One on One Printing mentoring

If you are interested in creating better photographic prints, I am now offering private full-day mentoring sessions at my printing studio. This is an opportunity for you and I to work side by side to create beautiful prints from your own digital files. We can work on whatever you wish to work on, from digital capture to Lightroom workflow to digital output. The world is your oyster, and I am here to assist. Typical items that are usually covered:

• Color management
• Lightroom processing and workflow
• Soft proofing
• Black and white printing
• What to look for in a good print
• Paper choices
• Print sharpening
• Upsizing files for large format output
• Editing images for a portfolio
• Mat cutting and presentation ideas

These sessions are very informal, and are designed around getting information to you that is relative to your goals.

My location and equipment

Here is the equipment that I have in my studio in Houston, Texas (Memorial area, west of downtown):

• Canon iPF 8300 large format 44” 12-ink pigment ink printer
• Epson Stylus Pro 3880 17” pigment ink printer
• Epson Stylus R2400 13” pigment ink printer
• Epson Stylus R2880 13” pigment ink printer
• Epson Stylus R3000 13” pigment ink printer
• Canon PRO-1 13” pigment ink printer
• Canon PRO-10 13” pigment ink printer
• Canon PRO-100 13” dye ink printer
• Mac Pro desktop
• Dual LCD displays (NEC PA-272W 27” and Apple 30” Cinema)
• X-Rite i1 and iO scanning table for profiling
• X-Rite iSis
• GTI display booth with D50 light source
• Epson V750 flatbed scanner
• Plenty of workspace to layout prints
• All Moab Paper products, including Colorado Fiber Satine, Entrada Bright 300gsm, Somerset Museum Rag, Silckrock Metallic Pearl as well as Crane Silver Rag, Epson Exhibition Fiber, Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl and Photo Rag.

The Cost

The cost of this all day (10 hours) session is $950, and will include the use of all printing materials, matting materials and perhaps the use of my assistant’s time if he is around to help out. A typical day will begin at 8am, and will end around 6pm. I have found it best to have a casual lunch break away from the studio to break the long day up. Oh, and lunch is on me. I also have an espresso maker in the office for those who need caffeine at all hours of the day.

The Signup process

All you need to do is to send me an email at andybiggs@gmail.com, and we can take it from there. My schedule is busy with Gura Gear and my photographic safaris, but we can carve out some time that works for both of us.

The Ultimate Tanzania photo safari

I have been working on putting this very unique safari together for quite some time, and now I am glad to announce this amazing photographic safari. We will be visiting the three absolute best photographic locations in east Africa, in the country of Tanzania. We will visit three stunning wildlife locations on this safari: the World Heritage Site of Ngorongoro Crater and its high density of predators, the wide open plains of the Serengeti, and to top it all off we will be hiking and tracking wild chimpanzees in Mahale Mountains National Park.

 

As you may know, I spend quite a bit of time in Tanzania each year, mostly in the northern part of the country. It is not often that I am able to logistically pull off a trip like this, and I am extremely excited and look forward to this safari in October 2009. The safari is a perfect safari for returning travelers, as well as for a first time safari.

 

 

 

Trip Highlights:

 

October 16-31, 2009

Trip leader: Andy Biggs

Locations visited and what makes each location unique:

Ngorongoro Crater for its high density of predators, as well as high amount of grazers, browsers and birds of prey

Serengeti National Park for its 3 million wildebeest, 400,000 zebra, wide open plains and tons of big cats!

Mahale Mountains National Park for its wild chimpanzees, remoteness and extremely comfortable lodging in a beautiful setting on lake Tanganyika

Please be aware that hiking with the wild chimpanzees requires a reasonable level of fitness.

Cost: $14,990

 

Trip details can be found here.

 

I have put a teaser on my web site for a few months now, and I will be sending out an announcement shortly. I anticipate that this safari will not stay open for too terribly long. If you have a measurable interest, please contact me at info@andybiggs.com or use the contact form on the left hand side of this web page.

 

Additional information regarding Mahale Mountains and hiking with wild chimpanzees

 

Tracking chimps in the Mahale Mountains may be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. To fully benefit from the
experience you must start with the correct expectations and be prepared for the physical rigors of such a trip. Feel free to ask us if you have
any questions.

 

The Accommodation

The camp feels like a tropical paradise, natural enough to be unobtrusive and substantial enough to be comfortable. It is a castaway style retreat with unique, airy, wood-and-thatch cabins, comfortable furnishings, and private flush toilet and hot shower facilities at the back of each cabin. Lighting is provided by solar power, and there is also a generator in camp. The food is fresh, simple, and skillfully prepared. Reasonable dietary requests can be accommodated, but advanced notice is a must.

 
Chimp Tracking – Physical Considerations
The camp is located on the lake shore at 2700 ft. elevation. The forested mountains rise behind the camp to 8000 ft. The chimps in the area have a range of 30 sq. km. (almost 12 sq. miles) - from the lake shore to the top of the mountains. Determining where they will be on any given day depends on an unpredictable variety of factors. It is entirely normal to find them behind camp in the afternoon of one day and on an inaccessible ridge high up in the mountains by the next morning. Most guests see the chimps at least once in a 3 or 4 day stay.
 
People who are in good shape for hiking up and down steep hills will have the best chance of being able to see the chimps.   Every effort will be made to accommodate those who are moving more slowly, but typically it is not possible for the group to split up if one person becomes tired. The whole group will have to turn around, or find less steep paths. It can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 5 hours of hiking to find the chimps. The chimps often use the groomed paths, but it is just as likely that they will be crashing through the underbrush over uneven ground. Trackers must be prepared for all hiking conditions. Walking sticks are available at the camp, but you need to bring a good light-weight pair of hiking boots that provide plenty of traction – preferably with ankle support. 

Namibia workshop availability

A few spots have opened up on both of my Namibia trips next May 2009. There is 1 spot available on my Namibia May 9-19, 2009 workshop with John Paul Caponigro, and there is 1 spot available on my May 19-27, 2009 workshop. You can read more about each safari below. Keep in mind that if you wish, you can join both back-to-back safaris for one heck of a journey!! If you have ever wanted to visit and photograph one of the most photographically rich landscapes on the planet, Namibia is the place for you. Namibia took my breath away back in 2006 when I visited for the first time. Now Namibia is part of my safari mix every year, with its captivating sand dunes, people and wildlife.

 

Namibia Photographic Safari

Northern and Central Namibia

Trip leaders: Andy Biggs and John Paul Caponigro

May 9 - 19, 2009

 1 spot available

 

Namibia Photographic Safari

Southern and Central Namibia

May 19 - 27, 2009

2 spots available 

Back from Moab

I just got back from a 22 hour drive from Moab. My drive back home took me through multiple snow storms, sleet and pounding rain. Normally I fly to my workshop destinations, but these two workshops were different. The second workshop was a combination field landscape workshop, as well as a digital printing workshop. So I took my 100 inch diagonal screen with me, along with an Epson 3800, enough profiling gear to outfit an entire school, sample prints, a Rotatrim cutter, and a dozen boxes of 13x19 paper, graciously donated by my friends at Moab by Legion Paper.

 
I want to thank everyone on both workshops for such a fantastic time. The comraderie was a pleasure! I also want to thank the other folks who helped along the way. Scott Martin of On-Sight Consulting, Jon Fuller of Moab Photo Tours, and Bret Edge. Let's do it again next year! I am pondering my 2008 schedule, and it is likely that I will move this yearly workshop from the winter to an early spring schedule, likely in 2009.

Busy in early December? Come join us in Moab!

Busy in early December? I have 2 openings in my Arches and Canyonlands National Parks landscape and digital printing workshop. Due to two cancellations, I have two openings available. For more information:

December 4 - 8 Arches and Canyonlands workshop

Moab: Off the Beaten Path Workshop

Due to the popularity of my December 4-8 Arches and Canyonlands workshop, I have decided to offer another workshop for the adventurous photographers out there. This workshop will be 100% out in the field, and is designed to photograph some of the more out of the way locations in the heart of rock rock country.

This workshop will be based in Moab, Utah, and will be held from November 30 until December 3rd. The goal is to take to the trails for some remote petroglpyhs, cultural sites and beautiful vistas. Although we are not gunning for death marches, anticipate 2 to 6 hours round trip hikes on varying terrain. The group will be smaller for this workshop, so please let me know if you are interested if you have any measurable interest.

 

Moab: Off the Beaten Path
November 30 - December 3, 2007

False Kiva, Canyonlands National Park
Canon EOS 5D, 16-35mm, multiple exposures for HDR

Upcoming Polar Bear workshop announcement

I am in the final stages of putting together a workshop to photograph the polar bears. The workshop will take place in November 2008, and will be in and around Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. If you suspect you have interest in this workshop, I would love to hear from you. My workshops generally fill up quickly, so this is just a quick reminder to let me know sooner than later.

Safari and Landscape Workshop Openings

I have just posted my June 30- July 12, 2008 Tanzania safari on my Safaris and Workshops page. We will visit Serengeti National Park (2 different locations), Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park. Even though the safari is just getting announced, I already have 25% filled up.

I am still accepting signups for my December 4 - 8, 2007 Arches and Canyonlands landscape workshop. This will be a combination field workshop and digital printing class. This is my favorite time of the year in the American West, as we rarely have to share these parks with other photographers. UPDATE - Workshop has sold out as of August 6, 2007.