My summer workshop season is winding down and I’m happy to report it was a big success.

It was great fun to meet so many avid photographers and offer lectures and photography instruction on the Travel Dynamics International cruise, “Fabled Islands of the Mediterranean: From Barcelona to Athens.” Everyone’s photography improved and at the end of the cruise, all participants received a memory stick with images all of us had taken.

I spent a week in Iceland and fell in love with its majestic landscapes, fascinating geology—that was my first career before I got hooked on photography—and profuse birdlife. I’m looking into going back to do a photo workshop next summer. Contact me if you are interested.

My summer weekend workshops at Winterthur, Chanticleer and the Chicago Botanical Garden all sold out and got rave reviews.

Now I am gearing up for a new series of learning opportunities for you this fall. Here’s what will be happening in the weeks ahead:

• First, I’m off to Alaska in mid-August to shoot the huge floral arrangements that hang from lampposts around Anchorage, a signature feature of this city. I’ll also be scouting garden and wildflower locations in fabulous mountain settings for a very special week-long summer workshop next year. Stay tuned and contact me if an Alaska workshop would interest you.
• Monday, September 7 is not just Labor Day. It’s also the day of the wildly colorful and exciting Caribbean Day Parade in Brooklyn. If you want to come along for a “Meet and Shoot” learning opportunity, contact me for the details.
• The New York Botanical/Zoological Photographic Society has invited me to give an illustrated lecture on “Photographing Flora and Fauna Around the World” on Saturday, September 12 starting at 10 a.m. at Fordham Prep. I’ll be showing my images of wildflowers, birds and animals taken on my assignments and journeys around the world. If you want to come to this presentation, contact Veronica Saunders at [email protected] for details.

The Power of Natural Light

 

• The Westchester Photographic Society has asked me to give an illustrated lecture on “The Power of Natural Light” on Friday, September 25 starting at 8 p.m. at Westchester Community College, Valhalla, N.Y. The presentation will focus on analyzing the qualities of light—intensity, direction and color—and how to make the most of every kind of light throughout the day and the year using your digital camera. If you want to attend this lecture, contact Mano Orel at [email protected] for details.

Flower and Sculpture Photography

 

• Newly Added!. At the US Botanical Garden we’ll be exploring basic and advanced close-up photography techniques with a “Flower & Sculpture Photography” workshop, from October 10-11.
• I’ll be doing a photo workshop at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden called “Capturing Fall Foliage with a Digital Camera,” during the peak of autumn color on two Saturdays—Oct. 31 and Nov. 7. For a full description and registration information, go to http://www.bbg.org /edu/adult/, scroll down to Oct. 31 and click on the + on the left.

 

My fall plans will be capped with lectures/workshops I will give on two very exciting Travel Dynamics International cruises: “From the Shores of Morocco to Patagonia: A Grand Voyage to West Africa, the Cape Verde Islands, and South America,” starting Nov. 10; followed by “Antarctica Discovery” starting Dec. 10. My focus in these lectures will be on nature and travel photography because we will be seeing some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes—from huge sand dunes to frozen glaciers - plus lots of exotic birds, and many historic destinations and distinctive peoples.