Are you ready to re-energize your passion for sharing your world?
Please join us for an exclusive, intimate, inspiring experience…
that will change the way you take photos forever.
Nick Kelsh’s Country Weekend Photography Workshop
(August 12-14, Walton, NY)
It’s about you, your camera, and the stories of your life.
Connect... Inspire... Support... Grow...
An exclusive invitation
My family and I love to spend summer weekends in the pastoral farm country of New York’s Catskill Mountains. So many of my favorite photographs that you’ve probably seen are from this gorgeous area.
A unique opportunity presented itself just recently—an available opening at our friends’ nearby “farm-stay” property, the bucolic Stony Creek Farmstead—and it’s so picture-perfect that we decided to share it with you…
We invite you to join us in this idyllic spot for a truly special experience… an immersive country farm-stay combined with an intimate, intensive, personalized, hands-on photography workshop….a wonderful opportunity to learn from my lifetime of shooting photographs, while visiting one of our country’s notable vacation areas. You’ll be inspired, challenged, photograph, eat, play, relax, explore, 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 and capture the kind of photographs you’ve always dreamed of shooting. The kind that will enrich your life and the lives of those you love and those you photograph.
The Setting
A distant relative of mine came to visit a couple of years ago. He was retired and he and his wife were on a two-year, 50 state marathon driving vacation. I asked them—now having seen our beautiful nation as few people ever do—where in the United States they would settle. They talked it over and without even knowing where my wife had grown up they said that it could very well be the Catskill Mountain area of New York State—the location of our photography workshop. It’s difficult to argue with. I’ve been shooting photographs there for years now and posting them on our Facebook page. People have been wowed by the light, drawn in by the details of Americana, and have used the words “Norman Rockwell” dozens of times to describe the pictures that I’ve taken there. (I love Norman Rockwell, by the way.) The place just feels real. The people are real. It feels like America and the hills are rolling and beautiful. I absolutely guarantee that all of the attendees will fall in love with this beautiful part of the northeastern United States.
Stony Creek Farmstead
We’ll visit a number of locations in the area for various shooting experiences, but our home base, and where you’ll stay, is Stony Creek Farmstead—an 85 acre luxury farm-stay property that’s been featured in The New York Times, Travel and Leisure, and New York Magazine, among many other publications. Our program will take advantage of the many various photographic possibilities on this beautiful working farm.
Why spend a weekend with me?
For me personally, this weekend could possibly the most exciting thing I’ve ever done. I’ve hosted hundreds of seminars, retreats, public speaking events, webinars, and written and/or photographed nine books and I’ve come to the conclusion that the small group over a period of days may very well be the perfect teaching and learning format. There’s enough time for me to connect with every student personally and still give you time to be alone with your cameras and exercise your mind’s eye—in other words, shoot great photographs.
Yes, we’re going to make sure you’re secure in knowing how to use your camera in manual mode but I want more than that for you. I want you to think like a photographer. I want you to think in terms of photographic communication—I want you to tap into your inner storyteller. I want you to create images—during the weekend and beyond—that will enrich your life and the lives of the people you love.
I want to help you get there.
And I want you to have good old-fashioned fun doing it.
Here’s What You Get:
It will be a two day, two night workshop happening in the farm country near and around Walton, NY. It will kick off on the afternoon/evening of Friday, August 12 with cocktails and dinner on our family deck overlooking the pond (with a sunset/hayfields/clouds shoot if we’re lucky)! And then we’ll spend the next two days shooting photographs. As always with photography, this will all be wrapped up in a discussion about working with mastering or reviewing your camera settings, lighting, composition, and other tips and techniques. We’ll shoot in various locations around the property and the county, on nearby farms, and possibly a variety of scenic local spots including a local farmer’s market and charming, old-fashioned local store, plus animals, people, barns, machinery, birds, flowers, landscapes and plenty of rural Americana. We’re going to do out best to find a field of blooming sunflowers (local farmers rotate their crops so it’s different fields every year) and finish up on Sunday morning watching the local farm families get ready for one of the country’s most quintessential county fairs. (The fair in Charlotte’s Web got nothing on this one; it’s beyond sweet. Hey, you might even want to spend an extra night if you want to catch the Fair when it officially opens the next day.) Oh, and of course, we’ll give you some free time to wander around the farm and avail yourself of the swimming pond, the boating pond, a walk or jog along the winding dirt roads, hiking through the woods, or just lounging on the deck or grass. You’ll have a memorable weekend in this bucolic setting, immersed in traditional, sustainable farm life and photography. We’ll wrap up mid-afternoon on Sunday, August 14 and you’ll leave relaxed, refreshed and re-energized, full of fresh-picked, local, home-grown, organic, grass-fed and, above all else, delicious home-cooked meals; with deeper photographic knowledge and skills (not to mention some farming knowledge and skills!); wonderful new photo-friends, and the confidence, creativity and control of your camera to consistently shoot the photos you’ve always dreamed of. You’re welcome to spend another night if you’re interested in more time in the country or more photography time (or if it just helps your travel plans to avoid night driving or get better airfare!)
My Country Weekend Photography Workshop is a magical 2 day event that will:
- Give you the confidence and skills to control your camera in the daily situations that make for great photographs.
- 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 make 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 rural experience shared with what are surely to become lifetime friends. This is guaranteed to be unforgettable.
Pre-Workshop Preparation
Before the weekend begins you’ll upload a set of photographs to give a sense of who you are where you are in your photographic journey. It could be pictures of your family and then your photographic greatest hits or whatever. We will look at these photographs on Friday night and get to know each other—with everyone sharing their photographic achievements, challenges, and goals.
Mastering Manual Mode
One aspect of any photographic workshop that’s problematic is the diversity of experience and skill levels. I know that we will have students attending this weekend who could probably teach significant portions of it. On the other hand, we will have people with expensive cameras lacking the wherewithal to take full advantage of all the bells and whistles. (That’s most of us, actually.)
To level the playing field, I want to make sure that all attendees are relatively comfortable with their camera settings before we get to Saturday morning. If anyone who’s attending wants to get on the phone with me before the weekend, I will be happy to walk them through their settings. I have recording of my F-stops, Shutter Speeds, and ISO Made Easy webinar that will be available. I plan to be there early afternoon on Friday for anyone who wants to be among the first to arrive so that I can sit down one-on-one with them and demystify their camera. A basic knowledge of f-stops, shutter speeds, ISO and a rough understanding of how to take a light reading is going to go a long way here.
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 spend our time shooting photographs and telling stories.
Storytelling
STORYTELLING
We’ll focus on shooting photographs this weekend that will tell two stories with our cameras. First, the overall story of your weekend experience as only you can tell it— we want to see a reflection of your personality in an experience that was shared by everyone. You can call this collection of photographs the overall weekend assignment or project if you’d like to. Very simply, by the end of the weekend you will have captured a set of images that you’ll then carefully edit to tell the story your weekend experience.
Also, over the course of the weekend each photographer will be assigned to look for a story within a story. It could be a set of pictures of just about anything. It could be several pictures of the same flower or it could be a humorous set of pictures depicting the difficulty of lighting a kerosene lamp. The possibilities are limitless really.
You’ll be challenged to carefully edit both of these stories. You’ll be asked to consider the beginning, the middle, and the ending pictures. You’ll confront the difficult but necessary task of choosing which to keep and which to delete. We’ll discuss how cropping, editing, and converting to black and white can enhance your photos and your photo-story. You’ll be creative about putting them into an order that will tell a story. This is an art and you will not leave the weekend having mastered it, believe me. But you will grow and flourish.
Essentially, we’re all going to go to the same barns and flower fields and county fair. But, as all great storytellers know, the story is in the telling. This is a profound lesson to learn as a photographer. This is not about being self-centered, it’s actually the opposite. It’s about sharing your vision with the world. It’s what we do.
Follow Up Webinar and Video Recording
I don’t want to spend valuable hours during the weekend downloading and uploading photographs from cameras to computers to projectors. It’s too easy to get bogged down in technology with digital photography. I want us to be out shooting photographs. We can talk about them later.
So after the weekend you’ll upload your two assigned “photo stories.” On a night to be determined after the weekend we’ll have a live webinar to review and discuss everybody’s stories and photographs.
You’ll receive this a recording of this session to download for review as needed—and as a keepsake of our shared experiences together during this memorable weekend.
Includes 4 Great Bonuses!
(total value: $520)
In order to give you all the preparation you need—and for ongoing review and learning afterward—we’ll give you immediate access to all three of our self-study courses…plus a one-on-one pre-workshop consultation with Nick! This is our way of preparing you to get the most out of your weekend, and for optimal success afterwards.
Basic Photography Course (Self-Study)
Going Manual Course (Self-Study)
Photo Editing Course (Self-Study)
Personal consultation with Nick before the workshop!
Your Accomodations
You’ll experience a simple, old-fashioned country way of life in “rustic, yet luxurious, platform tents with canopied ceilings and canvas walls, a wooden floor underfoot, which you dry and cozy without shutting nature out. There’s a wood stove, oil lamps, fully equipped kitchen and spacious living area that opens to the outdoors. You’ll share the tent with 3 or 4 fellow participants—there are three comfortable, separate sleeping areas and A small water closet conceals a flush toilet. A short stroll across a foot bridge brings you to the industrial open air shower house, with four stalls. The tents are intentionally off-grid to help you appreciate the finer things in life.” (But, no worries, we’ll have a workspace in the barn with electricity and wireless to accommodate your charging/uploading/internet needs.)
A nearby Bed and Breakfast provides alternate accommodations for those who prefer not to “glamp.”
Landscapes… Barns… Animals… Flowers… People… Details…
Here’s a sample of photographs taken in around the area to give you a flavor for what you will experience…and photograph.
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 weekend (which this will be, by the way) 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.
So grab one of our 16 spots now to feed your photographic soul…
and get ready to spread your wings and fly!
Investment: $1195
Hurry to register now
The workshop is limited to just 16 participants and it’s almost full so act now to grab one of the remaining spots!
Once those slots are filled you’ll miss the opportunity to enjoy this rare experience on the intensive road to improvement with us this summer.
Discounted Registration ends in...
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Want in, but not sure about travel/housing yet?
Due to our tight lead-time we need to get a final headcount as soon as possible and there are only a few remaining spots so you’ll need to act fast if you want one. However, we understand that coordinating your travel and housing with potential roommates may take some time—and we will be helping you coordinate that— so if you’re unable to make suitable arrangements, we will allow a full refund of your workshop fee for two days after your purchase. So you can reserve your spot with no risk, while you take the time you need to finalize your travel plans.
FAQs
Still on the fence? Here's answers to all your questions.Who is this for?
Why here? Why now?
Of course, we realize it’s come up quickly, and we know that it presents a challenge for anyone traveling from a distance or whose summer is already booked, or needs time to save for something special like this. But here’s the deal…
A unique opportunity just recently presented itself—the coincidence of us having the family house to ourselves that weekend and a rare available opening at our friends’ nearby “farm-stay” property, the bucolic Stony Creek Farmstead.
When it dawned on us that this was the perfect location for our first weekend workshop—something we’ve long fantasized about doing—we decided that, in spite of the crazy quick timing, we just had to go for it.
It’s all so picture-perfect that we just wanted to share it with whoever we could…
August 12-14 is just five weeks away and we have to move quickly to lock in accommodations so, if you are able to take advantage of this unique opportunity, let’s make hay while the sun shines.
(And if you can’t make this one, don’t worry, we hope to offer other weekend workshops ahead!)
What's included in the cost?
What's the location and Directions?
How does the housing work?
After you register for the workshop you will receive an email with the following information and rooming form:
ACCOMMODATIONS
Accommodations are not included in the workshop fee and must be reserved separately.
The main accommodations are at the Stony Creek Farmstead which will be our base for the weekend.
You’ll enjoy the “glamping” experience of “rustic, yet luxurious” platform tents on a wooded hill—with spacious living area, fully equipped kitchen with running water, three sleeping areas, wood stove, oil lanterns, and flush toilet. Showers (plus additional toilets) are in a separate outdoor building. Please take a look at the photos to familiarize yourself with the sleeping options and see price details below.
The tents are intentionally off-grid as part of the appeal to farm-stay visitors, so please note that there is no electricity, wireless of cell service. However, for our purposes, the hosts will provide a room with access to electricity and wireless in the barn or another building. Cell service is spotty in this rural area, but if you climb up the hill you can generally receive service!
Thanks for your sense of adventure for this “glamping” experience! 🙂 And for your openness to shared sleeping arrangements.
Please note there are no private rooms in the tents—all sleeping spaces are open. For a private room alternative see below.
PLEASE INDICATE YOUR SLEEPING PREFERENCES BELOW.
We aim to assign 3-4 people per tent. Please rank the sleeping options below in order of your preference (leave blank for any you don’t wish to take). We’ll do our best to maximize everyone’s comfort, and we appreciate your patience as we work out arrangements that best accommodate everyone’s preferences. We will email you confirmation of your accommodations with an invoice for your room cost within the next few weeks.
Which do you prefer (or are willing to take)? Please rank 1,2,3,4 or leave blank if not interested in that option.
___King Bed ($100 per night)
___Cabinet bed ($75 per night)
___bottom bunk ($65 per night)
___top bunk ($65 per night)
Please let us know the names of any tent-mate requests:______________________
Please let us know if you have any physical limitations requiring special transportation up hills, through fields ________________
Please let us know any dietary restrictions _____________________
If you would rather stay in a rental house with electricity/internet approximately 15 minutes away (still joining the group at the Farm for breakfast though) please indicate the following:
___Double bed ($60-80)
___Single bed ($50)
___I have my own car
___I do not have my own car
If you have any questions please feel free to mail Anne at [email protected] and she’ll be happy to call you.
Thank you. We are thrilled you’ll be joining us and will get back to you with more details as soon as we work out housing assignments.
Can I room with my friends?
What about meals?
Where do I fly into and how do I get there from the airport?
What about tranportation?
Once at the location, we’ll provide group transportation throughout the workshop. Parking your car for the weekend is not a problem.
Airfare is not included—please contact us if you’d like help making arrangements.
We are trying to arrange transportation from one or possibly two of the nearby airports—for a reasonable fee to eliminate the need for a rental car. Probably an afternoon pickup from Albany, NY airport (90 minutes away) and/or Binghamton, NY airport (one hour away), depending on the needs of those flying. And similar return transportation on Sunday afternoon.
Additional airports to consider might be Syracuse or Newburgh (both 2 hrs away) or Newark (2.5 hrs) but you’d need to rent a car (try Priceline and bid really low—we’ve gotten cars for as little as $15/day.)
Please email us at [email protected] to let us know if/when you’re flying and we’ll work with you to help find convenient airport transfers.
What if I have special needs?
We can accommodate any dietary and mobility needs you have. Just let us know. We can work with you.
What equipment do I need?
Bring your camera and every lens you own. If you have a tripod you’ll be glad you brought it. If you own a detachable “speedlight” bring that, too.
Chargers, portable batteries, (You’ll have access to electricity in the barn, but not in your cabin.)
But when you pack, try to keep yourself light and mobile. Your choice of camera bag is important. There will be some walking involved—not long distances—and for the most part you’ll be using your camera and whatever lenses you own.
What else should I pack?
What will the weather be like?
What is the cancellation policy?
What if I have more questions?
Remember, the special discount of $200 off ends in...
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Join us now to get your spot at our discounted rate!
This special weekend, which I, as your trusty photography guide, and Anne, with her family history of local farming and hospitality in the region—have carefully and lovingly programmed for you, is sure to engage, enrich and inspire you…in mind, body and soul!
Don’t delay as the space is limited and and our discount now ends July 31st at midnight.
I hope you’ll join us for a memorable weekend and I look forward to helping you…
Stay in focus.
Nick
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Nick Kelsh is a renowned photographer—with nine published books and repeat appearances on Oprah and The Today Show—who has become a photo-guru and friend to many thousands of family memory keepers and photographers of all levels. Nick’s passion for teaching and helping others, knack for creatively delivering photography instruction in easily digestible bites, and inspiring, entertaining style make learning photography easy and fun on his How To Photograph Your Life website and blog and Facebook Page, and in his popular online courses, live workshops and speaking engagements. |