2017 Workshops

The details you need to know about our Multiple-Day workshops:

Acadia Images Photo Workshop Residence and Classroom

Acadia Images Photo Workshop Classroom and guesthouse

Our workshops are designed to emphasize personalized attention with a maximum of 6 participants.  For the 2017 season we are based out of our Seal Harbor location. The house features a classroom space for 6 with individual 24″ IPS screens, mice, and keyboards for use with your laptop. Accommodation is not included in the workshop but we do have four private rooms available for rent at our guesthouse.  Our landscape workshops generally features a 3 hour sunrise shoot, 4 hours of classroom lessons and hands on help, and 3 hours sunset shoot.  Weather and light may change our shoot times and duration. For our Night Sky workshops we are out shooting most of the night and do ~4 hours of processing in the afternoons.

Plan to arrive after lunch on the day of the workshop. If you are flying in you may want to arrive a day early, if you are renting a room let us know your ETA and we can usually accommodate early arrivals.  On the first day we’ll prepare you for either that evening’s or the next morning’s shoot.   Our daily schedule will be built around the photographer’s most important ally: light.  This means we will be up before the sun and at location (which could mean rousing out of bed as early as 4am on the summer solstice).  When you are on this kind of schedule it’s important to stay fueled so we encourage you to bring some light snacks: don’t let a growling stomach distract you from great light.  After lunch we will settle down in our classroom facilities in Seal Harbor for some lessons in digital developing with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

Spruce trees lean over a boulder filled brook

Spruce trees lean over a boulder filled brook, best photographed on an overcast day.

The middle of the day is usually too harshly lit for landscape photography and we encourage you to experience the culture and sights of Bar Harbor, or enjoy the National Park during this time.  If we have some quintessential foggy Maine weather we may forgo the sunrise and head out during a brighter part of the day to take advantage of the soft, even lighting. Our evening shoot time will once again depend on the sun.  The later part of the afternoons we will regroup and head out to explore the location.  In late June the sun sets far to the north at about 8pm.  It’s a great time to go to destinations farther afield , knowing that the walk home will be in the dark but can be taken slow.

Typically we start with a half-day in the afternoon and end the workshop with a morning shoot and a few hours of post-processing on the last day.  A 2-day course will be a combination of two afternoon/evening sessions and two sunrise/morning sessions.  Likewise the 3-day course features three mornings and three evenings.  Some of our workshops vary from this format and that information can be found in the full course description.

2017 Workshops:

  • Discovering Acadia 3-Day “Start of Summer” Workshop. June 8th – 11th, 2017. This is a complete workshop which covers key techniques to improving your photography, post-processing, and publishing options. $740
  •  Discovering Acadia 4-day “Fall Foliage” Workshop. Oct. 13th – 17th, 2017.  This is a complete workshop which covers key techniques to improving your photography, post-processing, and publishing options.  $980
  • Lightroom Weekend:  We focus on the workflow from import to export in Adobe Lightroom, covering basic to advanced development techniques.
    2-Day Workshop. $540 (Dates TBD.  Please express interest)
  • Panoramas: 4-Day workshop with co-instructor Aaron Priest. Everything you need to know about panoramas!  September 17th – 21st, 2017.  $1500
  • HDR Clinic: Overcome exposure challenges in both realistic and surreal ways. Please express interest
  • Tilt-Shift Clinic:  Ever played around with a tilt-shift lens?  They are an optical oddity, but extremely powerful tool. Please express interest

 

Panoramas:

Night Sky Photography:

  • Night Sky Timelapse: Capture the movements of the celestial bodies in this 3-Day/Night Workshop instructor Aaron Priest. $1500
  • Night Photography with the Stars: Join both Mike Taylor and Aaron Priest for an in-depth course on capturing the night sky, shooting in the dark, and advanced post-processing.  3-Day/Night Workshop .  $1999

 

Refund Policy: We offer a full refund minus processing fees (if applicable, e.g. Paypal fees) for cancellations 60 days or more prior to workshop.  Please inform us as early as possible of you can not attend as planned. Cancellation 60 days or less prior to the start of the workshop the registration fee is non-refundable but may be credited toward a future workshop.  There is no refund for ‘less-than-ideal’ weather:  all weather can make great images.

Who should attend:

  • Nature photographers interested in the Maine coast environment.
  • All levels of photographers can benefit from our local knowledge and field experience. If you are a new to owning a camera we may be able to tailor a course specifically for your needs, please contact us.
  • People interested in the thought process behind a successful photo.
  • Those interested in developing a collection of images that can be coalesced into a presentation format (exhibit, book, slide show, web gallery).
  • Field-oriented learners. There will be review and discussion of your images in our classroom space. These workshops offer post-processing instruction for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.
  • Moderately fit. Walks of approximately 1 mile are possible, though the uneven terrain of the coastal ledges is much more challenging.

What the workshop covers:

  • Camera settings for digital capture.
  • The basics of photography: communication, focus, lighting, composition, and exposure.
  • Analyzing a scene and finding a composition that captures its essence.
  • How to match the type of light to the appropriate subject.
  • The mental checklist for creating an attractive image.
  • Lightroom workflow, basics and advanced digital developing.
  • Ways to plan for post-processing while in the field.
  • An overview of the environmental diversity found in Acadia National Park.
The night sky over the silhouettes of trees Acadia National Park

The night sky over the silhouettes of trees, Acadia National Park

Photographic habits to take home:

  • A collection of techniques that will elevate your photographic skills.
  • Succinct mental checklist for making effective images.
  • Attentiveness to detail that will allow your images to hold up to close examination.

What to bring:

  • Camera, lenses, and filters.
  • Memory cards. Maybe a portable hard drive to backup image files on.
  • Tripod, if you have one. A tripod is highly recommended all of our workshops, especially for the Wildflower and Gardens workshop.
  • Laptop with image editing software, Adobe Lightroom suggested.
  • Wet weather gear for you and your camera (heavy-duty plastic bags and umbrellas are available for your use). And let’s hope that you don’t need either.
  • Footwear for hiking and a pair of sandals for walking in water.
  • Flashlights, particularly headlamps are useful for getting to and from locations in the dark. We have some available, and recommend the Petzl Tikka® Plus 2 or Black Diamond® Spot, or any other lights that feature a red-light mode.
Foggy reflections of maple trees

Foggy reflections of maple trees

What to expect:

  • Unpredictable weather. Be prepared for fog and rain. Summers are mostly good weather, but it wouldn’t be Maine without the chance for some foggy or rainy days.
  • Hikes that require proper footwear. Also, time around lakes and streams that may require getting wet feet.
  • The rocky coast can be dangerous. Rough, uneven, and unstable rocks can pose a challenge, as well as slippery seaweed. Steep drops and cliffs are common.
  • Conventional meal times are disruptive to photographers’ schedules. Breakfast and lunch is participant’s responsibility, as are dinners which should be taken early or late…not in the hour just before or just after sunset.

What is NOT included:

  • Accommodation is participant’s responsibility.  You are welcome to book a room at our facility or seek hotel or airbnb accommodations. Local hotels fill up fast so book early. Bar Harbor, Otter Creek, and Northeast Harbor are the most convenient locations to stay, but anywhere on Mount Desert Island is good. Ellsworth, which has more affordable accommodations, is at least a 30 minute drive.
  • Meals are participant’s responsibility
  • Transportation. We suggest car-pooling and can help coordinate. The park offers a free shuttle bus, but it does not run on a photographer’s schedule.
  • Entrance fee to the National Park $25/7-day car pass.
  • Guarantee of ‘good’ weather. There is always something to shoot in Acadia, rain or shine.

 

Classroom space for 6 students. Individual 24" IPS screens, mouse and keyboard.

Classroom space for 6 students. Individual 24″ IPS screens, mouse and keyboard.

Room B HDR resize

Room c HDR resize