The shared experience of a Nick Kelsh Photography Workshop will feed your photographic soul…

An exclusive invitation to a spectacular part of the world

The Canadian Rocky Mountains

“The mountains are calling and I must go.”—John Muir (naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, glaciologist)

Majestic mountains surround a picturesque alpine town.  Glacier-fed lakes sparkle in sweeping valleys.  Lush alpine meadows and forests are home to a variety of wildlife.  Visitors to the Canadian Rockies pause and soak in the beauty that is the Banff National Park.  

Established in 1885, two years after a series of hot springs were discovered by railway workers, Banff National Park became Canada’s first national park.  The park includes more than 1,600 km (1,000 miles) of maintained trails, crystal-clear waters of lakes fed by glaciers, wildlife, alpine meadows, soaring peaks and breathtaking views.  And that doesn’t include the three ski resorts tucked within the national park.

“On a map, it’s just Highway 93; but when you are on it, the Icefields Parkway is breathtaking.”—Peter Banks (Mountain Madness Tour Diary)

National Geographic has called the Icefields Parkway one of the ten most scenic drives in the world, and we’ll explore its beauty on an excursion during the workshop. The parkway stretches from Lake Louise to Jasper and links the Banff National Park with Jasper National Park. More than 100 ancient glaciers can be seen along the way, as well as cascading waterfalls, striking rock spires and valleys featuring sparkling lakes. Mountain goats, deer, bears, elk and even bighorn sheep call this area home.

In other words, the Canadian Rocky Mountains are a photographer’s paradise!

So we’re excited to invite you to join us for a truly special experience… a beautiful vista of numerous photographic opportunities combined with an intimate, intensive, personalized, hands-on photography workshop. It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn from my lifetime of shooting photographs while visiting come of the most spectacular natural locations in Canada.

You’ll be inspired and challenged. You’ll photograph, explore, play, eat, relax, grow, bond and, I predict, above all else, be absolutely thrilled with how it will change your photography. You’ll gain the skills and confidence to take control of your camera. You’ll enjoy a memorable getaway and return home with those memories beautifully captured in the kind of photographs you’ve always dreamed of shooting—the kind that you’ll now be comfortable shooting consistently, that will enrich your life and the lives of those you love and those you photograph.

Here’s What You’ll Get:

A four-day immersive photography workshop surrounded by the rugged peaks of the Canadian Rockies in Canada’s first national park. We’ll kick off the event with a welcome dinner and introductory photo slideshow and discussion on Sunday evening.  Take advantage of your Free Bonus Session by coming early on Sunday for your personalized, one-on-one camera-settings checkup. We’ll then spend the next three days diving into the lessons, assignments, photo shoots, reviews/critiques and editing. We’ll work on mastering or reviewing your camera settings, lighting, composition, and many other specialized techniques and general tips. From our headquarters at the world-renowned Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, we’ll explore the beauty of Banff, the national park, Lake Louise and other scenic areas in and around Banff, including a trip out the famed Icefield Parkway to the Columbia Icefields Athabasca Glacier.  Our schedule will include both classroom style and in the field training, and will allow for flexibility to take advantage of optimum locations, time of day, and light conditions (and to adjust for weather if necessary)—for viewing and photographing the unique vistas of this area. You’ll leave refreshed and re-energized, with deeper photographic knowledge and skills; wonderful new photo-friends, a collection of photographs you’ll be proud of, and the confidence, creativity and control of your camera to consistently shoot the photos you’ve always dreamed of.

My Canadian Rockies Photography Workshop is a magical four day event that will:

• Give you the confidence and skills to control your camera creatively in the daily situations that make for great photographs. 
• Improve your understanding of various lighting situations and techniques, ability to expose photographs properly, compositional thinking, storytelling tactics and your post-processing and editing skills.
• Establish new ways of thinking about your photography and the way you take pictures. It will help you not just relax but empower you…and it all shows up in your pictures. 
• Make you aware of just what makes photographs that work…and photographs that don’t. You’ll be guided by me and enjoy the support and feedback from a diverse group of photographers who share your passion.
• Give you a heart, head, and photo album filled with wonderful memories of a unique experience shared with what are surely to become lifetime friends. This is guaranteed to be unforgettable. 

PRE- WORKSHOP PREPARATION

Before the workshop begins you’ll be asked to upload a set of ten photographs to give us a sense of who you are and where you are in your photographic journey. It could be a picture of your family and then your photographic greatest hits and/or mistakes! I’ll review these with you in a private consultation call before the workshop and then we’ll share them with the group in our opening night presentation, as we get to know each other and all share our photographic achievements, challenges, and goals.

MASTERING MANUAL MODE

We welcome a diversity of experience and skill levels among attendees. I know that we’ll have students attending this weekend who could probably teach significant portions of it. On the other hand, we’ll have people with expensive cameras who lack the understanding of how to take full advantage of all the bells and whistles.

To level the playing field, I want to make sure that all attendees are relatively comfortable with their camera settings before we get to Monday morning.  If anyone who’s attending wants to get on the phone with me before the weekend, I will be happy to walk you through your settings.

You’ll be asked to watch (or review) my 60-minute “F-stops, Shutter Speeds, and ISO Made Easy” training in advance of the workshop.

Also, I will be available on location during the day on Sunday, April 30th, for anyone who wants to be among the first to arrive so that I can sit down one-on-one with you to demystify your camera settings. A basic knowledge of the exposure triangle and a rough understanding of how to take a light reading is going to go a long way here. Time for these one-on-one sessions is limited, so register and arrive early to take advantage of this bonus.

On the other hand, for some students, coming to grips with their cameras settings over the course of the weekend may be the huge personal milestone they’ve been dreaming of. It’s all good, believe me. My point is this: I want to help you before the weekend really gets going so we can maximize our time shooting photographs and telling stories.

STORYTELLING

We shoot photographs to tell stories so we will spend time addressing this all important topic.

We’ll talk about the how to tell a story in a single image and how to shoot a collection of images that tell a story.

We’ll focus on shooting photographs during this workshop that tell stories in a personal way…your way. I want you to go home with a set of pictures that was taken by a specific personality—you. That’s, after all, what good storytelling is all about; it’s the way the story is told and not the story itself.

I want your pictures to say something about how you feel about the world and the people you’re with. That attitude is going to result in the very best family photos when you get home.

And we’ll discuss the difficult but necessary task of choosing which images to keep and which to delete. We’ll discuss how cropping, editing, and converting to black and white can enhance your photos and the storyline.

Storytelling with a camera is an art and you will not leave the weekend having mastered it, believe me. But your ability to be a visual communicator will grow and flourish.

Essentially, we’re all going to photograph the same mountains, trees, lakes, people and views but, as all great storytellers know, the story is in the telling.  This is a profound lesson to learn as a photographer. 

It’s not about being self-centered, it’s actually the opposite. It’s about sharing your vision with the world. It’s what we photographers do.

FOLLOW UP VIDEO AND VIDEO RECORDING

A couple of weeks or so after the workshop we’ll have a followup session via webinar for a final overview of the weekend, review of your photos and editing lessons.

You’ll be asked to evaluate and edit your collection of photographs during the week following the workshop and submit a sample of them for my review with the group. We’ll discuss content, technique, composition, and storytelling and I’ll demonstrate editing techniques in Lightroom.

You’ll receive a recording of this session to download for review as needed—and as a keepsake of the group’s greatest hits and our shared experiences together during this memorable workshop.

Treat yourself to this valuable experience.

You deserve it!

There’s no doubt that this is a significant investment.

It’s a commitment to yourself and your passion that will pay you back for the rest of your life.

Consider this: for the cost of a memorable getaway under the experienced guidance of a renowned photographer you will grow as a photographer in joyful and unexpected ways that will enrich your relationship with photography for as long as you live.

You’ll always be able to tap into the moments and insights that are going to make this weekend so amazing. 

Plus you’re guaranteed to go home with some amazing photographs—and an amazing group of new photo-friends!

This is an opportunity you’ll want to experience if you can.