We have room in Romantic Southwest France (April 27 – May 5, 2022). Click here for info, here for the detailed itinerary, and here for the Reservation Form.

Off-the-Beaten Track Japan Photography Journey (October 16-26, 2022) is filling quickly, but there is still some space. Click here for info, here for the detailed itinerary, and here for the Reservation Form.

Please also keep in mind our in-person Photographing Flowers for Transparency weekend workshop, August 6-7, 2022 in Berkeley, California. Click here for more info.

Please call or write with any questions!

Misty Mountains © Harold Davis

What: Step into the fabled Japan of myth and legend. Journey back in time to a Japan that few westerners are familiar with. Join a small group of compatible photographers led by Harold Davis and a professional guide for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. 

When: Sunday, October 16, 2022 to Wednesday, October 26, 2022 (ten nights and eleven days).

Where: We meet at our hotel in Tokyo, Japan. After exploring the new and old sides of Tokyo, we’ll travel back in time through the Japanese Alps via the ancient Nakasendo way. We’ll visit well-preserved villages in the Kiso Valley, Matsumoto Castle, the castle town of Takayama, and the World Heritage site of Shirakawa-go. Following a stop in the culturally important city of Kanazawa, we will wrap up the destination photo workshop with a dreamlike visit to the gardens and temples of Kyoto, where the tour will end.

Click here for the full description (with details, pricing, and how to register), here for the detailed day-by-day trip itinerary (“Prospectus”) and here for the Reservation Form. Our in-country partner is Oku Japan.

We are being optimistically obdurate in the face of Omicron, and planning to open Off-the-Beaten Track Japan Photography Journey with Harold Davis for registration soon. This destination travel workshop is tentatively scheduled for October 16-26, 2022. Click here for more information.

Temple Flags © Harold Davis

Click here for more info, here for the detailed itinerary, and here for the Reservation form.

We have limited space availability. Please contact us right away if you are interested. An early-bird discount applies through November 10, 2021!

August 6, 2022 is National Root Beer Float Day (yes, this is a thing!). We will be holding our Photographing Flowers for Transparency workshop Saturday August 6 – Sunday August 7, 2022. We propose to honor the day and our workshop participants by serving, wait for it, root beer floats. The perfect partner for light box flower photography!

Dancing the Light Fantastic © Harold Davis

2022 Photographing Flowers for Transparency with Harold Davis (Weekend Workshop) | LIVE and IN-PERSON

Master photographer Harold Davis is well-known for his often imitated—but seldom equaled—digital images of luscious transparent and translucent flowers.

In this unique workshop offering, Harold Davis shows the techniques he uses to create his floral masterpieces. Arrangement, composition, photography, post-production will all be covered, as will Harold’s special techniques for shooting on a light box.

There is no better way to learn the floral transparency techniques that Harold Davis has pioneered. The multi-day format will give participants the chance to complete their imagery using the techniques that Harold will demonstrate, with input and help from “the master”. We will follow up with an online Zoom session for further critique and help with work.

Spaces are limited. Click here to read more and for the curriculum!

Love is a Many Splendored Thing © Harold Davis

Where: Berkeley, CA

When: Saturday August 6 – Sunday August 7, 2022

Tuition: $1195

Special Feature: We will follow-up with a Zoom webinar approximately two weeks from the workshop to showcase and critique participant work (and to help with any problems).

Workshop size: Maximum of 14 photographers

To register: Visit the listing on Meetup to register using Paypal (by RSVPing YES), or contact us for direct registration by check or credit card. Please do contact us if you need help with registration, or have any questions.

Click here to read more and for the curriculum.

Refund & Covid Policy: Refunds are available up to 90 days before the workshop (less a $100 cancellation fee). After that, no refunds unless we are forced to cancel the workshop. Please protect your investment in the workshop by buying travel insurance to cover the workshop fee and travel expenses. Covid vaccination is required to attend. We follow all health protocols in place at the time of the workshop.

Due to heavy interest, we now have only limited availability on the Photographic Tour to Romantic Southwest France (April 27 – May 5, 2022). There are no more single rooms (we are taking a waiting list for singles). We have only a few rooms left for a couple (or two people traveling together). If you are willing to consider a roommate, we can possibly help connect you.

The early-bird discount still applies until November 10, 2021. Thanks to all for interest and support!

Near the Mas de Garrigue © Harold Davis

We are pleased to announce a new destination photo workshop to southwestern France in the spring of 2020. Join a small compatible group of photographers in a 15th Century fortified farmhouse in the lush countryside of southwest France in the springtime. We will be hosted at the  Mas de Garrigue, a 15th century fortified farm near the Lot River in the heart of romantic southwestern France. This is an area of gardens, gourmet French home cooking, ancient medieval villages and castles, and a photographer’s and walker’s paradise.

Click here for more info, here for the detailed itinerary, and here for the Reservation Form. A $500 early-bird discount applies for enrollment by November 10, 2021. Please keep in mind that this destination photo workshop is filling fast! Our group is already partially formed. So if you are interested, please don’t delay.

Confluence of Two Rivers © Harold Davis

Our group will meet at a special hotel in Toulouse in the southwest of France on the afternoon of Wednesday April 27, 2022 where we will be spending the night. After exploring Toulouse, we’ll transfer by private mini-bus to Mas de Garrigue in the area of Calvignac on the banks of the beautiful Lot River. Along the way we will stop at the historic city of Albi, with its ancient bridge over the Tarn River.

Morning Mist © Harold Davis

The Lot 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. 

Cordes sur Ciel at Dawn © Harold Davis

Click here for more info, here for the detailed itinerary, and here for the Reservation Form. A $500 early-bird discount applies for enrollment by November 10, 2021.

While I was in Iceland, Phyllis was not idle. With four kids at home, this should go without saying. But she also found time to catch up with our webinar video recording backlog, and now we are current. She posted seven new video recordings:

• One Flower, One Garden, One World (5/15/21)
• Night Photography with Jeff Sullivan and Harold Davis (4/3/21)
• The Black & White Still Life with Harold Davis #1 (3/6/21)
• The Black & White Still Life with Harold Davis #2 (3/27/21)
• Processing Black & White: Landscape & Architecture | Part 2 (2/20/21)
• Photographing Flowers for Transparency | Part 2: Composition and Photography (2/27/21)
• Creating Artists Books and Portfolios (3/13/21)

Please keep in mind our upcoming live webinar Creating Your Signature Style. 

Click here for upcoming Workshops & Events, and here for Webinar Video Recordings.

Onward and Upward through the Fog!

Dahlias and Sunflowers from our Garden © Harold Davis

I’ve been contemplating a Long Exposure Waves workshop, and trying to see where this would fit into my schedule. My idea has been to combine a webinar prep session with an in-person session at the ocean, followed by another webinar to review results.

Long Exposure Wave Study, South Beach © Harold Davis

The request I’ve received from several photographers is to split the workshop up for separate enrollment, by doing the before and after webinars separately from the in-person session. Pro: Folks who just signed up for one or both of the webinars could practice on beaches anywhere. Con: In the past, when I’ve done this as a live workshop I’ve had before and after classes. My idea of the webinars is to replace these classroom sessions. It would be harder for me to keep a tightly focused group if the registrations were decoupled, and I might worry that some participants didn’t have adequate preparation.

As you can see, I am still thinking this through. In our new normal world, there are certainly uses for remote learning and Zoom as a way to make learning more available and flexible, and it is not entirely clear how to best take advantage of this capability.

Exposure data: +4ND, Circular Polarizer, five minutes at f/16 and ISO 64. Check out Five Minute Wave Exposures.