Photography Workshops

[John_SD]

Has anyone taken any of these 3- and 4-day photo workshops? What were your opinions of them? They seem quite popular in the West, and while very pricey (generally in the $1500 to $3500 range), I have been hearing and reading some great things about them. The Arizona Highways Photo Workshops seem very popular and quite intensive. They go all over the place. A friend of mine took the one in Death Valley last winter and raved about it. Another guy did Zion and Bryce and recommends it highly. For those who have taken a photography workshop, what is your opinion of them?

[ebiggs1]

You might check your local Park & Recs to see if they offer a course.  Ours did and it was a 10th (even less ) the cost of those.  Another source is your local community college,

[John_SD]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

You might check your local Park & Recs to see if they offer a course.  Ours did and it was a 10th (even less ) the cost of those.  Another source is your local community college,

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Those are good sources. The junior colleges, of course, tend to offer semester-based classes, which may also be worthwhile. Here in San Diego, the community colleges are relatively cheap at $46 a credit hour. They tend to focus on fundamentals and are locally based. 

The out-of-town workshops tend to be run by photographers of some note, and are very intensive, held over a several-day period. Typically they are a mix of field and classroom time, but admitedly they are expensive. I am looking at a 5-day workshop up in Yosemite this February, which is $900, well south of  the $2000+ some of the workshops can run. This is just one example. I've been to Yosemite many a time and I know firsthand that it is spectacular in the winter. 

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[diverhank]

In my opinion, workshops are great for learning and improving.  However, I think they are not worth the money expended.  The real economical way to do this is to join a photography club that does this sort of thing (most do).

My photography club does field trip monthly, led by experienced photographers who shared their knowledge without monetary gains.  The field trip is completely free if not counting sharing the cost of car rentals, gas, hotel rooms...Cost is about the tenth of what these workshops charge.

[John_SD]

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@diverhank wrote:

In my opinion, workshops are great for learning and improving.  However, I think they are not worth the money expended.  The real economical way to do this is to join a photography club that does this sort of thing (most do).

My photography club does field trip monthly, led by experienced photographers who shared their knowledge without monetary gains.  The field trip is completely free if not counting sharing the cost of car rentals, gas, hotel rooms...Cost is about the tenth of what these workshops charge.

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There are several around SoCal that I know about , but I haven't joined any. However, having read your post and Ernie's I may give the Pacific Photographic Society in SD a try. I will probably sign up for the 5-day workshop up in Yosemite.