It’s been a busy, challenging and fun summer.

My summer weekend workshops at Winterthur, Chanticleer and the Chicago Botanical Garden all sold out and got rave reviews; now return visits are on the drawing board. My recent illustrated lectures at The New York Botanical/Zoological Photographic Society and The Westchester Photographic Society attracted large crowds and I’ve been asked to come back in the spring.

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

I will be at the New York Botanical Garden on October 3, doing a one-day workshop
on “The Power of Natural Light;” and again on October 24-25 for a weekend workshop
on “Photographing Fabulous Fall Flowers.” The first will help you analyze and utilize any lighting situation you may encounter and the second will focus on the amazing annual Kiku Exhibition of Japanese chrysanthemums, as well as the lush floral borders around the grounds. For details and to register, go to http://conted.nybg.org/conted.php?cat_id=10048&level_id=ALL, then scroll down to find these listings.

On October 9-11, I will be at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington D.C. to offer a “Flower & Sculpture Photography” workshop.

We’ll start with a illustrated lecture on Friday evening, which is open to the public. Then we will spend the weekend immersed in exploring basic and advanced floral close-up photography techniques, as well as finding imaginative ways to photograph sculpture in this capital garden setting.

During two Saturdays at the peak of autumn color, on October 31 and November 7, I’ll be giving a photo workshop at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden called “Capturing Fall Foliage with a Digital Camera.” This workshop is filling up quickly. 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.

On November 1, I will offer a one-day workshop, “Fall Foliage at the New York Botanical Garden,” for Workshops@Adorama, the huge camera and electronics supply store on 18th St. in Manhattan. The workshop includes a review session on November 8. For details and to register, go to http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=WS_AllenRokach_110109.

My fall plans will be capped with lectures/workshops I will give on three very exciting Travel Dynamics International cruises. The first two are parts of “From the Shores of Morocco to Patagonia: A Grand Voyage to West Africa, the Cape Verde Islands, and South America,” starting Nov. 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.

The first leg of this voyage, which goes until Rio de Janeiro, is being co-sponsored by the International Center of Photography. In addition to the general lectures, ICP participants will get special on-site photographic instructions plus individual consultations and group critiques. For details and to register, go to the ICP website at http://shopping.icp.org/school/continuing/course.html?category_id=24&product_id=32239.

The second leg of the voyage goes from Rio de Janeiro to Patagonia. Then the third cruise, which immediately follows these two, is “Antarctica Discovery” starting Dec. 10.

I hope you will be able to join me at some point on these exciting learning cruises. It was great fun to meet so many avid photographers and offer lectures and photography instruction on my previous cruise with Travel Dynamics International, “Fabled Islands of the Mediterranean: From Barcelona to Athens.” By the end of that cruise, everyone’s photography improved – even those who only had simple point-and-shoot cameras, and at the end of the cruise, all participants received a memory stick with images all of us had taken. Contact me if you have any questions.