Dear Fellow Shutterbug,

Photographically, it’s been an amazing year and it looks like next year will be even better.

I was thrilled to do spring photography workshops at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington D.C., then the wildflowers of Texas, followed by fabulous orchids and spring bulbs at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, all capped off by a very successful new 5-day workshop called “Great Gardens of the Mid-Atlantic Region,” which took participants to Chanticleer, Winterthur, Longwood Gardens, and Mount Cuba.

Over the summer, Anne and I had a terrific – and challenging — month-long visit to Alaska exploring all the national parks, even such remote ones as Kobuk Valley, Gates of the Arctic and Wrangell-St. Elias. I’m still editing the thousands of images I shot. I’ll let you know when I’ve posted them in “New Shoots.” I returned to another favorite destination, the Chanticleer Pleasure Garden, for a weekend workshop on ‘Digital Photography as Art.” Then Anne and I headed to Trinidad & Tobago to scout those islands for an upcoming travel photography workshop (see below).

In autumn, I returned to Chicago and Dallas to focus on fall color and business techniques, followed by a presentation in Orlando to the Association of Professional Landscape Designers.

Now I’ve got my bags packed to take a group of adventurous photographers on a travel photography experience in India, a fabulous opportunity to see and photograph this colorful, diverse and fascinating country. Right after India, Anne and I will be going on a tour of Myanmar (Burma) and will see if this makes a good destination for future travel photography workshops. (If such a trip would interest you, let me know.)

It’s been a pleasure to see and work with many of you throughout 2014 and I look forward to meeting even more of you in 2015. You’ll find many great opportunities to hone your photographic skills, develop your creative potential, explore the ever-changing dimensions of digital photography, become more mindful and aware of the wonders around you, and learn with like-minded people who enjoy growing through personal interactions with the worlds of nature, flowers, gardens and cultures. So look below at the workshops I’ve lined up for the coming year.

Whether you are a returning student or a new participant, I hope to see you at one or more of these workshops to learn, have fun together and renew or build our connections.

All the best and hope to see you soon,

Allen Rokach