Where & When
Date: April 13-17 ,2011               

Cost: $700
Location: Arches/Canyonlands NPS 

Instructors: Tom Bol, Jack Graham, Neil and Susan Silverman, and George Theodore

CALL THE GAPW at (866) 747-4279 to reserve your spot!!!

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Some of you may have taken a workshop or two with the Great American Workshop Weekend folks. If you did, I bet you had a great time, learned lots and made many friends. Thats how they did thinks from the early days with Bill Fortney and the gang, right up until today, when , sadly, the GAPW will end it’s time in the industry.  The GAPW was one  of the 1st photographic workshop outfitters to come on the scene when photography workshops were not as available, led by so many folks as they are today. The GAPW kind of set the standard for photography workshops for many years.  John Shaw, Galen Rowell, Frans Lanting, David Meunch, Jack Dykinga, Art Wolfe and other photographic luminaries have all been what were called”star speakers” in the early days of the organization. I was lucky enough to attend a few, then help out as an assistant on others. I have been proud to have been on their faculty of instructors for the past few years. Frankly, I “cut my teeth”  in this business with the GAPW and am sad to see it go. However, who knows what the future will bring. Hope is eternal.

Having said that, leave it to the GAPW folks to go out with a bang!… and a BANG it will be. We’ll be doing one more worksop in one of our favorite locations Arches & Canyonlands NP in Utah next month.Rather than go into detail myself, please read the information found below. I would encourage you, if at all possible to try and make this event, even though it may be kind of last minute. To my knowledge( as least for me) there has never been the group of quality instructors that will assemble in one workshop, in Moab, Ut.  If you have never been to Moab, this should be the time to get there. Trust me, there’s NO PLACE LIKE MOAB, and this region of Utah…. enough from me…. 

 Please read on!  JG

 BELOW  ….is the email that went out from the GAPW offices recently.

 

 

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Greetings!  

After nearly 20 years of sharing our love of photography with dear friends and our extended photographic family we have decided to close up shop and spend some time with our feet firmly planted at home. This is a sad time for us since we won’t be wandering through America’s glorious back yard with you; however, we’re excited about what the future will bring. To celebrate our longevity we’d love for you share in our retirement party; so come join your favorite instructors at our favorite venue, Arches National Park.  Tom Bol, Jack Graham, Neil and Susan Silverman, and George Theodore will lead this special event.  Not only are the instructors and venue special, but we are also offering a photo contest where we’ll hand out cash prizes for the 10 best photos of the weekend, with first prize winning up to $1000!  Does this sound exciting?  How about photo opportunities not only during sunrise and sunset, but also star trails, light painting and more?  I know everyone will want to attend this extraordinary workshop, but we have to limit it to 40.  Call now to reserve your spot!

The workshop will take place in Moab, UT.  The Moab Valley Inn is holding a block of rooms ready for you to call and make your reservations.  Their phone number is 435-259-4419.  Grand Junction, CO is the closest airport to Moab, just 90 miles away.  Salt Lake City is the closest major airport to Moab around 200 miles away.  I have left the course itinerary below for you to review this magnificent workshop!  Call now to reserve your spot because it is filling fast! 

Sincerely,

Rhonda Fortney

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ITINERARY: 

 Wednesday Night:  Meet at 7pm at the conference room for an evening get together.  Tonight the instructors will show some of their images and talk about logistics for the workshop.  We will split the group up into smaller groups to maximize the shooting time for individuals at each location. 

 Thursday:  We will start off with a sunrise shoot at one of the classic locations in Arches or Canyonlands Park.  Groups will go to different areas with different instructors each morning.  After a late breakfast and short break, we will meet for classes at 1pm in the conference room.  Classes will include qualities of light, exposure and composition.  In the evening we will shoot sunset at Delicate Arch. 
 
Friday:  Start with a morning shoot at a new location and new instructor.  Another late breakfast, then time to download images.  Meet again in the conference room at 1 pm for classes on the latest HDR techniques and image optimization.  We’ll show you the basics to get the most out of your desert images, and also look at advanced techniques to really make your images stand out.  Also we will do image critiques during this session.  In the evening off for another sunset shoot. 
 
Saturday:  Another sunrise shoot, late breakfast and short break.   Meet again at 1pm for classes on TTL flash for the nature photographer, digital workflow and light painting techniques.  We will also do critiques of participant images.  Evening sunrise shoot, then dinner.  After dinner we will head out to do light painting and star images in the desert. 
 
Sunday:  Today is the big day!  After a late night of light painting and star images, this morning we will meet after breakfast to judge the images for the contest.  Cash awards will be given for first through tenth place prize winners.  Make sure you don’t miss this session.  Class will be over by 11AM this morning.