We are thrilled and proud to announce that our workshop program is healthy and expanding. The Nick Kelsh Photography Workshops roll on. Last year’s Country Workshop in Upstate New York, our Fall Foliage Workshop, our Philadelphia Workshop, our mountain retreat to Banff, Canada and a glorious five days in New Orleans were so well received (several attendees have attended more than one of our workshops) that we have scheduled five more workshops for the remainder of 2017.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: these workshops may in the end be the most important thing I do photographically. Getting together for a period of days with students who want to grow as photographers and artists is possibly the very best teaching environment for me. I love shooting photographs, but I love teaching photography, too. There is nothing like a workshop to change and enhance your relationship with your camera and the world of photography forever. So here, in order, are the five unique locations we have chosen to gather this year as teacher and students.
Cape May, NJ / Jewel of the Jersey Shore / September 15-17
The Kelshes are a people of the prairie, so I was caught by surprise when I fell in love with one of my wife’s favorite childhood vacation spots. Cape May is located at the southern tip of New Jersey. For over a century it has been considered the crown jewel of the Jersey shore resort towns. Hundreds of Victorian-style homes line the boardwalk and beach in an absolutely classic vacation setting. Many people consider September the perfect month to head that direction— school’s in session and the crowds have dramatically thinned. The weather is often beautiful this time of the year as the sun gets a little lower in the sky providing gorgeous, dramatic light. Beaches, boardwalks, architecture, and an internationally renowned migratory bird sanctuary add up to a legendary location for learning the craft of photography.
Catskill Mountains, NY / Fall Foliage Photography Workshop / October 10-13
The scene you see here is about five miles from where my wife, Anne, grew up near Walton, New York. This is the view from the second floor of the house we rent for our Fall Foliage workshops. (Home-made pies courtesy my incredibly charming mother-in-law; the attendees loved her! I clearly won the mother-in-law lottery.) The Catskill Mountains are absolutely tremendous in the month of October. The rolling landscape reflected in the ponds and rivers are a photographer’s dream come true. The casual country atmosphere and intimate location allow us to shoot and repeatedly retreat to the editing room to complete our vision of glory. And glory it is. If spending a period of days in New England’s fall color is on your bucket list this is the workshop for you.
Santa Fe, NM / High Desert Enchantment in the Southwest / October 3-6
Almost since the beginning of photography, Santa Fe and the surrounding area has been a mecca for photographers and artists. Ansel Adams, Georgia O’Keeffe, and countless others have come here to be inspired by the landscape, the architecture, and the life. Everyone is struck by “the light”. Somehow it just seems different here. It invites photographic inspiration. Land and light and lifestyle become one as you put your camera to your eye shooting pictures you will treasure forever. A special additional day at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta will complete an incredible week. Walk in the footsteps of photographic greatness. This is going to be wonderful.
Philadelphia / History and Holiday Lights in the City of Brotherly Love / Nov. 27-30
Last year we did our first early winter Philadelphia workshop. I don’t think I’ve ever loved my city more. Independence Hall is a short block away from our hotel so we can rise early and watch the sun rise on the birthplace of American democracy. The crisp cool air of early winter and the bustling preparation for the coming holidays create a Norman Rockwellian atmosphere that is both spiritual and visual. Walk the streets and alleys the founders walked to fully appreciate how America came to be America. I love my hometown and you will, too.
San Francisco / The City by the Bay and Carmel-by-the-Sea / Nov. ??-??
I’ve been to most American cities, but San Francisco is practically in a class by itself when it comes to visual possibilities. The hills and the houses held together by water and cable cars dipped in fog make this one of the world’s iconic destinations for any photographer. And then the trip to Carmel and Point Lobos completes what is a classic photographic journey. The rocks and shores of Northern California have starred in countless photographs by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston and others that hang in the photographic museums of the world. Even without a camera, San Francisco and the surrounding area are stunning inspirational. When you go there with a camera determined to polish your craft you cannot help but grow as a photographer.
