Smoky Mountain Sports Photography Worskhop 2024
The site of the workshop is at Maryville College's Austin Coleman Piper Memorial Track, which will be used for the Conference Meet on May 6-9th, 2024
Our workshop will have two distinct parts: shooting all day on May 6-7th, with the critique all day on May 9th. Maryville College is providing us with a secure classroom on campus near the track with WiFi.
The best images that chosen (selects) from everything we shoot on Saturday will be given to Maryville College, both the their archive to document the day for history, and also to Sports Information and the team to promote and support the sport. Participants will still hold the copyright for their images but must agree to share their use with MC in perpetuity. Each participant will select their best ten images from each event and use a flash drive to move them into the main workshop computer. Then we will narrow each events images down to the very best and save them for the final show.
The instructor for the weekend is Patrick Murphy-Racey, a Sony Artisan of Imagery, and former Sports Illustrated Photographer. PM-R will bring his almost forty years experience to bear at the workshop and offer advice, tricks of the trade, and talk about the best locations & angles to shoot from and the best lenses to use for each event throughout the day. Sony will sponsor the workshop and provide some loaner gear.
But you DO NOT have to be a Sony shooter to participate. If you are shooting Canon or Nikon, you may want to rent a lens from Lensrentals.com so that you have what you need for the workshop.
Workshop Schedule:
Monday May 6, 2024: 6:30PM Informal meet-up with PM-R for dinner at El Sezon. This is an informal dinner time to get to know each other but is not mandatory so if you travel schedule does not allow you to attend, it's OK. Be prepared to introduce yourself and offer your goals for the workshop at the dinner.
Tuesday May 7, 2024: 8:00-9:00a - Pre-Meet instruction time to show you images from last year and help you set goals for day 1.
Meet begins at 9:30a +/- till about 5:30p +/-
Wednesday May 8th: Meet Continues...
Thursday, May 9th: Editing & Post Production Portion: 9:30a - 2:30pm. (lunch provided)
We will convene at the Cooper Athletic Center in our classroom for day three on editing and post production. We will be using Photo Mechanic to cull (delete) and rename images, and then we will use Lightroom to tone images. If you do not currently own a copy of Photo Mechanic, you can download a free version for 30 days. Do NOT download it right away unless you plan to buy a license for the workshop. There will also be a short demo of Affinity Photo 2, which is a non-subscription form of Adobe's PhotoShop and only costs $69. Last, we will take a look at the suite of software from Topaz, especially the De-Noise AI and Sharpen AI. About a week after the workshop concludes, PM-R will produce a youtube video of the best of the best images that all of us shot on Saturday. This will be posted to the PM-R TV channel as well as to Maryville College's You-Tube as well. This will be a 4k presentation so you will really be able to see the quality! Credit will be given to all the photographers that contributed to the final show.
Each participant will receive one media credential that must be worn at all times when on campus May 7-8th. You must wear the credential so that track officials & coaches will know not to ask you to leave.
What should you bring?
1. Good attitude: Participants will have varied skill levels so being patient with one another is important. having a good positive attitude throughout both days is essential.
2. Your gear. If you have two bodies, it makes sense to bring both. You can literally use all your lenses at a track meet so 12mm-600mm, just bring them!
3. Hat, sunscreen, & water: Being outside all day long can be challenging. There are many events so look carefully at the schedule and build in time to get off your feet, hydrate, and rest.
4. Monopods are essential so even if you are used to using your longest lens hand-held, don't try to do this all day long. You can go from sore to injured quickly on a track meet day. We want to keep you feeling good and healthy. Tripods are not allowed inside the track or directly adjacent to it.
5. Knee pads are great for getting that perfect low angle shot of various events.
Workshops are a great way to try new things and take visual risks to improve your overall photography and personal vision. Learning in a workshop setting with other like-minded photographers is a great way to be challenged with how others see the same thing you are shooting but differently. This is a safe place to come and make mistakes as well as make some great photographs for your portfolio and social media platforms.
Travel & Acomodations:
I have block booked some rooms at the Quality Inn & Suites Hotel in Alcoa, which is one mile away from campus and close to the airport if you are flying in. You room is included in the cost of the workshop. If you don't need all three nights or you want to extend your stay in the area beyond the workshop dates, just call the hotel at 865-238-2682 and tell them the nights you need and you will still get the same price at our block booked rate.
The Knoxville Airport code is TYS and is just five miles from campus. TYS is serviced by American, United, Delta, Frontier, and Allegiant airlines. Maryville College is just 5 miles from the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park so you may want to add a day to visit before heading home!
Cost: Tuition for the SonyAlphaSports Workshop I is $1295 per person and includes the hotel room for three nights (May 6,7,8). This price includes lunch on Thursday during our edit day. If someone will be traveling with you and wants to come to the events but not shoot, it's still $1295 each but you are welcome to share the room with anyone you like. There are only 15 slots for this one, so register soon! If you want to sign up, contact Patrick Murphy-Racey at pat@pmrphoto.com. Payments are made through Zelle or you can send a check if you'd rather. There will be a special Facebook group made for all participants questions as well as for ride-sharing & accommodations. PM-R can be reached at 865-607-2020.
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I have a few updates for the workshop:
