Washington DC

Learn How to Photograph Boobies (the Blue-Footed Kind)

Krista giving feedback during a one-on-one critique with a workshop participant in Washington, DC.

Krista giving feedback during a one-on-one critique with a workshop participant in Washington, DC. Video still by Steve Pickard.

Now that I’ve got your attention, no blue-footed booby picture here yet, but read on for a chance to learn how to photograph these unique birds with me in the Galápagos Islands.

A student photographs the Lincoln Memorial during a sunrise shoot on a weekend photo workshop Krista taught with Dan Westergren.

A student photographs the Lincoln Memorial during a sunrise shoot on a weekend photo workshop Krista taught with Dan Westergren.

For the last few years I’ve been working as an instructor on National Geographic Expeditions’ weekend photo workshops in New Orleans and Washington, DC. I’ve not only been able to share my love for these two fabulous cities, but also share my knowledge of photography and photo editing. It is honestly a delight to be surrounded by people eager to learn and immerse themselves in photography for four days. Recently we had a videographer join one of the DC workshops led by Mark Thiessen to put together a taste of what the workshops are like. Check out the video put together by Steve Pickard.

Also, I’m so delighted to share news that I’ll be working as a National Geographic Expert with National Geographic Expeditions on their Galápagos Photo Expeditions in 2014. From June 13th through 22nd we will be photographing the diverse wildlife and gorgeous scenery of the islands and spending time back on the National Geographic Endeavor ship delving deeper into learning photography. The next week I’ll be serving as a photo instructor with Expert Annie Griffiths and in October/November with Expert Rich Reid. Check out the full schedule here.

I’m looking forward to exploring the Galápagos with students, new and old. I hope to photograph blue-footed boobies with you there!

Ephemeral Beauty

A dusk shot of the Jefferson Memorial framed by cherry blossoms.

A dusk shot of the Jefferson Memorial framed by cherry blossoms.

And just like that, they’re gone.

The few glorious days when the tidal basin in Washington DC is swathed in a low-lying pink cloud has passed this year. Like thousands of other people, I couldn’t help myself from wandering in awe and snapping shot after shot of blossoms framing monuments. Navigating the crowds, I was trying to follow the advice I had given in a blog post I wrote a few years ago for the Intelligent Travel blog on photographing the cherry blossoms….patience.

If you ever have the opportunity to see the cherry blossoms in DC, I say do it. Despite the hype and the hoards, it is magical and oh so fleeting!

A magical walkway of light pink blossoms in Washington DC.
The Washington Monument framed through cherry blossoms at sunset.
A couple enjoys sunset on the Tidal Basin with the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in the background.
My cherry blossom blog post was featured on the National Geographic home page last weekend.