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About WPS

Established in 1999, Washington Photo Safari teaches the techniques of photography by taking visitors and local residents on half-day and full-day photo shoots around key sites of the nation’s capital and other cities, while an accompanying professional photographer offers participants extensive tips in camera use, image composition and design, proper exposure, lighting, and posing “models” for the best effect.


“Safari” is a Swahili word meaning “journey.” Washington Photo Safari takes visitors on half-day and full-day “photo journeys” around key destinations of the nation’s capital and other cities, while an accompanying professional photographer offers participants extensive tips in camera use, image composition and design, proper exposure, lighting, and posing “models” for the best effect.

True to its motto of “See. Click. Learn.” Washington Photo Safari conducts all of its instruction in the field – not in a classroom – while the client is taking pictures, so that hands-on training corrections can be made by the instructors in real time.

Top-rated with hundreds of 5-star reviews on Viator, Yelp, Google, and an annual 5-star winner of TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence, Washington Photo Safari is now one of the country’s largest providers of hands-on photography field trips, with a team of 11 professional photographers, training an average of five people every day, 365 days a year, on dozens of unique domestic and international “photo safaris” and on wildlife photography of bears, elks, eagles, snow geese, and wolves.

Photographers of all skill levels are invited to participate in our photo safaris and any camera is acceptable, even cell phone cameras.

Safaris are also presented in close-by locations including DC, Frederick & Annapolis, MD and Shenandoah, VA, and there are special in-person and virtual workshops on the most popular DSLR and mirrorless camera models.

Principal travel photography workshops cover the major sites of DC including the monuments, memorials, and cathedrals. Beyond these key sites, specialty Safaris are offered in techniques in street photography (taught by a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist), nature photography, f stops and shutter speeds, architectural, pet, macro, museum, abstracts, candid kids, artistic composition, creative flash, and indoor/outdoor portraiture; Special night-time photography workshops are offered including the “Monuments at Night,” and “Moonrise Over the Capitol”. During DC’s beautiful cherry blossom season, photo Safaris are provided around the Tidal Basin. Zoom sessions are offered on composition and camera technique.

Washington Photo Safari also offers one-on-one private tutoring, customized corporate group safaris, and has conducted week-long intensive photography workshops on board cruise ships from Baltimore to the Bahamas; from Paris to Normandy, and from Amsterdam to Basel on Viking River Cruises.

The History of Washington Photo Safari


Photography started for Washington Photo Safari founder and director E. David Luria many years ago with a little Kodak Brownie Flash 620 film camera and with gentle coaching from his mother, Estela, who always urged him to take better pictures!

“Get closer”, she would say, “and make sure your subjects turn their bodies sideways!” she admonished, inadvertently laying the groundwork for an award-winning  photography instruction program – now one of the nation’s largest – that has provided over 6,600 “photo safaris” for 46,000 amateur photographers from 50 states,and the District of Columbia, and from 72 countries around the world since it began operations in early 1999, averaging five clients every day, 365 days a year, for over 24 years!

Like many photographers, David expanded his love for photography when his children were born. He continued to develop his skills while serving as an overseas administrator for the international development program CARE during six years in Colombia and Panama.

Then, after graduating from Amherst College, spending 3 years in the Army and many years working in the international non-profit field, David lost his job with a DC international organization in 1996 and decided to take up his hobby of photography, making it his profession. He took courses with the Smithsonian Resident Associates program, with the New York Institute of Photography, and with the Parsons School of Design in Paris, where he studied black and white film photography with a protégé of famed French photographer Henri Cartier Bresson.

Upon returning to the States, he became an architectural photographer, and since that time has photographed over 3,500 apartment buildings, private residences, hotels and restaurants, with his images appearing in over 100 publications.

In 1998 David led several photo study tours for the Smithsonian Resident Associates program which turned out to be quite popular. That caused him to establish a photo study tour program of his own in 1999, which he called Washington Photo Safari.

“Safari” is a Swahili word for “journey,” and David considers his training sessions to be journeys into the joy of photography.

In 1999, it became the first community-based photo study tour program in the country and it is now one of the largest photography training programs in the USA. There are now over 30 such programs led by local photographers across the country, many of them established with help from Washington Photo Safari (WPS) Three members of David’s family (son David, granddaughter Sarah, and daughter Rebecca) assisted him in the early administration and marketing of the program.

In 2000 the program got its first big break by being featured on the NBC Today Show, during a segment on older people like David who have started a second career. That broadcast, plus a newspaper article in The Washington Post in 2002 gave a lot of visibility to the program and brought in many new clients, two of whom have now been on more than 65 of the organization’s 110 photo itineraries!

The first Safari that David conducted was the 4-hour Monuments and Memorials tour, which remains one of the most popular activities still today. In 2001, he expanded the menu to include new destinations and techniques, such as Sunrise on the National Mall, The Franciscan Monastery, and Holiday Lights at the Mormon Temple.

The year 2002 saw additional itineraries in abstract, moonrise, churches, cherry blossoms at sunrise, Southwest Waterfront, Union Station, Washington National Cathedral photo safaris, the Library of Congress, event photography, and the very popular Monuments at Night.

In 2004 David began conducting seminars on helping people transition into photography as a second career and teaching real estate and architectural photography.

In 2005 WPS conducted its first fund-raising benefit Safari, to helping victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia. It has since raised a total of $41,500 through volunteer Photo Safaris conducted to benefit other International and domestic disasters and earthquakes, as well as refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, and it has provided hundreds of free safari gift certificates to the silent auctions of local non-profit charitable organizations.

2006 saw the expansion of offerings to include specialized Safaris on METRO, on F Stops and Shutter Speeds, and on helping users of specific Nikon and Canon cameras to navigate their menus. These were taught by the popular instructor Melanie Otto (who tragically died in 2016 of a brain hemorrhage at the tender age of 49).

In that year WPS also conducted its first international safaris in Paris and in Buenos Aires and expanded its domestic itineraries to include New York City, Frederick, Baltimore and Annapolis, MD and Yellowstone National Park. Eleven other professional photographers have now joined David as instructors in such specialties as portrait, nature, macro, street, pets, and zoo photography.

The intervening years have produced a revamped website, a new logo, and many new safaris, including an exciting flyover of World War II aircraft in 2015, food and fireworks, Marine Corps Silent Drill Team, a “Paris on the Potomac” excursion, a safari following the Underground Railroad routes of Harriet Tubman,  and several fireworks safaris at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, a visit to the Embassy of Italy, snowfaris (in the snow!), pillow fights, snowball fights, nature safaris capturing eagles, snow geese and wolves, composition safaris at the National Gallery of Art and many other museums and local cathedrals, safaris at hot air balloons in Lexington VA,  and food photography sessions at local restaurants, as well as private tutoring.

Those years have also seen complimentary remarks about WPS in the U.S. Congressional Record and hundreds of 5-star reviews for WPS on Trip Advisor, Viator, and Google, and the awarding of Trip Advisor Certificates of Excellence to WPS every year since 2013, culminating into TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame Award, given to WPS in 2018 and 2019 along with a high ranking as the No. 1 Photography Tour and No. 3 out of 83 Outdoor Activities in DC! In 2019 the readers of DC’s City Paper ranked WPS among the top two photography services in the nation’s capital.

2017 saw the organization’s first international cruise ship photo workshop, from Baltimore to the Bahamas, followed by photo cruises in 2018 from Paris to Normandy and in 2019 from Amsterdam to Basel on Viking River Cruises, plus street photography safaris in Cuba!

In 2020, WPS published its first eBook, entitled “Washington Photo Safari’s Guide for Amateur Photographers,” with tips in 29 areas of photography.

In this 25th Anniversary year for WPS, David continues to be amazed by the number of clients who return again and again as repeat customers, improving their skills at 186 different venues in 30 cities of 11 states, and 8 countries. Of his 46,000 customers, 12,800 are repeat clients, with a hardcore group of 850 clients who have been on an average of 9 safaris apiece! One client has been on 102 of the 110 safaris that offers, and his 50 top customers have been on average of 31 safaris apiece.

Of his clients, David comments: “I just hope they have as much fun on these safaris as I do. I just LOVE those “Aha!” moments when a client says: “Oh! THAT’s what that button does!”

So when you see hundreds of people getting close to their subjects and turning them sideways, they are all WPS graduates who can thank David Luria’s mother!

Photography started for Washington Photo Safari founder and director E. David Luria many years ago with a little Kodak Brownie Flash 620 film camera and with gentle coaching from his mother, Estela, who always urged him to take better pictures!

“Get closer”, she would say, “and make sure your subjects turn their bodies sideways!” she admonished, inadvertently laying the groundwork for an award-winning  program that has now trained over 38,000 amateur photographers on 5,700 photo safaris since it began operations in early 1999, averaging five clients every day, 365 days a year for 20+ years!

Like many photographers, David expanded his love for photography when his children were born. He continued to develop his skills while serving as an overseas administrator for the international development program care during six years in Latin America.

Then, after graduating from Amherst College, spending 3 years in the Army and 34 years working in the international non-profit field, David lost his job with a DC international organization in 1996 and decided to take up his hobby of photography, making it his profession. He took courses with the Smithsonian Resident Associates program, with the New York Institute of Photography, and with the Parsons School of Design in Paris, where he studied black and white photography with a protégé of famed French photographer Henri Cartier Bresson.

Upon returning to the States, he became an architectural photographer, and since that time has photographed over 3,500 apartment buildings, private residences, hotels and restaurants, with his images appearing in over 100 publications.

In 1998 David led several photo study tours for the Smithsonian Resident Associates program which turned out to be quite popular. That caused him to establish a photo study tour program of his own in 1999,  which he called Washington Photo Safari.

“Safari” is a Swahili word for “journey,” and David considers his training sessions to be journeys into the joy of photography.

It became the first community-based photo study tour program in the country and is now one of the largest photography training programs in the USA. There are now over 30 such programs across the country, many of them established with help from Washington Photo Safari (WPS). Three members of David’s family (son David, granddaughter Sarah, and daughter Rebecca) assisted him in the early administration and marketing of the program.

In 2000 the program got its first big break by being featured on the NBC Today Show, during a segment on older people like David who have started a second career. That broadcast, plus a newspaper article in The Washington Post in 2002 gave a lot of visibility to the program and brought in many new clients, two of whom has now been on 60 of the organization’s 110 photo itineraries!

The first Safari that David conducted was the 4-hour  Monuments and Memorials tour, which remains one of the most popular activities still today. In 2001, he expanded the menu to include new destinations and techniques, such as Sunset on the National Mall, The Franciscan Monastery, and Holiday Lights at the Mormon Temple.

The year 2002 saw additional itineraries in abstract, moonrise, churches, cherry blossoms at sunrise, Southwest Waterfront, Union Station, Washington National Cathedral photo safaris, the Library of Congress, event photography, and the very popular Monuments at Night.

In 2004 David began conducting seminars on helping people transition into photography as a second career and teaching real estate and architectural photography.

In 2005 WPS conducted its first fund-raising benefit Safari, to helping victims of the tsunami disaster in Asia. It has since raised a total of $31,500 through volunteer Photo Safaris conducted to benefit other International and domestic disasters and earthquakes, and it has provided hundreds of free safari gift certificates to the silent auctions of local non-profit charitable organizations.

2006 saw the expansion of offerings to include specialized Safaris on METRO, on F Stops and Shutter Speeds, and on helping users of specific Nikon and Canon cameras to navigate their menus. These were taught by the popular instructor Melanie Otto (who tragically died in 2016 of a brain hemorrhage at the tender age of 49).

In that year WPS also conducted its first International safaris in Paris and in Buenos Aires and expanded its domestic itineraries to include New York City, Frederick, Baltimore and Annapolis, MD and Yellowstone National Park. Eleven other professional photographers have now joined David as instructors in such specialties as portrait, nature, street, pets, and zoo photography.

The intervening years have produced a revamped website, a new logo, and many new safaris, including an exciting flyover of World War II aircraft in 2015, food and fireworks, Marine Corps Silent Drill Team, a Paris on the Potomac excursion, and several safaris at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, a visit to the Embassy of Italy, snowfaris (in the snow!), pillow fights, snowball fights, nature safaris capturing eagles, snow geese and wolves, composition safaris at the National Gallery of Art and many other museums and local cathedrals, safaris at Reagan Washington National Airport and at the Willard Hotel as well as private tutoring.

Those years have  also seen complimentary remarks about WPS in the U.S. Congressional Record  and dozens of 5-star reviews for WPS on Trip Advisor, Viator, and Google, and the awarding  of Trip Advisor Certificates of Excellence to WPS every year since 2013, culminating into TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame Award, given to WPS in 2018 and 2019 along with a high ranking as the No. 1 Photography Tour and No. 4 out of 63 Outdoor Activities in DC!

In 2012, WPS entered into an informal partnership with the popular Capitol Photography Center (CPC) offering trips that complement, but do not duplicate CPC’s workshops.

2017 saw the organization’s first international cruise ship photo workshop, from Baltimore to the Bahamas, followed by photo cruises in 2018 from Paris to Normandy and in 2019 from Amsterdam to Basel on Viking River Cruises, plus  street photography safaris in Cuba! In 2020, WPS published its first Ebook, entitled “Washington Photo Safari’s Guide For Amateur Photographers,” with tips in 29 areas of photography.

David continues to be amazed by the number of clients who return again and again as repeat customers, improving their skills at different venues and in different types of photography.  Of his 38,000 participants, 11,300 are repeat clients, with a hardcore group of 700 clients who have been on an average of 9 safaris apiece! Of his clients, David comments: “I just hope they have as much fun on these safaris as I do. I just LOVE those “Aha!” moments when a client says: “Oh! THAT’s what that button does!”

So when you see hundreds of people getting close to their subjects and turning them sideways, they are all WPS graduates who can thank David Luria’s mother!