International Workshops and Tours

Our Workshops and Tours are designed to do several things that make our trips unique for both Photographers and Non-photographers

• We teach you to do photography in an artful way; we go beyond just taking snapshots.
• We study the renowned photographers and other masters of art to learn how an artist:
  • engages the viewer with a strong focal point;
  • uses color and light to create a mood or atmosphere, reveal emotions, and tell a story;
• We ask you to think about how you respond to the art and ask you why.
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• The workshop is intended for ALL levels of skill. We start from the basics for those who are new to photography. For experienced photographers, the basics serve as a refresher of essential skills. As more advanced skills are introduced to the group, we offer one-on-one instruction, easily accomplished when the group is limited to 10 -12 participants.
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• Our trips are Workshops and Tours intentionally. We weave instruction into our daily excursions so that we enjoy our explorations as much as we learn more about photography. Each location becomes an opportunity to apply our artful eye in photography. The excursions and locations are selected for the enjoyment of both photographers and non-photographers.
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• Time is set aside on a daily basis to share favorite photographs—a fun and valuable way to improve photography skills. Non-photographers have enjoyed this just as much; in fact, some have decided to become photographers by trip’s end.
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• Tour activities are broad and varied and include non-photography activities such as making pasta, winemaking, and visiting artisans working on crafts and skills hundreds of years old.
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• We travel in a small group, allowing us to modify our itinerary to each group’s unique interests. We often travel in our own vans, giving us the freedom to choose how long we stay to explore any single area. We design our own itineraries, freeing us from the set schedules of a typical group tour with preset schedules and locations.
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• Our Workshops and Tours have taken us to China, Italy and Ireland in the last 3 years. Each year we offer two planned trips to different parts of the world. Previous workshops have been in China (Kunming and Shangri-La), Italy (Florence, Tuscany, Cinque-Terra, Pisa, Portofino, Parma, and Bologna), Ireland (Dublin, Dingle, The Ring of Kerry, Galway, and Connemara).
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One of our travelers commented on her experience: “Best of all, I see with new eyes. I credit you for that!”– Peggy Burks, workshop and tour participant in 2017

Costa Rica Photography Tour and Workshop

 

Join us for our 8th Workshop and Tour to Ireland, Sessions 1 and 2. Upcoming workshops are planned for The Wild Atlantic Way of Ireland, Mongolia, Costa Rica, The Dolomites in Italy, Faroe Islands, and Nepal.

IRELAND: Connemara, Dingle, Skellig-Michael Island, Ring of Kerry, The Beara Peninsula
Our 8th Photography Workshop and Tour has been rescheduled to September 26th of 2020 due to the Coronavirus. Please forgive us as we modify this workshop and tour as well as this page.

Join us for our revisit to the Wild Atlantic Way on the west coast of Ireland. Everyone had such a good time last year, we even have friends who came last year, coming again. We start this time on the rugged coast of Connemara, west of Galway. Home to the famous Connemara ponies, we begin our workshop and tour from the Dolphin Inn Beach House, located right on the Atlantic Ocean. 

 

 

 

Some Views From Our Last Workshop and Tour to Paris, Honfleur, Normandy, and Mont Saint-Michel in 2019.

The City of Light is also the city of art and is certainly a seminal home of the art of photography. Few cities have the wealth of art that Paris does. By exploring the art of the masters at some of the best art museums in the world, such as the Henri Cartier Bresson Foundation, where we see not only photographic history but will be challenged to open our minds to new photographic visions.

At the Musée d’Orsay, my favorite art museum, we have the opportunity to see how Matisse, Monet, and other masters use light, mood, and composition to create timeless art. Studying the art of the masters gives us roadmaps to consider in developing artful and impactful photography.

The art in the Jeu de Paume, the Musée National Picasso, and the Musée Rodin will challenge us to consider our point of view and treatment of light and shadow and how we balance shape and form in our photography.

The Paris streets become our blank slate to create our visions each day. We can walk along the Seine or explore the quiet paths below the busy Paris streets, as I did here when I photographed Aurelia.

Or we can simply create art with everyday icons we will find throughout Paris like the view of the Louvre Art Museum as seen through this incredible clock in the Musée d’Orsay.

After four full days of art and photography in Paris, we travel to the city of Honfleur, a quaint port town where the Seine meets the English Channel. Honfleur has a quiet French village ambience without the shopping glitz found in some ports. This will be our second home as we explore the coast of Normandy and the lands that the Normans invaded so long ago.

On our way to Honfleur, we will visit Claude Monet’s home and gardens at Giverny. We’ll spend a wonderful afternoon walking the paths throughout the gardens. You might be surprised to see that Monet’s gardens are much like his paintings—brightly-colored clumps of flowers somewhat untamed. Yet, Monet carefully designed his gardens so that he could paint them. For example, he created a pond and filled it with water lilies so he could capture the changing reflections on the pond’s surface.

From Honfleur we travel to the town of Rouen. It was here that Vikings settled and came to be known as Normans in the 10th century. William the Conqueror held court in Rouen, Richard the Lionheart was crowned Duke of Normandy in this town, and Joan of Arc met her demise on a funeral pyre here in 1431. Victor Hugo described as the city of ‘a hundred spires.” We will taste a bit of history when we eat at La Couronne, the oldest auberge, or inn, in France, dating back to 1345. It was here that Julia Child discovered the art of French cooking and declared her introduction to French gourmet food as “the most exciting meal of her life.”

Returning from Rouen to our hotel in Honfleur, we’ll stop to photograph the ruins of the Benedictine Abbey of Jumièges. Once internationally known as a center for learning, all that remains of this abbey founded in the 7th-Century are its walls.

The next day we head to Omaha Beach, the landing area in Normandy, where the Allied Invasion of WW II took place, June 6, 1944. This year marks the 75th Anniversary of one of the most hard-fought battles of WW II, where thousands lost their lives. We will see and learn all about the D Day fighting for the Allied Forces, the Germans, and the French with our own expert historic guide showing us where it all took place. We will reflect at a place of history few Americans have visited. 

On our way to the Normandy Beachhead we’ll travel the cider route of the region, stopping to sample Pommeau, Cider, and Calvados, the famous fermented apple ciders. In a country so well known for their wines, we will have the good fortune to taste cider that has no equal in the world.

Our final day trip will be to Mont Saint-Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Normandy. We’ll photograph this visually unforgettable island topped by a medieval monastery. The island has had strategic importance since ancient times and is surrounded by vast sandbanks. It only becomes an island at high tide.

Included is a full day photography class for new and intermediate photographers to get you ready. Final pricing for this once-in-a-lifetime trip will be $3750 per person double occupancy in small luxury hotels. The single occupancy rate is $4250. Travel will be in vans once we leave Paris. The last day we return to Paris for departures. The workshop and tour requires a $500 deposit to hold a space, refundable in the first 30 days. The costs include luxury accommodations, all breakfasts, and most dinners. Four dinners are left for you to experience on your own. All transportation costs in France and all entry fees are included. International airfare, lunches, and alcohol (except when provided) as well as personal costs are not included.