BEAVER CREEK, Colo. — As a National Geographic photographer, Jad Davenport takes pictures all over the world.
So when he heads into the Colorado landscape for pictures of fall leaves, there’s a good chance he’ll get a few good photos. For the past three years, he’s been helping others do the same.
Davenport leads a fall photography workshop at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek. The weekend long session runs Sept. 20 and 21 and goes through the basic principles of photography without getting hung up on technical aspects of how cameras work.
“I don’t care as much about f-stops and shutter speeds," Davenport said. "What I care about is the ability to take the camera and in your mind start telling a story."
Davenport goes over lighting and composition but said the main focus for taking good pictures is not losing focus of the environment around you. Taking pictures of the leaves is great but taking pictures of the story around the leaves is just as compelling.
“We’re photographing the cuisine, we’re making portraits of each other and people and learning how to photograph the accommodations and get great architectural shots from the outside,” Davenport said. “So, it’s all about storytelling it’s really where the magic of photography happens."
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Davenport said you can use all sorts of cameras but often an iPhone camera is the easiest, most accessible and does the job. Taking a polarizing filter made for bigger DSLR cameras and putting it over the camera lens on an iPhone is another way to make the fall colors pop.
The workshop costs a little more than $500 a night but includes a room that sleeps four, gourmet meals, guided hikes, and the workshop.
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