Product Description

Renowned fine-art outdoor/nature photographer, workshop instructor, and seminar speaker, Tony Sweet takes viewers on a personal workshop experience through the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and into his studio to teach his digital image workflows and describe the real working environment of a successful professional photographer. The two-disc set runs more than 4.5 hours. Filled with practical shooting advice, tips, and all the secrets of a seasoned professional.

Disc 1 - In the Field: Join Tony while he shoots on site in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, capturing the stunning spring-time scenery. Chapters include:

-Sunrise at Sparks Lane
-Late morning fog at Lea Valley overlook
-Shooting water scenes at Greenbrier
-Cabins in the mountains
-Using a tilt-shift lens at Roaring fork
-Classic shots in Tremont
-Overlooks of Clingmans Dome
-Macro shooting in the forest
-Getting the most out of scouting
-Best of The Smokies slideshow

Disc 2 - In the Studio: Tony opens up his studio to show how he process his digital images, creates fine art prints, shoots macro flowers, and even manages a series of lectures on getting into the outdoor/nature business itself. Chapters include:

-Lectures on getting started, publishing, workshops, marketing your work, and building a buisiness
-Early work near misses portfolio presentation
-Current professional work portfolio presentation
-Shooting macro flowers in the studio
-The camera package
-Tony s digital darkroom
-Print workflow
-Stock submissions workflow

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15369 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-05-01
• Formats: Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 270 minutes

Review
Watched the DVD last night as soon as I got it, wish I was down in the Smokies right now! DVD was great! As usual Tony let's you in on all his secrets for taking great photos. I felt like I was right there with him! I took a seminar with Tony last spring to Acadia state park Maine. This seminar really bumped up my photography to a higher level, and just like in the video, Tony explains all! --Ken Levins

Review
Tony's DVD is great. He is the ultimate artist and technician combined. I have all of his books and his old DVD but this one surpasses them all. I recommend this to anyone interested in photography. Thanks! --W. B. Helton M.D.

Review
In quick response to viewing the DVDs, I would like to say WOW! To be more descriptive: Viewing Tony Sweet's Visual Literacy DVDs was like reading a great book where you find yourself being unable to put-it-down and wind up reading the book cover-to-cover in one sitting. As for Tony s DVDs, I watched both In the Field and In the Studio DVDs in one sitting (I believe 4.5 hours worth). Simply phrased, I was that impressed with the DVDs and felt as if I was on a virtual workshop; and along for the ride. The quality of the DVDs are absolutely first class and amazing: From content, description of various locations, sound quality, subject matter, showing what you see in the subject and with the camera, multiple exposure creations, exposures, using various settings (i.e.: D.O.F. preview, etc.), use of equipment, showing final results and comparisons of using a filter (i.e.: Singh-Ray Vari-ND, etc.) or not, etc., etc. Everything was simply put together perfectly and captured Tony s enthusiasm, creativity and master talents not only as a photographer, but as an artist as well - especially as an impressionist. From being a fan of all of Tony s books, these DVDs simply take you on a virtual journey alongside Tony in-the-field and in-the-studio. I also enjoyed the introduction of the various filters and equipment that Tony uses: From in-the-field, to post work, and in-the-studio, to Singh-Ray, Lensbabies and having an infra-red dedicated camera Tony simply covered it all. Needless to say, I am very impressed and inspired. Thank you for sharing and creating the DVDs. --sdfoto@aol.com

Customer Reviews

Sweet does it again
As I am watching this DVD set from Tony Sweet I'm wondering why everyone who ever wanted to teach anything didn't do it this way. Maybe it's because not only does Tony have a prodigious gift as an artist but a unique ability to communicate how he does it and an infectious enthusiasm that is palpable. On this DVD he covers a full range of topics from the most esoteric and technical (his knowledge of lenses, filters, tools and techniques is encyclopedic) to the most mundane (be careful walking on the wet rocks because you can get hurt) or (just because it's not raining doesn't mean water won't drip on your filters from the overhanging trees). Tony is a seasoned professional who is a combination of artist, photographic business man and Renaissance man and philosopher. If you want to know how a brilliant artist thinks and how to bring the results home, this is a video you should study. The videography is also beautifully done and consistently enhances the experience. I've never seen anything quite like this and really do wish there was a similar product for everything I'd like to learn.

One Word: Outstanding
I found these DVDs to be outstanding. I have watched both discs three times in the two months I have owned them. He doesn't do any remedial teaching; it assumes you have more than a surface understanding of exposure, metering, light; if you do not you will likely be frustrated and not rate the DVDs very highly. I have seen a number of DVDs and sat in workshops and Tony is a natural teacher. He doesn't take himself too seriously and isn't one of these prima donna photographers ; he is very down to earth and just wants to take great photographs. I HIGHLY recommend this DVD.

DVD instruction
I brought this DVD at Tony Sweet's New Hampshire workshop. You will get a lot of help and information watching the lessons, But what I found to be of great benefit is the first section of the second disc. Tony covers many of his own photos and teaches the approach and mindset of each photo as he took them. Then goes on to explain how to capture the effects for everyone to experiment with later in the field. This section is worth the price of the DVD alone.

I have now watched this section 3 times and recorded many of his methods in my notebook that I always carrying around in my car to read and reference when Im out shooting in the field. This DVD is a great tool that will help get you to the next level artistically.

Best of Light .
Michael J. Skelton