Midwest Photographic WorkshopsCourse DescriptionsMidwest Photographic Workshops has divided our photographic education into two categories: Weekend/Week Long Workshops and Evening Classes. Evening Classes tend to be scheduled from 7 - 10PM on weeknights unless otherwise specified Weekday classes tend to be from 10:30 AM to 1:30 or 2:00PM. Classes generally meet once per week for 4 to 6 weeks. Weekend workshops tend to be all day on Saturday or Sunday from 10 - 5. Please note that each class category has its own separate link to schedules and descriptions.
Field Trips
New for 2008!!!
Wildlife in Alaska 2008 $2495.00
Course #650
Instructors: Bryce and Linda Denison
Photograph Grizzly bears fishing for Salmon. Moose, Dahl Sheep, Caribou, Hump Back Whales, and even Pacific Puffins will frolic in front of your lens. This 5-day workshop will blend the best of wildlife photography with the best of landscape photography. Celebrate Native American Indian culture and stand in awe of 28,000 foot Mt. Denali "The Great One". Hike to and around the Mendenhall Glacier. 35mm, digital and medium format cameras are welcome. This is tripod shooting! Airfare, room and board is not included, but ground transportation to and from the shooting areas is included. Advanced registration is required.
New for 2008!!!
Tuscan Light - Digital Travel and Landscape Photography in Tuscany, Italy $2495.00
Course #651
Instructors: Bryce and Linda Denison
Bring your digital camera and laptop computer to scenic Tuscany. This is Wine County! Spend 7 days and 7 nights in a historic monastery. Enjoy gourmet food! Photograph vineyards, classic architecture, the flora and fauna of Italy. Learn about how to develop your personal style and connect with the landscape. This workshop is appropriate for film shooters as well. The first three days involve at least six hours of shooting and three hours of classroom. The last four days, is all field shooting. You will learn about batch file processing raw files, workflow management, Photoshop techniques including using Wacom tablets, and many other digital techniques such as exposure stacking panorama stitching and focus stacking for the ultimate macro photos of flowers. Bring your laptop computer. A basic understanding of shutter speeds and f/stops is presumed. Bring your portfolio. This workshop will be conducted in English. Chao! Meals, lodging and transportation is included except airfare to and from Florence, Italy. Workshop is limited to 12 students.
New for 2008!!!
Fall Color in Maine 2008 $1495.00
Course # 642
Instructor: Bryce Denison
When you think of Maine; think of Lobsters, Moose and Fall Color. This 5-day workshop will divide time among Baxter State Park, Arcadia National Park in Bar Harbor, and Jonesport, Maine. 35mm, digital and medium format cameras are welcome. This is tripod shooting! Airfare, room and board is not included, but ground transportation to and from the shooting areas is included. Advanced registration is required.
Desert Light Workshop 2008 $1,495.00
Course # 641
Instructors: Bryce and Linda Denison
The American West offers exotic vistas and terrain including canyons, mountains and rock formations. Photograph unspoiled views of some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere. Put your lens in front of the dynamic swirls curves and texture of rock formations eroded from eons of wind and water. Shoot ancient Native American rock drawings (petroglyphs) and even the night-lights of Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the high plains desert at its best! The Navaho Indians use the word Horozo. "Walk in beauty". You will see and walk in some of the most spectacular beauty this corner of the world has to offer. Our three state excursion is based in Page, Arizona, about six hours south of Las Vegas, Nevada and about three hours north of the Grand Canyon. Visit Zion National Park, hike through Bryce Canyon, ride a Jeep through Monument Valley, stroll both upper and lower Antelope Canyons. Visit ancient Indian ruins and an extinct volcano, both on the edge of the Painted Desert, just east of Flagstaff. Photograph giant Sarroro Cactus at Organ Pipe National Cactus Monument south of Tucson and sunset at Cathedral Rock in Sedona.
All camera formats are welcome and your instructor/s are well versed with medium and large formats cameras including digital cameras. Learn the principles of composition used by landscape photographers. Workshop fee does not include airfare, meals, lodging or the Monument Valley Jeep ride. Bring your portfolio for an evening group critique.
We anticipate most students to fly in to Phoenix, AZ. on Good Friday. Midwest Photography Workshops will provide free ground transportation to each shooting location and to motels and on to Las Vegas, NV. Students not wishing to take advantage of MPW's free ground transportation must make their own arrangements to arrive in Organ Pipe National Park in Arizona and be ready for class on time on Saturday 9:00 AM local time. Call (313) 804-9266 or (313) 596-2960 for additional details. Film or digital cameras welcome.
Wild Spring Flowers in Tobermory, Ontario Canada $495.00
Course # 620
Instructors: Bryce and Linda Denison
This extended holiday weekend (Memorial Day) workshop will be conducted in the beautiful Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario, Canada located in the middle of Lake Huron at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. Tobermory is about a 5-hour drive from either Detroit or Toronto and as such, the weather is several weeks behind Detroit with spring wildflowers. We expect to photograph Calypso and Rams Head Orchids, Yellow Lady Slippers and the endangered Yellow Lakeside Daisy. This area is replete with photographic opportunities, which include natural caves, rocky beaches, gnarly Cyprus trees, dolomite limestone cliffs, lighthouses and much more. A sturdy pair of hiking boots is recommended, as we will need to hike to get to the caves and waterfalls. All camera formats are welcome and instruction will be provided on exposure, filters, close-up and macro techniques and composition. Students should bring a photo backpack. We recommend that you carry only the amount of equipment that you can comfortably carry during the hike to the caves and around the lake. This is tripod shooting! Class size is limited to maximize student to teacher ratio. Evening sessions include casual get together's where participants have an opportunity to discuss the day’s events, view slide presentations and enjoy the comradeship of fellow students. Participants are encouraged to bring their portfolio for review and critique. Tuition does not include meals, transportation or lodging, but group accommodations have been arranged. Non-shooting spouses are welcome to attend at no additional cost. Be aware that due to the limited availabilities to non-photographic outside activities, they should enjoy hiking and communing with nature. Film or digital cameras welcome. Students are expected to be ready for class Friday at 9:00 AM and will be finished late afternoon on Monday. (you only miss one day of work!) Lodging and meals are paid in less expensive Canadian Dollars at off-season rates!
New for 2008!!!
Steamtown Pennsylvania $200.00
Course #623
Instructor: Bryce Denison
Visit one of the newest National Parks in the United States located in Scranton PA. This is a working railroad yard with a restored roundhouse and new museum illuminating the romatic days of yesteryear when railroads were the main mode of travel for distance. There are hundreds of train cars of all types and you can walk amoung them and photograph. There is also an elevated boardwalk to view the cars from high angle. This is a tripod freindly area. Plan to drive all day Friday, shoot all day Saturday and drive back to Michigan on Sunday. We will cover techniques relating to shooting panoramas.
Birds and Alligators $795.00
Course # 621
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This five-day workshop will put you in close proximity to wild alligators and wading birds that you can photograph with a 200-300mm lens. (Don't worry you will be safely on a boardwalk). Monday evening is a slide lecture/program about technique. We will be in the field photographing wildlife! The first day is at the Merrit Island National Wildlife Refuge near Cape Canaveral. The second and third day is at the Everglades National Park Anhinga Trail. The fourth day is at The Venice Rookery. The final Day is at Ding-Darling. You will learn about fresnel lenses to create a telephoto fill flash. If you have more powerful telephoto lenses or 2X Converters bring them. 35mm, digital and medium format cameras are welcome. This is tripod shooting! Airfare, room and board is not included, but ground transportation to and from the shooting areas is included. Advanced registration is required.
Spring Wild Flowers & Waterfalls in the Great Smoky Mountains Workshop $795.00
Course # 640
Instructors: Bryce and Linda Denison and CJ Elfont
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park stretches from Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Cherokee, North Carolina. Clear invigorating air, sparkling streams and virgin woodlands provide an unsurpassed background complete with waterfalls and wildflowers. Photograph the Roaring Fork Stream cascading past giant moss covered boulders. Stroll through and shoot Cades Cove, an historic village preserved from a bygone era. The Smoky Mountains are an unspoiled, beautiful area any time of year, but Appalachia becomes a special place when the spring wildflowers and the Dogwood bloom. This workshop is the week following Easter to accommodate people off from work and school. Easter occurs from late March to middle April. Spring wildflowers bloom at different times. If Easter is early, look for Hepatica, Spring Beauties, Blood Root, Rue Anemone, Squirrel Corn and Fringed Phaclilia. If Easter is later that year, you may expect to see several species of Trillium, or Jack in the Pulpit, Columbine, Yellow Lady's Slipper, May Apple, or Wild Geranium and others. This is tripod shooting! We will cover close-up techniques for shooting wild flowers. All camera formats are welcome. Learn principles of composition and the use of a one-degree spot meter. For the digital photographer, you will learn techniques such as custom white balancing, noise reduction, exposure stacking, color space for printing and many more. Minimal hiking is involved. Tuition does not include meals, transportation or lodging, but group accommodations have been arranged. Bring a portfolio to be critiqued. Non-shooting spouses are welcome to attend at no additional cost. Activities for spouses are available to fill their day such as: white-water rafting, horseback riding, trout fishing and shopping. 35mm, medium format or digital cameras welcome.
Fall Color in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains $1495.00
Course #643
Instructors: Vincent Versace, C.J. Elfont and Bryce Denison
This six-day digital workshop will provide participants an opportunity to photograph spectacular grand vistas of Aspen trees ablaze with color, Cottonwoods luminescent with the golden alpine light of October. Photograph the oldest living things on Earth; the ancient Bristlecone Pines (Around 4500 years old.) Photograph the best preserved ghost town anywhere. This gold mining town is at 8000 feet altitude so everything remains in a state of "arrested decay". Snow capped mountains, alpine lakes and tree lined canyons make for an unforgettable photographic experience. By the way, we go to Yosemite National Park also. This is tripod shooting!
The first four days involve six hours of shooting and three hours of classroom. The last two days is all field shooting. You will learn about batch file processing raw files, workflow management, Photoshop techniques including using Wacom tablets, Epson Printers, papers and inks, and many other digital techniques from Nikon photographer Vincent Versace, but all brands of cameras are welcome.
Airfare, room and board is not included, but ground transportation to and from the shooting areas is included. Advanced registration is required. Students must bring a laptop computer and digital camera.
Urban Decay in Detroit Architecture $100.00
Course # 601
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop is well suited for shooting Black &White images of buildings “past their prime”. Detroit is the home of many glorious architectural structures and many structures that have been abandoned and neglected. We will photograph both exteriors and interiors. Color film or digital cameras will work with this subject matter, but to maximize the emotional and psychological aspects B&W film or digital color images converted to Black & White is recommended. Photographers desiring to use a large format camera are welcome. The use of a tripod is required. 35mm, medium format or digital cameras are welcome. Call or e-mail for details.
Beaks & Talons - Photographing Birds of Prey $100.00
Course # 602
Instructors: Paul Mckinney and Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop will enable students to get "up close and personal" with Birds of Prey. You will get so close that a 200mm lens will be more than powerful enough to fill the frame. The morning session is at the Farmington Hills classroom. The afternoon session is in Saline, MI. at a private location where you may photograph a Red Tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, an EurAsian Eagle Owl, American Kestrel, or more! Enrollment is limited to 12 students. 35mm, medium format or digital cameras are welcome.
A Day at the Zoo $125.00
Course #617
Instructor: Paul McKenny
Paul McKinny leads this one-day workshop that will teach you how to take memorable wildlife images. The nearest location for tigers, lions and other exotic creatures is at one of the finest zoological parks in North America, the Detroit Zoological Park located in Royal Oak. Students will spend the morning session in the classroom and the afternoon at the Zoo. The instruction will include how to compose in a zoo setting, making the image look like the wild, and understanding how to capture natural behavior. You will also learn proper telephoto lenses techniques to take tack sharp photographs as well as the appropriate use of tele-converters and Fresnels, Bring your tripod and cable release! At the Zoo Paul will assist students with the principles of composition and how to capture the animals at their best.
Detroit Skyline from Windsor $100.00
Course # 603
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This Friday evening workshop will provide an opportunity to photograph the impressive Detroit City Skyline from the shore of Windsor, Ontario. Bring your tripod because we will explore the journey of the sun as it sets behind the skyscrapers that make up this dramatic view. Learn how to calculate long time exposures and the relevance of reciprocity failure. Learn about filters such as the polarizer and the split neutral density (gradual) filter. After class, remain in downtown Windsor and enjoy one of the sidewalk cafes for a burger and brew. Rain date is the following Friday evening. 35mm, medium format or digital cameras are welcome. 6-10 PM.
Detroit’s Night Lights $100.00
Course # 604
Instructor: Bryce Denison
Photograph the dynamic city lights of Downtown Detroit at night! This one evening workshop will provide instruction and opportunity to photograph some of Detroit’s nighttime jewels. The Fox Theater, three casinos a couple of sports stadiums and street scenes can all contribute to an outstanding evening workshop. (Rain or shine). 35mm, medium format or digital cameras are welcome.
Flower & Close up Photography at the Belle Isle Conservatory $125.00
Course # 605
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop will provide instruction on location, at one of the gems of Detroit. Located in the middle of the Detroit River, this Island boasts a golf course, baseball diamonds, a beach, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, a yacht club, and several spectacular fountains and statues. We will spend our time at the flower conservatory, learn about close up techniques of macro photography. Learn about extension tubes and flash photography of flowers. Learn about the use of reflectors to bounce light into shadows; to illuminate them to a full three-dimensional quality. The flower conservatory has three different rooms; each concentrating on different kinds of flowers. Photograph tropical orchids in one room, then, cactus in another room. In the third room, photograph flowers of the season. 35mm, medium format or digital cameras are welcome. 10-5 PM.
Autumn Light Fall Color at Kensington MetroPark $100.00
Course # 607
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop will provide instruction on composition, metering and exposure techniques to assist the student how to best photograph nature’s most colorful change of season. Bring your digital camera or color film (slides or print), your tripod and your close-up equipment (extension tubes or bellows) to photograph the wonderful world of the miniature. Don’t worry; there will be plenty of time to photograph the large trees turning color also!Class size is limited so enroll early. 35mm, medium format or digital cameras are welcome.
Photographing the Glass Blower at Work $125.00
Course # 608
Instructor: Joseph Wisniewski
This one-day workshop is to visit and photograph a private, working glass blowing shop. Students will photograph artists as they gather hot molten glass on the pipe from the glory hole. Watch and shoot more photographs as the artisans blow and shape the “gob” into glass artifacts and finally as the hot glass is removed from the pipe and placed into an annealing oven and all the cold finishing work. 35mm, medium format or digital cameras are welcome.
Faces and Places - Architecture at Eastern Market $100.00
Course # 609
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop will increase your ability to document an environment and capture the most relevant details of the architecture at this historic location. Experience the hustle and bustle of folk purchasing their farm fresh vegetables and flowers on "Flower Day". Learn composition and metering. This is mostly tripod shooting! Eastern Market looks good in both color and B&W. Lunch will be at one of the numerous delis and restaurants that populate this exciting place. 35mm, medium format or digital cameras are welcome. 10-5 PM.
Butterflies on the Wing $100.00
Course #615
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop is an excellent opportunity for students to get portfolio quality images of exotic, colorful butterflies close up. Macro techniques, flash and composition principles are demonstrated. Tripods are welcome in this suburban Toledo location. Students will meet at the Farmington Hills location at 10:00AM.
Roush Racing Museum – Cars that “zoom go fast” $100.00
Course # 614
Instructor: Bryce Denison
Roush is a legendary name in motor sports racing. If you share that “need for speed”, join us photographing the trophy room of this Detroit area jewel. This is a barrier free museum that permits the use of tripods. Capture close up details of race cars, airplane engines, motorcycles and more! Workshop fee covers instruction only. Entry to the Museum is free.
Church Architecture at Historic Trinity Lutheran Church $100.00
Course # 611
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop will provide instruction on the salient points of architecture found in this grand church (English Tudor Perpendicular). We will cover techniques of how to capture not only the overall "grand vista", but intricate details of the Pewabic pottery tiles integrated into the sanctuary floor. Photograph hand carved wooden pews, hand carved stone pulpit and spectacular Stained Glass windows. Learn how to light a huge space where your flash alone will not be sufficient. Learn about the use of a light tent and the use of a view camera or perspective control lenses to reduce converging lines. Film or digital cameras, 35mm, medium format or large format cameras are welcome.
37th Annual Photo Model's Picnic at Kensington Metro Park
$50.00
Course #500
Do you need practice with shooting portraits? Does your family run when they see you pull out your camera? If so, come to our 37th annual picnic. We will have more than a dozen beautiful models who are there for your shooting pleasure. Imagine attractive models drapped over the hood of a Corvette or hugging a motorcycle. Practice posing them sitting in a hammock or backlit against an inland lake. Models will start off with evening gowns and go through an extensive wardrobe to hit their climax with swimsuits in the late afternoon golden glow of sunset! Linda will cook hot dogs and have chips available too lest anyone need to eat. This event runs rain or shine. Please register on-line or mail in a check prior to the event as MPW can not accept payment on site at the picnic.
1:00PM - 7:00 PM
Classes and Workshops not offered in 2007 but may be revisited in 2008
The SS Willis Boyer Lake Freighter - Toledo, Ohio $100.00
Course # 613
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This turn of the century lake freighter, now decommissioned, has been turned into a floating museum. Come with us as we visit and photograph a vision of yesteryear. We will photograph in the engine room, the deck and even on the bridge to capture images of that romantic time when great ships sailed the Great Lakes.
Architectural Photography at the Detroit Yacht Club $100.00
Course # 610
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop will provide instruction on location at one of the gems of Detroit. Located in the middle of the Detroit River, Belle Isle boasts a golf course, baseball diamonds, a beach, the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, several spectacular fountains and statues and even a yacht club. We will spend our time at the Detroit Yacht Club. Learn techniques of perspective control and both indoor and outdoor lighting as it relates to white balance. Learn about Histograms and file size. Learn about line and form of architecture. Learn about the use of short and long focal length lenses to increase three-dimensional space and the use of a Perspective Control (PC) lens. 35mm, digital and medium format cameras are welcome.
Winter Landscape at Belle Isle $100.00
Course # 606
Instructor: Michael Pavlov
This one-day workshop is designed to provide students with a photography experience that not only covers exposure problems when photographing in snow and ice, but the unique composition problems with winter landscape photography. This workshop is appropriate for film or digital, negative or slide. Belle Isle is located in the middle of the Detroit River. Belle Isle. This island boasts a lot of history, with the history comes a very well established environment with many photographic offerings. The winter brings this landscape alive. Be prepared to capture the allure of winter right in the heart of Detroit. The stillness of the snow covered surroundings will be best captured in black and white although color and digital are most welcome. Dress warm dress and bring a polarizing filter, lens hood and tripod.
Parade Company $100.00
Course # 612
Instructor: Bryce Denison
This one-day workshop will provide access to and an opportunity to photograph the inner workings of the artists and craftsmen who design and build the floats for the Thanksgiving day parade. The intricate workings and exquisite decorations make these 30 foot long floats a party to photograph. Welders, painters, designers and mechanics assist in the creation of wonderful environmental portraits. Film or digital cameras are welcome. Bring a lunch.
Hard Edge Lighting and Time Exposures in the Urban Landscape $100.00
Course # 622
Instructor:
Photographers have always struggled with contrasty lighting, especially on location. Learn how author Michael Pavlov addresses the issues of reciprocity failure and excessive contrast. View images from his recent book. This one-day field trip involves shooting photographs under his guidance in difficult lighting found in abandoned buildings. This class is suitable for film or digital.
Photograph the Boblo Boat the St. Claire $125.00
Course #616
Instructor: Bryce Denison
Document the restoration of this Icon of Detroit River cruising and recreation. Relive the memories of your youth as you stroll the decks and reflect when you say "I remember that brass guilded staircase" or "Wow, the stained glass is still intact"! Come aboard the Boblo Boat the St. Claire as it undergoes restoration. $25.00 of your fee goes directly to the restoration project! Bring your tripod and photograph the ships bell, the hand carved hand rail posts and the dance floor. This workshop is excellent for digital or film, color or B&W. 10-4 PM.
Revised 3-21-2008