The Hidden Palouse

The Hidden Palouse – Exploring areas beyond the beaten path and capturing the subtlety and nuance of this amazing area

Myself and John Pedersen will once again be offering an amazing workshop in the beautiful Palouse region of Eastern Washington.  Jack and I have over 30 years experience leading groups across this landscape and we know the hidden gems of this amazing landscape.  For 2025, we will be focusing our vision on the hidden gems of the area, from landscapes, small towns and Americana and abstracts.

Too often people are focused on just a couple of famous locations in the Palouse, Steptoe Butte being one of them.  NOTICE:  Steptoe Butte will be closed during this time for important repairs to the road and park, however, there is SO MUCH MORE to the Palouse than Steptoe Butte. We will spend time moving beyond the obvious and draw out the subtle nuances of the rolling landscape and the storytelling possible in the various small towns in the area.  The rolling hills of wheat, barley, lentils and canola with the addition of spring wildflowers and country roads punctuated with over 100-year-old year old barns lends itself to a photographer’s paradise. The subject matter is endless. The Palouse area is located in Southeastern Washington where the major towns are Pullman, Washington and Moscow, Idaho. We will base our Palouse photo workshop out of the small town of Colfax, which is central to everything we want to photograph. The Palouse is fairly remote. It’s not a tourist destination but during the spring and summer there are usually many photographers.

The Palouse can challenge all photographers to create compelling compositions amidst the rolling hills and country settings.  Various shades of greens offset the blue skies with trees dotting the landscapes.  It offers such a wide range of photographic subjects and compositional possibilities! Everything from wide angle landscapes, to intimate nature scenes, abstracts and Americana.  We will guide you to the best locations in the area and provide as much in-field guidance as you want or need.  Our focus will be on the the hidden areas of the Palouse, learning to “see” the area and working to create compelling compositions and capture them in our cameras.

Preparation and being in the right mindset can help you achieve better results. Before the workshop begins, we will send you several updates so you can better prepare for the conditions and environment.  Also, please read this helpful article on how to prepare for one of our photo workshops.

WORKSHOP DETAILS

This workshop typically sells out early and often has a waiting list. This is not a physically taxing or strenuous workshop since most locations are on paths or along the roadside, though the days are long in the Palouse.

June is prime time for the rolling fields of different shades of green. The Palouse is a great area to develop photographic skills because light and pattern considerations are incredibly important here. The aim is to make images that portray depth, surprise and drama, while using leading lines, foregrounds and other graphic elements. I will warn you, photography in this area isn’t as easy as you may think, but that also makes it one of the best places to take your skills to the next level. Few people have visit The Palouse which means there are few photographic icons. This also means that personal vision becomes incredibly important.

EXTRA ADDED ATTRACTION (not officially part of our workshop!): We’ll be heading north of Colfax by about 45 minutes on the morning the day before the workshop begins (around 8 am), going up to Sprague, Washington to photograph the old trucks in Dave’s Old Truck Rescue. You are welcome to tag along. I’ll be returning to Colfax around noon. Please let us know if you are joining us. If you are, please arrive in Colfax the day before. There is no extra charge for this excursion.

Thank you for your interest in this workshop. Once you have registered, information about what to bring, such as weather, itinerary locations, etc. will begin to flow to you about 3-4 weeks before the event.

PLEASE NOTE: This workshop is part of the Photograph the Pacific Northwest series, a collaboration between Jack Graham and John Pedersen to highlight the magnificent beauty of the PNW through in-depth workshops at some of the most iconic and beautiful locations.

Workshop Purchase and Registration is transacted through JohnPedersenPhoto.com