Tuscany, A Personal Renaissance
Tuscany Workshop Sold Out for 2009
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Presented by White House Custom Colour 
With Special Guest Instructors
Tim and Beverly Walden
September 21-26, 2009
6 days, 5 nights
Start and finish in Florence
If you need a change in your life, a chance to re-evaluate, this is the place for it. You’ll be inspired by the rich history, the warm palette of Tuscany, and uplifted by the company of photographers who share your passion. Come for a Personal Renaissance... a creative rebirth.
Cost
Full participants $2450
Partner (non-photographer) just $1950
Includes tuition, 5 nights accomodation, 2 meals each day and all transportation from Florence. (Airfare not included)
Tuition is based on double occupancy. Add $300 for a private, single room.
Payments schedule for 2009
$500/person reservation fee (refundable for 21 days)
Half your balance is due May 1, 2009
Balance due June 15, 2009
Our Travel Itinerary
Meet at the Florence Airport Travel by luxurious coach with our friend and driver of 8 years, Gabriele. We’ll stop to visit famous San Giminiano on our way to our farmhouse headquarters, where we’ll stay 5 nights. Each day we’ll travel short distances to visit villages, monasteries, and markets, avoiding tourist-filled areas. One day and evening we’ll spend in pristine Siena to experience city life, others we’ll be in the tiniest villages. Some towns we’ll visit are Montalcino, Buonconvento, Montepulciano, Pienza, Chiusure.
We suggest a couple of nights in Florence before the workshop. And we’ll be happy to suggest our favorite destinations for extended travel afterward.
Where We Stay
We’ll stay with our friends at a family run farm dating back to the 15th century, when it was built by the bishop of Arrezzo. Private rooms and baths are newly restored. They offer a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, a restaraunt, horse riding, mountain bikes and endless miles of roads to explore.
The Workshop
Enjoy the Waldens and their very friendly teaching style, as they explain how they create their studio portraits. Tim and Bev not only run a very successful studio, but are among the most sought after teachers in America. More about Waldens. www.waldensphotography.com
Drake will lead discussions on landscape and fine art work each day, with informal critique of your previous day’s work. If you’re shooting digital, bring a laptop to work on your own images as we discuss photoshops tips and advanced workflow helps.
Classroom time will be limited to 2-3 hours a day, with the remainder of the day photographing in the field.
Partners Welcome
Partners generally join us for all our travel and meals. There will be ample time to shop, sit in cafes and wander the narrow streets typical of Tuscany. We’ll travel together in a comfortable bus with plenty of empty seats. During class time (2-3 hours each day), partners can take advantage of the amenities at the farm, including 2 pools, spa, mountain bikes, horse rides and miles of hilly roads to walk or jog. Or they can simply rest and enjoy the scenery. We’ll be treated to true Tuscan dinners prepared from food grown at the farm, by our host chef Massimo.
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Workshop Goals
You should have a blast with your camera. You should enjoy every second of it. Less “working with the camera” and more fun. We want to help photographers break free from ordinary, run-of-the-mill images, and instead create self-expressive images that say more about the artist and less about the place. We try to take you to the best places at the right times, and promise you will return home with your lifetime-best photographic images.
Content
Each day we’ll gather for on-screen review and critique the previous day’s photography. A little scary, but fun. Short lectures fill out the class time, which is limited to 2-3 hours a day because of our ambitious travel schedule.
Technical discussions will include: Fast and accurate methods for proper exposure, controlling depth of field, and choosing focal length for the desired effect. Also dynamic techniques for subject blur, camera motion and selective focus compositions. (Drake believes sharp focus is way over-rated).
We’ll talk a lot about lighting and design issues, composition, balance, scale and dimension. Also content or the absence of it, and how to create images that have a powerful affect on viewers.
Separate instruction will be scheduled for beginners, allowing serious amateurs and professionals to advance at their own speed. Instructors will available during our travel for one-on-one help with camera mechanics and aesthetic discussions.
Group Size is generally 10-15 photographers , plus partners. We find this size ideal, because there’s always someone new and interesting to talk to, and you don’t feel “married” to the class like smaller groups. We generally have a mix of professionals and amateurs and we love that diversity. We promise not to make you follow a guide when we travel. Instead, we “scatter” into the towns, allowing ample free time to photograph and wander.
