Have you seen those advertisements about Tamron's Photo Workshops?My wife and I recently had the opportunity to go on one and let me tell you, it was well worth the cost of admission.
This particuliar workshop was sponsored by Samy's Camera and of course Tamron. Other sponsors included, Bogen Imaging (tripods),and ExpoImaging(expodisc).
It started in Santa Barbara with a Friday evening get together. We met the photographer, Don Gale, that would be working with us and learned about how the tour would be structured. This first meeting took place inside Samy's Cameras and we were given ample opportunity to spend our money. In fact, as part of our goodie bag we found a twenty dollar gift card from Samys (which we could use anytime). Nice touch.
As our evening continued we learned that we could borrow Tamron Lenses (Canon/Nikon mounts), tripods, and even have the use of a Fuji FinePix S5 Pro digital camera for our shoot the next day.
Saturday was the actual photo part of our workshop. We met early Saturday morning at a public parking lot, got on a bus (not one of those yellow school type busses, but one designed for paying customers, bathroom included) and proceeded to Santa Ynez (about 45 minutes away) and home to Firestone Vineyards where we would be shooting for the day.
Once at the vineyard we gathered in the courtyard, given some last minute instructions, and proceeded to photograph just about anything we choose. For some that meant working with the photographer while others ventured off alone to discover what they could.
What makes for a successful workshop is access to the professional leading it, his/her enthusiasm, and their sincere desire to work with the attendees.
Don Gale is a successful photographer who takes the time to explain his reasons for how he shoots and demos proper photographic technique. All too often we let the digital camera do all the work for us, not understanding that there are certain photographic principal at work in every photo. Depth of field, light meter readings, composition and a host of others. Don successfully shows how these interact and how with a little thought you can get the photograph you saw in the viewfinder.
Don did a great job explaining things which made for a successful day.
After the shoot we boarded the bus back to Samys and met to discuss how the workshop went. We saw examples of Don's photos that he took during the workshop and he used the time to explain what he was trying to achieve.
No workshop would be complete without raffle prizes and Tamron didn't skimp on these.
Lenses, magazine subscriptions, and software. They were all up for grabs.
Would I recommend this workshop to others?
Of course, but first check to see if Don Gale is leading it.
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