Acadia National Park Photo Workshop, October 14-19
Beaver Dam Pond, October 2016
For years, I've been working on putting together my own photography workshop in Acadia National Park off the coast of northeast Maine. For one reason or another, I've never gotten it off the ground, though I've had interest from several people all over the country. Well, that's all about to change. I'm helping to co-lead a large group of photographers in early October, but that trip is now full. I am accepting participants into my own workshop in mid-October though.
I'll be running my first Acadia photo tour/ workshop, from October 14-19th. This will be a small group, probably 4-8 people tops. You'll be staying at my favorite hotel in Bar Harbor and spending each day out in the national park, visiting some of my favorite sites, shooting from dawn til dusk and receiving personal instruction from me. In the evenings we'll get together to look over the day's pictures, and I'll teach you some of my favorite techniques for processing your images. If you're interested in joining me, send me an email asap and let me know you're interested. I'm anticipating these few spots will fill pretty quickly.
Images of Acadia Photo Tour/ Workshop... $1895
Price includes accommodation as well as transportation around the Park each day. If you look at most other Acadia photo workshops, accommodation and transportation are an additional cost, so this is one of the most affordable photo workshops in Acadia. Hotels near Acadia are not cheap, so several days' lodging can add up to $1000 to your total cost. Breakfast is included at the hotel, but you'll need to cover your lunch and dinner expenses. And if enough people arrive at Bangor Airport about the same time, I'll pick you up and bring you to the hotel. I want this to be a trip where you don't have to worry about all the extras, but where you can concentrate on your photography and making art with your camera.
I'll rent a van or car to get us around to all the sites. You're free to bring your own, or rent a car, but I'll be driving us around to take the burden of transportation from you if you choose. And by traveling together, I'm hoping we can build camaraderie and learn from each other as we compare notes, pictures and 'talk shop.' The idea is to learn not just from me, but from each other and our different backgrounds and experience in photography.
A typical day will start about 6am when we head out for our first sunrise location (the sun comes up at 6:54am). We'll come back into town for breakfast at the hotel then back into the park until we break for lunch in a nearby town. After the sun goes down around 6pm, we'll head back to Bar Harbor and have dinner together at one of the town's great restaurants. Then you can wander around the town for a while– Bar Harbor is full of souvenir shops, bookshops and more– before we return to the hotel for the night. If you're still awake and there's interest, I can go through some of the techniques I use to process my images and answer any questions you have.
What sort of camera do I need to have?? I would say any D-SLR (interchangeable lens) camera is sufficient. You don't have to have the latest, greatest camera or lenses. But a camera that can be set manually is a big plus. I'll teach you how to use manual exposure for most of your pictures, and how to use aperture and shutter speed to create art with your camera. A tripod is a must too. Recently, I've begin using my iPhone for simple grab shots and have been enjoying that- I can share some of my insights with you. I'll be sending you a list of what gear I bring and some suggestions for any extras you may want to purchase before the trip, like filters and even appropriate clothing to bring.
What's the weather like at that time of the year? I generally find it to be quite comfortable in mid-October. I've seen it get into the 70's but I've also been bitterly cold waiting for the sun to rise on top of Cadillac Mountain, with wind chills probably in the low 20's. But typically, the temperatures are in the 50's or 60's during the day. I generally see rain only once or twice a week during October, though if it rains more often, we'll just have to deal with it!
Is there a lot of hiking? Generally speaking, no. Most locations are pretty close to the road or parking areas, though we probably will walk into the woods a little or maybe take a carriage trail into the heart of Acadia. But we will definitely be climbing over rocks along the coast. Nothing strenuous, but bring sturdy hiking boots- street shoes won't cut it here.
If you have any other questions, let me know, and I'll also be adding to this page as I think of additional things to include.
I hope to see some of you in October!