Photography Workshop: September 20-22!

A gorgeous Lake Erie sunrise pinkens the sky behind the historic Marblehead Lighthouse, one of the most picturesque signal towers on Lake Erie.

I made this image last September, during a photography workshop instructed by David FitzSimmons and myself. Our base of operations was the beautiful lakefront town of Lakeside, which is not even five minutes from this lighthouse.

The aforementioned Dave FitzSimmons, nearly kneeling in the surf creating silky wave images. This September 20-22, Dave and I will be back and doing the workshop again, this time joined by the inimitable Art Weber, founder of the National Center for Nature Photography. Dave, as some of you know, is the creator of the Curious Critters book series. All of the workshop details are RIGHT HERE.

A juvenile Herring Gull poses in early morning sunlight, in between working on its scaly meal. Had the bird only turned its head about 10-15 degrees my way, the photo would be that much better.

The great thing about a photography workshop at Lakeside is the sheer diversity of subjects within a stone's throw of base camp. After the group finished shooting a glorious sunrise at East Harbor State Park, we turned our lens to this cooperative gull.

Fringed Gentian flowers appear to be spun from cobalt silk. The frayed petal edges lend a nice touch. Just 15 minutes from Lakeside is one of Ohio's finest remnant prairies, and it has plenty of these gentians and many more botanical subjects. The gentians, especially, are great fun to photograph but require good technique for quality images.

Growing with the gentians is this, the Riddell's Goldenrod, one of our rarest goldenrods and a true prairie species. It is one of about 100 species of vascular plants discovered and described to science from Ohio.

In addition to learning lots about photography, and getting much practice on a wide array of subjects, we'll also learn lots about natural history.

It's not just flora and fauna, though - Lake Erie abounds with all manner of manmade subjects, such as this massive lake freighter. It is the John D. Leitch, which was launched in 1967, and refitted in 2001. When it left the docks in 2002, it was the largest self-loading freighter on the Great Lakes. I made this image from the pier at Lakeside; the freighter was taking on limestone from the Lafarge quarrying operation not far to the east.

Here's last year's group, wrapping up a good session with lots of photos made, of scores of subjects.

Another sunrise, this one from the beach at East Harbor State Park.

Please sign on if you are interested in advancing your photography skills, and getting exposed to some really cool subjects that you might not otherwise see. Between Art, Dave, and myself, I'm sure you'll learn plenty of new tricks.

All the details are RIGHT HERE. More on Lakeside can be FOUND HERE.