About

I run all my workshops the same way; I am always available, I rarely photograph during a workshop, I am honest and encouraging when giving advice, I don’t hold back any information or keep any ‘pro secrets’ to myself and I believe the best learning environment is one that is fun and supportive.

I have done over 200 workshops and lead more than 150 tours in my career. I think I have taught workshops in more than 40 different places. This is sure evidence of the lack of a life that I have. Now I only teach workshops at places I am excited to go and where the photography is great and reliable. This makes it easier to teach and much more productive and enjoyable for my students.

I know sometimes my students find it a little frustrating that I don’t put out a daily itinerary for each workshop. The reason for this is because I decide where to photograph based on the photographic conditions at the time we are going out. This prevents itineraries that have the class going to a forest, for instance, on a sunny day or doing a sunset shoot when it is raining. All the workshop locations at which I teach I have been to many, many times (several of the locations I have written books about) and there are always more locations to go to then there is time in the workshop. This allows me to pick the best places to photograph when it is time to go out.

Also, many folks ask me about whether the class is for digital or film photographers. What I teach it doesn’t make any difference whether you are a film, digital or both kinds of photographer. Good technique is good technique and good composition is good composition it doesn’t matter what format you are using. I use the top of the line Nikon film camera and the top of the line Nikon digital camera so I will be, as ever, well versed in both formats.

My advice to you is not to get hung up on what you are shooting but instead pay attention to how you are shooting it.

Here are the nuts and bolts of the workshops I teach. If you would like more specific information contact the school that is operating the particular workshop.

‘Going Pro’ with Rocky Mountain School of Photography, August, 2007

This class is designed for those of you who want to do something more with your photography. It doesn’t mean that I expect you to quit your job and turn pro at the end of the class (despite the name of the class!). What I try to do is to teach you to think and photograph like a pro whether you decide to take the leap or not.

We explore all aspects of photography from the nuts and bolts of making submissions to how to go about getting, evaluating and developing ideas for articles and books. We cover all money making techniques:  slide shows, galleries, art fairs, magazines, calendars, books, workshops, tours, lectures and more as well as all the ways to promote your work.

The point of the workshop is to get everyone to think of themselves as sellers of series of pictures as opposed to sellers of single pictures. In other words, to be successful you need to think of yourself as a teller of stories with words and pictures and not as a seller of individual snap shots, not matter how pretty you think they are.           

New to the class this year will be two morning shooting sessions at the Triple D Game Farm instead of just one and two afternoon shoots in Glacier National Park.

Olympic National Park Field Class with the Santa Fe Workshops – May, 2007

This is my favorite all-time workshop location; it better be, this will be my 20th consecutive year of doing a workshop here. After 30 workshops I have been to all the shooting spots many times and know each one intimately.

The workshop is a field class which means that we will be spending most of our time out in the field shooting and only a little of the time in the classroom doing critiques. If you are sick and tired of hearing my same old blabbering in the classroom come to this workshop and listen to it out in the field.

Most workshops go to the Olympics in July as I used to do but I have found that May is a better time because the town and the park are empty, the forests look their best and the likelihood of beautiful lightly raining weather is the highest. Trust me, you will love Olympic National Park in May.

Some of the places I expect to take the class include the Sol Duc rainforest (my most favorite forest to photograph), Tongue Point for seastars and anemones and Hurricane Ridge for beautiful views of Mt. Olympus and the expansive interior of the park.

Fall Colors of Vermont with Camera Action workshops – October, 2007

October is my favorite time of the year in Vermont – everywhere you turn there are magnificent autumn colors and loads and loads of pictures to be taken. Do you want to take pictures of a beautiful barn or a hillside ablaze with reds, golds and oranges? Do you want to play with leaves floating in a black water pool or fog lifting off a lake with the reflection of the distant ridge in the background?

These are my home locations, I will take you all my favorite places. One session will also be conducted at my home where the 200 acres of bursting milkweeds, tumbling streams and late fall flowers are always a hit and another on a magnificent 200 year old diary farm with gorgeous old barns, gnarly old sugar maples and unbounded views.

Maine Coast with The Maine Photographic Workshops, Rockport – June & October, 2007

The Maine Photographic Workshops, located mid-coast in Rockport is one of my favorite places to teach and to linger. My workshops here are not done in isolation as are my other workshops usually are. MPW is a Mecca for all types of photography and during any one week there will be a dozen or so classes being offered is such things as motion picture editing, black and white printing, sound recording, steadycam operating, digital printing, travel photography, portraiture, etc.

My classes here are thus done in an incredible creative and energetic atmosphere. I have found that my students get as much from the stimulating environment at MPW as they do from me.  Of course, the chance to photograph the famous rocky coastline, light houses, traditional harbors, fall colors, meadows of wildflowers and woodland streams isn’t so bad either.

I do two different workshops with MPW: a general Outdoor Photography class that is half daily classroom instruction and critique and half going to locations to shoot; an In the Field class that takes us farther a field to more distant locations so there is a bit less classroom.

Copyright 2006 David Middleton Photography. All content on this site belongs to David Middleton Photography.
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