We believe that the hosts or the instructors drive that for the most part and managed properly, it allows the participants to relax and be themselves. Even with a group of strangers.
How do we drive that? It’s a simple one word answer. PASSION. We are very passionate about sharing the art and technique of picture making. We look for the artist in each individual and nurture it through out the workshop, building confidence and know how. We know every one learns differently and we’ll work with you at your own speed to help drive the points home and establish good continual habits as you grow and learn.
For 3 years in a row we have had a great time, the weatherman has thrown a blizzard at us once that laid down a bunch of snow and heavy drifting. We still move on, because what's a winter workshop without snow? In this coming workshop, we are going to be photographing more structures such as barns and old churches in their winter uniforms in SW Wisconsin. Some new ones and some repeats by popular demand.
There are many picturesque structures in this area and the terrain is anything but flat so the area around them is beautiful. Add a fewe inches of snow, and we have the makings of some lovely images. Last year we had falling snow and while is does pose a few challenges, we learned how to decide what looked we liked and then how to apply it in the camera. The feedback was very positive. Hidden in these valleys are barns, churches, a schoolhouse, and of course the famous grist mill with a stone dam that you may have seen on my IG site. All the makings for lovely winter scenes.
I do not know yet what our access is going to be for the second day. Many of the properties we visit and walk inside and around the buildings have seen a change in status like ownership or structural safety. While I'm still attempting to nail this down I didn't want to wait until too deep into the season to post this. The goal is still the same, an almost full day outside and a 1/2ish day inside a few of these structures. I know some folks can't do both days and I understand it so this is a one-day or a two-day workshop, your choice. So you will have options to register for day 1, or 2, or both
Itinerary********
The weather may cause us to make a few adjustments, but what's a winter workshop without adjustments? So minor details may be tweaked but I'll communicate all the details again to those who register. I cannot guarantee snow either, but we will still have the workshop and take advantage of whatever weather we receive.
So here's the plan. Saturday the 20th will be the "outside day" but also the day with the most locations. There is a very high probability we will have better access than just shooting from the road for a few of them as well. The plan will be to meet at 10:00 AM and I’ll get that location out to the participants after registration, but it will be in or around Dodgeville, WI. We’ll begin a methodical trek to the various locations making the best use of lighting and sun angle if applicable that day. Again, weather-dependent, we'll try to do a sunset shoot and then see what evening options are available for dinner. The location where we have been eating dinner has changed hands. According to Facebook, they said they are going to be making many changes. I need to reach out to them and see what their ability is to handle a crowd. I don't mind saying it has been really slow but fabulous service. But it did through off a few who wanted to eat and drive home. So that's a priority for me.
Sunday
We'll start a little earlier, 8:00 AM. We'll shoot a couple of locations then head to the insides of a few barns. These locations are special and not usually open for just anyone to come on the property, let alone hang out and take photos. Besides the obvious shots of the barn and the surrounding area, we'll also focus our attention on macro, and textures photography. Now if none of you have ever been in a barn, you may be surprised how little light is actually in them. If you have a small battery powered LED panel or another light source, you may want to consider bringing it for some of the texture shots. We'll be looking to wrap up the day around 1:00 PM
A little bit about the weather. For those of you who have done winter workshops with me, you'll know I don't cancel them for snowy forecasts, winter storm warnings, or even snowmageddon. Mainly because that's life in the upper Midwest. It snows in the winter. The more snow the better for the photos. Now, I'm not going to make reckless decisions, I don't have a death wish. If the weather is challenging enough I may adjust the location list on the day of the event, mainly because we are driving slower for safety purposes so in order to hit the best stops we may skip a site or two. Chances are you won't even know that unless I tell you during dinner. So plan on going, plan your travel based on the forecast, and pay attention to the forecast 3-4 days ahead of time. Registered participants will receive updates from me based on my observations as well. I will communicate with you and ensure you are informed about any cautions or changes. Safety is paramount. Personal Comfort... well dress properly and the rest will take care of itself.
Caravaning: AKA Car Pooling. Some of the roads we'll be traveling are secondary roads. Because of this, there is minimal snow removal and in some cases no shoulder to park on. So to minimize the number of vehicles I will be asking you to carpool once we meet in the morning. So if you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle and are willing to take 3 or 4 participants please make that known to me somehow. We'll divvy up the spaces in the vehicles in the morning and come back to your vehicle at the end of the workshop. The fewer vehicles the better. Other than shoulder parking most stops have no parking.
Lodging-Details will be shared with participants.
Event Date | Jan-20-2024 |
Event End Date | Jan-21-2024 |
Capacity | 30 |
Individual Price | From $165 |
Experience Level | Novice, Beginner, Amateur, Advanced Amateur, Professional |
Location | Iowa County, WI |
Ticket Type | Price |
---|---|
Saturday Only | $165.00 |
Sunday Only | $165.00 |
Both Saturday and Sunday | $230.00 |
In an attempt to allow registration to begin well in advance for your planning, you may see the "hold my spot" deposit.
This allows us to publish a workshop before all our final preparations have been determined. The dates are secure, as well as the location. All of the major components are in place with one exception, lodging costs. Usually, the cost of lodging is the biggest variable and is also updated by the vendor well after we would like to begin taking registrations. The price you see does not include any lodging increase but it was the pricing from the previous year, we have not finalized the cost for the upcoming offering. We feel it is important for the lodging to be included because we know we can guarantee a better rate and keeping the whole crew at the same hotel builds continuity and camaraderie. Until we have the exact pricing, we'll offer this deposit to allow folks to register sooner to ensure your spot for this exciting workshop. When we have the exact pricing, we switch to a half-pay or full-pay option and apply the deposit toward that payment. This "hold my spot" deposit is NOT refundable unless the workshop sells out or you find a replacement who attends in your place. In this case, your refund will be delivered after the start of the workshop. *** If the option to "hold my spot" is not shown on the registration page, then the pricing is established and confirmed for the represented workshop.***
The refund policy is:
If you find a person to fill your spot or if there is a waiting list and the spot is filled, you will qualify for a full refund regardless of when the spot is filled.
There is no refund within 30 days unless you find someone to fill your spot or there is a waiting list and the spot is filled for you.
Refunds do not include the non-refundable down payment if applicable.(i.e. hold my spot)
Tony and Keith have taught groups as large as 50-100 people for organizations as large as Out of Chicago, or The Florida Camera Club Counsel but their real love is in smaller boutique groups of 10-12. Jointly, they have an overall combined photography experience of over 60 years and together over 20 years of teaching experience in such places as the East Coast and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the farmlands of eastern Iowa and Wisconsin, numerous venues in Illinois, around the Great Lakes, the ruins of North Dakota, Cowboy and Badlands photography in South Dakota, the coasts of Oregon and California, Southwest Colorado, and the area around Moab.
Keith’s style leans more on the practical and technical side since he owned a camera store and is a full-time commercial photographer. Tony’s forte is in acting as the field dog, once on site. He loves pointing out compositions, big or small, that the average person misses.
Each in their own way are fabulous and gifted instructors. Together, they bring different strengths, many years of teaching experience, and a true love of photography to anyone who signs up for the workshops.
As a kid, Tony built model ships and planes, was into ham radio and erector sets. He has always loved creating stuff with lots of parts. Therefore, it is easy to see how the digital darkroom was a natural for him. A second love was the outdoors, whether it was sailing, hiking or skiing. Tony’s affinity for landscape comes as no surprise. Lastly, he has spent the major part of his business career either consulting in business or counseling people on their careers. He has probably spent over 40 years helping and teaching others. When you add these three avocations together, you find a very good teaching photographer.
He has been really serious about photography for over 20 years. In 2006 he started a small side venture to sell his images and teach Photoshop. Shortly after the Great Recession, he sold his national search company and became a full-time photographer. Currently he wears two hats. The first is for the commercial side where he works with a global real estate investment organization, covering their conferences as well as producing landscape and architectural imaging. The second is teaching photographic composition and post production through presentations, workshops and one-on-one tutoring. In 2019, he moved from Chicago to the Northern California area. His new neighborhood images may reflect fewer corn fields and more vineyards. His teaching philosophy continues to be: “if we are not having fun as you learn, we are wasting time”.
Keith is currently a Commercial Photographer in the Greater Chicago Area specializing in visual communication for marking and advertising.
Many novices and amateur photographers begin their love affair with photography in nature. Keith was no different. After completing military flight school he realized he will be going to some interesting places and should probably learn to use a good camera. A few years after learning how to operate his camera Keith took a tour of the Smokey Mountains in the early spring, the camera opportunities were abundant in all directions. He was hooked. Not yet a full time photographer, Keith carried his cameras everywhere while on active military duty, Asia, Europe, Australia, both US Coasts, the desert southwest, and Canada. At the same time, Keith was getting requests to photograph people, products, and events, and saw each new opportunity to branch out into other aspects of photography. After 18 years of self-teaching, and mentoring under professional photographers, Keith became the owner of an existing retail camera store and photo studio in 2002 and used that opportunity to accelerate his now professional career in studio photography. It wasn't long before camera classes were being held at the store to share the passion on a regular basis. Comfortable in front of a class from his military days Keith has had hundreds of customers take his beginning photography class. An experienced outdoors-men and land navigator trained by the Marine Corps, and an experienced teaching photographer make the transition to this type of outdoor, moving classroom a natural progression.