I'm Lee Varis, photographer, educator and digital imaging artist. I have maintained a website at this domain for over 14 years. I have divided my 40 years of experience almost equally  between traditional film-based  and digital imaging photography. This gives me a unique perspective on the evolution of photographic technology grounded in the tradition of old school craft. 

On this website you will find the companion sites for my books "Mastering Exposure"and "Skin", video and PDF tutorials, my Tarot card images, web galleries, blog and news about my upcoming seminars (see below). You will also find links to legacy pages on the Site Map. I also invite you to connect with me on  Facebook, Linkedin and Flickr

My new ebook "Quick Before They're Gone! A Photographers Guide to Backup" is now available on Kindle through Amazon! Of course you can always purchase the PDF version which displays very nicely on the iPad—I am now offering it at a reduced price to keep it more in line with the Kindle version, find the link in the sidebar at the right!

Lee Varis Seminars

Happy New Year! I will be participating in the international live webinar event 24 hr. Photoshop , Dates TBD. Register for free sessions or pay for all-access pass! 

Mastering B&W Workshop in Los Osos- Jun 13th-16th

Learn to pre-visualize and shoot for B&W photography from master photographer, author and digital guru, Lee Varis, then develop your B+W chops in the digital darkroom to create dramatic fine art images. Students will participate in guided shooting sessions in the picturesque locations around Los Osos and learn the technical ins and outs in the computer lab. Gain an in-depth knowledge of the principals of tone control using Photoshop and Nik Silver Efex Pro—topics covered include:

• Digital Zone System - pre-visualizing for contrast and tone
• Best RAW processing strategies for B&W
• B&W conversion techniques
• High-Pass Overlay techniques – Clarity on Steroids!
• Advanced Blending Options – selectively alter images without masking
• Color Toning - various techniques for adding color tones to B&W images
• Luminosity Blending - using B&W images to enhance the color originals
• Advanced techniques with Nik Silver Efex Pro that offer a range of looks in a comprehensive plugin.

Register Here

Creative Production PSCS6 Seminar Series

I will be traveling around the country for a series of full day seminar presentations on production fundamentals for the Photoshop professional. The proposed dates and locations are: 

postponed        Seattle

5/31/12        Philadelphia

6/28/12         NYC

7/19/12          Chicago

10/16/12      Toronto

See more details and register here. 

New Blog Post

See the latest blog post — Part Three of a three part examination of my latest photo safari in Death Valley - I examine Puppet Warp to fix bent panoramas in Photoshop

http://blog.varis.com/