The Central Coast of California

“En Plein Air”

Wednesday-Saturday, May 15-18, 2024 

– A Photography Tour –

With Ken Rockwell and Dave Wyman

The Trip: En Plein Air is the French expression for "in the open air." Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and J.M. Turner were some of the original artists who favored painting outdoors. For our photography excursion, we will use our cameras and lenses, rather than a brush and paints, to record and interpret the spectacular landscapes and seascapes, the historic architecture, and the people of the Central Coast of California.

We will explore and connect with some of the most beautiful seascapes and landscapes found anywhere in the world. In the process, we'll learn to see and experience the world around us in new ways with our cameras.

Our locations in the field will include the the rocky coves at stunning Montana de Oro state park and the rural landscapes along the back roads of San Luis Obispo county, mountain vistas, elephant seals near San Simeon, and portions of the the coastline running north from the town of Morro Bay. Subject matter will range from the macro to wildlife to impressive seascapes and landscapes. We’ll probably find more than a few human subjects, from the locals who fish the sea for a living, to vintners and ranchers who work the soil for their own livelihoods.

Who is This Trip For: Do you enjoy exploring the natural world? This is your trip. Do you like looking for wild creatures, from spiders to elephant seals? Do you like to watch the setting sun drop into the sea, or look up to see a hawk or an egret or a turkey vulture take wing? This trip is for you. Do you like the sound of the surf as it pounds against a cliff, or the hiss of a wave as it rushes from the beach to return to the sea? Do you find serenity in the mountains, or a connection with the earth in pastoral landscapes? This trip is for you. Do you like nature and travel photography? Do you revel in the company of fellow photographers? This is the trip that is for you.

This will, therefore, be the weekend to stretch our creative selves, to learn to see with our inner as well as our outer eyes, to make a connection, on our own creative terms, with the wider world around us.

The cost of the trip: $500

Registration: Go to this link. If you’d prefer to send a check, email him at davewyman@imountainman.com or call him at 323 377-7565. Cancellations: $50.

Note: Our payment webpage is currently not working. Payment can be made via check or PayPal.

Accommodations: Ken and Dave will stay at the Los Padres Inn, in San Luis Obispo We’ve reserved a few rooms.

Trip difficulty: None; conducted at a leisurely photographer's pace. There will be some walking; participants should be able to walk up to three miles over the entire course of a day (although we expect less distances). .

Who can attend: Anyone; however, participants need to be at least 18 years of age.

What will be provided:

- Trip leaders
- Guided field sessions
- Evening presentations
- one group meal
- Help with carpooling

What You Need To Bring:

- Clothing for warm and cool conditions, with items to include: mittens, ski or knit cap for cool mornings, comfortable walking shoes, and clothing for warm weather.

- Money for meals not provided.

Camera Equipment: If the truth be told, a basic digitial camera (including the camera in your phone) or 35mm camera point-and-shoot camera will work well for most of the locations on this outing. For those with more equipment, this is the trip to bring it along: super wide angle lenses, telephotos, filters, and medium format cameras.     

- Consider bringing along a tripod to make blur-free images of static subjects during our early morning and late afternoon/early evening field sessions.

- Digital Memory: Make sure to have enough storage on CF or SD cards.

- Battery power: bring enough to last through a day.

- Filters: for digital photographers, the polarizing filter and the graduated neutral density filter are good choices. For color film photographers, the 81A or 81B can warm up bluish tones found in the shade or under overcast skies.

Ken – and Dave to a similar extent – are minimalists in their approaches to carrying camera gear; while they might bring a variety of camera bodies and lenses, they don't carry much, varying what they want/need at any particular field location.

Where you need to stay: Ken and Dave will stay at the Los Padres Inn, in the town of San Luis Obispo. You're invited to join us there. If all rooms are taken, there are many other places to stay in town. Check with Dave for some possibilities. If you wish to make a reservation, call the motel direction and mention you’re with the Ken and Dave group. Currently, we have reserved a few rooms for the group. There may be extra rooms if the few we’ve reserved are all booked

While the Los Padres Inn isn't the height of luxury, it's clean and comfortable, and picturesquely quaint. In fact, it exudes the old school style of motels, with individual carports for several rooms. Ken and Dave have stayed there several times and have always enjoyed the experience.

If you want help making a reservation at the Los Padres Inn, let us know. Note: For the moment, we have some rooms on reserve at a great price. We can also recommend other motels in the area (and google, of course, is your friend).

Weather: Expect warm sunshine, but be prepared for fog and mist. Inclement or cool weather will not cancel the trip, inasmuch as "bad" weather can produce some of the best pictures.

Basic Itinerary (subject to change):

Wednesday is the travel day. Arrive at the Los Padres Inn about 3 p.m. to meet Ken and Dave. We’ll head into downtown San Luis Obispo for some photos and for an early dinner. Then we’ll drive south to photograph late light on the sand dunes at Oceano.

On Thursday, we will travel at dawn up the Coast Range Mountains for some spectacular views. Then we’ll motor down the other side of the mountains to Avila Bay, where we will walk the old pier and have breakfast at a nearby cafe. We’ll spend the rest of the day at Montana de Oro and the little community of Los Osos, before returning to San Luis Obispo to photograph and to enjoy dinner at the weekly, and justifiably famous farmers market.

On Friday, we’ll travel up the coast to visit the tiny town of Harmony, Moonstone Beach in Cambria, and view elephant seals near San Simeon. We may visit an unusual resting place for some old motor vehicles. If time permits, we’ll drive as far as the southern end of Big Sur. And we’ll photograph Morro Rock and the adjacent town of Morro Bay.

On Saturday, we will finish the day with a visit to Pismo Beach before breakfast and then bid ourselves adieu.

The itinerary is subject to change, depending on weather, group dynamics, etc.

Note: Want to share some of your own images with the group, on any subject? Bring up to a couple dozen digital images on your phone, tablet or your laptop, and prints are welcome, too. We'll view them during our downtimes. We can also share photos we make on the trip.   

The Slant: While this is more of a tour than a class, we will learn much over the course of our travels; Ken and Dave have some basic tips and some advanced techniques to share with the group. While we'll have a chance to look at photos in the evenings, most of our days will be spent in a hands-on enterprise, at our variety of field locations, rather than spending time looking at our photographs during daylight hours.

What About Walking? This trip includes some walking. We won't walk very far at any one stretch, and much of our photography will be next to our cars. However, we will walk to a number of locations, and the weight of a tripod, lenses and camera bodies can add up. Participants should be in reasonably good shape, able to amble for up to a couple of miles or more over the course of the day. As per above, consider limiting what you carry when we’re out and about.

Transportation: By private auto; Contact Dave; he will help arrange carpooling for participants to San Luis where possible and we'd like everyone to carpool once we are all on site.

When you send payment: you'll receive via email a receipt and any additional information, such as maps and directions to our accommodations in San Simeon, thoughts about photography and the Central Coast of California, and a liability form. An instructor will touch base with you by phone and/or e-mail prior to the departure date and, where possible, help arrange for carpooling for participants.  

Ken Rockwell (kenrockwell.com) is a well-known – some might even claim notorius – web presence. Love him or hate him, he is a force to be reckoned with, as Ken's voluminous website offers a cornucopia of lens tests, camera reviews, and his clear-sighted, if not occasionally contrarian viewpoints, about the meaning of art and photography. He has the training of an engineer and the soul of an artist and Ken is willing to share his encyclopedic knowledge of photography with all-comers. He has conducted numerous workshops in California's mountains, deserts and coastal regions, in the canyon lands of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, and along historic Route 66

Dave Wyman has conducted photography workshops and natural history outings since 1984. He brings unbridled passion and commitment to his photography and his travels. He originated and directed the travel photography program at the University of Southern California, taught nature and travel photography for the UCLA extension program and has worked on behalf of several natural history associations. His articles and photographs have been published in magazines; his pictorial guidebooks include Backroads of Northern California, Backroads of Southern California, and Yosemite in Photographs. His latest book is “Fearless Photographer - Nature.”

Where is San Luis Obispo? It's north of Los Angeles and south of San Francisco, west of the town of Paso Robles. Contact Dave for any questions about travel to or help with making travel arrangements.

If you have questions, call the instructor, Dave Wyman, at 323 377-7565, or send e-mail to: davewyman@imountainman.com.