Log Cabin, where they will display some local reptiles and amphibians for everyone to take pictures and learn of their special lifestyles. Free with paid admission to the Gardens. Reservations at 703.255.3631 x 0.
Photography Class: ‘Capturing Insects Through Your Camera’
Date: June 1, 2013 Time: 9:00 am to noon Location: Meadowlark Botanical Gardens – meet at Visitor Center Instructor: Bill Johnson of Bill Johnson Nature Stock Photography
Class Size: Limit of 25 participants Class Fee: $60 payable to Bill Johnson Nature Stock Photography Entrance Fee of $5 also applies (payable to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens upon arrival at the Gardens)
Enroll in Class: Send an email to billjohnson AT usinternet DOT com
How do insect photographers get those amazing shots?! In this class, I’ll be doing ‘hands-on’ insect photography with the class participants. I’ll be talking about the equipment that I use and showing people the various ways that I use it to create the images that I get.
The class will be mostly outdoors (weather dependent) where we’ll all meet in a group and proceed to walk around the gardens doing a ‘bug hunt’ and attempting to photograph what we run into. I’ll show ways to be successful at it, things I’ve found that work and those that don’t work. Throughout the class I will encourage people to ask questions, and I will do the best to answer them.
Class participants can bring cameras if they want to. If they don’t have a camera, that’s OK too. I’ll show them about how some cameras are limited in what they can do, as opposed to camera systems that can get amazing results. My hope is that everyone will come away from this experience with a whole new view and respect for insects.
I will end the class by bringing everyone into my photo exhibit to show them results of what we had just been doing in the field. I will answer any questions people might have about how a certain photo was taken, etc.
At the end, I will have some handouts of articles I’ve written about insect photography for everyone to take home. A select group of images from the show will be available for purchase as notecards in the gift shop.
Bill Johnson owns his own Stock Photography business in the Minneapolis area and has been published in over 800 publications. He writes the column ‘Insect ID’ for Horticulture magazine and currently has the photo exhibit ‘Insect Pollinators – Beyond the Honey Bee,’ which is being shown at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia.
What’s In Bloom
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Education Specialist Patricia Dietly will lead a discovery tour of Meadowlark to see what’s in bloom. The tour is helpful to photographers who want to identify their botanical subjects, but everyone is welcome to come along. No reservations necessary. Meet in the Visitor Center.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!
Patricia K. Dietly Education Specialist 703.255.3631 x106 office 814.450.3113 cell 703.255.2392 fax
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court Vienna, Virginia 22182
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