4545 Connecticut Ave. NW #620
Washington, DC 20008
Toll Free - 1-877-512-5969
Local Phone - 1-202-537-0937
Fax - 1-815-333-0233
E-mail: info@washingtonphotosafari.com
"David Luria does a superb range of 1/2 day photo safari shoots around DC, and his knowledge of the area is just second to none.He knows all the sites, all the angles, times of day etc etc. If anyone is going to DC with their camera, it's the best photo tour you could have."
—Chris Dodkin, UK
4545 Connecticut Ave. NW #620
Washington, DC 20008
Toll Free - 1-877-512-5969
Local Phone - 1-202-537-0937
Fax - 1-815-333-0233
E-mail: info@washingtonphotosafari.com
Next Safari: 11/22/2008
See that wrinkled red leaf on the sidewalk? It's a picture. See the cross-hatched shadows on the wall made by the fire escape railing? It's a picture. See the abstract reflections in that yellow motorcycle's gas tank? It's a picture. If you want to develop your eye for the weird and unusual close-up, come join us in the colorful Adams-Morgan entertainment neighborhood for a walking Safari that will sharpen your eyes for pictures you never knew were there!
Our co-instructor is creative amateur photographer and frequent Safarian Dennis Ettlin who will demonstrate his clever techniques for close-in photography.
Meet at northeast corner of 18th St and Kalorama Rd NW.
Fee: $54 per person.
Next Safari: 03/28/2009
Springtime in Washington DC means cherry blossoms. And the best place to shoot them in the late afternoon sun begins at the FDR Memorial and then to move with the sun behind us along the Tidal Basin toward the Jefferson Memorial, guided by professional architectural photographer E. David Luria. The FDR Memorial itself offers hours of photographic fun, exploring the waterfalls, the Depression-era statues, and the depictions of FDR and Eleanor, plus great views of the Tidal Basin, the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial, all framed in cherry blossoms. Our clients are also the ONLY people to take an EXCLUSIVE photo at a secret spot we have discovered on the Tidal Basin: the "Lady of the Blossoms Cherry Tree!"
Afternoon Cherry Blossom Safaris are offered daily, March 28-April 12. Open to photographers at any skill level with any kind of camera, film or digital.
Meet at visitor entrance to FDR Memorial, West Basin Drive SW, between Ohio and Indpendence Aves., SW.
$59 per person.
Next Safari: 10/11/2008
Here is a creative NEW Safari offered by Melanie Otto, the popular instructor who teaches you how to use your digital camera! It is a photo scavenger hunt in Old Town Alexandria where paired teams achieve specific photo goals assigned by Melanie, such as a double exposure that combines a face and a place, shoot something that shows shallow/deep depth of field, create images (series of 3 maybe) which shows subject, action, resulting in a story told in more than one frame, shoot one frame that shows a blur of subjects, shoot a frame that stops fast action, find something which leads you somewhere (doorway, path, sign), shoot a frame which shows a ghostly blur emerging from a “haunted” Alexandria townhouse, creative experiment with white balance settings, etc.
Each team then meets Melanie at a particular location to show the results and get their next goal. The purpose of the safari is to help you fully utilize all the F Stop/shutter speed/white balance/ISO setting features of your digital camera. The winning team—the folks who finish first—gets ice cream cones!
Sounds like Washington Photo Safari's version of the TV show "Survivor", right? Well, we decided to help you get AWAY from the TV set, OUT of the house to make your OWN fun, with your camera!
Meet on dock side of Torpedo Factory by the big bulls-eye, Cameron and Union Streets, Alexandria, VA.
Fee: $89/person.
Next Safari: 03/29/2009
OK, so you have your fancy digital camera. Have you tried using it in the brisk cold of an early April morning on the beautiful cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin BEFORE the sun comes up? If not, here is your chance to do it under the direction of professional digital photographer Melanie Otto, who will help you with those macro settings for intimate blossom close-ups, with file compression and white balance usage, fill flash, filtration, tripod use, and with those tricky exposure issues.
Our VERY reasonable fee even includes a light breakfast from a secret but fantastic pastry shop!
Offered March 29, April 1, 8 and 10. Any digital camera may be used.
Meet at entrance to paddleboat rental station near Maine Ave. (Raoul Wallenberg Pl) and 15th St. SW.
Fee: $99 per person.
Next Safari: 04/16/2009
April 16-19, 2009, $1295/person, includes all 3 days of photography instruction plus entry to Keukenhof Gardens, daytime and nighttime canal boat transport, ferry to Marken/Volendam, welcome dinner and drink. Not included are air transportation, lodging in Amsterdam, meals, tips and public transport in Amsterdam. Begins at 7 pm on the 16th, ends at 9 pm on the 19th.
Minimum 6 participants. In combination with Prague Safari April 23-26, fee is reduced to $1245.
Next Safari: 11/09/2008
Spend a day exploring the Refuge that Time magazine called "nature on the throne of her glory." Twelve miles south of Cambridge, Maryland, the tidal marshes, freshwater ponds, evergreen forests and late fall colors of this 27,000 acre refuge provide a wealth of rich photographic subjects -- including wildlife, scenics, abstracts and macro opportunities. Waterfowl will be plentiful, so bring your longest lens as well as a variety of other focal lengths to capture all this Refuge has to offer.
This trip is led by nature photographer John Witschey and limited to 7 photographers.
This Safari has always sold out so make your reservations early!
We will meet at the Vienna Metro Station and the price includes transportation.
Fee:$195/person.
Sorry, this Safari is FULL.
Next Safari: 10/19/2008
With its 6.1-megapixel sensor and attractive pricing, the Canon Digital Rebel SLR digital camera and its successors (the 8 megapixel Rebel XT and the 10 megapixel XTi) have become very popular items among digital photographers. This Safari will help Digital Rebel and XT users put their cameras through the paces of ISO settings, flash settings, variable white balance settings, file compression, aperture and shutter priorities, focus settings, custom settings, menu navigation tricks, exposure tricks, use of the histogram etc. menu shortcuts inside and outside of the new National Museum of the American Indian.
Special exhibits at the museum pose unique challenges for the digital photographer, especially the mix of daylight and tungsten light. The eight-story high atrium is a great place to practice wide-angle photography, and the carvings and statues provide challenges for your telephoto lens. Digital camera specialist Melanie Otto provides hands-on training for this exciting new piece of equipment.
Meet at Museum entrance at 3rd St and Independence Ave SW.
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 04/01/2009
If you don’t mind getting up REAL early and tromping around the Tidal Basin on a COLD April morning, this photo Safari's for you! The early sun filtering through the blossoms gives them a lovely, golden light, much nicer than the harsh white light of mid-day. We meet at 6:15 am (sorry!), and then the sun comes up at about 6:45 am on the Tidal Basin. Guided by professional architectural photographer E. David Luria, we photograph our way around the entire Tidal Basin, capturing the Jefferson Memorial, the FDR Memorial and the Washington Monument, all framed by blossoms in the early morning sun. Our clients are also the ONLY people to take an EXCLUSIVE photo at a secret spot on the Tidal Basin: the "Lady of the Blossoms Cherry Tree!".
Offered April 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, and 12. Open to photographers at any skill level with any kind of camera, film or digital.
Meet at entrance to paddleboat rental station near Maine Avenue and 15th St SW.
Fee: $64 per person.
Next Safari: 11/09/2008
Only 45 minutes from the DC area is a photographic gem: Ellicott City, MD, a community built in 1772 which still boasts traditional architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Explore the charm of historic Ellicott City in this workshop taught by local professional photographer Donna Jones that will show participants how to shoot dynamic black and white and color images. Good camera exposure and different lighting scenarios will be covered. Learn why great composition is essential to your success as a photographer.
This Safari will take you to many of the historic places in the center of Ellicott City, including churches, statues, the plaza, old lampposts, bridges, cobblestone streets, the train station, Maryland Avenue and City Hall.
You may have learned how to use your camera but when you look at your images, they just don't grab you. Ellicott City will open your mind to greater possibilities! Changing your point-of-view can dramatically effect the mood of a photograph. We will really dig into this topic by exploring how to see the same scene in many different ways. Good composition will be highlighted. Accurate camera exposures and lighting will be covered, tripods are recommended.
Donna Jones has been a commercial photographer for 24 years and has taught photography at the college level for 13 years, teaching digital, traditional, alternative photographic processes and photo mixed media. In addition to teaching college and continuing education students, she also teaches at various art centers locally, such as Photoworks at Glen Echo, Greenbelt Community Center and Rockville Arts Place.
Meet inside The Trolley Stop, 6 Oella Ave, Ellicott City, MD 21043 at 9:30. If anyone would like to enjoy coffee or breakfast, please arrive by 9:00. There is a free all day parking lot a few paces beyond The Trolley Stop.
Fee: $179 per person.
Photo: Donna Jones.
Next Safari: 11/15/2008
Going on a big trip with your new camera? Do this Safari before you go!
You love your camera, BUT – out of fear of doing the wrong thing – you always keep it on a nice, safe "Auto" (AKA the "ugly green thing") or "P" and let the camera do the thinking. Or you put it on "M" because you see the pros doing that and STILL your pictures come out poorly exposed! You are depressed! You are intimidated by the letters "A", "S", "M", or "P", or "Av" and "Tv". As a result you only use $100 worth of the $800 worth of features on your expensive camera!
Does this sound familiar? You are not alone…Help is now on the way from a professional architectural photographer who has made every F-stop mistake in the book, E. David Luria, director of the Washington Photo Safari! This special photo Safari will concentrate on understanding WHY you would want to choose "Shutter Priority" or "Aperture Priority" or the "Portrait" setting, or the "Landscape" setting or the "Sports" setting or even the "P" and" M for Manual "settings for your camera, whether it is an SLR or a point and shoot or "prosumer " digital/film camera with the adjustable settings You will learn how YOU - not the camera -can control the final image.
Our NEWEST venue for this safari is the beautiful Water Park on Crystal Drive, right next to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, VA. This place has everything you would ever want for exercises in depth of field ( flowers, fountains, waterfall backdrops for portraits, statuettes of airplanes in flight.) And for experimenting with shutter speeds we have the waterspouts for blurred or frozen water, the moving cars on adjoining Crystal Drive, and lots of playful kids, providing excellent opportunities to experiment with narrow and wide depth of field, slow and fast shutter priorities, and the effect of wide angle, normal, and telephoto lenses on depth of field
Bring your camera, tripod, and ALL your lenses for this very helpful primer on the proper use of your camera. If you have neutral density filters to slow down your shutter, bring those too! If you have a cute kid and a spouse or friend who can watch him/her while you learn, bring the kid! We will get great fast-shutter speed shots of the kids jumping off little steps with the waterfall in the background.
Got a camera that shoots 2,3,4 or 5 frames a second? Bring it--here is your chance to test it out! Got a really FAST lens like a 50mm F1.4? Bring it, for sure, to OBLITERATE the background! And bring your tripod.
Meet at picnic tables in Water Park, at 1600 Crystal Drive, Arlington VA. Closest METRO is Crystal City, right across Crystal Drive, some parking available on adjoining streets and lots.
Fee: $69 per person.
Next Safari: 10/19/2008
This Safari is timed for the peak fall colors in Shenandoah National Park. With elevations ranging from just 1,000 to nearly 4,000 feet, we're guaranteed to find great colors. We'll also have great opportunities for landscape and macro photography, and we'll be on the lookout through sunset for wildlife, including whitetail deer bucks sporting their fall antlers and -- if we're very lucky -- a black bear or two. This popular Safari is led by nature photographers Judy Reisman and John Witschey.
We will travel as a group from the Vienna Metro Station; price for this Safari includes transportation from the station.
Fee: $159 per person. Maximum 12.
Next Safari: 11/29/2008
WITHOUT using Photoshop, how do you erase all the moving cars and people from your street scene? How do you get the yellows and greens out of your indoor pictures? How do you make the blue sky bluer and the white clouds whiter? It can all be done inside your camera when you take the picture IF you know what you are doing with filters! But which filters do digital or film cameras really NEED?
This indoor/outdoor photo Safari, taught by architectural photographer E. David Luria, will teach film and digital SLR owners how, why, where and when to use neutral density, graduated and color correcting filters, such as the circular polarizer, the warming filter, tungsten and fluorescent filters for color photography, and yellow and red cloud-enhancing filters for black and white photography. We will also go inside the Renwick Gallery for interior photography without flash and review the built-in filtration systems of digital cameras known as "white balance" settings.
Meet at The Renwick Gallery at 17th and Pennsylvania Ave NW.
Fee: $79 per person.
Next Safari: 10/14/2008
Not everyone can afford high end camera equipment, but you can still produce beautiful and interesting shots, especially with tips from professional photographer Bob Blanken who will help budding food and product photographers try their hand at capturing the colors and textures of various dishes and items that you may wish to advertise for sale on EBay.
The evening will start with a discussion on what makes a good picture and examples of such. Afterwards, you'll be let loose in front of various studio light setups and you'll begin to snap away as he gives you pointers on where to focus, offer suggestions as to what type of lighting and light boxes would bring out the texture of the food, how to use reflectors to improve the lighting. You will observe and learn as we photograph food prepared by a caterer, Eric and Company
There will be a variety of food and backgrounds to work with as we design, prepare and shoot. You'll be amazed at the quality images you can achieve with the various impromptu setups. For those shooting with a Digital SLR or a 35mm camera, please bring all of your lenses. Everyone should bring a tripod and any products you wish to advertise for sale. We will be using Lowell continuous halogen lights or studio strobes.
Students should bring camera, lenses and a light meter (If owned), or an 18% medium gray card for getting correct exposures.
Bob Blanken is past president of The Professional Photographers Society of Greater Washington and the Maryland Professional Photographers Association. His photographs and albums have won numerous awards. He is VP of Education for the Greater Washington, DC Chapter of International Special Events Society.
Meet at Bob Blanken Studio at 6604 Persimmon Tree Rd, Bethesda MD.
Fee: $89 per person. Limit 8 students.
Photo: Laurie Sennott.
Next Safari: 10/12/2008
Think you’re pretty good at taking pictures of people but would like to be even better? Good! We have the perfect safari for you: an introduction to the principles of good indoor portrait lighting and posing WITHOUT expensive professional studio lighting equipment, taught by professional portrait photographer Bob Blanken at his studio in Bethesda, MD.
If you want to learn how to photograph your children indoors, or your friends and colleagues in their homes or offices, or if you want to become a part-time informal portrait photographer in your neighborhood, come join us for a half-day beginner-level session on how to:
1) pose children and adults indoors in natural window light:
2) use bounce and swivel flash units and reflectors to achieve fill lighting;
3) select a plain background in the home environment WITHOUT professional backdrops
4) determine correct exposure and lighting on the face;
5) achieve a pose or composition that best reflects the subject's personality or interest;
6) place more light on one side of the face (main) and less light on the other (fill)
7) use simple slave flash units, like the Wein, for balanced lighting;
8) select lenses for portrait work (for SLR's AND point and shoots) that blur the background.
(This Safari, or its equivalent in experience, is required for admission to the Informal Indoor Portraiture Intermediate Level Safari)
Bob Blanken is past president of The Professional Photographers Society of Greater Washington and the Maryland Professional Photographers Association. His photographs and albums have won numerous awards. He is VP of Education for the Greater Washington, DC Chapter of International Special Events Society.
Meet at Bob Blanken Studio, 6604 Persimmon Tree Road, Bethesda MD 20817.
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 12/06/2008
Think you’re pretty good at taking pictures of people but would like to be even better? Good! We have the perfect safari for you: an introduction to the principles of good indoor portrait lighting and posing WITHOUT expensive professional studio lighting equipment, taught by professional portrait photographer Bob Blanken at his studio in Bethesda, MD.
If you want to learn how to photograph your children indoors, or your friends and colleagues in their homes or offices, or if you want to become a part-time informal portrait photographer in your neighborhood, come join us for a half-day beginner-level session on how to:
1) pose children and adults indoors in natural window light:
2) use bounce and swivel flash units and reflectors to achieve fill lighting;
3) select a plain background in the home environment WITHOUT professional backdrops
4) determine correct exposure and lighting on the face;
5) achieve a pose or composition that best reflects the subject's personality or interest;
6) place more light on one side of the face (main) and less light on the other (fill)
7) use simple slave flash units, like the Wein, for balanced lighting;
8) select lenses for portrait work (for SLR's AND point and shoots) that blur the background.
(This Safari, or its equivalent in experience, is required for admission to the Informal Indoor Portraiture Intermediate Level Safari)
Bob Blanken is past president of The Professional Photographers Society of Greater Washington and the Maryland Professional Photographers Association. His photographs and albums have won numerous awards. He is VP of Education for the Greater Washington, DC Chapter of International Special Events Society.
Meet at Bob Blanken Studio, 6604 Persimmon Tree Road, Bethesda MD 20817.
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 10/18/2008
For the more advanced amateur who wishes to do good portrait photography, Washington Photo Safari offers a workshop on the principles of good indoor portrait lighting and posing with professional studio lighting equipment and backdrops, taught by professional portrait photographer Bob Blanken at his studio in Bethesda, MD.
If you want to learn how to use strobe lighting and professional backdrops or set up a studio in your home to photograph your children, or your friends and colleagues in their homes or offices with a portable mini-studio, or if you want to become a part-time portrait photographer in your neighborhood, come join us for a half-day intermediate-level session on how to:
Meet at Bob Blanken Studio, 6604 Persimmon Tree Road, Bethesda MD 20817.
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 12/20/2008
For the more advanced amateur who wishes to do good portrait photography, Washington Photo Safari offers a workshop on the principles of good indoor portrait lighting and posing with professional studio lighting equipment and backdrops, taught by professional portrait photographer Bob Blanken at his studio in Bethesda, MD.
If you want to learn how to use strobe lighting and professional backdrops or set up a studio in your home to photograph your children, or your friends and colleagues in their homes or offices with a portable mini-studio, or if you want to become a part-time portrait photographer in your neighborhood, come join us for a half-day intermediate-level session on how to:
Meet at Bob Blanken Studio, 6604 Persimmon Tree Road, Bethesda MD 20817.
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 11/08/2008
For the most advanced amateur who has completed the Intermediate Level course on indoor portrait photography, Washington Photo Safari now offers an advanced level workshop on the principles of good indoor portrait lighting and posing with professional studio lighting equipment and backdrops, taught by professional portrait photographer Bob Blanken at his studio in Bethesda, MD.
This advanced workshop includes such topics as:
• Mastering Multiple Lighting Setups
• Main, hair, background, accents and fills
• Softboxes vs pan reflectors
• Glamour Lighting
• Profile lighting
• Metering
• Posing
• Hands
• Clothing consultations
• Developing your style
Bob Blanken is past president of The Professional Photographers Society of Greater Washington and the Maryland Professional Photographers Association. His photographs and albums have won numerous awards. He is VP of Education for the Greater Washington, DC Chapter of International Special Events Society. Note: Attendance at Informal Indoor Portraiture Intermediate Level (or equivalent experience) is required for admission to this class.
Meet at Bob Blanken Studio, 6604 Persimmon Tree Road, Bethesda MD 20817.
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 12/12/2008
Join us for two-day photographic exploration of beautiful Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA and picturesque location in Old New Castle, DE. Participate in an immersive photography and learning experience framed by beautiful holiday displays in this safari led by professional portrait and wedding photographer Bob Blanken. Offered December 12-14, 2008.
Itinerary:
Friday, December 12: Arrival in Wilmington
Arrive at the beautiful and historic Hotel Dupont in at 11th and Market Streets, Wilmington DE by
7:30pm. (get directions)
8:00pm - Evening meeting with instructor Bob Blanken.
Saturday December 13: Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens is the country’s premier horticultural showplace including a glass enclosed gardens covering over 195,668 square feet of luscious flowers, trees, and floral displays located only 20 minutes west of Wilmington, DE. Renowned for its flower displays, Longwood offers the opportunity for macro photography as well as large scenes., majestic trees, photogenic water displays and opulent architecture. The spectacular conservatories, gardens, woodlands and meadows are spread over 1,000 acres. The many outdoor gardens include an Italian water garden, rose garden, and a topiary garden. At sunset the famous light show provides fabulous images to be captured.
For more information on Longwood Gardens, go to longwoodgardens.org
Participants will depart Hotel Dupont by carpool to Longwood Gardens at 8:15am. The Safari begins in Longwood's main Conservatory Hall promptly at 9am.
Lunch – included in your registration - will be provided in the Longwood Gardens Terrace Restaurant. The group departs for the hotel at 6:30pm.
At Longwood Gardens you will learn more about:
Backgrounds Depth of field
Exposure Fill light
Garden environment posing Macro photography
Night time photography Ring lights
Separation
White Balance
The evening is open for dinner on your own with class participants.
Optional—meeting with the instructor to review the day's accomplishments over dinner, or going out on your own to shoot the interior of the Hotel Dupont itself or the Wilmington skyline at night.
Sunday December 14: Old New Castle DE
The next morning, after checking out of the hotel, the group drives to historic Old New Castle where the buildings will be seasonally decorated. Special arrangements have been made to visit and photograph Amstel House, the Old Library, and the historic New Castle Court House Museum. These facilities are allowing WPS participants the opportunity to photograph their historic interiors.
At these historic houses you will learn more about:
Architectural photography
Interior photography
Balancing indoor and outdoor light
White balance settings
Lunch - included in your registration - will be provided at the restored Arsenal Restaurant. Following lunch, the class will complete with a review and discussion.
Arrangements have been made to stay at the Hotel Dupont, for $99 per night plus tax. This is a special rate to enable WPS participants to stay at this extraordinary hotel. Paid registrants will be given a special code to access this rate.
Fee of $380/person includes transportation to/from Longwood and entrance fees and lunch both Saturday and Sunday, but it does not include hotel accommodations. Non-photographer spouses/friends welcome to attend for fee of $100/person to cover meals and transportation.
Next Safari: 11/09/2008
Like to get REAL close to your subject? Let nature photographer Judy Reisman show you how to create striking and unusual macro images, using everyday materials such as glass paperweights, leaves, tissue paper and ribbon. We will also be able to shoot the orchids in the greenhouse where the workshop will take place. This is an ideal site for photography and photographers, since the light is very diffused and flattering, and the climate is controlled. You don’t need a macro lens but a close-up filter or extension tube would be an asset. (Judy has a number of these as loaners.) tripods required Workshop is limited to 6 people.
Meet at Reisman Studio
1840 Mt. Ephraim
Adamstown, MD 21710
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 01/24/2009
"Metadata". Sounds like a website that leads you to new romantic relationships, right? "Hey! You metadata with your camera? I metadata too!"
As digital cameras mature (and get more expensive!) they do more and more stuff. They blink, they wink, they flash information, they give you mulitocolored squiggly graphs, some even give you the GPS coordinates and the name of the little town in Italy where you took the picture. It’s only a matter of time until these cameras start serving you a French Vanilla Cappuccino!
So what possible benefit is there to having that image blink at you? What do those silly histogram graphs mean? Why do you NEED all this excess of information? What ever happened to the good old simpler days of "You Push The Button. We Do The Rest?"
In fact, the metadata information now provided through the miracle of digital technology can be very useful to you as a photographer. It not only gives you time and date of the photograph, but also your F Stop, shutter speed, white balance setting, image number, and much more. It gives you a graph of exposure values and the degree of red, green and blue values in your picture, and an indication of plus or minus exposure compensation. If parts of the photograph are blinking, that means those sections of the photo are over-exposed (not always a bad thing, especially with ceiling lights and windows.)
This photo Safari, conducted by professional portrait and wedding photographer Bob Blanken, will take the mystery out of metadata and histograms for you He will go through each item of your camera's metadata, explain how to read histograms and exposure data to help you make your pictures more professional. As you shoot inside and outside locations at Bob’s studio, he will review with you the meaning of the metadata readings and the lessons they teach you to improve your photography.
Designed for intermediate and advanced photographers with cameras that provide metadata readouts, this safari is particularly useful for people who do portraits, products, pets, architectural and food photography, but it is also helpful for any other type of photography.
Instructor Bob Blanken is past president of The Professional Photographers Society of Greater Washington and the Maryland Professional Photographers Association. His photographs and albums have won many local and national awards. He was the VP of Education for the Greater Washington, DC Chapter of International Special Events Society.
Meet at Bob Blanken Studios,located at 6604 Persimmon Tree Road, Bethesda MD 20817.
Fee: $99 per person.
Next Safari: 10/11/2008
Learn how to take great pictures BEFORE you go on that expensive trip! Join our standard "Monuments and Memorials" workshop, offered every Wednesday and Saturday, in which Paris-trained architectural photographer E. David Luria takes you to the most popular monuments and historic buildings in Washington: the White House, Lafayette Park, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Albert Einstein, Lincoln, Korea, Vietnam, and Vietnam Women's Memorials, and to Union Station. While you are taking the pictures, Mr. Luria gives you hands-on tips in basic architectural photography, outdoor portraiture, and interior photography without flash or tripod.
Meet at Renwick Gallery, 17th and Pennsylvania Ave NW. Advance reservations required. Safari groups are generally 3-6 people only. Suggested as preliminary course before taking special safaris. Open to any photographer at any skill level with any camera, film or digital. No tripod needed on the morning itinerary.
Fee: $74/person half-day, includes transportation and materials.
Register for Half-Day on a Saturday
Next Safari: 10/08/2008
Learn how to take great pictures BEFORE you go on that expensive trip! Join our standard "Monuments and Memorials" workshop, offered every Wednesday and Saturday, in which Paris-trained architectural photographer E. David Luria takes you to the most popular monuments and historic buildings in Washington: the White House, Lafayette Park, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Albert Einstein, Lincoln, Korea, Vietnam, and Vietnam Women's Memorials, and to Union Station. While you are taking the pictures, Mr. Luria gives you hands-on tips in basic architectural photography, outdoor portraiture, and interior photography without flash or tripod.
Meet at Renwick Gallery, 17th and Pennsylvania Ave NW. Advance reservations required. Safari groups are generally 3-6 people only. Suggested as preliminary course before taking special safaris. Open to any photographer at any skill level with any camera, film or digital. No tripod needed on the morning itinerary.
Fee: $74/person half-day, includes transportation and materials.
The full day version ($129/person) includes the morning session described above and, after lunch in Union Station, goes on to the colorful Adams Morgan entertainment/restaurant district for training in "right-brained" abstract photography, then to the magnificent Washington National Cathedral where we teach you how (and how not) to photograph church interiors and the most beautiful stained glass windows you will ever see in any church.
Our afternoon session ends at the famous 76-foot tall Iwo Jima Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, where you can duplicate the famous photograph taken by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal on Mt. Suribachi in 1945 and capture in your camera each of the six soldiers depicted in Clint Eastwood's recent movie, Flag of our Fathers, against a backdrop of the Washington Monument and the US Capitol across the Potomac River.
The Safari ends at 5:15 pm and we drop you off at the Rosslyn Metro Station on the Blue/Orange Lines.
Clients also have the option of taking the Afternoon Half-Day session only described above, beginning at 2:00 pm at the Old Town Trolley Desk at Union Station, and ending at 5:15 pm at Iwo Jima, with a drop-off at Rosslyn Metro. The cost of the afternoon-only half-day Safari is $74.
Register for Half-Day or Full Day on a Wednesday
Next Safari: 04/17/2009
Monuments at Night is offered every Friday during spring and fall 2009.
Washington DC’s National Mall is the showcase of the nation’s capital, home to its most famous and historic monuments. One of the best ways to see it is through the viewfinder of your own tripod-mounted camera at twilight and at night, guided by a professional architectural photographer.
After giving you an orientation on the basic techniques of nighttime photography, Washington Photo Safari director E. David Luria will take you to the most photogenic areas of the National Mall. Your Safari begins at the new World War II Memorial, with its beautifully illuminated ornate fountains and columns framing the nearby spotlit Washington Monument in that "magic hour" of deep-blue twilight. Then you walk along the famous Reflecting Pool on your way to the poignant Vietnam Womens Memorial, the powerful Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the extraordinary Korean War Memorial with its illuminated, fear-filled faces of men in combat, and then to the awesome Lincoln Memorial with its majestic statue of President Lincoln. We end up at the whimsical and brightly illuminated Albert Einstein Memorial at 22nd St and Constitution Ave NW.
At each location on this 2.5 hour Safari, Mr. Luria reviews white balance settings for digital cameras and filter usage for film cameras in nighttime shooting, how to shoot at night WITHOUT using a flash, and how to achieve interesting composition with close-up detail that truly brings out the meaning of each memorial and statue. This Safari will help you achieve really beautiful, postcard-quality images of the nation's capital.
Meet at entrance to World War II Memorial on 17th St NW between Const. Ave and Independence Ave.
Fee: $69 per person. Sturdy tripod required.
Offered every Friday in spring and fall 2009.
Next Safari: 10/25/2008
Offered Saturday, October 25 at 1:00 pm through Sunday, October 26 at 4:00 pm.
Meet at entrance to AP Headquarters at 450 West 33rd Street, just east of 10th Avenue near Penn Station. New York City For inexpensive, reliable, comfortable and safe express travel to NYC we recommend Vamoose Bus - $25 one way!
$225 per person, includes Safari instruction and water taxi.
Next Safari: 10/18/2008
The latest in Nikon’s entry-level SLR offerings, the new D-60 has become a very popular option for first-time SLR users wishing to upgrade from their point and shoots. Providing a full 10 megapixels and a high-resolution 2.5 inch screen for viewing, the D-60 has many of the same features as its much more expensive siblings, such as a new EXPEED processor, a 3D Color Matrix Metering II evaluates each scene for brightness, color, contrast, size and position of shadows and highlights, a dust reduction system, an advanced 3-Area AF system, image optimization options. In-Camera Image Editing and Enhanced Retouch Menu, and a very welcome 500 images per battery charge. It is sold with an 18-55mm vibration reduction lens.
This Safari will help D-60 users put their cameras through the paces of ISO settings, flash settings, white balance settings and sub-settings, file compression, aperture and shutter priorities, focus settings, custom settings, menu navigation tricks, exposure tricks, use of the histogram etc. menu shortcuts inside and outside of the new National Museum of the American Indian. Special exhibits at the museum pose unique challenges for the digital photographer, especially the mix of daylight and tungsten light. The eight-story high atrium is a great place to practice wide-angle photography, and the carvings and statues provide challenges for your telephoto lens. Digital camera specialist Melanie Otto provides hands-on training for these exciting new pieces of equipment.
Meet at Museum entrance at 3rd St and Independence Ave SW.
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 10/25/2008
An attractive and affordable alternative to the higher priced Nikon D-200 SLR, the new Nikon D80 with its 2.5 inch LCD screen and 10.1 megapixels resolution has become a very popular full-featured pro-level digital SLR camera. This safari will help D-80 users put their cameras through the paces of ISO settings, flash settings, white balance settings, file compression, aperture and shutter priorities, focus settings, custom settings, menu navigation tricks, exposure tricks, use of the histogram etc. menu shortcuts inside and outside of the new National Museum of the American Indian,. Special exhibits at the museum pose unique challenges for the digital photographer, especially the mix of daylight and tungsten light. The eight-story high atrium is a great place to practice wide-angle photography, and the carvings and statues provide challenges for your telephoto lens. Digital camera specialist Melanie Otto provides hands-on training for this exciting piece of equipment.
Meet at Museum entrance at 3rd St and Independence Ave SW.
Fee: $89.00 per person
Next Safari: 10/11/2008
Getting a natural, relaxed image in posed pictures of friends and family is art, not science. It takes a number of ingredients, particularly mastering the science portion of photography so you, the photographer, can be natural and relaxed. This photo safari, taught by professional portrait photographer Bob Blanken, will use the wonderful settings available at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton MD for an instructional beginner-level workshop that will have you:
Meet at Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton MD, 20902. (map)
Fee: $89 per person.
Photo: Bob Blanken
Next Safari: 11/09/2008
Getting a natural, relaxed image in posed pictures of friends and family is art, not science. It takes a number of ingredients, particularly mastering the science portion of photography so you, the photographer, can be natural and relaxed. This photo safari, taught by professional portrait photographer Bob Blanken, will use the wonderful settings available at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton MD for an instructional beginner-level workshop that will have you:
Meet at Brookside Gardens, 1800 Glenallan Ave., Wheaton MD, 20902. (map)
Fee: $89 per person.
Photo: Bob Blanken
Next Safari: 12/14/2008
Come spend an afternoon photographing our National Bird with professional wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian. The Susquehanna river offers excellent opportunities to photograph Bald Eagles as they fish and interact with each other. The workshop will focus primarily on shooting the birds in flight, attention will be paid to proper panning techniques and telephoto lens use. A 300mm lens or longer will provide best results for this workshop, but please contact Sean with equipment questions. The workshop will run from 11:00am til we run out of light.
Wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian has traveled over much of North America in search of outstanding wildlife and nature photographs. His body of work includes images from 14 U.S. National Parks and dozens of National Wildlife Refuges, with over 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles recorded. Sean has spent over 600 days on location over the past 17 years including 20 weeks in Yellowstone National Park alone and he has led two of our safaris to Yellowstone. His work has appeared in publications, exhibits and a CD jacket, and his fine art prints have graced the walls of many offices and homes.
Meet at 11:00 am at the park and ride at exit 89 on interstate 95 in Maryland.
Fee:$89 per person.
Photo: Sean Quintilian.
Next Safari: 01/10/2009
Come spend an afternoon photographing our National Bird with professional wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian. The Susquehanna river offers excellent opportunities to photograph Bald Eagles as they fish and interact with each other. The workshop will focus primarily on shooting the birds in flight, attention will be paid to proper panning techniques and telephoto lens use. A 300mm lens or longer will provide best results for this workshop, but please contact Sean with equipment questions. The workshop will run from 11:00am til we run out of light.
Wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian has traveled over much of North America in search of outstanding wildlife and nature photographs. His body of work includes images from 14 U.S. National Parks and dozens of National Wildlife Refuges, with over 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles recorded. Sean has spent over 600 days on location over the past 17 years including 20 weeks in Yellowstone National Park alone and he has led two of our safaris to Yellowstone. His work has appeared in publications, exhibits and a CD jacket, and his fine art prints have graced the walls of many offices and homes.
Meet at 11:00 am at the park and ride at exit 89 on interstate 95 in Maryland.
Fee:$89 per person.
Photo: Sean Quintilian.
Next Safari: 11/29/2008
Come spend an afternoon photographing our National Bird with professional wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian. The Susquehanna river offers excellent opportunities to photograph Bald Eagles as they fish and interact with each other. The workshop will focus primarily on shooting the birds in flight, attention will be paid to proper panning techniques and telephoto lens use. A 300mm lens or longer will provide best results for this workshop, but please contact Sean with equipment questions. The workshop will run from 11:00am til we run out of light.
Wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian has traveled over much of North America in search of outstanding wildlife and nature photographs. His body of work includes images from 14 U.S. National Parks and dozens of National Wildlife Refuges, with over 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles recorded. Sean has spent over 600 days on location over the past 17 years including 20 weeks in Yellowstone National Park alone and he has led two of our safaris to Yellowstone. His work has appeared in publications, exhibits and a CD jacket, and his fine art prints have graced the walls of many offices and homes.
Meet at 11:00 am at the park and ride at exit 89 on interstate 95 in Maryland.
Fee:$89 per person.
Photo: Sean Quintilian.
Next Safari: 01/17/2009
Come spend an afternoon photographing our National Bird with professional wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian. The Susquehanna river offers excellent opportunities to photograph Bald Eagles as they fish and interact with each other. The workshop will focus primarily on shooting the birds in flight, attention will be paid to proper panning techniques and telephoto lens use. A 300mm lens or longer will provide best results for this workshop, but please contact Sean with equipment questions. The workshop will run from 11:00am til we run out of light.
Wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian has traveled over much of North America in search of outstanding wildlife and nature photographs. His body of work includes images from 14 U.S. National Parks and dozens of National Wildlife Refuges, with over 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles recorded. Sean has spent over 600 days on location over the past 17 years including 20 weeks in Yellowstone National Park alone and he has led two of our safaris to Yellowstone. His work has appeared in publications, exhibits and a CD jacket, and his fine art prints have graced the walls of many offices and homes.
Meet at 11:00 am at the park and ride at exit 89 on interstate 95 in Maryland.
Fee:$89 per person.
Photo: Sean Quintilian.
Next Safari: 10/18/2008
Photography is a profession that can NOT be easily outsourced to other countries. Why? Because you have to be HERE to take the picture!
With careful planning while you keep your day job, you CAN turn your hobby and your love of photography into a lucrative profession. Many people facing retirement, reduced pensions or job layoffs have successfully become full-time or part-time photographers, earning significant income with their photo skills. This popular Washington Photo Safari workshop, taught by a person who’s been there, will explore ways to make a successful transition into photography as a profession. It will look at such options as shooting for stock, events, weddings, child portraits, sports, architecture, real estate, restaurants, food, pets, sailboats, landscapes, and lawyers. Participants will also be encouraged to explore areas of photography with which they are NOT familiar as possible options for career work.
The workshop will discuss such topics as: how do you get educated in photography? Once you get to be a GOOD photographer, how can you market your skills? How do clients find out about you? How do you build a business that supports yourself and your family in the style to which you have become accustomed? What kind of investment do you need in equipment? How do you set prices for your work? Where can you go for further training in photography while holding down your day job? How do you get published? How do you build a photo portfolio? How do you build a resume in a whole new career of photography, where nobody knows your name? Who are the potential clients in your own neighborhood and community? Which areas of photography have the greatest income potential?
The workshop will be taught by Washington Photo Safari founder and director E. David Luria, a professional architectural photographer who took up his hobby and made it his profession after being laid off from his job as a non-profit organization executive in Washington DC. Mr. Luria, a Paris-trained member of the American Society of Media Photographers, has had his images appear in 100 publications and on 30 magazine covers. His Washington Photo Safaris have trained several thousand people in the techniques of travel, digital, pet, nature and landscape photography.
Meet at the Party Room of Brandywine Apts., 4545 Connecticut Avenue NW Washington DC 20008.
Fee: $84 per person.
Next Safari: 11/23/2008
It is time once again for Washington Photo Safari's free semi-annual Pot Luck and Photo Critique session! One of the highlights of the DC social season, THIS is your opportunity to get a professional photographer's opinion of your work! We are committed to telling the truth, nicely. (Can you HANDLE the truth?) Bring 6-10 examples of your photos, good or bad, and one of our instructors will review them with you and make suggestions for improvement. They can be in print form, or as digital images on your own laptop's screen.
There is no charge for this service, but we DO ask you to bring some food for our Pot Luck. It can be something simple and thrown together like the dish in the attached photo (just KIDDING!), or a bag of chips, or a salad, or dessert, or a pasta, or a nice easy-to-prepare Duck Under Glass or Escargots A la Provencale, or maybe just a PICTURE of a delicious dish. (At our last Pot Luck, one of our clients - a confectioner - brought chocolate truffles! Can you top THAT?) But we promise that we will ONLY critique your photos, not your food!
This fabulous event takes place 3-6 pm in the vast international corporate complex of the Washington Photo Safari, at the Brandywine Apartments, 4545 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC, in the Party Room.
This is just two long blocks north of the Van Ness/UDC Metro stop on the Red Line, or one mile south of Chevy Chase Circle at Connecticut Avenue and Brandywine Street NW. There is plenty of on-street parking available at that time of day.
Fee: no charge.
If you can come, please RSVP to edavidluria@juno.com We look forward to seeing you AND your images!
Next Safari: 04/23/2009
Prague: Golden City of a Hundred Spires is the ultimate photographers’ paradise. Prague escaped the bombs of WWII, becoming one of Europe’s best-preserved baroque cities. Pictures abound in almost every direction you choose to look. With its majestic river, fairytale castle and winding cobblestone streets; its red-tiled roofs and stylish shops and crackling nightlife, picture-perfect Prague sets the scene for this extraordinary photo safari led by professional photographer Marketa Jirouskova.
This Safari is designed to teach you all aspects of travel photography - a mixture of outdoor/indoor, night time, cityscape/landscape, architecture, close-up, candid, people/street, and photojournalism.
The four-day workshop will give you dramatic pictures at Prague Castle, probably the largest castle complex in the world, which includes the old St. Vitus Cathedral, where you will shoot its artistic interiors and stained glass windows. You will cruise through the Royal Palace and get a glimpse of Prague’s turbulent past. Lunch at the open air cafes at the castle will yield some breathtaking views of the city. Then you will explore Josefov, once the site of Prague’s Jewish Ghetto and still one of the most intriguing Jewish districts in Europe and home to several museums, synagogues, and a Kafkaesque brooding cemetery.
You will wander through Old Town Square with its Astronomical Clock on the wall of the Old Town Hall, built in the early 1400s. Every hour the chimes are accompanied by a procession of wooden apostles statues moving between two blue doors at the top of the clock. You will even go to the top of the Old Town tower and get beautiful views of the bustling square below and over the red rooftops of Prague. In the evening you will wander through the winding cobblestone streets full of stylish shops, and enjoy dinner at one of the open air restaurants in Old Town Square, the enchanting Charles Bridge with its elegant baroque statues and continue through the historic cobblestone streets lined with grand Neo-Renaissance, Art-Nouveau, Pseudo Baroque, and Neo-Gothic buildings, many of which have been restored in an amazing array of color and architectural detail.
You will even take river cruise on the picturesque Vitaya River, wander the streets in New Town and along historic, Wenceslas Square and in the evening you will explore the night scenes along the river, from which you can get an awesome view of the fully lit Prague Castle against the evening sky.
Here is the day-by-day itinerary:
Thursday, April 23:
7PM- 9PM welcome dinner
Friday, April 24:
7-11AM: Prague Castle, St Vitus Cathedral – architecture, outdoor/indoor photography
4-8PM: Old Town Square, Charles Bridge – travel photography, (architecture, close-up, people)
Saturday, April 25:
7-11AM: Jewish Quarter, Municipal house – close-up, interior photography
3-7PM: Vltava river cruise – landscape/cityscape photography, Petrin Hill or TV tower (optional dinner after 7PM)
Sunday April 26:
7-11AM: Castle and Lesser Town historical streets and gardens–architecture, close-up photography
3-7PM: Wenceslas Square, New Town streets – street photography - candid, documentary photojournalism
Safari instructor Marketa Jirouskova, is a freelance photojournalist named Photographer of the Year by the International Photographic Society at the World Bank/IMF in Washington DC. A native of the Czech Republic and a resident of Amsterdam, Ms. Jirouskova received her Masters Degree in Film from the Prague Film School, has photographed and filmed in 50 countries and is the recipient of 37 photographic awards. Fluent, in English, Dutch and Czech, she has been published in six European magazines including the Readers Digest, and her work has been shown in over 20 exhibitions around the world. Her instruction on the 2008 Amsterdam safari was called "absolutely fantastic" by one of the participants.
April 23-26, 2009, $1295/person, includes all 3 days of photography instruction plus entry to Prague Castle, St Vitus Cathedral, Municipal House, Vltava river cruise, welcome dinner and drink. .Not included are air transportation, lodging in Prague, meals, tips and public transport in Amsterdam. Begins at 7 pm on the 23rd, ends at 9 pm on the 26th. Minimum 6 participants.
Not included are air transportation, lodging in Prague, meals, tips and public transport in Amsterdam. Begins at 7 pm on the 23rd, ends at 9 pm on the 26th. Minimum 6 participants.
In combination with Amsterdam safari April 16-19, fee is reduced to $1245.
Next Safari: 11/16/2008
Woof! Meow! Want to learn how to take better pictures of your pet or other animals? Professional pet photographer Judy Reisman will show you how. We will be working with domesticated animals on this safari, but the techniques will be applicable to critters at the zoo and in the wild. Judy will also share her secrets of animal psychology in getting animals to cooperate and give you the special �look� that makes you say �Awwwww!� Posing will also be covered, using animals alone and with people, and you will learn how to use natural light, reflectors and your flash for pet portraiture. We provide the pet models.
Photo: Judy Reisman
Meet a Reisman Studios in Adamstown MD, near Frederick, MD.
Fee: $89 per person.
Next Safari: 10/11/2008
Now THIS sounds like fun! We travel by Segway down Pennsylvania Avenue, the Avenue of the Presidents linking the White House with the Capitol, giving us excellent opportunities to practice architectural photography AND to have cool WHEELS as we go under the guidance of architectural photographer E. David Luria. We begin with the White House itself, then we photograph the magnificent Willard Hotel, Pershing Park, the City Hall, the Ronald Reagan International Trade Building, the Old Post Office, the Navy Memorial, and the Canadian Embassy, ending finally with the East Building of the National Gallery of Art and the long view of the US Capitol at the end of the avenue.
Meet at Capital Segway Tours base area at 1350 I St NW, Washington DC.
Fee: $119/person. Includes Segway training, photo instruction and Segway rental. Register EARLY for this one!
Next Safari: 01/17/2009
You have this expensive SLR camera with all kinds of metering options: matrix, center-weighted and spot. So how come some of your images are too bright or too dark? As with so many other issues in your life, the answer to this question is nuanced – neither black nor white. The answer is MEDIUM-GRAY!
Good photographs combine several elements: composition, light, white balance, and exposure. In this new photo Safari conducted by Bob Blanken, one of the top portrait and wedding photographers in the DC area, we concentrate on that last element: exposure! Bob will show you how and why to use a hand-held light meter that ACCURATELY measures the light falling ON to your subject, not the light reflected BACK from the subject to the camera. If you are interested in specialty photography portraits, food, pets, landscapes, architecture, or any subject with strong backlighting, this Safari will help you understand what a hand-held light meter does and how it works to give you perfect exposures every time. You may have seen professional photographers at work, holding a meter up to the highlighted cheek of their model or subject. Why do they do that? And, before you push the shutter, how do you measure the combined light that will be made by your flash, the window light and the room light. Hand-held light meters can do that. How do you balance indoor light in a room with the outdoor light seen through the room’s window? Hand-held light meters can do that.
If you have a LOT of money, they can even measure the correct color temperature in degrees of Kelvin so that your color/white balance is accurate!
This Safari, held at Bob Blanken’s studio in Bethesda MD, will also have a representative from the Bogen Company, Lydia Thomas, demonstrating the use of various light meters at different price ranges. You will find that this Safari takes the mystery out of using handheld meters indoors and outdoors, greatly improving the quality of your images. For intermediate to advanced-level photographers with cameras that have manually adjustable aperture and shutter speed settings.
Meet at studios of Bob Blanken, 6604 Persimmon Tree Road, Bethesda MD 20817. Bring camera, lenses, auxiliary flash, tripod.
Fee: $99 per person.
Next Safari: 10/26/2008
Get up close and personal with our fine feathered friends. No big glass required for this opportunity to shoot avian wildlife. For this Safari with instructor Judy Reisman we will meet in Frederick County’s Cunningham Falls Park where rangers from the Md. Department of Natural Resources will place birds of prey (about 8 different species) on tree limbs and logs for you to shoot. We can expect to have a bald headed eagle, vulture, barn owl, screech owl, kestrel, as well as others. Before the shoot, Judy will provide tips on bird photography, show ways of avoiding distracting backgrounds and explain using fill flash to best advantage.
Meet at Cunningham Falls Park entrance.
Fee: $89 per person.
Photo: Judy Reisman.
Next Safari: 11/01/2008
One of the most beautiful hidden treasures of Washington DC is the Kreeger Museum, located above Georgetown on Foxhall Road NW. Designed by famed architect Philip Johnson, the Kreeger houses the extraordinary art collection of the late GEICO Chairman David Lloyd Kreeger and his wife, Carmen.
This priceless collection contains paintings by Picasso, Modigliani, Bonnard, Braque, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Klee, Monet, Pissaro and many others, plus sculpture by Rodin, Brancusi, Calder, and Henry Moore. On this photo Safari, led by E. David Luria, architectural photographer and director of the popular Washington Photo Safari, you will be given an exclusive opportunity to learn how to photograph these works of art, a privilege not given to regular Museum visitors.
Emphasis will be on photographic composition, exposure, and white balance settings for accurate color rendition without the use of flash or tripod. Then the Safari moves outdoors to photograph the sculpture on the outdoor patios against a backdrop of magnificent fall colors. Register early for this unique opportunity to have your camera bring the treasures of the Kreeger into your own home.
Meet at entrance to the Kreeger Museum at 2401 Foxhall Road NW, Washington DC.
Fee: $64/person, includes a $10 donation to the Kreeger.
Next Safari: 11/08/2008
Of COURSE you can go to New England or the Shenandoah to see the fall colors, but Washington Photo Safari director E. David Luria can show you where and how to photograph magnificent foliage right here in the nation’s capital, on the National Mall. Beginning at the poignant Korean War Memorial, with its soldiers framed by brilliant orange trees, we then photograph the "Wall In Fall":, the famed Vietnam Memorial against a solid bank of red and orange trees. The nurse looking up to the sky for a helicopter medevac at the Vietnam Womens Memorial is all the more dramatic posed against the fall foliage. Then we hike through a grove of brilliant red trees to the World War II Memorial, also surrounded by colorful foliage. Mr. Luria will give you tips on composition, exposure, and lighting and the use of color filters or white balance settings to enhance the fall colors in your photographs.
Meet on the pathway leading to Korean War Memorial on the Mall.
Fee: $54 per person.
Next Safari: 10/10/2008
Our newest workshop in travel photography, now offered every Friday morning, takes you to some of the most popular monuments and historic buildings along the 17th Street corridor near the White House in Washington DC.
Our itinerary includes beautiful Lafayette Park, the White House itself, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the Corcoran Gallery, the American Red Cross building with its poignant statuary, the Organization of American States building, the majestic World War II Memorial with its fountains on the National Mall, and a session inside the magnificent Renwick Gallery (a Smithsonian museum of American crafts),with professional photographer E. David Luria providing tips on architectural photography, outdoor portraiture,and interior museum photography without flash or tripod.
Advance reservations required. Suggested as preliminary course before taking special Safaris. Suggested Metro stops: Farragut North (Red Line), Farragut West (Blue/Orange Lines)
Meet at Renwick Gallery, 1699 Pennsylvania Ave NW, northeast corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Ave NW. Advance reservations required. Suggested as preliminary course before taking special safaris. Suggested Metro stops: Farragut North (Red Line), Farragut West (Blue/Orange Lines)
Fee: $69/person half-day, includes 40-minute orientation on travel photography techniques, and materials.
Next Safari: 10/12/2008
Practice your nighttime photography skills with a professional photographer at the Tidal Basin, capturing the illuminated Washington Monument at twilight reflected in the Tidal Basin, the unique statuary and waterfalls at the FDR Memorial, and the new lighting on the Jefferson Memorial. You will be amazed at what you can photograph with your sturdy tripod and a telephoto lens at the FDR Memorial at night: the Depression Breadline statue, the Fireside Chat statue, the eerie Braille inlays in the Civilian Conservation Corps display, and the powerful statue of FDR himself.
Meet at front entrance to FDR Memorial near Ohio Drive SW.
Fee: $64/person.
Next Safari: 11/01/2008
Here is another great opportunity for nature-loving photographers to build their portfolios with shots of wolves.
Following on the heels of our popular March workshop on Snow Geese and Wolves, Washington Photo Safari and wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian have now established an excellent relationship with the Wolf Sanctuary of Pennsylvania, located about 20 miles north of Lancaster PA. The sanctuary was established to provide homes and companionship for captive wolves. Many of the wolves have come from very poor conditions, many come from people who had good intentions but quickly found out they were in over their heads in trying to take care of a wolf. Currently there are over 20 wolves that call the sanctuary home.
The staff of the sanctuary is now allowing exclusive access to Washington Photo Safari. Although the enclosures are fenced in, there are excellent opportunities to capture tight close-up portraits of the wolves, as well as interaction between the wolves. Wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian will teach participants how to make the fence disappear through techniques for shooting with big glass and wide aperture to capture natural looking shots, and he will share his knowledge of the natural history of wolves in North America.
Washington Photo Safari will be holding a half day workshop at this sanctuary 4 times a year, one each season, and $25.00 of each registration fee will be paid to the sanctuary. Visit the sanctuary's website for more information.
Wildlife photographer Sean Quintilian has traveled over much of North America in search of outstanding wildlife and nature photographs. His body of work includes images from 14 U.S. National Parks and dozens of National Wildlife Refuges, with over 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles recorded. Sean has spent over 600 days on location over the past 17 years including 20 weeks in Yellowstone National Park alone and he has led two of our safaris to Yellowstone. His work has appeared in publications, exhibits and a CD jacket, and his fine art prints have graced the walls of many offices and homes.
Meet at the Sanctuary: 465 Speedwell Forge Rd. Lititz, PA 17543.
Fee:$114/person includes $25 donation to the sanctuary.
Photo: Sean Quintilian.