Monadnock Garden Club Waterfall Workshop

 

Shooting the Gorge April 2025

Upper Fall Chesterfield Gorge

It has been a while since I hosted a Photography Class or photo workshop.  It all started with my dissatisfaction with resorting to Zoom courses begun in response to the pandemic.  I missed terribly the face-to-face exposure of live classes and workshops.  As the pandemic waned it seemed hard to get back to a schedule of programs.  Of course, a touch of laziness also contributed.

For a number of years, I had offered my Introduction to Digital Photography Course through the Keene Community Education Program, but recently the program has dropped general enrichment courses such as mine and now focuses solely on academic, and vocational enrichment classes, including apprenticeships. I found myself looking for a new home. 

Big Drop Chesterfield Gorge

I have enjoyed the opportunities I have had to share my passion for photography and photographic editing and I have greatly missed teaching about the amazing advancements in digital image making.  I know that I need to find ways to get back out there.

It was with all this I mind that I was excited to hear from my friend and former student Robin Turnbaugh with a request to lead members of the Monadnock Garden Club on an abbreviated spring waterfall photography workshop.  Last Thursday, I was joined by a group of enthusiastic club members for a morning exploration of some of the local falling water.  A half day is short, but after a brief discussion of the key aspects of waterfall photography, we headed out to sample the beauty of the spring runoff at Chesterfield Gorge.

The Gorge provided the opportunity to sample a variety of falls and cascades in one compact area.  As I suspected the group came with a range of equipment from sophisticated Digital cameras to one iPhone.  Everyone had tripods, but a few of them were quite flimsy or actually falling apart.  Regardless, there were great opportunities for teaching, and everyone seemed to come away with some nice images and, hopefully, many important lessons. Given that this was a garden club group, my only disappointment was that the early date precluded any exploration of streamside spring wildflowers. While coaching the participants I was able to grab only a couple of my own images, but my shots were all hand-held with no chance to break out my tripod.

Gorge Cascade Teeth

Catsbane Brook Falls

For my part, I finished with a desire for more.  I would have loved to have had more time to tour some of the other waterfalls in the Chesterfield area, including those along the Catsbane Brook and the Gulf Road.  My usual waterfall workshops span a day and one-half over a weekend and include classic spots in both Cheshire and Hillsboro Counties. Perhaps I can drum up some interest in a more extensive workshop in a few weeks.