Workshop Sponsor: Laura Shoe

I'm pleased to announce that Laura Shoe has joined our group of fabulous sponsors for the Close to Home workshop. Laura is an an instructor and fine art photographer based in Seattle, Washington, and particularly enjoys sharing her knowledge of Photoshop, Lightroom and other digital imaging topics with other photographers.  She is an Adobe Certified Expert in Photoshop Lightroom, and in addition to offering independent workshops, she teaches at Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle. She also taught for many years for the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, and is a Lightroom moderator and beta tester for Adobe.

Laura has put together a comprehensive DVD of Lightroom Fundamentals, including nearly seven hours of the same instruction she provides in her 2-day Lightroom workshops. Two lucky participants will receive a copy of Laura's Lightroom Fundamentals DVD—but there's a catch! You must register and pay for the Close to Home workshop before the early registration deadline on this Friday, Sept. 2nd extended to Tuesday, September 6 ! to be eligible. You'll get a 10% discount for the workshop, too, saving you $30 off the full $299 workshop price.

So if you've been putting it off, here's a little incentive to register early and get a chance at a really great prize. Sign up today!

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!