Interest in a photo workshop?

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Here is a thought. Looking for level of interest.

One of the best ways to learn photography is to attend a workshop. The way this works is that a skilled photographer with knowledge of specific setting sets up the workshop. People then pay $1,000 to $10,000 depending location and expense to accompany that expert and learn from him how to shoot. Unfortunately, a lot of people have set up shop this way, charging a lot of money from students funding them taking pictures and making extra money to boot.

So while it can be a learning experience to go to photo workshop, you need to do a lot of research to make sure you are not just a person with dollar sign on your forehead :).

Idea I have is that we pick an interest place and type of imagery to shoot. I and other people with better skill than me in photography come as participants and teachers. We get to have some fun and bonding time together :D. And it wouldn't cost you the workshop fee above to learn.

Typical photo trip is 3+ days to make it worth the travel expense and such. For local shooting in US, would be there from say, Friday through Monday. With good light being early in the morning and late in the afternoon, we will have two sessions per day. Nights can be spent reviewing people's shots and advice on what to do better the next day.

Here are some suggested options:

1. Wildlife. As you some of you have seen, this is one of the areas I like to shoot. Winter time is great as there are lots and lots of opportunities to shoot. We can go to warm places like Florida or exotic places in asia. Or frigid but quite lovely such as Yellowstone which can be magnificent and quiet this time of year. And places in between such as cranes in New Mexico.

Requirement for this one though is at least one serious telephoto lens. We are talking 400mm+. You can rent these for $50 to $70/day and usually can get a deal for the weekend rental. Purchase price is in $2,000 to $10,000 range. Two camera bodies would be good. Tripod and right ball head to carry the heavy lenses is a must.

2. Landscape. I love this too. Opportunities this time of year are more limited but still exist. Grand Canyon is quiet and nice. But we could wait until spring also and hit flowers in various places like Texas. I don't know of as many good places here as much as I know wildlife so we would need suggestions from other members.

Camera equipment needs are more modest. While telephoto lenses can be quite useful, my go-to lenses are zooms from wide angle to about 400mm. Tripod is necessary but is lighter variety due to lower weight to carry. I suspect if you have a decent camera and lens, you are good to go already.

To wet your appetite, here are the kind of images you could capture :):

Florida:


New Mexico:


Southern California (Newport beach area)


Yellowstone


Landscapes:

Yellowstone Winter:


Skagit Valley in spring (1 hour north of Seattle) Tulip festival:


Spring Cherry Blossom festival in Japan:


So what say you? Do you want to learn more about photography during the day and talk audio/video at night? If so, can you spare a few days and handle the expense?
 

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
3,947
306
1,670
Monument, CO
Sounds great, though out of reach for me at the moment. There are a lot of companies doing this (see various adverts in the usual magazines plus NAPP journal and such) but maybe it could turn into a chance to meet with friends. We could spend evenings listening to some sound good systems -- I volunteer Steve's! ;)

I must not-so-humbly note that the Colorado Rockies are pretty nice, and the spring flowers are gorgeous. - Don
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
Colorado is wonderful. I have a lot of great fall pictures from there but not spring. Would love to shoot more there.

I don't have hardly any online other than this one I created with a square aspect ratio for another purpose. The original is much nicer:

 

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
3,947
306
1,670
Monument, CO
While the Aspens and scrub oak are nice in the fall, I have to admit that for fall colors the midwest and eastern forests have us beat... But, it's harder to get pix with snow-capped peaks rising jaggedly behind then there! :)
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I wish, I wish, I wish............
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Jack, are there good wildlife sanctuaries in Philippines? If so, we could come to you!!!

To be honest I haven't checked for terrestrial sanctuaries but we do have some of the best underwater photography sites in the world. I'll see what I can come up with. :)
 

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