I’m off to Maine to teach photography and eat lobster—before I leave I want to let you know about my newly-listed destination photography workshop to the romantic kingdom of old Aquitaine in the southwest of France. We will explore Bordeaux, Perigord, and the Dordogne, and be based in an old mill that has been converted to a 4-star hotel on the banks of La Dronne river in Brantome, a small village that has been called the “Venice of the Dordogne.”   Set amid gardens with the river running nearby, and only a short walk to the bridges and restaurants of Brantome, Le Moulin de l’Abbaye combines old and new (it was renovated around a structure that dates back to the 1600s) and is an ideal place for photography.

The dates for this photography adventure are April 22-30, 2017. This an exclusive, very small photography tour that is filling up quickly with only a very few places left. Please let us know right away if you’d like to come. An early-registration discount applies until August 31, 2016. Click here for the Prospectus with additional details and the reservation form.

Confluence of Two Rivers (Dordogne & Vezere) © Harold Davis

More about Brantome, France where the workshop will be based: Brantome, on the northern edge of the Dordogne is an ancient village on an important branch of the Chemin de Saint Jacques pilgrimage trail. This is a region of beautiful rivers and valleys, stark cliffs with ancient clinging villages, sacred pilgrimage routes, stone bridges, churches that date from the era of the crusaders, beautiful flowering gardens, and much more.

Set in a loop in the Dronne River, and sometimes known as the Venice of the Dordogne, Brantome has a nice mix of medieval and renaissance architecture. Besides the architecture to admire, the setting with the encircling river and the steep wooded slopes around the town add to its attraction. The river is calm and gentle at this point, covered with lilies, and sheltered by weeping willows. It is very pleasant to stroll along the edge of the river and through the river-side gardens. The town is classified as one of ‘les Plux Beaux Detours’ in France.

Click here for the Prospectus with additional details and the reservation form.

We are offering a free, signed copy of one of my books with each paid workshop enrollment through July 31, 2016.

Specifically, for each qualifying workshop enrollment you can choose from a copy of Creative Landscapes (38 5-Star Reviews on Amazon), Creative Lighting (30 5-Star Reviews on Amazon), or Creative Night (18 5-Star Reviews on Amazon). I will sign your copy, and add a dedication if you’d like. These are the genuine Wiley Publishing editions, a $29.95 retail value each. We will ship your book for free within the continental United States, or give it to you at the workshop, as you prefer.

The qualifying workshops are Advanced LAB Color Seminar (November, 2016), Black and White in San Francisco (November, 2016), From iPhone to Art (January, 2017), Photographing Flowers for Transparency (March 2017), and Flower Photography Intensive: 4-Day Masterclass (June, 2017).

As noted, this is a limited time offer, while our supplies last, books mailed within the continental United States.

Contemplation © Harold Davis

Full Day Workshop: Get Your Camera Off Automatic with Harold Davis

Have you always wanted to take fantastic photos, but somehow they never seem to come out as well as you see them in your mind’s eye?

By leaving their camera in one of the programmed automatic modes many photographers fail to realize their full creative potential. At the same time, if you don’t shoot manually you won’t learn the basic concepts of photography. In this intensive one-day workshop you will learn all you need to know to successfully support your creative vision by using your camera to its full potential.

Cordes-sur-Ciel at Sunrise © Harold Davis

Besides presentations from award-winning master photographer Harold Davis, this workshop uses hands-on exercises to “cement-in” the concepts you will learn.

Where: MIG Meeting Place, 800 Hearst Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94710

When: September 17, 2016, 9:45AM

Tuition: $99 per person.

What to bring: Your camera, camera manual, tripod (if you have one), and a sense of fun and wonder!

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

So please bring your camera, camera manual, and tripod (if you have one).

Upper White River Falls © Harold Davis

Who is this workshop for?
If you’ve been enjoying shooting digital photos, but don’t really understand the underlying photographic concepts or what the camera settings do this workshop is a fun way to get quickly up to speed.

Perhaps you are used to shooting film and want to get up to speed on the concepts of digital photography. Then this intensive “Digital Photography 101” workshop may be for you.

Intermediate digital photographers may also be interested in this workshop as an easy way to help them reinforce and remember what they’ve previously learned.

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

Manarola © Harold Davis

Curriculum

9:45AM – Workshop orientation
10:00 – Fundamental concepts: Exposure, the exposure triangle, aperture, f-stops, shutter speed, sensitivity (ISO), sensor size, focal length, focus
11:00 – Setting your camera using the basic concepts
11:30 – Camera Clinic – first session
12:00 – Hands-on exercises
1:00 – Lunch break
1:45PM – Exercise review and concept refresher
2:30 – From camera to computer and digital post-production
3:30 – Hands-on exercises
4:30 – Review, wrap-up, and Q&A
5:30 – Camera Clinic – second session

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

Rooftops of Paris © Harold Davis

What past participants have said about this workshop:

“It was a great day filled with both opportunities to practice and many words of wisdom from Harold.”

“This was a most informative and interesting workshop. It covered the things I wanted to learn about, and I left satisfied. I recommend it to anyone who wants a good basic class.”

“Great workshop! Learned a lot! Also appreciate the effort that went into putting the class together – the small conveniences like water, snack, handouts, and a nice meeting space made it easier to get through the day without being overwhelmed. Highly recommended.”

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

In a Blue Hour © Harold Davis

About Harold Davis

Harold Davis is an award-winning professional photographer and widely recognized as one of the leading contemporary photographers.

He is the author of more than 30 books, including Photographing Flowers: Exploring Macro Worlds with Harold Davis (Focal Press), The Photoshop Darkroom 2: Creative Digital Transformations (Focal Press), and The Photoshop Darkroom: Creative Digital Post-Processing (Focal Press).

Harold is the author of the Creative Photography series from Wiley Publishing.

“Harold Davis’s Creative Photography series is a great way to start a photography library”—Daniel Fealko, PhotoFidelity.

The Creative titles include: Creative Landscapes: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Lighting: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Portraits: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Black & White: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Composition: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Night: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley), Creative Close-Ups: Digital Photography Tips & Techniques (Wiley). He’s also written a book on the fundamentals of exposure, Light & Exposure for Digital Photographers (O’Reilly Media).

Registration: Click here for information and registration on Meetup!

When Flowers Talk © Harold Davis

There’s still time to join my small group of photographers in Maine for a week of intensive photography and self-exploration. This workshop is scheduled for August 7-13, 2016 at Maine Media Workshops in Rockport, Maine. Click here for information and registration.

Have you ever wondered what it really means to be the best photographer you can be? Do you feel blocked by petty circumstances, or lack the creative space to do the work you know you can do?

I’ll be teaching a week-long version of my popular Achieving Your Potential As a Photographer workshop in Maine from August 7 to August 13, 2016 at Maine Media Workshops. We’ll explore our creative potential and photograph mid-coast Maine together.

Nautilus © Harold Davis

Well-known creativity guru Steven Pressfield, the author of The War of Art, has called my Achieving Your Potential As a Photographer (published by Focal Press) a great accomplishment: “I salute you. You’re gonna help a lot of people with this one.” 

According to an Amazon reviewer, “You’ll find inspiration, ideas, exercises, and challenges in this excellent book, that will help you become the best photographer you can be. This great book also shows you examples, challenges you, and gives you directions for precisely how to proceed.”

Over time, I’ve taken the feedback of literally hundreds of readers and workshop participants to fashion an Achieving Your Potential workshop. Here’s some of the comments participants have had in previous sessions of this workshop:

• “Thank you for provided the tools I need to take my photography up not one notch, but many notches, to the next level indeed!”

• “The Achieving Your Potential workshop has had a substantial impact on my photographic journey. Thanks for the mentoring, assistance, and inspiration.”

• “I particularly liked getting feedback from the group and from Harold regarding my goals and progress…Achieving Your Potential [is] well-thought-out and concrete.”

Mandahlia © Harold Davis

This workshop is for every photographer who wants to draw their line in the sand to become the best photographer and artist they can be. We’ll use mid-coast Maine as the base for exploration and photography, and come back with the tools and motivation to continue advancing our individual creative photographic journeys.

The workshop will include group and individual technical, practical, theoretical and spiritual exercises and assignments. There will be guided field sessions, and work in the classroom. The complete photographer—technical, practical, emotional, and business—skills and topics will be covered.

Click here for information and registration.

Reflections in a Maine Pond © Harold Davis

Inside the Pemaquid Lighthouse © Harold Davis

Monhegan Storm © Harold Davis

Saturday November 19 and Sunday November 20, 2016

This workshop includes field photography in several Bay area locations, and monochromatic shooting techniques in the field. Classroom sessions will explore black & white conversion in Photoshop, Nik Silver Efex, and other plug-ins, and monochromatic processing. Emphasis will be on thinking creatively in black and white in the field, as well as fully understanding the myriad possibilities in post-production.

Tuition is $645 until August 31, 2016 (early-bird discount), and $695 thereafter. Click here to register and for more information.

The workshop will feature many of the field and processing techniques shown in Harold’s forthcoming book from Monacelli Press, The Photographer’s Black and White Handbook.

San Francisco Moonrise © Harold Davis

In this workshop, Master Photographer Harold Davis guides participants in all aspects of monochromatic digital photography and processing.

Sunset on the Bay © Harold Davis

Workshop participants will take advantage of several San Francisco Bay area locations, with field destinations to be determined depending on weather and group predilections. Possibilities include the Cable Car Museum, Fort Point, Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge. We will learn how to best to modify exposure settings when black and white is the ultimate destination.

Beneath the Berkeley Pier © Harold Davis

In the classroom, hands-on guidance will explain techniques for converting RAW files and extending dynamic range. Monochromatic conversion methods in ACR, Lightroom, Photoshop, Nik, Topaz, and Perfect B&W will also be covered.

Cable Car Flywheels © Harold Davis

In addition, the workshop will provide extensive coverage of the creative vision required to successfully create art-gallery quality monochromatic images as well as the workflow necessary to make art prints.

When: Saturday, November 19 and Sunday, November 20, 2016

Where: The classroom session of the workshop is hosted in Berkeley, California. We will car pool to field shooting locations.

Cost: Tuition is $645 until August 31, 2016 (early-bird discount), and $695 thereafter. Click here to register and for more information.

Noir City Dreams © Harold Davis

About Harold Davis

Harold Davis is a well-known digital artist and award-winning professional photographer. He is the author of many photography books. His most recent titles are The Way of the Digital Photographer (Peachpit) and Monochromatic HDR Photography (Focal Press).

In addition to his activity as a bestselling book author, Harold is a featured columnist for Photo.net. He has been acknowledged as a Moab Master printmaker and is known as a Master Printer. His limited edition artist book Botanique was featured most recently in Fine Art Printing, the only magazine devoted exclusively to fine art photographic printmaking. Harold’s work is widely collected, licensed by art publishers, and has appeared in numerous magazines and other publications.

Harold’s technique and destination photography workshops to such diverse locations as Paris, France; Heidelberg, Germany; and the ancient Bristlecone Pines of the eastern Sierra Nevada are widely popular and usually sell out quickly.

You can learn more about Harold Davis and his work on his website, www.digitalfieldguide.com. Harold’s blog can be found at www.digitalfieldguide.com/blog.

Story of O © Harold Davis

What some folks have said about Harold Davis workshops:

“A great artist and speaker!”

“Harold is genuine, generous, and gracious – He has a world of knowledge and expertise that he loves to share – his wonderful books show his monumental talents and skill set- his workshops shows the depth of his connecting with others in a very real and personal way.”

“Awesome! He patiently addressed questions from the audience, which contained photographers of all levels, molding his answers to the level of understanding for each of us. His presentations covered a wonderful range of technical knowledge as well as emphasizing the need for images to have an emotional quality. The images he shares are breathtaking and he is generous in sharing many facets of how he captures such beauty.”

“Not all photographers are good verbal communicators. Harold is someone who can DO and TEACH. A rare combination of talents.”

“Inspiring!”

“He was very giving of his talents and time. The course was very organized and thorough. Loved it! Learned so much!”

“Very creative and a marvelous instructor.”

Cayucos Pier © Harold Davis

Lonely Islet © Harold Davis

Click here to register and for more information.