Photography Course Schedule 2017

Gleason Falls, Hillsborough NH

Sprin at Garwin Falls, Wilton, NH

Now that we have returned from our month-long escape to the warmth, including the Florida Keys and Everglades, it is time to plan my courses and workshops for the coming months.  In the last couple of years teaching has become an increasing part of my photographic work.  It seems a natural extension of the wide-ranging topics in my weekly blog.  Teaching has always been a goal and I’m thrilled that my classes have seemed to be welcome.  It confirms my long-held belief that there is a deep well of interest in learning about the marvelous capabilities that digital photography has provided.  It is not an exaggeration to state that 100% of new digital cameras are smarter than 90% of their owners.

I have been experimenting with various formats for my courses, including formal classes for Keene’s Community Education Program, and more informal and intimate classes around my dining room table. I must admit that I especially enjoy the smaller groups.  Last fall I nearly exhausted an enthusiastic group of shooters during a weekend fall foliage workshop exploring color in both Vermont and New Hampshire.

All of these programs have been a challenge to prepare, but well worth the effort to enjoy the thrill of working with so many folks who are eager to learn about my favorite subject.

To varying degrees, my teaching schedule for the next few months remains, fluid.  My upcoming Intro to Digital Photography course is fixed, and already full, and the Fall Foliage weekend is controlled by the likely peak of the autumn color, but the dates of a spring waterfall weekend may vary depending on interest and the requirements of the black flies.  I try to keep my courses small, usually no more than 8-9 for my home-based programs.  I already have a group of people interested in the up-coming sessions, so get in touch as soon as you can to get on the list.

Please Note !!

Anyone who has previously taken one of my course will be given a 20% discount on this year’s classes.   Sadly, this can’t apply to the Keene Community Ed offerings.

Here is the list of my up-coming offerings

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Introduction to Digital Photography

Beginning April 6th , and likely again this coming Fall

This will be my fourth time offering this broad ranging course on the opportunities and challenges of digital photography.  The program includes 8 hours of classroom time and two photo-shoot field trips.  We cover everything from selecting a digital camera, to image file types, archiving, exposure, composition and dealing with different varieties of light.  The field trips are a great opportunity to review practices in real-life situations and the resulting images are a wonderful source of material for gentle, loving! critique. 

I will continue to try to tweak the content to meet the needs of those just embarking on the exciting adventure of digital photography.

In such a small community, I assume that I will eventually run out of people interested in this course, but once again the class filled before the official list of courses hit the mail.  I assume I will be asked to present again sometime this fall.

Add caption

 

• Contact Keene Community Education for information about future programs  and to get on the waiting  list.
  603-357-0088 

 

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Spring Waterfalls and Wildflowers Workshop

May 5-7

Chesterfield, NH

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year for photography in New England.  I love to follow the emergence of life, from the tiny buds to exuberant flowers, and the varied greens of the season.  Early in spring we find ourselves in the mud and stick season, but it is during this time of spring run-off and showers that the regions waterfalls can be seen to their best advantage.

Garwin Falls, Wilton NH

This year I plan to share some of my favorite local waterfalls during a “Waterfall” workshop.  Some of these falls may be familiar, but many of the best are less well known. 

I will follow the same schedule that worked so well for last autumn’s Fall Foliage weekend.  Friday evening, May 5^th, the small group will meet around my dining room table for snacks and a discussion of the equipment and techniques that work best for capturing falling water. 

Purgatory Falls, Wilton, NH

All day Saturday, May 6th and Sunday morning, May 7^th, will be dedicating to exploring some of the most dramatic waterfalls of our region.  We will also be looking for wildflowers and other spring growth.   The specific itinerary will depend on the conditions at the time.  Will discuss meeting places and car-pooling Friday night.  After a full day of shooting on Saturday, we will gather around the dining room table again for pizza and a chance to review some of the results of the day.  I promise, all critiques will be gently constructive.

Stickney Falls, Dummerston, Vt

Pulpit Falls, Winchester NH

It should be an exciting weekend and I’m looking forward to sharing many of my favorite spots.

To allow for individual attention, the workshop is limited to only

 8 participants.  The entire program including snacks and an informal dinner will be $195.  

Get in touch as soon as possible to get on the workshop list.  I look forward to seeing you.

Jeffn49@myfairpoint.net

603-363-8338

• Waterfalls of Cheshire County
• Chesterfield Gorge Album 
• Waterfall Treasures of Hillsborough County
• Photographing the Magic of Velvet Water 

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Introduction to Lightroom

Thursday evenings,  June 1- 29, 6-8PM

  

I am a dedicated long term user of Photoshop, but over the last few years I have become increasingly impressed with the power of Lightroom, in terms of both its image management tools and its sophisticated editing capabilities.  I still bring almost all my images into Photoshop for final tweaking, especially when complicated masking is required, but I now use Lightroom for 80-90% of my global editing.  Given its power and ease of use, for the majority of digital photography enthusiasts, Lightroom is likely all they will need to get started.

In response to frequent requests, I developed an introductory course

Lightroom Pano, Mt Washington

covering all the essential capabilities of Lightroom.  I have offered the course twice and it has been warmly received.  I run the class as a live demonstration.  Students are encouraged to work along on their own laptops, but a computer is not necessary to benefit from the material.   I had a great time and the classes and, as is always true of teaching a course, I learned a ton. I initially thought that that four, two hour classes would be enough to cover the program's many features,  but because of my tendency to ramble and lots of great questions, I have added a fifth class to cover the Slide Show, Book and Web Modules. I probably could have used more time, but I learned that 2 hours of software complexity was definitely the limit for my mature students, especially since I held the classes in the evening.

 

I again will be limiting the class to the 8 people who can fit comfortably around my dining room table.  There will be five, two hour, evening sessions, and of course, snacks will be provided. The course is $195.  There are already people on the waiting list from last time, so please get in touch as soon as possible.

jeffn49@myfairpoint.net

603-363-8338

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Fall Foliage Workshop

October 13-15^th, The weekend after Columbus Day Weekend

I had a great time during last year’s Fall Foliage Weekend.  I had a wonderful group of enthusiastic participants and, despite the demanding tour, they all seemed to enjoy and benefit from the experience. Again this year, my plan is to get a small group together on Friday evening the 13th, around my dining room table, in Spofford New Hampshire, for a discussion about photography in general and fall foliage photography in particular.  Based on the conditions, we will also make plans for the next day’s shoots.  

Mount Monadnock Grazing

Saturday, October 14th, will be devoted to exploring as many locations as possible. This is the exciting treasure hunt that is photography in New England.  You never know what you are going to find, but it is almost always something other than you expected. I have ideas about potential locations, but it will all depend on the conditions.  Saturday evening, we will gather again around the dining room table for an extremely informal dinner (probably pizza) and the chance to review many of your favorite images from the day.  I promise to be gentle in my critique, and I hope to have the chance to demonstrate how editing can bring the best from your images.  

Sunday morning will provide another chance to look for opportunities, again based on our discussions from the night before.  

The workshop will be limited to no more than 8 participants, and will be $195.  Get in touch as soon as possible to get your name on the list.  

jeffn49@myfairpoint.net

603-363-8338

• Fall Foliage Workshop

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Spring Color, Dummerston, Vt

I'm looking forward to a busy schedule coming up.  I hope you can join me in a exploration of the amazing capabilities that digital photography adds to the art of image-making.

Jeffrey Newcomer

partridgebrookreflections.com