2024 Winter Landscape Photography Workshop - Jan 20 & 21

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.