Jeffrey Tadlock

Hello Reader! My spring workshop season is winding down with my West Virginia workshop coming up early next week! From there, it is a quick transition to art fair season for me, my first real art fair season! I will certainly have more to share on that experience in future newsletters. But if you are semi-local, you can find me at Summerfair in Cincinnati from May 29th to the 31st! Lesser-Known Landscape Photography Locations Blackwater River - West Virginia As landscape photographers, we are...

I just got back from 9 days in the Great Smoky Mountains, five of which were for the landscape photography workshop I led with Michael Rung. It was a great trip, but while I work to get caught back up, this week’s newsletter will be more field-notes style, with just a few observations from my time in the Smokies! Field Note #1: Black and White Photography Possibly inspired by the Shutter Nonsense podcast episode we released this week featuring Cole Thompson and John Barclay, Michael and I...

Hello Reader! The volatility of spring weather is here! We’ve had warming temperatures, periods of high wind as fronts move through, and of course spring thunderstorms. It has felt like an active spring season here in Ohio. Which brings weather to top of mind for me, especially with the Great Smoky Mountains workshop just two weeks away. Weather can be challenging to forecast, but add in the complexity of the mountains and trying to make the right call for a workshop, and it becomes a whole...

Hello Reader! It is starting to move into the busy time for me! Several photography club presentations either recently presented or coming up, one-on-one workshops in the Hocking Hills area, and then the Smokies and West Virginia right around the corner! I am looking forward to the Spring season! This week, let’s talk about how to make your photos feel like more than a snapshot! Sunrise in Death Valley More Than a Snapshot A common theme at workshops is people looking to make their photo be...

Hello Reader! My wife and I returned from our Death Valley trip last week where we tried out van life! The trip went well and I think we’ll end up doing another trip by renting a campervan in the future. Now our perspectives of the experience were slightly different - I described it as absolutely luxurious and she described it as the bare minimum level to camp, but we had a great time! Before I head into this week’s topic, I wanted to share something exciting first! F-Stop Collaborate and...

Hello Reader! In a few days I’ll be headed to Death Valley again with my wife to see how van life works out for us! Should be an interesting experience and looking forward to the trip, maybe I’ll even catch some of the “super bloom”! With all the rain the area has had over the past several months, I should be able to find some blooms! Earlier this week I was reminded how differently we evaluate photos based on what we’re looking at. And that got me thinking. Sunset at Badwater Basin, Death...

Hello Reader! Here in Ohio we’ve been stuck with below-freezing temperatures for weeks now and over a foot of snow for more than two weeks! I saw something online that this is the most severe winter, temperature-wise we’ve had since 1977 or so! Supposedly by the time you are reading this the temperatures will be back above freezing for a few days, I bet it will feel absolutely balmy! Anyway, on to this week’s newsletter. Editing vs Evaluation: The Step We Skip Most Often As I was preparing...

Hello Reader! I am sitting here typing this newsletter as Ohio gets hit with one of the biggest snowfalls we have seen in quite a while. My county actually went to a Level 3 snow emergency, meaning no travel unless it is truly necessary, something that has not happened since around 2008. A snowy Ohio day... So what better time to write this week’s newsletter than while snowbound and watching the snow fall outside? Let’s get started. Exposure Control for Landscape Photographers I mentioned in...

This week I have something a little different than my normal newsletter! Something I've been working on in the background and I alluded to in my reflecting on 2025 and looking ahead to 2026 newsletter. Over the years of photographing landscapes and leading workshops, I started to notice a pattern. Many landscape photographers are still building outdoor experience. The photography side gets people interested in spending more time outdoors photographing, but the hiking side doesn’t always feel...