Safari Themes

Recent Comments

“I learned a ton from the Corcoran Gallery Safari. The class covered how to shoot in museums without tripods or flash.

“First, instructor David Luria had us practice how to hold our cameras steady.  Then he went over tips for ISO (high), aperture (wide, unless it’s a sculpture where depth of field was important), composition (He used the surrounding paintings as examples), and white balance (depends on the light). He also gave us a tip sheet, checklist style, to take home.

“Then we toured the museum as a group, escorted by museum staff, shooting whatever we wanted. Mr. Luria would give individual assignments every now and then (“Try shooting the statue from here.” “How about that stained glass panel right there?” etc.)  He’d also share very specific tips for shots gone wrong (“That statue looks too yellow. Try changing your white balance.” “That’s a little dark. Try a shutter speed of 80.”)  If a student had a particularly good technique, he’d say, “Hey look at this.” (For example, one student held his camera way over his head to avoid glare, using the flip screen to compose the shot).

“Mr. Luria’s philosophy, I think, is to try lots of different angles and techniques, because the beauty of digital photography is that you can make lots of mistakes. Also, he insisted that we not let the camera be the boss of us. For example, I overexposed one painting, so he suggested I disobey the camera’s light meter and manually set the exposure much darker —It worked great.

“It was also great to get customized hands-on advice with our particular cameras. For example, Mr. Luria taught me how to change the white balance to really bring out the red in one painting (He showed me how to access these settings several levels down my camera’s menu. I never even knew these settings existed!).

“All in all, super helpful!!”

—Angela N, 8/21/10

“I really enjoyed the advanced digital Safari today with Melanie. I got more out of the 3 hours + than 6 months of shooting on my own. I look forward to participating in more.(Hopefully warmer) Thanks to you both.”
—Art

“Brian and I had a wonderful, unforgettable time and took thousands and thousands of pictures. John and Sean did an amazing job in picking the locations for taking landscape and wildlife pictures (and paid the animals well to show up at the right time), providing enough food and water, and all that driving and being extremely patient in teaching everyone and answering our questions. I am surprised they weren’t horse from talking so much. Brian and I learned a lot from John and Sean and give them high praise, and we can’t wait for their next big week long photo Safari.  Thank you all for providing another unbelievable photo Safari.”
—P.M.

“Saturday’s Safari was the closest I’ve taken to a photography class. The simple tips on adjusting white balance, ISO settings and trick metering have—and I mean this—revolutionized my approach to taking pictures. I look forward to learning more. Thanks, again, and be well.”
—Gary Jenkins

“My husband and I took your digital photo class recently at the Scottsdale Art Center. What a fabulous experience!  My husband said he learned more in that hour and a half than in an entire semester he took at a local college. As for me—all I ever wanted was to point and shoot. But now? A whole new world has opened up for me. I’m not at all sure it was seemly for a 68-year-old grandmother to be crawling around on her belly at the Greek Fest trying to get good angles, and my thighs are still sore, but who cares?  I had a grand time.”
—C.K.