Steinbeck Country
Exploring the Literary Landscape of California

Friday through Sunday, June 12-14

Join Ken Rockwell and Dave Wyman, as we visually explore areas written about by noted American author John Steinbeck, including California's central coast and coastal mountains, and the beautiful Salinas Valley.

Cost: $350 (does not include accommodations, see below)

Transportation: Via private vehicle; trip leader will help, where possible, make carpooling arrangements between those who need rides and those who can offer rides.  

Trip difficulty: None; conducted at a photographer's pace. There will be some walking - primarily on the Monterey Pier and at the Monterey Aquarium - however, much of our photography will be at or near our cars.

Carpooling: We encourage everyone to carpool when and where possible. We'll send around, with your permission, a list of participants as the trip date nears, for those who want to carpool. We also want to carpool once we're in Monterey.

Weather: Expect cool morning and evening temperatures, and mild to warm days. 

Who is this trip for?No matter what level of knowledge we have, this is a trip for those who have a love of photography, and a desire to make photographs throughout the course of a few days, from dawn to sunset, in settings made famous by John Steinbeck, from East of Eden to Cannery Row. 

We will photograph around Monterey, in the Coast Range Mountains, and in the rich agricultural lands of the Salinas Valley, all locations Steinbeck lived in and/or wrote about. We may spot and photograph sea lions and sea otters, and sea birds. We will also look for wildflowers, and try to our hands at making portraits of some of the local residents. And we'll finish with a visit to the Monterey Aquarium.

Our purpose will be to visually explore both the natural world, and the world of human history. Perhaps, as Steinbeck did with his writing, we will also explore who we are, too, expressed through the creative artistry of our photographs.

Trip Leaders:

- Dave Wyman - his photographs of have appeared in Outdoor Photographer, Cross-Country Skier, the California State Parks Guidebook and his book, Backroads of Northern California and Backroads of Southern California. Dave has conducted photography tours since 1982, for the San Diego Natural History Museum, the Sierra Club, the University of Southern California, the Yosemite Association, the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, and the Los Angeles Zoo. His unbridled passion for travel and photography have led him and the groups he conducts to locations throughout California, the Southwest, Oregon, and Yellowstone. He enjoys photographing landscapes and wildlife, and he is able to establish a report with his human subjects. Dave takes his camera up onto high mountains summits, along rugged coastlines, into the deserts, and along remote roads throughout the western U.S.

- Ken Rockwell is known internationally for his website, kenrockwell.com. He is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about photography and cameras. He can answer any question about any point-and-shoot digicam, all film cameras, and the latest digital cameras. He is particularly well versed in the use of Nikon and Canon equipment. His loyal readers - who number in the thousands each day - enjoy his often iconoclastic and sometimes controversial essays and detailed reviews of camera gear. A Southern California resident much of his life, Ken has explored vast regions of California and the Southwest, including recents explorations of Death Valley, northern New Mexico, and stretches of historic Route 66. Ken is conversant with a wide variety of camera equipment; he works with both with film and digital images. Visit Ken at kenrockwell.com.

Accommodations: There are many places to stay in and around the beautiful town of Monterey. Dave and Ken will stay a few minutes away from downtown, in a basic, but comfortable and reasonably-priced motel. If you wish, call and we will arrange a room for you at the same motel (we've set a few aside) at which Ken and Dave are staying; let us know if you'd like to share a room, which will of course cut the cost of a room in half - we'll work on matching up participants. If you need help finding accommodations in other locations in Monterey, contact us. We'll send a list of participants around to help match up potential roommates who decide not to stay with Ken and Dave. Meals: There will be a picnic lunch for the group, and we'll enjoy a first night's dinner as part of the trip, too. We'll always be near places to purchase food at other meal times. Participants may bring their own food and there are local markets as well as a variety of restaurants from which to choose. Itinerary: on Friday by mid-afternoon at the National Steinbeck Center, where we'll learn about the author; we'll also photograph a couple of locations in town associated with Steinbeck. Then we'll continue into the town of Monterey, and re-group for a final field session on the northern edge of Big Sur. On Saturday, we'll meet for an early morning session in Monterey, photographing at a two of the picturesque piers in town, before breakfast. Then we'll travel to the Carmel Mission, before heading up the almost achingly beautiful Carmel Valley. We'll stop for lunch as we cross the mountains back into the Salinas Valley, and then finish the day with a sunset session in Pacific Grove. On Sunday, we'll photograph at the Monterey Aquariu, and then say goodbye.

What is Provided by Image Quest: - Trip leaders - Group dinner, picnic lunch - A variety of field sessions - Photographic instruction - Help with accommodations in  (participants are invited to stay at the same motel as the instructors, contact Dave) - Entry to the Monterey Aquarium and Steinbeck Center  Camera Equipment: a basic digital or 35mm camera will work well. Don't feel the need to purchase special equipment. However, for those with more gear, bring it along - this is the time to use it. A good accessory: a tripod (along with a remote or wired shutter release) will allow photography early and late in the day. Good filters, particularly for those with film, would include an 81B (to warm up images made in the shade) and a graduated neutral density filter (digital photography has made this filter somewhat obsolete). All photographers might want to bring along a polarizing filter. Medium format photographers are welcome, too. The instructors will probably bring along both film and digital cameras; digital images - from the instructor and participants - will be shown during the workshop during the evenings, if time and stamina permits. For print (negative) film, Fuji's basic Fujicolor films are excellent. A good ISO/ASA film speed rating for print film is 200 to 400. For transparencies (slides), the instructors prefer Fujichrome's stable of slide films, and the Kodak Ektachromes work well, too. Memory and power: Bring enough CF or SD cards to contain several hundred photographs. Cameras will be working all day, so sufficient battery power is important. Don't forget a battery charger.