Yellowstone

When: October 11th - 13th, 2010

Vincent Versace  •  Navy CPO Michael A. Strand
Laurie Excell  •  Rafael Concepcion

This is one of the big ones. Yellowstone. You know the place. You've seen the pictures from it. Now is the chance to see it without having to fight the disposable camera crowd. We're going in late fall - near the end of the season when the area offers a slightly slower pace of life. Between the geysers, the wildlife, the landscapes, and the sheer overwhelming beauty of the area - how can you not want to be a part of this Photography Workshop?

One of the benefits of our small groups (5-1 student to teacher ratio) is that you get lots and lots of one-on-one time. Our FIVE instructors have all shot Yellowstone before and know where to be, when to be there, and how to shoot that location. Whether we are shooting geysers in the morning, wildlife just waking up for the day, or misty morning landscapes, we have you covered.

Prior to each Photography Workshop, our FIVE instructors scout each and every location to ensure that we take you to optimum locations without wasting time or shooting in poor lit locations. As always, while we can't control the weather, our rigorous preparation helps cut down on wasted time. We regroup at 11:00am at the hotel to begin the process of finishing the images we have just captured in our mobile Digital Darkroom.

We then depart around 5:00pm to chase the disappearing light and capture the darkening beauty of the area. Our instructors have, of course, scouted the area and will have designed the perfect compliment to our morning shoot. Once we have exhausted all possible shooting locations for the evening, we head back to the hotel to give you a few hours to eat, sleep, and get ready to do it all over again the next day.

Our goal for the week is to allow you the maximum time to shoot with our FIVE instructors in both small groups as well as ONE ON ONE. They will help you with your images from Composition to Completion. Our instructors scout each shoot location personally before you set foot there... something other programs don't do. Why do we? Because things change. Because locations that were available one year may not be available the next. Because preparation is part of what has made us one of the most successful programs in the industry.

As always, Head Instructor Vincent Versace will lead the trip along with Mickey Strand, the former head the US Naval Combat Camera Division.

Cost: $995 per person - that includes your photography workshop, Photoshop workshops and seminars during the midday afternoons, welcome bag with goodies, and all instruction throughout the three days we are there.

Maximum Number of Students is 30

What's Not Included:

• Flights to/from the Photography Workshop
• $20.00 per person Photo Use Permit
• Hotel Rate: $99.00/night
• Holiday Inn West Yellowstone
  315 Yellowstone Avenue
  West Yellowstone, MT 59758-0470
  (800) 646-7365
• http://www.doyellowstone.com/
• Rental Cars to get to/from the airport, shoot locations, and the Hotel
• Meals and Beverages

Vincent Versace

Vincent Versace is a recipient of the Computerworld Smithsonian Award in Media Arts & Entertainment and the Shellenberg fine art award, is a six-time nominee to the Photoshop Hall of Fame and is the best selling author of Welcome to Oz a Cinematic Approach Digital Still Photography with Photoshop. His work is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American History.

Vincent was the original host of the Epson Print academy and is the photographer of Immediate Assistants Medical Rescue Go team and one of the members of the photographic team of Eco-Challenge. He has been commissioned by the San Francisco Presidio National Park to create a permanent collection of art for the park. He is an American Photo Magazine Mentor Trek instructor. Vincent has led photographic workshops to San Francisco, Burma, Viet Nam, India, Morocco, Costa Rica, Santa Fe, Egypt, Cambodia, Mongolia and Australia.

Vincent is former member of the board of directors of Los Angeles chapter of the American Photographers Association. He is also a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals "Instructor Dream Team" and teaches regularly at Photoshopworld as well as being a regular instructor at the Maine Photographic Workshops, Santa Fe Photographic and Palm Beach Photographic Workshops. He is currently a member of Microsoft's Digital Imaging Applications Group and founding member of the Epson Stylus Pros, Xrite Colorotti and Lexar Elite Photographers.

He is the former artist in residence for Altamira Group and former consultant to the president of Kodak's Digital & Applied Imaging Group.

Vincent is able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and on the weekends is a part-time super-hero and short-order cook.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Michael A. Strand

Navy Chief Petty Officer Michael "Mickey" Strand, is the Leading Chief of Combat Camera Group Pacific, in San Diego, Ca. He started his Photography career some 28+ years ago in a make shift basement dark room in his parents home in Racine WI. His father instilled the love for the craft into him at a young age and it continued to grow to this day. During high school he furthered his skills in photography classes and while serving on the yearbook and newspaper staff for 3 years.

Chief Mickey enlisted in the Navy in 1985 at a Milwaukee Brewers baseball game. After completing boot camp he reported to his first duty assignment on the USS Ranger (CV 61) where he served as a ships photographer. He continued to work his way up the ranks and improve his trade at shore and sea stations around the pacific, until being selected to teach Advanced Electronic Imaging at the Defense Information School (DINFOS), Fort Meade, MD in 1997.

DINFOS is the center for all five armed services basic and advanced communications arts training. Chief Mickey co-created the Advanced Electronic Imaging Course, which has been taught for the last ten years. This class trains students in the principles, techniques, and skills required to create photography, text, graphics, sound, animation and full-motion video thru the use of multimedia and web-based applications.

In 2001 Chief Mickey reported to Fleet Imaging Command Pacific as the Training Department Chief. He continued in his passion of educating young sailors throughout the Pacific Fleet which lead to his selection as the 2006 "Earl Seaver" Memorial Award recipient for his continuing efforts in educating young service members in the art of digital media.

One of Chief Mickey's career highlights was when he served as Gordon R. England, Secretary of the Navy's photographer while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001.

Laurie Excell

Laurie Excell shares her passion for wildlife and the wonders of nature through her photography. She has been photographing for nearly all her life but turned it into a full time career in 2000. Since that time her images have been showcased in galleries and magazines in the Pacific Northwest, Audubon calendars, postcards, the National Park Service, Camping Life Magazine, the BT Journal, Photoshop User, Layers and Outdoor Photography Magazine (UK) to name a few. Her images can also be viewed on her website www.laurieexcell.com.

With 28 years of photographic equipment sales background and as many years photographing, Laurie shares her expertise in all aspects of photography, from the technical workings of the camera to helpful suggestions on which camera, lens or accessory is the right one for your needs. In addition to traveling, teaching and photographing all the beauty nature has to offer, Laurie has also turned her vast experience in selling photographic equipment into a business called www.equipmentlady.com.

Rafael Concepcion

Rafael Concepcion (RC) is an Education and Curriculum Developer for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, a writer for Layers Magazine and Photoshop User Magazine, co-host of Layers TV – The How To Podcast For Everything Adobe, and the voice behind the Layers Magazine Blog. An Adobe Certified Instructor in Photoshop, Illustrator, and Lightroom, RC has over 10 years in the I.T. and e-commerce industry and spends his days developing content for all applications in the Adobe Creative Suite. RC has held training seminars in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America, and has recently combined his photographic and web experience to teach a number of workshops such as a speaker for the Voices That Matter Web Conference.

Back To Top