Photography workshops need to accomplish four things:

1. Teach you how to use your camera better.
2. Teach you how to see and capture photos better.
3. Visit beautiful locations that I’ve explored before so you can get the best shots.
4. They must be fun.

By combining these aspects, this Fall photography workshop (limited to 12 people) sets up a fun hands-on learning experience in one of the most beautiful parts of Minnesota. For this workshop, we’ll set up our base in Grand Marais and adventure out to nearby locations. We’ll visit scenic overlooks in the Lutsen area to photograph the maples, we’ll head up the Gunflint Trail to photograph the birch and aspen, and we’ll visit other remote and scenic locations. Along the way, you will learn new techniques, improve on old ones and make great photos.

Day 1 (Wednesday): Sunrise to sunset (optional: sunrise)

The photography workshop officially begins at noon with a slideshow and lecture about camera control, composition and the recommended filters. For participants arriving Tuesday night, an optional sunrise session on Lake Superior is available and highly recommended. After the slideshow, we’ll head out to photograph the area while practicing using polarizers and neutral density filters.

Day 2 (Thursday): Sunrise to sunset

We start with a sunrise on Lake Superior near Grand Marais. I demonstrate the use of split ND grad filters. I have several demo filters for you to try, but I suggest that you purchase these filters if you don’t already own them. Learn more about split ND grad filters in my December Newsletter. Then we’ll visit nearby streams to photograph intimate landscapes. We end the day after sunset.

Day 2 (Thursday Night):

Thursday is also our optional night session. After sunset, we’ll meet up and learn to shoot star trails and paint the night with flashlights and other tools. I’ll also bring out a tent, so you can make the classic northwoods night camping shot. Grand Portage photographer Travis Novitsky will join us for the evening session. Travis is a fantastic photographer and his night photography is legendary. Even though the night session is optional, I suspect that everyone will want to come to learn night photography from Travis.

Day 3 (Friday): Morning to sunset

We spend the day in the Lutsen area after photographing Cascade River State Park, and then heading down to several scenic overlooks. We’ll end the day after sunset. For those of you that want to catch some sleep after last night’s night shoot, you can sleep in and meet up at noon for the rest of the day.

Day 4 (Saturday): Sunrise to sunset

This is our Gunflint Trail day. We start the day with a sunrise session on Lake Superior, we head up the Gunflint Trail to photograph the fall color reflecting in scenic lakes and from an easy to reach overlook. We’ll skip the sunset to meet up in the classroom for a demonstration of Adobe Lightroom for photo organization and post-processing. Adobe Lightroom is one tool that no photographer should be without, because it does everything we need. For this demonstration, a laptop with Lightroom is recommended, but you can follow along without it. After you head back to your hotel for the evening, you should select five photos you took during the workshop to share with the class on Sunday.

Day 5 (Sunday): Sunrise to noon with an afternoon feedback session

We start on Lake Superior for the sunrise and after breakfast, we meet up for an image review in the classroom. You’ll share your five images with the classroom. For those that have signed up for the full five days, I will do a one-on-one image review and feedback session during the afternoon and evening. These will be scheduled for 20 minutes and those that have to travel furthest to get home go first.

Fall Color Photography Workshop on Lake Superior Cost

The cost of the workshop is $749 per person for the instruction fee for the five days. Food, lodging and transportation is separate and up to you to book. Weekends in the fall fill up early, so book your hotel soon. About a month before the workshop, you’ll receive the participant packet with a suggestion of clothing and photography gear.

Price: $749 per person
Dates: September 26 to 30, 2012
Max: 12 people

Registration and Cancellation Policies

Lodging Partner

I’m hosting this photography workshop with Aspen Lodge in Grand Marais, MN. Aspen Lodge is on the east side of Grand Marais across the street from one of my favorite restaurants, My Sister’s Place.  Aspen Lodge offers views of Artist’s Point, the East Bay and the Coast Guard Station. It has a giant whirlpool spa, a sauna and a pool. It’s within walking distance of downtown.

Call 800-247-6020 to make your room reservations.

Fall Color Pictures From Fall 2011

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Fall Photography Workshop on Lake Superior.

I think photography workshops need to accomplish a few things:

1. You need to learn how to use your camera better.
2. You need to learn how to see and capture photos better.
3. They need to take place in beautiful locations.
4. They must be fun.

By combining those four aspects, I set up a learning experience that helps you capture stunning photos during the photo class. When you leave, you’ll have the knowledge to do it on your own. During my individual and small group Lake Superior Photography Workshops, I tailor the lesson plans to you. If you need to learn about depth-of-field to get everything in focus or to blur the background or how to make waterfalls look silky or how to freeze the motion of a wave, the workshop will teach you those things. If you don’t understand white balance, ISO, file sizes, camera buttons, then by the time the workshop is over you will. I also help you see photos while along the jaw-dropping Lake Superior shoreline, and then I teach you techniques to translate those scenes into a stunning photo. Plus, I keep everything fun!

For locations, I offer Grand Marais Photography Workshops, Lake Superior Photography Workshops, Boundary Waters Photography Workshops, and workshops in the Lutsen and Tofte area. Other areas are possible.

Lake Superior Photography Workshops Price:

1 person: $225 half-day / $375 full-day
2 people: $280 half-day / $480 full-day  ($140/$240 per person)
3 people: $330 half-day / $585 full-day  ($110/$195 per person)
4 people: $380 half-day / $660 full-day  ($95/$165 per person)

Time:

Half-day: We meet before the sunrise and shoot until 11am, or meet for a four to five hour session mid-day or before sunset.
Full-day: We meet before the sunrise and shoot until sunset. During the long summer days, we’ll take a break mid-day to eat lunch and relax. Total lesson time runs between eight and nine hours.

Required down-payment: 50% of the total cost of the program. These down payments are non-refundable but may be transfered.
Questions? Email me at: bryan@bryanhansel.com

Reserve Now:

Lake Superior Photography Workshops

1 person half-day $225.00 2 people half-day $280.00 3 people half-day $330.00 4 people half-day $380.00 1 person full-day $375.00 2 people full-day $480.00 3 people full-day $585.00 4 people full-day $660.00

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Individual and Small Group Lake Superior Photography Workshops.

I do all my portraits and family photos outdoors. Here’s how a session usually goes. You schedule something, and we talk about locations, what you want, and when we’ll meet in Grand Marais or on Lake Superior. Then you pay the fee. The day of the sitting, we meet, get to know each other and get to work. Photography sessions run about an hour long, and I try to get four different locations within the area we choose. I have standard locations, such as Artist’s Point, that I use often. At those places, I pretty much know where I’m going to set up. For new locations, we’ll have fun figuring the details out when we arrive. If it’s an individual portrait or senior photos, then I might recruit your family or friends — if they’re along — to hold an umbrella or point a flash. I love to shoot more causally and in the moment and have fun while I’m taking your photo. I might ask you to turn your head or move your arm a little, but I’m not going to pose you in a specific way (unless you really want me to). I think spur of the moment pictures that show you and your family having fun represent the area and your vacation better than a stiffly posed shot. Did I mention that we’ll have fun?

I like to have fun and I like to get to know you during these shoots, so expect to have fun. The above photo was taken yesterday in a field of orange hawk weed. I used a special lens to create the blurred effect.

For more information and prices, check out my Outdoor Portraits in Grand Marais page.

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Portraits and Family Photos in Grand Marais and on Lake Superior.

Photographing lupines can feel difficult. It’s hard to capture the feeling of all the color. I like to isolate the different colors against a green background or just fill the entire frame with color. I typically shoot lupines with a 105mm macro lens, but I also pull out my 70-200mm or my 300mm lens to really compress the space between the flowers and make it feel like the color piles on top of itself.

For daisies, I like to center one flower or use two flowers with parts of them leaving the frame. You might can it a habit to constantly frame daisies that same way, but the variations of the flowers, focus and depth-of-field make every picture feel slightly different.

Here are a few photos that I took — the first since being off the expedition. I hope that you enjoy them. Are lupine your favorite flower, too? How about daisies?

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at The Dreamy Daisies and Lupines of the Northshore of Lake Superior.

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Rosebush Creek Waterfalls on Minnesota’s North Shore.

This one runs mainly in spring. During a wet fall it also runs high. During the summer, it’s much more of a dribble. Because the sun hits all the falls during the day, it’s best to photograph it before and just after sunrise or at sunset. Even better is to wait for an overcast day. The darker the day, the more silky you can make the water.

Here’s a little history about the place name. From Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia:

Rosebush township organized in 1907, took its name from Rosebush Creek, in translation of is Ojibwe name, Oginekan, though called “Fall River” on maps … The creek a mile farther west was mapped as “Rose Bush River.”

Click on an image to make it larger.

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Minnesota’s Fall River Waterfalls.

I shot the forest for several hours and came back with over 100 compositions. These eight are my favorite. I created the dreamy effect in camera. I did white balance, contrast and color corrections in the digital darkroom. There’s lots of snow over the hill, and it’s going to create a massive spring run off!

I have two upcoming workshops: a Spring Waterfall Workshop and a Waterfall and Moving Water Photography Seminar.

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Foggy boreal forest in a late winter drizzle.