Photography Courses and Workshops: December 2019

Kate Woodward

The following list describes sample photography courses and workshops from a variety of providers. Note that the providers generally have many additional courses or workshops on their websites. The courses/workshops are organized around three categories: (1) Classes and Workshops in the DC Area, (2) Online Courses, and (3) Multi-day Photography Trips to Places Within and Beyond the United States.

Highlights this month include several courses on photographing the city which is January’s competition theme. Several of these are offered by online course providers like Kelby One and Lynda.com. In addition, Essdras Suarez, a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer who has spoken twice  to our club, is offering a course entitled Street Photography at DC’s Monuments: A Photojournalist’s Approach – Winter Edition (through Washington Photo Safari). Also this month, the Course List includes several in-the-field workshops at places featuring holiday lights.

Please suggest additional course/workshop providers for future editions of this list.

You are also invited to provide descriptions of courses/workshops you have taken and recommend, for the Cable Release. Email me at info@ssccphotography or cablereleaseeditor@ssccphotography.org

Note: Inclusion in this list is not an endorsement of the provider or the particular course/workshop.

1. Courses/Workshops in the Washington, DC Area

The sample courses listed in this section are available either in December 2019 or January 2020.

Don Becker Photography

  • Setting: Classroom
  • Duration of Courses:  Half or full day
  • Sample Courses: Fashion and Beauty of Model Kelly

See http://www.donbeckerphotography.com/upcoming-workshops/

Capital Photography Center

  • Setting: Classroom or in the field
  • Duration of Courses: Generally,multiple hours or full day
  • Sample Courses:
    • Bald Eagles at Conowingo Dam
    • Lightroom in a Day
    • Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights
    • College Sports – Wrestling at American University vs. Brown
    • Getting Started in Portraiture

And other courses at http://capitalphotographycenter.com/classes/   

Note: Capital Photography Center and Washington Photo Safari, listed below, sometimes co-offer workshops. Also, see Michael Koren, below, for courses sometimes offered through Capital Photography Center.

Glen Echo Park (Photoworks)

  • Setting: Mostly classroom, but a few in the field
  • Duration of Courses: Generally, multiple hours or multiple sessions
  • Sample Courses:
    • Skills: Creating Photography Books Using Online Sites
    • Skills: Hands on History of Photography
    • Skills: Introduction to Photoshop Compositing
    • Vision: Creativity – Habits and Practice
    • Workshop: Digital Collage

And other courses at http://www.ssreg.com/glenechopark/classes/classes.asp?catID=4403&pcatID=4379

Michael Koren Photography

  • Setting: Classroom or in the field
  • Duration of Courses: Multiple hours or multiple sessions
  • Sample Courses:
    • Creative Smartphone Field Shoot at Historic Union Station
    • Photographic Composition – Essential Techniques
    • Smartphone Photography – Getting Started at the National Gallery of Art

And other courses at https://www.michaelkorenphotography.com/teaching-schedule/

Montgomery College Lifelong Learning Institute, Workforce Development & Continuing Education

  • Setting: Classroom
  • Duration of Courses: Multiple sessions
  • Sample Courses: Digital Photography for Fine Arts II

And other courses at http://aceitoc.montgomerycollege.edu/course/courselistings.aspx Select Lifelong Learning Institute/Photography.

Les Picker Fine Arts Photography

  • Setting: Classroom
  • Duration of Courses: Generally, full day or multiple days
  • Sample Courses: Portfolio Development Workshop

And other courses at https://lesterpickerphoto.com/types/workshop/   

Smithsonian Associates

  • Setting: Mostly classroom, but a few in the field
  • Duration of Courses: Multiple hours, full day, or multiple sessions
  • Sample Courses:
    • Understanding Your Digital Mirrorless or SLR Camera: Moving Beyond Auto Mode
    • Introduction to Black-and-White Film Photography; Darkroom and Continuing Black-and-White Photography
    • Introduction to Photography II
    • On-Location Photography
    • Introduction to Studio Portraiture

And other courses at https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/events/photography

Washington Photo Safari

  • Setting: Mostly in the field but a few in the classroom
  • Duration of Courses: Multiple hours or full day (occasionally two days) 
  • Sample Courses:
    • Library of Congress
    • Photoshop Bootcamp: An Introduction to Adobe Photoshop; Adobe Photoshop I
    • Saint Matthews Cathedral Photo Safari
    • Street Photography at DC’s Monuments: The Photojournalist’s Approach, Winter Edition
    • Photographic Holiday Illumination at Mount Vernon

And other courses at https://washingtonphotosafari.com/   

Note: Also see Washington Photo Safari, under the category, Multi-Day Photography Trips Within and Beyond the Unites States, below.

2. Online Courses

Coursera

Coursera is an online venue for courses taught by various universities and other institutions. Coursera offers MOOC’s—massive open online courses. You can generally audit the courses, particularly the video lectures, for free. Paid tuition allows you to submit work and to receive a certificate for work completed, as well as access to additional areas of the online classroom, To audit or pay for the courses, you will need to enroll. Courses are offered at various times throughout the year, but if you are auditing, you can enroll at other times and have access to course materials. Note also that courses stay on your account beyond the announced time allotted for the course.

  • Seeing through Photographs, Museum of Modern Art (6-week commitment)
  • Coursera offers the following 5-course specialization, Photography Basics and Beyond: From Smartphone to DSLR, University of Michigan. (4-week commitment per course).
    • Cameras, Exposure, and Photography
    • Camera Control
    • Principles of Photo Composition and Digital Image Post-Production
    • Photography Techniques: Light, Content & Sharing
    • Photography Capstone Project

See  https://www.coursera.org/courses?languages=en&query=photography

Note: Coursera also has other courses relevant to photography (such as Film, Images, & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies; Copyright for Multimedia; Telling a Branding Story through Images; Making Architecture; Modern Art and Ideas; Introduction to Imagemaking; and a Specialization in Graphic Design).

Kelby One

Kelby One (run by Scott Kelby) is an online monthly (or annual) course subscription service. With its most complete subscription option, you are offered 700+ courses, along with access to its two magazines: Photoshop User and Lightroom Magazine. Photography topics range from technical skills and software training to artistic aspects of photography. While a few of KelbyOne courses are listed below, you might want to simply search for your particular interests. You may try out approximately 15 designated courses for free, prior to subscribing, if you sign up for an account.

  • Kelbyone.com offers courses on photographing the city (January’s competition theme), including:
    • Photographing Cityscapes
    • Travel Photography: Capturing the Essence of a City
    • Using Photoshop & Lightroom Classic to Create Amazing Cityscapes
    • An Expert Guide to Street Photography
  • Get Up to Speed Fast on the New Photoshop 2020
  • Artistic Macro Floral Photography Techniques
  • An Introduction to Digital Painting in Adobe Photoshop
  • Improving Your Creative Vision by Getting It Right in Camera

And other courses at https://kelbyone.com

You may also want to explore Scott Kelby’s free video series on YouTube—The Grid—which contains critiques of photos submitted online: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=The+Grid%3A+Scott+Kelby

Lynda.com (Linked-In)

Lynda.com is an online monthly (or annual) course subscription service with hundreds of photography courses; it is now available free with a Montgomery County Public Library card  (https://montgomerycountymd.libguides.com/az.php?q=lynda.com) . The DC Public Library also offers free access, and Lynda.com provides a free month-long trial subscription.

Courses consist of multiple video lectures, and they vary in length from less than an hour to more than 5 hours. Photography topics range from technical skills and software training to artistic aspects of photography. Courses can be searched by skill level (beginner through advanced), topic, software, and professor; searches will also yield parts of courses on a particular topic. While a few courses are listed below, you might want to simply search for your particular interests and skill level.

  • Lynda.com offers weekly photography tips/instruction videos, from six of its instructors:
    • Photo Critique of the Week with Steve Simon
    • Mobile Photography Weekly with Sean Duggan
    • The Practicing Photographer and Creativity for All, both with Ben Long
    • Photo Tools Weekly with Chris Orwig
    • Photo Gear Weekly with Tim Grey
    • Deke’s Techniques with Deke McClelland
  • Lynda.com offers courses on photographing the city (January’s competition theme), including:
    • Enhancing an Urban Landscape Photo with Lightroom and Photoshop
    • Street Photography: The City at Night
    • Street Photography: Two Hours in a Neighborhood
  • Photography Foundations: Flash/Advanced Photography: Flash
  • Creating Presets, LUTS and Profiles for Photography
  • Silhouette Photography: Shooting and Post Processing

And other courses at https://montgomerycountymd.libguides.com/az.php?q=lynda.com  (or subscription at https://www.lynda.com/ )

Photographic Society of America (PSA)

Online courses are offered free with membership and usually last a few months.

  • Creating Competitive Images
  • Portraits in Available Light
  • Still Life Photography
  • The History of Photography
  • A Portfolio Experience

And other courses at https://psa-photo.org/index.php?education-online-courses

Note: Membership also includes study groups, mentoring, and a digital library.

3. Multi-Day Photography Trips Within and Beyond the United States

Note that some trips sell out quickly, even when they are scheduled for six to ten months in the future.

Art Wolfe

  • Moab by Night Photography Retreat (UT)
  • Madagascar Photo Journey
  • Olympic Peninsula Workshop (WA)

And other trips at https://events.artwolfe.com/events/category/workshops/

Nikhil Bahl Photography

  • Iceland Winter Photography Tour: Aurora, Ice Caves, Glaciers, Scenery
  • Chincoteague Island Spring Workshop (VA)

See http://www.nikhilbahl.com/photography_workshops.html)

Mark Buckler

  • Ultimate Hawaii Photo Adventure
  • The Ultimate American Southwest Photo Tour (AZ &NV)
  • Black Bears of Coastal NC

And other trips at http://bucklerphoto.com/all-photo-adventures

EMS Photo Adventures (Essdras M. Suarez)

  • India’s Golden Triangle
  • Lens on Panama

And other trips at  http://emsphotoadventures.com 

Note: See also Photo Guidance, provided as a menu item at this site and Suarez’s course, Street Photography at DC’s Monuments: A Photo Journalist’s Approach, Winter Edition, mentioned in Section 1, Classes/Workshops in the Washington, DC area, under Washington Photo Safari.

Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris

  • Nambia
  • Ultimate Galapagos
  • Bulgaria

And other trips at http://photosafaris.com

Osprey Photo Workshops & Tours

  • Assateague Island National Seashore Photo Workshop
  • Tangier Island Photo Workshop

And other trips at http://www.ospreyphoto.com/

Road Runner Photography Tours

  • Patagonia – Argentina and Chile
  • Zimanga African Safari, South Africa

And other trips at https://roadrunnerphotographytours.com/photography-tours/2020-photography-tours/

Note: Road Runners has free YouTube video tutorials linked on its Website: see http://roadrunnerphotographytours.com/learning/video-tutorials/ See also its Meetup Schedule at https://www.meetup.com/Road-Runner-Photography-Tours/

Tony Sweet

  • Charleston, South Carolina: Visual Artistry Nature Photography Workshop
  • Charleston, South Carolina: Infrared Digital Edge
  • Great Smoky Mountains, TN: Smokies Infrared and B&W #1 & #2

And other trips at https://tonysweet.com/

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