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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Lake Superior Workshop participants should expect some hiking to reach the best photography locations. Required equipment includes a digital camera with manual camera settings (a DSLR recommended), a sturdy tripod, memory cards, your camera’s manual, extra batteries and battery chargers. A laptop and a way to download images to your laptop and then to a thumb drive allows you to share during the peer review. I highly recommend a polarizer and ND grad filters.

Lutsen Resort on Lake Superior’s shore serves as the homebase for the photo workshop. Lutsen offers rooms that range from rustic old school lodge rooms to plush high-end townhomes. Personally, I love their cabins. There are two restaurants on the property which makes it easy to find food during the workshop. I suggest buying one of their box lunches for Saturday, because we’ll eat lunch in the field.

Dates:

November 9 to 11, 2012

Cost: $250
To register call Lutsen Resort: (218) 663-7212
More Info: Lutsen Resort

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Gales of November Lake Superior Photography Workshop.

Grand Marais Photography in December

December in the northland is the perfect time for doing a little Grand Marais photography. The town is slow until near Christmas, it’s sleepy, we may have snow, we may not and there’s not much else going on. What is going on though is that the sun rises at about 7:30am and sets at 4:15pm, so you can sleep in and still get a picture of the sunrise and you can get home before supper after shooting the sunset. That makes December Grand Marais photography perfect.

December Reflections

December is also a good time for looking back on some of the pictures taken this year. Here are a few that I really enjoyed making this year. Click on the thumbnail to see the full image.

In addition to taking lots of photographs this year, I took a 45 day long kayaking trip. See a picture of what I looked like while taking that kind of trip under the Shameless Self Promotion section.

December Photography Advice

This time of year, Grand Marais photography almost always involves a sunrise or sunset — did I mention that it rises and sets over Lake Superior? To capture it, you need Split Graduated Neutral Density Filters (ND Grads). These even out the brightness between the sky and the ground, which makes a better photo. All of the above sunrise pictures were made with ND Grads and without the ND Grads the pictures would be impossible to take.

Here’s what you need to use ND Grads with your DSLR camera:

1. Cokin P filter ring sized to the filter threads on your lens.
2. Cokin P Holder (saw off two of the slots so you don’t see the extra holders when you use it with a wide angle lens)
3. OR a kit: Cokin Holder plus ring

You then need to buy the actual filters. I recommend getting two ND Grad filters. One soft and one hard. Both in three stops. If you just want to try the filters out without spending a lot pick up number three on the list. I use number two on the list 90% of the time. If you’re going to buy two, buy either both high-end filters or both entry-level filters.

1. High-End Filter 1: Singh-Ray Galen Rowell ND Grad Soft transition in 3 stops: Great for inland lakes and scenes.
2. High-End Filter 2: Singh-Ray Daryl Benson Reverse ND Grand in 3 stops: This is perfect of Lake Superior.
3. Entry-Level Filter 1: Cokin P121: If you just want to buy one filter to try it out. This is the one.
4. Entry-Level Filter 2: Cokin P121S ND Grad: A softer transition. Similar to #1 in the Singh-Ray selection.

To use these filters, you screw the ring into your lens, attach the holder and then put a filter into the slot on the holder. You look through your viewfinder and move the filter up and down and side to side until the transition line (where the filter switches from clear to gray) aligns with the horizon. If the horizon is uneven, you need to align it so it disappears within the unevenness. Setting your aperture at f/8 or f/11 and pressing the depth-of-field preview button on your camera helps you see the transition line more clearly.

Shameless Self Promotion

This is the part of the newsletter where I push my products and services on you. Here’s what I have going on:

• I still do outdoor portraits in December.
• Lake Superior Winter Photography Workshop: This year’s workshop happens on February, 10 to 12, 2012. I love this workshop and it always fills up. At this point, we still have space, but if you’re thinking of joining me this year, you should get signed up soon.
• If the Winter Photography Workshop doesn’t fit your schedule, consider a one-on-one Lake Superior photography instruction or a small group Lake Superior photography workshop. I do these by appointment. We figure out when it works for your schedule and head out to get great pictures and work on what you need to learn.
• Spring Waterfall Workshop and Fall Photography Workshop: I’ll have the dates set soon.
• Gales of November 2012 Photography Workshop is set for November 9 to 11th, 2012.
• With the holidays coming up soon, you should give my 2012 Northern Landscapes calendar away as a Christmas gift or consider giving a print. All my photos are available as a print. If you don’t see the photo online that you want, let me know and I’ll make sure to make it available.

This Newsletter/Blog thingy that I’m doing is available by email. Sign up here. Please, pass this along to your friends (you can email them a copy by pushing the “Share” button below). I appreciate all the support that you have given me over the years.

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Grand Marais Photography – December 2011 Newsletter.

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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 The Bones of Earth – Photos from Artist’s Point Grand Marais, MN.

To me, pictures of the wind feel like I’ve captured the spirit of everything it moves through. With the other three elements, fire, water and land, it doesn’t seem the same to me. While water moves, it’s generally because of gravity or wind. Land seems so solid, and you often can’t see it move or change. Fire moves, but only when it consumes something solid. Wind seems to influence the other elements. It creates waves, it blows dust, and it causes fire to rage. Perhaps, it’s the anchor by which the other elements exist.

In Jewish and Christian mythology, YHWH’s breath (wind) gives human beings life. As we breath in and out, we create wind. It sustains us. Perhaps, wind is our spirit. If it is, it’s not too much to believe that the wind is the earth’s spirit, and capturing it allows us to see — just for a minute — the being that sustains us.

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This is a post from Bryan Hansel Photography. Respond and ask questions at Photographing the Wind Near Grand Marais, Minnesota.

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.

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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.