Spectacular New Mexico

August 17–25, 2013 | Harvey Stein

New Mexico has been described as a place of inviolate, pristine beauty, engendering an almost spiritual feeling for the land and the overwhelming sense of peacefulness. Since the 1880s, photographers and artists—Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, Laura Gilpin, Eliot Porter—have been irresistibly drawn to the incredible landscape, brilliant clear light, and rich Native American heritage. Join us for a photographic adventure based at an historic hacienda in Taos, one of the first European settlements in the United States. Taos is a many-faceted city: frontier outpost, Hispanic village, growing art center, and small Western town. Our private van will transport the group to the lofty peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the spectacular scenery of the Rio Grange Gorge, and the wondrous hills of O'Keeffe’s Ghost Ranch area. We will photograph Native American pueblos, adobe structures, historic churches, and local festivals and spend a day exploring Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico (like going back in time forty years). Instruction covers strategies of approaching strangers and the appropriate lens choices, as well as issues of landscape photography, portraiture, and photographing in all kinds of available light. The workshop is open to all levels of photographers who have a good working knowledge of their cameras. Moderate hiking and walking are required in this fast-paced, information-packed workshop. Limited to 14 participants.

Workshop fee: $2,700. Fee includes 8 nights of lodging (double occupancy; $700 extra for single supplement), all breakfasts, most lunches, and one welcome dinner. A nonrefundable $500 deposit must accompany your registration to reserve a space. Placement is on a first come, first serve basis so we urge early registration. Upon receipt of registration, participants will receive an information packet with travel suggestions and recommended material to bring. The workshop begins on Saturday evening, August 17, in time for a welcome dinner, and concludes on Sunday morning, August 25.

Full payment due June 17. REGISTER ONLINE.

India: A Photographer's Dream

October 6–20, 2013 | Jay Seldin

Join us for an "Incredible India" photo experience. Culturally fascinating and incredibly diverse in terms of habitats, scenery, and wildlife, India is a mystical country in which colors abound. Photograph its people, its ancient temples and mosques, within cities and villages like you've never seen before. See the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and experience the land where the maharajas played. Ride an elephant to the Amber Fort in Jaipur (known as the "Pink City") in Rajasthan. Photograph Varanasi, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and life on the sacred Ganges River. Travel back in time while exploring the tea plantations of Darjeeling, the holy state of Sikkim where the Dali Lama resides, and the deserts of Rajasthan. Our trips begins and ends in Delhi.

The workshop fee of $6,895 includes 15 days/14 nights of accommodations (double occupancy with private bath and breakfast), all breakfasts, four lunches and four dinners, tuition, field trips, an additional English-speaking local photography guide, ground transportation with air-conditioned buses, and airport transfers throughout India when needed. Single-room supplements are available to early registrants on request for an additional $1,900. If we cannot pair you with a roommate, we will assign you a single room and add the room supplement fee to your final bill. The cost of the flight from your destination city to India is NOT included in the cost of this photo workshop. All internal flights within India will cost an additional $500 (approximately) and are NOT included in land costs.

REGISTER ONLINE.

Venetian Light & Life—From Within: An 11-Day Digital Photography Workshop Featuring Adobe Lightroom 4

October 7–17, 2013 | George Jardine

Join George Jardine, former Adobe Pro Photography Evangelist, in Venice for a power-packed digital photography workshop, designed to strengthen technique and skill and to nurture years of creative inspiration. Participants learn the fundamentals of shooting RAW file images as well as Lightroom 4's extensive capabilities for image editing, organization, and optimization (anybody preferring to use Photoshop over Lightroom can do so with Adobe Camera Raw). Jardine will help you expand your photographic vision and perfect your technique in sessions that offer demonstrations, assignments, presentations, field trips, and group critiques. Participants will create their most compelling images as we explore all aspects of Venice. On field trips, we cruise the golden-hued lagoon to visit secret gardens and private venues. We dine at the famous Gatto Nero Ristorante on the island of Burano and indulge in Venice's signature tapas and wine treats. The 2013 Venice Biennale is a short boat ride away. This 11-day immersion in Italian life, landscape, art, and food provides priceless photography and visual stories to last a lifetime. Lodging (double occupancy with private bath and breakfasts) is at a private, fully modernized Renaissance cultural center in culture-rich Dorsoduro, with inner courtyards, gardens, air-conditioned interiors, and Internet. Or, for a supplement, participants can choose to stay at a nearby three-star luxury hotel.

For more information, visit www.italyphotoworkshops.org.

The workshop fee of $4,250 includes the following: lodging, welcoming reception and dinner, classroom tuition, critiques, private consults with instructor and assistants, field trips, free boat transportation on the vaporetti, lunch on Burano, and a banquet on the last evening. Double rooms for single use are available to early registrants on request, for a supplement. Guest/companion fee is $3,250.

While our workshops attract everybody from passionate amateurs to working professionals, we highly recommend having at least one year of experience with a computer. The visiting artist and guest instructor may change without notice. A nonrefundable $500 tuition deposit is required upon registration.

Full payment is due July 1. REGISTER ONLINE.

The Mystical Land of Myanmar (a.k.a. Burma)

February 7–20, 2014 | Jay Seldin

This is a golden moment for travel to Myanmar. Optimism permeates the country, akin to what Vietnam experienced in the late 1990s. This extraordinary workshop includes excursions to exquisite temples, pagodas, and archaeological sites, and visits with amazing tribal people in their villages. Some of the cities and villages we will visit during our 13-day excursion: Yangon, Bagan, Inle Lake, Amarapura, Nyaung U, among others. If you've never heard of these places...well, that's the point. But the most important part of this workshop is getting out every day to meet new people and photographing them in their villages among archaeological and sacred Buddhist pilgrimage sites. Wander back in time and discover the beauty of this mystical land for yourself. Our photo workshop leader and travel expert, photographer Jay Seldin, has researched the most unique locations and less traveled roads to make your photo experience a memorable one. We will be working with some of the best English-speaking Burmese guides in the country. Student critiques and instruction will be offered during the evenings as time permits. Novice to advanced photographers are welcome.

The workshop fee of $6,495 includes 14 days/13 nights of accommodations (double occupancy with private bath and all meals) plus tuition, field trips, an additional English-speaking local photography guide, several internal air transfers to all our destinations (worth over $1,200), ground transportation with air-conditioned buses, and airport transfers throughout Myanmar when needed. Single-room supplements are available to early registrants on request for an additional $1,495. If we cannot pair you with a roommate, we will assign you a single room and add the room supplement fee to your final bill. Round-trip airfare from your home departure city to Yangon, Myanmar, is NOT included in your tuition. Participants should NOT book their flights to Myanmar until the trip has been approved. Enrollment is limited to 15 participants.

A nonrefundable deposit of $1,000 is required to hold your place. Register by June 15, 2013. Full payment is due by November 1, 2013. REGISTER ONLINE.