2010 AWAI Workshops

Your instructor:

Efrain Padro is best known for his travel, fine art and nature photographs.  Based in Santa Fe, NM, Efrain’s photographs have appeared in Outdoor Photographer,Frommer’s Budget Travel, Geographic Expeditions catalogs and other publications.  He is also the author of The Photographer’s Guide to New Mexico and he just recently finished Frommer’s Puerto Rico Day by Day guide (due on the shelf in 2010).

What You’ll Learn:

In addition to exploring colorful and exotic Morocco with a professional photographer by your side, Efrain’s photo sessions include: what it takes to create magazine-quality photographs, how to work with editors and guidebook publishers, where (and how) to get your first assignment, how to work with (and manipulate) your camera for the best possible pictures, and how to create images editors will love.

Activity:

High activity. Most of this workshop will be done out and about on foot.  Plan for cobblestone streets and no elevators.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this workshop. It is for people of all skill levels and experience—you’ll find the concepts discussed both accessible and doable.

Dates:

March 14-18, 2010

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What Makes this Workshop Different?

• You will not only get the group sessions our workshops are so famous for — the difference between an average snapshot and a $16,000 photograph… how to buy the right camera… how to edit your photos in Photoshop and Lightroom so that you look like a pro — but you’ll also get the inside scoop on selling and reselling your photographs — including everything from taking the right kinds of photographs… to knowing and understanding which market will be most likely to buy them.
• This is the only workshop of its kind in 2010. It details several markets where you can sell your photos instead of focusing on just one – magazines, newspapers, fine art, stock, food photography, guidebooks and more.
• You get hands-on practice working with live models in a studio setting
• The photos you take at this workshop are yours to keep (and sell)
• There’s always a session on travel writing, too. Combining your photos with words can make them easier to sell to magazines and newspapers – we’ll show you how it’s done.

Dates:

April 16-18, 2010

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Your instructor:

Shelly Perry, from Portland, Oregon, specializes in stock photography. Her images have been seen all over the globe on music CD covers, books, magazines, catalogues, websites, ad campaigns, and even on TV. Just recently, Shelly received an award from Getty Images for her editorial photography work in Istanbul.

What You’ll Learn:

With daily photo reviews and sessions on improving your technique and selling your photos, this four-and-a-half-day workshop is not like anything anybody else offers. You’ll explore all the famous (and several not-so-famous) landmarks of Paris under the trained eye of a professional stock photographer. You’ll learn how to take unique, saleable shots of popular landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur as well as how to sell them to online stock agencies.

What’s more, you’ll gain tips for taking amazing, almost magical night and sunset photographs of the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower from lesser-known viewpoints. We’ve discovered these special spots during the photo expeditions we’ve run here over the last decade. They’re our little secret – and one we’d love to share with you when you join us in Paris this spring.

Activity:

Very high activity. Most of this workshop will be done out and about on foot. There are steps in the metros, steps to the top of Notre Dame Cathedral and steps up to Sacre Coeur. While there’s time to stop and catch your breath and there are plenty of cafes where you can rest your feet over a cup of coffee, you’ll need your walking shoes on every day of this workshop.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this workshop. It is for people of all skill levels and experience—you’ll find the concepts discussed both accessible and doable.

Dates:

May 9-13, 2010

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Your Instructors:

Rich Wagner and Efrain Padro. Rich’s images hang in public corporations and private foundations from the Americas to the Far East. In Puerto Rico he’ll share his secrets for selling locally to fund your vacations while also leading you through the streets and rainforests of Puerto Rico to create stunning travel photographs.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Efrain Padro is the lead photographer for Frommer’s Puerto Rico Day by Day, and he’s customized this expedition for us. Efrain’s photographs have appeared in Outdoor Photographer, Frommer’s Budget Travel, Geographic Expeditions catalogs and other publications. This May, he’ll show you how to follow in his footsteps.

What You’ll Learn:

In addition to exploring (and photographing) Puerto Rico’s many attractions, like ocean-side castles, lighthouses, rainforests, and festival dancers – all with two very skilled photographers by your side – you’ll also learn: professional tricks for photographers working “on assignment” for a magazine, which markets to target when selling vacation photos, how to set yourself up to sell your photos as fine art in libraries, coffee shops, online, and more… Plus, you’ll come away with pro-level Photoshop and Lightroom techniques that’ll make any photographer look like an expert.

Activity:

High activity. Most of this workshop will be done out-and-about on foot. Plan for nature trails and no elevators.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this workshop. It is for people of all skill levels and experience—you’ll find the concepts discussed both accessible and doable.

Dates:

May 15-19, 2010

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What Makes this Workshop Different?

• We’ll hand you the how-to’s for getting started fast (proven techniques that really work!) even if you’ve never written an article in your life.
• Discover not only what editors are looking for right now… but beyond that, how to get those articles sold in 2010.You’ll learn which trends to focus on and which to avoid because they’re on their way out (and you’ll get this advice straight from an editor’s mouth).
• Nobody else delivers Jennifer Stevens’ secrets for writing saleable travel articles and selling them to editors. You’re guaranteed a lively long weekend full of laughs, camaraderie, and lots of ah-ha moments as you learn to translate your fun travel experiences into articles editors will clamor for.
• Our workshop attendees are the most successful of our readers. Those that find success usually find it within three weeks of returning home from the event.
• There’s always a session on photography, too. Combining your words with photos can make them easier to sell to magazines and newspapers – we’ll show you how it’s done (and you don’t need to be any great artist to do it!)

Dates:

August 5-7, 2010

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Your instructor:

TBA

What You’ll Learn:

You’ll get on-the-ground, hands-on experience honing photography skills as you explore the villages and colors of Ecuador with a professional photographer at your heel. AND, you’ll also learn Dr. Georgi Lozanov’s breakthrough SUPER THINKING technique. With the Lozanov system you’ll speak Spanish in only a few days using Baroque music as a bridge to a more natural, powerful way of thinking.

Activity:

High activity. A good portion of this workshop will take place out-and-about on foot visiting local craft markets and villages. You should pack comfortable walking shoes for these excursions. Ecuador is also at a high altitude.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this workshop. It is for people of all skill levels and experience—you’ll find the concepts discussed both accessible and doable.

Dates:

September 10-18, 2010

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Your instructor:

Rich Wagner specializes in selling photographs locally. His images hang in public corporations and private foundations from the Americas to the Far East but he makes the most money selling photos of his own hometown in Connecticut. Years of experience have made him a master at teaching just about anyone with any kind of camera how to take better pictures and sell them.

What You’ll Learn:

As you meander the winding streets with your camera in hand and a pro at your side, you’ll take amazing photographs of Rome and come away with the know-how to re-create what you learned when you return home (including how to take breath-taking night photographs). With Rich’s help, you’ll see your photos improve by the hour. You’ll also get his secrets for turning photos of your travels (and photos of your own hometown) into a second income you can use to fund your next trip.

Activity:

Very high activity. Most of this workshop will be done out and about on foot. You’ll need your walking shoes on every day of this workshop.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this workshop. It is for people of all skill levels and experience—you’ll find the concepts discussed both accessible and doable.

Dates:

October 10-14, 2010

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Your instructor:

Rich Wagner specializes in selling fine art photography. Attendees at previous events always remark on how easy it is to learn from him because he breaks down even complicated photo and editing techniques into steps a layman can follow. His value in this workshop, however, will not just be in his ability to teach even the most amateur photographers how to manipulate their cameras and create saleable images, but in his advice on selling those images, too.

What You’ll Learn:

This will be a trip you’ll remember forever. You’ll not only come away with amazing photographs of Thailand and the know-how to sell them when you return home, but you’ll also gain a new appreciation for Thai food and culture. You’ll learn how to travel like a photographer working “on assignment,” and you’ll gain all the skills you need to create images good enough for publication in magazines or to be sold as fine art.

Activity:

Very high activity. Most of this workshop will be done out and about on foot. You’ll need your walking shoes on every day of this workshop, and you’ll need to be able to get in and out of tuk-tuks on your own.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this workshop. It is for people of all skill levels and experience—you’ll find the concepts discussed both accessible and doable.

Dates:

December 2-9, 2010

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