Ever come back from a weeklong fishing trip excited to show everybody all of the wonderful photos you took, only to find that none of them look quite the way you expected them to? Don't worry, you're not alone. The ability to capture the moment on the water with your camera isn't about how fancy (and expensive) your camera is, it is about having the right skill set. Photographers make pictures, not cameras.

During our hosted trip to fly fish Patagonia this March, photographer Earl Harper of Harper Studios will be hosting a series of photography workshops. We'll not only soak up the Argentine culture, catch a lot of fish and visit incredibly beautiful places, we'll also show you tips and techniques that will help you develop the skills to go home with photos that you'll be proud show to your friends and family and that will serve as lifelong mementos of your travels.

From introductory level concepts to advanced techniques, subject matter for this year's workshop will be tailored to the guests on the trip, drawing from topics such as:

Perspective

Like many things in life, photography is all about perspective. The average person is about 5’8”, coincidence maybe, but most photographs are taken from about 6 inches above or below that. We'll talk about ways to capture images from varying and creative perspectives that will produce more dramatic and captivating photographs.

Landscapes and Context

Ever taken a photo that didn’t really portray the feeling you had when you were fishing in such an amazing landscape? We'll work on ways to compose your images that will help them convey the inspiration you felt as you stood in the river admiring the vistas around you.

Khao Sok National Park, Thailand (photo: Earl Harper).

Portraits and People

Portraits you say? Aren't portraits for the studio? Absolutely not. Fishing with your friends, meeting some of the locals, and hanging out with your guides, are all some of the most important aspects of the sport we love. What better way to remember them than with some great portraits or other photos of the people that help make your time on the water so special. There is a lot more to taking a great portrait or pictures of people than picking up your camera and snapping a quick pic, and we’ll show you some ways to bring out the personality of each person you photograph.

Mark in a banana suit on the Naknek River, Alaska (photo: Earl Harper).

Light Metering

Any photographer that works outdoors knows that natural light is your greatest friend or enemy. Unlike landscape photographers, photographers capturing the fishing world don't have the luxury setting up their shots and waiting for the light to be just right. Fishing happens throughout the course of the day and lighting conditions can vary widely based on the time of day and changes in the landscape/surrounding. Being able to react to those changes and properly expose your images through varying conditions is largely dependent on metering. We'll show you how and when to properly meter using your camera's different metering modes to insure you're properly exposing your images.

Fish Handling

The quickest recipe for bad fish photos is an assistant (read: fishing buddy) that doesn't know how to handle fish for the camera. There's more to great fish photos than getting a fish to hold still long enough to hold it up for the camera. We'll cover how to direct your partner to hold a fish properly, get it in the best light and also how to make handling safe for the fish and allow it to be properly released.

Chum salmon near Juneau, Alaska (photo: Earl Harper).

Underwater Photography

There's a reason you're seeing more and more underwater photography. In fact there are lots of them. Chief amongst them are improvements in technology and the realization that underwater (or half under half out) photographs "complete the picture" in the world of fishing photography. Underwater shots can be difficult without the proper knowledge and gear. We'll talk about some of the options that are out there (such as underwater DSLR housings) and demonstrate how to use them.

There is virtually a fountain of other topics that can be covered while on the water in one of the world's most beautiful and fishiest places, Patagonia. And, as noted above, Earl will work with trip goers that sign up (at no additional cost) for these workshops to customize a schedule and topic list that matches each individual's skill level, needs and interests.

And don't worry, if you're not into the whole photo workshop thing, you can still join us this year in Patagonia. On workshop morning, the guests that are workshop participants will spend an hour or two covering workshop topics while the rest of the anglers on the trip go fishing. Everyone wins.

For full trip information or to reserve a spot on the trip, please visit our Patagonia Hosted Travel Information page.