Workshop Sponsor: Luma Labs

I'm pleased to announce another great sponsor for the Close to Home workshop in Port Townsend, WA. Luma Labs, the Portland, Oregon-based makers of the Loop and LoopIt camera straps, wants to make sure that your camera is always at the ready to capture the photographs you find all around you. That's why they've taken the popular sling strap for cameras and improved upon it.

Luma Labs Loop and LoopIt camera straps work simply and simply work. They've focused on a minimalist design with quality materials and construction to make sure your camera strap is a natural extension of your shooting style. Your camera hangs comfortably at your side but can be raised to your eye quickly and smoothly, giving you confidence that your camera is ready when you need it.

I've been a Luma Loop customer since they were first available in November 2009 and I love the simplicity of its design and its ease of use. I've carried a variety of cameras with it, from a bulky Nikon D3s with a 70-200 f/2.8 zoom lens to the svelte Leica M9, and it's always been comfortable and reliable. It's also very durable and long-lasting; I still use the same strap I bought in 2009.

Thanks to Luma Labs, we'll be giving away two Loop straps at the Close to Home workshop to a couple of attendees, along with the other great prizes from Craft & Vision, ThinkTANK Photo and OnOne Software. But you've gotta be there to win, so be sure to get signed up soon! You can save 10% off the regular $299 workshop fee if you sign up by September 2nd—less than a week away.

We'd love to see you there!

Join me in Chicago

As you might have noticed, I’m partnering with Ray Ketcham to hold a Close to Home workshop in Port Townsend, Washington in late September/early October. It’s shaping up to be a really great experience, with presentations, exercises, photo assignments and more. Plus we’ve gotten some really great sponsors—Craft & Vision, ThinkTANK Photo, and OnOne Software—who have generously donated some pretty cool prizes. I’ll also be hanging around for the Ray Ketcham-led Port Townsend version of the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photowalk on Sunday, October 2. It’s all gonna be a great time and I hope you’ll join us if you can.

But that’s not your only chance to spend a little time with me and find out a little more about the methods I teach from the book, Close to Home: Finding Great Photographs in Your Own Back Yard. On September 24, I’ll be a guest speaker at Steve Huff’s photography workshop in Chicago. It's a short presentation—about a half an hour—but I’ll also be hanging around for most of the shooting part of the workshop, lending Steve and the workshop participants a hand where I can. Chicago is a great city to spend time in, let alone getting to spend time photographing it. We’ll be exploring places like Millenium Park, Navy Pier and more, so there’ll be many opportunities to find some great photographs. It’s certainly one of my favorite cities to visit and photograph.

Details and sign up information for the workshop can be found on Steve’s site, along with workshop agenda. If you sign up before September 1st, you’ll get $50 off of the regular workshop price of $350.

Hope to see you there!

Workshop Sponsor: Craft & Vision

I'm pleased to announce that the Close to Home Workshop has its first sponsor and it's a great one. Craft & Vision, publishers of the original ebook, Close to Home: Finding Great Photographs in Your Own Back Yard has kindly agreed to give each workshop participant a free copy of the ebook or, if you already own it, one free ebook of your choice from their online store.

If you've seen the selection there, you know what terrific resources these ebooks are. If not, you're missing a great library of valuable photographic knowledge—and for only $5 each. You can choose books from respected professional photographers such as Dave Delnea, Andrew S. Gibson, Nicole S. Young, Darwin Wiggett, and, of course, David duChemin. There are books on the art, the techniques, and the business of photography, and there's usually a new one every month. They are truly a great resource for photographers of all levels.

Oh, one more thing… on the last day of the workshop, Ray and I will randomly select one workshop participant to receive a full set of all of the Craft & Vision ebooks! Yep, every single book (PDF) published by Craft & Vision to date will be yours to read at your leisure.

UPDATE: David duChemin has upped the ante for the Craft & Vision prizes by adding a signed set of all three of his currently published print books, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, Visionmongers: Making a Life and a Living in Photography, and Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. We'll give this terrific prize away to one lucky workshop participant!

Our sincere thanks to Craft & Vision for their support and for providing these great prizes to our workshop participants. (What? You haven't signed up yet? What are you waiting for?)