You do not "take" a great photograph,
you "make" it!

If you take your photography seriously, this is the workshop that can take it over the top.

Serious photographers have an intimate relationship with light. They know everything there is to know about it, and have learned to dance with it - when to follow and when to lead.

For the most part, Light does what it does and we can figure out when to show up for the performance and make the most of it.

But the better you know light, the more you understand where there are opportunities to exert your will a bit and coax the light into doing things your way for a moment or two.

Knowing both when to show up and when to lead the dance, makes a great photographer great.

We will work and play very hard together. We will learn all about the most important component of photography - light. We will make and/or buy inexpensive toys and tools so we can use the tricks and techniques of the pros.

We will push our creative approach to subjects as well. We will learn the secrets of great people photography and great landscape photography. And even how to set up a rudimentary indoor studio. We will get up very early in the morning sometimes, and devote an entire day to our lesson at least once.

In other words, this workshop will be challenging on every level - as is the "art" of photography. But every bit of effort feels justified when you see just one of your photos hit that special mark of excellence - and you know that you made that happen - on purpose.

Required Equipment:
Your camera can be either fixed lens or DSLR, but must have all the manual controls we learned about in ADP.

You must have a tripod. A cable release or remote is an added bonus, but you can use the self- timer function as a substitute.

You must have your camera manual and/or the digital version of it so you can find controls.

You must have a Circular Polarizing filter if one is available for your camera. If there isn't one, you will at least learn all about them.

You must have Photoshop, Elements, or PSP. This will not be a big Photoshop content course, but we will use it where appropriate to our lessons.

We will gather and use (and make) various props and lighting aids and other toys that will help us get where we are going. Improvisation is the gift of all real photographers.

This course is not for fly-by shooting. It is all about being (or at least acting like) a *real* photographer - which means you are in it for the *art* and will give your photograph the same type of attention you would give an oil painting or an elaborate collage project or making a beautiful handmade book. You get absorbed in it - at least for the moment. The devil is in the details - and that's also where you will find the angels sing.

Want to be a great photographer? This is the path.

Schedule:
Lesson/Assignments are posted on Fridays. Assignments are completed and uploaded by the following Thursday for review by the Instructor. Otherwise, scheduling is your own.