Dates: July 7 - 11, 2010
Leaders: David Middleton and Brenda Berry
Location: Newport, OR
Cost: $995
About the Workshop
The Oregon coast is absolutely beautiful. We could use all sorts of superlatives to describe it, but none really capture how amazing it actually is and you have heard all of them before. So take our word for it; the coast is magnificent. Between the two leaders, David and Brenda, they have been going to the coast, capturing images and leading workshops for decades. They know what beauty is, where to find it, and they’d love to show you.
This workshop is based in Newport, on the mid-Oregon coast. Newport is easy to get to and it is within easy driving distance of many of our favorite locations. The town of Newport is a destination in its own right, with good places to eat, shop and stay. (This can be a selling point if you are traveling with a non-photographer partner!) But most important to us is the fact that there are more nearby places to take pictures, with more variety than almost any other place on the entire West Coast. There are two lighthouses; one is great for sunrises and the other is simply spectacular at sunset. There are tide pools to explore with your camera, sea stacks to fit into your compositions and beaches miles long with pounding surf and quiet pools that catch the summer light. On top of all this, there is an active harbor full of picturesque fishing boats, stacks of colorful crab pots, and piles of bright ropes and nets to photograph. Much of this within walking distance of our hotel.
I haven’t even mentioned our morning at the Oregon Coast Aquarium where it is so easy to get all kinds of photographs you never would have thought possible. We will enter the aquarium before it opens to the public in order to shoot beautiful head shots of breeding puffins, ‘underwater’ shots of red and green anemones, glowing jellyfish, colorful sea stars and even wonderful photos of adorable sea otters. If you want to see what dry ‘underwater’ photography can produce check out the utterly stunning photograph of the octopus posted on our website. It was taken by a participant at our ‘09 Oregon Coast workshop. Why not come out and take your own stunners this summer?
Another of our favorite locations is the Yaquina Head Natural Area – we will spend a couple of sunrises there because there is so much to photograph- waves breaking on sea stacks, the lighthouse through the fog, the close colony of seabirds, the hillside of wildflowers and the magical beach of round black cobbles that sing with each wash of wave.
Evenings might well find us prowling around the Newport Harbor. The photos of the harbor at twilight are breathtaking. Walking the docks and playing with the delicate colors and reflected ship lights in the blue and gold twilight will give you pictures you’ll be amazed by. Our fun at the harbor doesn’t depend on twilight, because during the day, we will take you to a staging area behind the Harbor where the fishing boats store their nets, ropes and buoys. The bright colors and textures of these piles of gear will keep you merrily occupied for hours.
We will also journey to nearby Seal Rocks where we will catch a low tide and photograph bright orange and purple sea stars that are often the size of dinner plates. Guarding the stars and banks of anemones are gulls, oyster catchers and cormorants perched on the near rocks between feeding trips.
This is one of our very favorite places to photograph and to teach. Not only is Newport the kite flying capital of the world, it is a great place to explore, walk for miles on the beach, and just enjoy life. We come here year after year because it is such a productive place to photograph and it is never exactly the same place twice. Come join us on the Oregon Coast and we’ll help you discover your very best photos this July.
Gallery
PAW Oregon Coast Photography Workshop 2010 from Jeff Wendorff on Vimeo.
Included in the Workshop
The workshop fee includes 3 ½ days of instruction, all entrance fees, lots of fun and loads of great picture taking opportunities. The fee also includes a welcome pizza dinner on the first night. The workshop fee does not include getting to and from the Oregon Coast, meals, lodging or your personal transportation while on the workshop.
PAW workshops: the best leaders, locations, and instruction.
Transportation and Lodging
The workshop is based at the Embarcadero Hotel in Newport, Oregon. The Embarcadero is located along the back bay just beyond the old, historic part of Newport. There are many lodging options in Newport, including most of the national chain hotels.
The nearest airport is Eugene, Oregon, about 1 ½ hours away but air service is limited there. The easiest airport is Portland, Oregon, about 3 hours away from Newport. All major airlines fly into Portland.Embarcadero Hotel
1000 SE Bay Blvd
Newport, OR 97365
(800) 547-4779
Schedule
The workshop is based out of Newport, Oregon, and begins Wednesday, July 7, 2010, at 6:00 pm and ends Sunday, July 11 around noon. The first meeting will be in a meeting room of the Embarcadero Hotel. Check at the front desk for the exact location of the meeting room. We will give you a lot of specifics regarding the workshop at this first meeting.
In general, you can expect to be out photographing during the pretty light of morning, and again in the late afternoon. We will go to a sunset location every night of the workshop. The middle of the day is devoted to eating, image review, critiquing and relaxing. We expect to be back in Newport from our shooting locations for most meals. There are lots of restaurants from which to choose in the area and we will be glad to suggest our favorites.
Equipment and Gear
The weather along the coast is very up in the air; we have had 5 glorious days of sunny skies as well as 5 days of cloudy skies. Hopefully, we will have some sun, some clouds and if we are lucky, some stormy weather. July is generally pretty nice on the coast but there is always a steady onshore breeze and mornings and evenings are cool. Days should be in the upper 60’s to mid 70’s. Even in July rain is a possibility. Bring shorts, long pants, hat, rain gear and a warm layer just in case. If you pack an umbrella, make it black as they can be quite handy for tide pools. Have one pair of shoes suitable for walking on the beach and exploring the tide pools.
As far as camera gear, bring the gear you normally use. There will be ample opportunity to use everything from wide angle to macro lenses. Be sure to bring a supply of memory cards and some sort of hard drive so you can review and select your images for critiques. A laptop is useful but not required. A tripod is highly recommended. A polarizing filter and a split neutral density filter are good to have as well.
The Leaders
David Middleton
David has led more than 150 photography tours and taught more than 200 photography workshops. He is a gifted and enthusiastic teacher who has taught photographers and nature lovers of all levels and interests. Every year, he critiques more than 10,000 images and teaches close to 1,000 photography students.
David lives in the heart of the Green Mountains in southern Vermont and now does most of his photography at a nearby 240-year old dairy farm. He has gone from taking pictures of the wild and woolly lions and tigers and bears to taking those of the dull and domesticated heifers, bulls and old farmers…although the latter can be, at times, a bit more wild and woolly than anyone might expect.
When not taking pictures, David is an avid, but slow, runner and biker and an imaginative birdwatcher who spends probably more time than he should wandering the woods and meadows on his old farm with his black lab, Abe.
Contact David
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
David’s Website: www.davidmiddletonphoto.com
Skype: paworkshops
General Info: 877.384.PAWS (7297)
Brenda Berry
For the past several years Brenda has teamed up with David Middleton on workshops from the glorious Pacific Northwest to the beautiful North East without ever once stopping over in Kanas. Brenda has a love of working with students of all abilities, and uses her background in the arts to help others realize their own creative potential. She is known for her warmth, boundless energy, and wacky sense of humor.
For the past 13 years Brenda has lived on an island in Puget Sound where she has honed her love of harbors, sea shores and tidal creatures. When not out looking for rusty hulls and crab pots she runs a portrait photography business specializing in children and environmental portraiture. Once in a while she puts her camera down long enough to play with her 3 kids, husband, and black lab Lily.
Contact Brenda
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Brenda’s Website: www.bberryphotography.com
Skype: paworkshops
General Info: 877.384.PAWS (7297)
Final Thoughts
There are a lifetime’s worth of beautiful images to be found on the Oregon Coast. Lovers of birds and boats, sea stars and sunsets, ropes and chains, will all be thrilled. It is a complete visual feast. Come with us once and we guarantee you’ll be back.
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