Photo Workshop Abruzzo, Italy - October 23 - 27

See images from this workshop here http://www.pbase.com/hkruse/abruzzo_autumn_2008

See my Photo Workshop Schedule here http://hanskrusephotography.com/workshops

A 5 day workshop October 23-27, 2008 for a maximum of 8 participants in the beautiful Abruzzo at the best time for autumn colors. The workshop is aimed at giving the workshop participant the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful areas of Europe and get some great pictures. You can find examples of pictures here http://www.pbase.com/hkruse/italy_2007. The instructor is Hans Kruse, owner of HansKrusePhotography. He is very experienced in landscape photography and in post processing techniques. The main focus will be to show and teach how to get pictures in his style and inspire the participants to further develop their own style.

The workshop will include

• lectures about composition, scene selection, post processing, etc.
• critique and discussion sessions about the pictures taken during the workshop and personal portfolio
• morning and afternoon shooting sessions through the area with a selection of the most interesting spots for the time of year
  
• on location instructions and discussions about composition and technique
  
• opportunity to learn from fellow photographers

The schedule will be adapted to the weather conditions. The start is a morning shoot at sunrise (around 7:30) on a location and a drive through the area with stops at interesting locations. We will start early from the hotel around 6:30 and have breakfast when returning around 9:30-10:00. In the middle of the day there will be class room sessions with critique sessions, lectures on composition and post processing, etc. and some refreshments. Then an afternoon shooting session including sunsets (around 18:15) with dinner at the hotel on return. This is the schedule overview for the 3 full days. The arrival day will include afternoon shoot as time permits depending the arrival schedule. All will join for dinner and welcome at the hotel in the evening. On the day of departure there will be a morning shoot as time allows, so please arrange return journeys in the afternoon of the departure day if you plan to fly out on that day. The priority between shooting sessions and class room sessions is expected to maximize the opportunities to get some great shots from the scenic area and learn from working on location. The language of the workshop is English unless all participants are speaking the Scandinavian languages.

There are no specific expectations for the skill level of the participants to get full value from the workshop. You will likely have been interested in photography for some years and have acquired a digital SLR and a few lenses. For landscape photography in this area the focal lengths from 24mm to 200mm in 35mm full frame terms will be adequate (approx. 15mm to 135mm on crop DSLR cameras). A wider lens can be useful and a longer lens also (16mm and 300mm in 35mm full frame terms). It is expected that you are familiar with your camera including the most typical functions. Bring a manual for your camera too. A tripod is recommended and a cable release for your camera. The instructor uses Canon cameras and have detailed knowledge of these cameras, however photographers with any camera are welcome. For post processing the instructor will use and show Adobe Lightroom 2.0 and with additional processing in Adobe Photoshop CS3 (using Windows XP). It is recommended that the participants bring their own laptop for post processing. You can also bring examples from your portfolio for critique sessions on your laptop or in print. The temperature will fall to around the freezing point at this time of year in the morning, so please bring warm clothes and good, comfortable footwear for the time we will spend outdoors. Only small walking distances are planned from the roads.

The cost of the workshop is 745 Euro which include hotel, meals and wine (breakfast, lunch time refreshments and evening dinner and drinks). A single room for each participant. The price does not include transport to and from the hotel (air fare, rental cars, etc.) and transport in the area. It is planned that the 8 participants and the instructor will drive in 3 cars for the shooting. To share a car e-mail addresses will be exchanged among the participants such that sharing of rental cars can be planned in advance. The distance from Fiumicino (airport of Rome) to the hotel located just outside of L'Aquila, is around 2 hours by car. A rental car no smaller than a Fiat Punto is assumed for 3 photographers per car including their equipment. The reason for not including transportation is that it would add substantial extra cost to the workshop to include this and most participants would likely combine a workshop with a stay in the area. The hotel has conference facilities for class room sessions. The hotel is http://www.compagniadelviaggiatore.it. Only registered participants are allowed to participate in any aspects of the workshop, no exceptions. If you would like to bring a spouse or friend to the workshop, then please indicate this in the registration e-mail and we will try to accommodate such requests on a space available basis. A GPS unit will be useful and mobile phones to get reconnected, if getting lost. The instructor will have a mobile phone operational at all times.

Please book space on the workshop by sending an e-mail to Hans Kruse at hans@hanskruse.com or if you would like to ask additional questions about the workshop. You will get infomation about payment details and liability limitations. If you are not able to join this workshop or it is sold out, then additional workshops may be arranged subsequent to this one in the weeks following. As the time of the workshop approaches (1-2 weeks in advance) you will get updates on the detailed schedule and meeting times and additional relevant information.

The photographer at work in Sweden