James Clift on “Assignment Discipline” in Intermediate Photography

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Balancing your photographic pursuits with the ups and downs of daily life can be a difficult task. Keeping pace with a photography series requires not only dedication but also a clear direction to ensure building success. Here, workshop student James Clift talks about how creative assignments with concrete deadlines can help expand the horizons of the intermediate photographer.

Liz Caroli: Chasing the Light

Mystical Cloud Cover Tennessee Valley
Liz Caroli is a recently retired teacher with a newfound passion for photography, but looking at her photographs, you might think she’s been shooting for a very long time. However, she bought her first “real camera” barely three years ago. She credits her rapidly improving skills behind the camera to hard work and the excellent teaching skills of the instructors at The Image Flow.
Her first initial impetus to pursue photography came during a trip to Belize. On a side trip to Half Moon Caye National Monument, Liz snapped a few shots of a flock of birds flying overhead.

An Action-Packed Weekend of Landscapes & Nudes in Big Sur

© barbara hazen weekend photography workshop big sur The Image Flow
The Image Flow headed down to Big Sur for an all-inclusive weekend photography workshop shooting nude models and the rugged California coast, not to mention a tour of Ansel Adams’ private darkroom and a behind-the-scenes look at the Edward Weston estate. Stuart Schwartz offers a few words:
This is the first time we’ve held Big Sur Landscapes & Nudes, and you never know how a new workshop is going to go, so there’s always a bit of apprehension. But as soon as we got to the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, CA, on Thursday, for a presentation of work by instructors Michelle Magdalena and Ken Parker and a motivational talk with Artistic Director Brian Taylor, it was pretty obvious it would a special weekend.

Mary D’Agostino: Seeking Beauty in Nature’s Fleeting Moments

Grizzly with Salmon © Mary D'Agostino nature & landscape photographer
Emerging nature and landscape photographer Mary D’Agostino is as homegrown as much of her work. A busy executive by day, Mary used to spend her vacations painting wildlife, but in recent years, she has developed a passion for photography. She put herself through a “school of photography” taking workshops and classes at The Image Flow and started working one-on-one with Stuart. “I was doing projects and shooting a lot, and I would routinely bring my work in for critique from Stuart.”
Mary has also sought critiques from experts in the field of nature photography, which have been met with increasing success. “I’m fearless when it comes to finding people in the field of photography to evaluate my photographs,” she says.

OMG! Summer Photography for Youth Turns Out Amazing Results

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The Image Flow has been buzzing with kids this summer, and we couldn’t be more impressed or proud of the work they’ve turned in! Our most recent workshop, OMG! Summer Photography for Youth, saw our very own Constance Chu lead a group of extremely talented kids ages 11 – 14 around Mill Valley while they looked for light, shadows, and shapes while learning how to maximize their cameras’ manual settings.

Our Cuban Family: Seven Unforgettable Days & Nights in Havana

Ardi Arni sunrise Cuba photography workshop
Stuart Schwartz and Jock McDonald led a group of American photographers to Cuba for a week of shooting. The week started in Miami. Stuart Schwartz and Jock McDonald met their six workshop participants in a hotel the night before the flight to Cuba. The group spanned more than five decades in age and as many shooting styles.
“My chief concern was, are these people going to get along?” says Stuart. “It was a big cross-section of participants, but it was a harmonious group of people, they were a family. It was a family trip.”