Ken Rockwell Photo Outings & Workshops (original) (raw)
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2025 Photo Tours & Workshops
Wait-Listed: Friday ~ Sunday, 07 ~ 09 February 2025: California's Route 66.
Route 66 Motel, February 2024.
As of November 2024 our 2025 Route 66 photo tour is full, so call or email Dave Wyman at (323) 377-7565 in Los Angeles with more questions or to get on the wait list for cancellations.
Spring, 2025: California's Central Coast
To register and for any questions, call or email Dave Wyman at (323) 377-7565 in Los Angeles. Dave Wyman is often out leading other tours, so he's not always sitting by his phone or computer. Dave organizes these tours while we both lead and teach. Dave Wyman is the author of many books about travel and photography; Fearless Photographer: Nature is his most recent, with Yosemite in Photographs, Backroads of Northern California and Backroads of Southern California so popular they're often sold out. Dave has been leading outdoor hiking, educational, camping, historical and photo trips for decades and decades and decades.
Photos from all previous trips
See. Shoot. WIN!!! ℠
Our group at an Abandoned Mine on our Fall Color Tour, October 2024. Photo courtesy Julian Solomons (the guy holding the drone remote control😁!). bigger.
These are working tours, not boring indoor computer workshops. We're shooting outdoors all day long, not sitting in a motel looking at computers. Be sure to bring enough cards and batteries since we're usually gone from dawn till dark out shooting.
We're not doing any strenuous hiking or climbing, but we are on our feet 14 hours a day or more.
I'll only spend a half hour towards the beginning giving everyone a general pep talk about how to find and see the pictures you want, which is the only difficult part in photography that all too many people miss entirely. I'll cover the key fundamentals of composition, image structure and design and how to make strong images that stand out, win contests and catch everyone's eye. Once you learn to see the pictures that make everyone go "ooh!" and "ahh!" (and we'll take you to the best spots), shooting them is easy regardless of whatever camera or phone you have. You don't need a fancy or new camera to take great pictures once you learn how to see them in the first place.
We'll have more than enough time outside to give you all the personal one-on-one instruction you'd like — much better than being stuck in a motel hearing other people's questions answered — and you should come home with tons of awesome photos. Many people prefer to shoot the whole time and ignore us; you can get as much or as little personal help as you like. We get to all the right places at the right times, and fine-tune and optimize our itinerary continuously as the weather conditions change.
Since any instruction — or not — is one-on-one, these are ideal for people at every level. If you're a full-time pro you'll just shoot the whole time, and if you've never been on one of these and just show up with your iPhone, you'll also get loads of great photos. We often shoot with our iPhones as well as our fancy cameras; we're all about the picture and not about what kind of camera people have. We'll show you how to get great pictures with any camera.
These tours are so good that about 30% of you are repeat attendees.
To register and for any questions, click the links, or call or email Dave Wyman at (323) 377-7565 in Los Angeles. Dave is often out leading other tours, so he's not always sitting by his phone or computer. Dave organizes these tours while we both lead and teach. Dave Wyman is the author of many books about travel and photography; Fearless Photographer: Nature is his most recent, with Yosemite in Photographs, Backroads of Northern California and Backroads of Southern California so popular they've sold out. Dave has been leading outdoor hiking, educational, camping, historical and photo trips for decades and decades and decades.
We have two workshops coming this Fall. They run right after the other, so if you're traveling to one, you should do both — but different organizations are doing the registrations, so it might not be obvious.
Hope to see you there!
Some of Our Group on the 2023 Fall Color Tour.
On the Monument Valley Tour, 14 November 2009.
Speaking Engagements
I love to teach and speak when others invite me to events they have planned like the ones above.
I had the time of my life for a week in Italy in October 2003 when the Politechnico di Torino invited me to teach at their summer program.
Please ask if you'd like me to address your group, whether it's graduate students at Oxford, a class of excitable first graders, the local Police or Fire department or your local photo club, charitable organization or small or large business.
I love this stuff!
Other Great Workshops:
San Diego Photography Tours
I don't do these; my friend Julie Kremen leads them.
These are half- or full-day hands-on photo tours of iconic San Diego spots with Julie.
Call her at (858) 692-8402 or see SanDiegoPhotographyTours.com for more.
Dan Ballard Private Workshops
Dan Ballard General Workshops
Dan Ballard, based in Colorado. He offers general workshops as well as private workshops around the world. Some options are Patagonia, Lofoten Islands, New Zealand and Iceland.
He still has some space in his Great Sand Dunes workshop in May 2018, as well as plenty of other trips.
Muench Workshops
Marc Muench runs trips all over the world. See all of these and more on Muench Workshops site.
Right now he's offering a discount on his upcoming February 2025 Antarctica trip.
Marc and his partner Andy Williams have grown their workshops over the years, and now have over 100 workshops available. Feel free to call them at (917) 854-8118 or (866) 745-7300.
Steve Cirone (Private Lessons), San Diego
Bird ace Steve Cirone specializes in private instruction in San Diego. I've known Steve since the 1990s.
Steve is different: he'll let you shoot using his gear like his Canon 800mm f/5.6 so you don't have to haul yours to San Diego. Heck, with Steve, you get private lessons and don't even need to buy a camera!
See these shots? These aren't his life's best; they were what was on his screen to send me when I asked him for something to share here, since he hasn't been in National Geographic — yet.
A Black skimmer ejecting accidentally snagged eel grass. A photographic first. They are fish eaters. No veggies!
Steve is out every dawn shooting birds, and has made the most incredible bird shots I've ever seen. What makes Steve's work special is that he's able to capture birds actually doing things with each other, while in motion, while in awesome light.
I've seen Steve teach. He's a riot! He's able to explain everything in the funniest and simplest possible terms. Steve isn't out trying to sell you idiotic exposure calculators with 259 different scenes and exposure compensations. Steve gives it to you straight!
**Other Tours top
These are personal friends who organize these trips, as well as do great photography.
My photographer friend Paul Renner is always leading trips to Africa.
Paul was born and raised in Tanzania, speaks Swahili, and spent most of his childhood chasing or running away from wild animals.
Paul's website is RennerSafaris.com. People love his photo safaris!
I suggest my friend Jim Cline's tours of Latin America, Asia and southeast Asia.
I've known Jim for years and he really takes the time to do the forward research for his trips. Every time we get together it seems he's just gotten back from a scouting expedition in advance for his next trip, in other words, Jim has probably been down there the month before the formal trip to check everything out before you go.
Jim has been all over Latin America for a long time. He's not one of the usual guys who just lets you pay for his vacations; Jim puts a lot of work into these tours!
Karl Grobl: The Rest of the World
Another friend I've know for decades is humanitarian photojournalist Karl Grobl.
Today Karl spends most of his time today documenting the efforts of humanitarian organizations throughout Asia, Oceania and Latin America. He's usually away on assignment for weeks at a time, but keep checking to see if he has anything recreational planned. He'll get you places for which you'll need to consult an atlas. If you want to get places no one has been before he's your guy.
See what he has planned here.
Paul, Jim and Karl are accomplished, published, multiple award-winning photographers skilled at getting in and out of the right locations at the right time, are articulate and a lot of fun with whom to travel. I've been all over with all of them and wish I had the time to do more!
Isle of Skye, December 2010. Photo by Bruce Percy.
Bruce Percy's work speaks for itself. He offers "Light on Scotland" Workshops.
Bruce Percy is a Scottish Photographer who's work has been used by National Geographic Traveler magazine (Patagonian images), the Sir Edmund Hillary foundation in New Zealand, and Fujifilm UK amongst others.
He has weekend and 5 day photographic workshops running throughout the year in the highlands and islands of Scotland.
17 ~ 20 October 2022: FALL COLOR in California's Eastern Sierra top
As last year, this is an informal (but guided) "friends of Dave & Ken" outing. We pick a basic motel, meet there and are out shooting all day, every day. We'll spend a couple of days out shooting our favorite spots in the Eastern Sierra just before our formal Autumn Light in Yosemite outing. If you're coming for one, come for both — but you have to register in two different places. Here's a description of this same trip we did in 2019; this year it will be the same — but I think it's free this year because Dave is tired of all the paperwork (tips welcome).
To register and for any questions, call or email Dave Wyman at (323) 377-7565 in Los Angeles or ask me for details. Dave is often out leading other tours, so he's not always sitting by his phone or computer. Dave Wyman is the author of many books about travel and photography; Fearless Photographer: Nature is his most recent, with Yosemite in Photographs, Backroads of Northern California and Backroads of Southern California so popular they're often sold out. Dave has been leading outdoor hiking, educational, camping, historical and photo trips for decades and decades and decades. You also can ask me for details.
Here are two shots from last year's trip:
Golden Aspens and Snow-Covered Mount Emma, 4:45 P.M, 18 October 2021, as seen on last year's trip.
Last year we had snow!
Shimmering Aspens, Tioga Pass Road, 12:25 P.M., 18 October 2021, as seen on last year's trip.
More photos from last year's two fall trips.
20 ~ 23 October 2022: Autumn Light in Yosemite top
This trips starts a couple of hours after the 17 ~ 20 October 2022 FALL COLORtrip ends. The FALL COLOR trip is in the Eastern Sierra east of Yosemite, while this Autumn Light in Yosemite Outing is in Yosemite Valley as well as other places inside Yosemite National Park.
If you're coming for one, come for both — but you have to register in two different places. While Dave Wyman and I lead both of these trips together, the FALL COLOR trip is informal while this Autumn Light in Yosemite Outing requires formal registration. It's a fund raiser for The Yosemite Conservancy to support the park in numerous ways, like their Free Bike Share Program.
Here's a shot from last year's trip:
Half Dome in Last Light, Cook's Meadow, Yosemite National Park, as seen on last year's trip, Thursday, 14 October 2021.
Stay wherever you like. Some people camp, some people stay in hotels outside the park, some people stay at the très luxe Ahwahnee, while most of us stay at the Yosemite Valley Lodge at the Falls, where we usually meet for everything. When you register, The Yosemite Conservancy often has rooms set aside for us at The Lodge.
Bring any camera you want. I shot both Half Dome in Last Light and Shimmering Aspens with my iPhone 13 Pro Max.
Feel free to call or email Dave Wyman at (323) 377-7565 or ask me for details. Dave and I have been leading this trip together since 2006, and Dave's been doing it much longer than that.
More photos from last year's fall trips.
Photos from Previous Workshops top
Wednesday ~ Saturday, 15 ~ 18 May 2024: Spring Photo Tour of California's Central Coast! (no photos published yet.)
Autumn Light in Yosemite: 17 ~ 20 October 2019, Thursday ~ Sunday.
Best Trip Ever: Fall Color in the Eastern Sierra: Sunday~Wednesday, Wednesday, 20~23 October 2019.
It was the BEST workshop EVER!!!! This October 2019 Eastern Sierra trip was so mind-blowing that we took a break from it in 2020 and 2021; it was just the Yosemite trip for fall 2021.
07~10 May 2019, Tuesday ~ Friday: Spring Light in Yosemite.
15~21 October 2018, California's Eastern Sierra & Yosemite.
15～18 May 2018, Tuesday～Friday: Spring Light in Yosemite.
23～26 October 2017, Monday～Thursday: California's Eastern Sierra.
26～29 October 2017, Thursday～Sunday: Autumn Light in Yosemite.
18 ~ 21 May 2017, Thursday ~ Sunday: Spring Light in Yosemite.
The amount of snow in the Sierras this spring was amazing. There is more snow than anyone can remember for the start of May. It created spectacular effects for our trip.
With record rains and snow pack in the Sierra, Yosemite's waterfalls were running at levels not seen in decades.
19 ~ 22 October 2016: Fall Color in California's Eastern Sierra (photos not posted yet)
22 ~ 25 October 2016: Autumn Light in Yosemite (photos not posted yet)
12 ~ 15 May 2016: Spring Light in Yosemite
5 ~ 7 February 2016: California's Route 66
This was the tenth anniversary of this annual trip. Shot with the HASSELBLAD.
18 ~ 21 October 2015: Yosemite & California's Eastern Sierra.
Thursday, May 14, 2015 to Sunday, May 17, 2015: Springtime in Yosemite (photos coming)
06-08 February 2015: Route 66.
Shot with a Nikon D810 and lenses whose designs are from the 1970s!
16-22 October 2014: Autumn Light in Yosemite & California's Eastern Sierra.
The Half Dome as seen on our 2014 trip.
Sunrise over Mono Lake as seen on our 2014 tour.
15-18 May 2014: Spring in Yosemite.
07-09 February 2014: Route 66.
17-23 October 2013: California's Eastern Sierra (Yosemite National Park was closed, so all of our trip was the Eastern Sierra)
11-14 April 2013 (Thursday-Sunday): California's Central Coast — with a private chef!
17-19 February 2013 (Sunday~Tuesday): Route 66 Trip!
16-19 October 2012: The Eastern Sierra and 19-22 October 2012: Yosemite. (I had pneumonia and had to cancel).
Southern California Photo Weekend: August 11 & 12, 2012 (photos not yet posted except the two below)
San Clemente (Nikon F100, Velvia, Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AF, Hoya 85C filter). bigger.
Great news: Dave Wyman and I are leading a photo weekend on Saturday and Sunday, August 11 and 12.
Come spend a vacation weekend, and bring the family. Your spouse and kids can go have fun in the sun while we go explore the best Southern California has to offer. Unlike most of our photo outings, you don't have to go alone on this one, since we'll be dead smack in the middle of where half the world dreams all year of vacationing. We'll be someplace the rest of the family will love, so they can come with you and go do their own thing (like Disneyland) while we go shoot each day.
Specifically, we'll be halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles in southern Orange County and northern San Diego County. This gives us the best access to the state's most scenic locations, and it's easy to get to from LAX or SAN, or just fly straight into John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County.
We'll be at or close to the beach, so it should be very pleasant.
Dave's off leading other trips in Yosemite this week so he won't be back to answer questions or register anyone until Monday, July 30, but mark your calendars and we'll see you there! Dave's at (323) 377-7565 or [email protected], but remember, he's off leading another trip this weekend and not by his phone or computer.
Wave, San Clemente Pier (a "downhill" surfing beach, note horizon). (Nikon F100, Velvia, Nikon 20mm f/2.8 AF, Hoya 85C filter). bigger.
12-15 April 2012: California's Central Coast en Plein Air (Thursday-Sunday).
02-04 March 2012: Olde Southern California (Friday-Sunday).
03-05 February 2012: Route 66 (Friday-Sunday).
17-20 November 2011: Yosemite for Serious Photographers (no DSLRs).
Dave Wyman and I are running a new trip to Yosemite in November, but only for seriously serious shooters. This means you're free to bring any sort of camera, except a DSLR. That's how we're defining serious.
This shot was made earlier this year with a 1963 LEICA M3, exposure set with LEICAMETER MR-4, 1957 LEICA SUMMICRON 50mm f/2 with close-focusing range, f/8 at 1/125, 39mm LEITZ Or orange filter, no tripod, frame 25 of roll 1 of Kodak T-Max 100.
Dave wanted to do an "alternative process" trip where the crazier you or your camera, the better. Dave and I tried to figure out how to define "alternative" process, and we didn't want to say "iPhone and pinhole only" or whatever, so the best we could dream up is simply NO DSLRs. Once we struck out DSLRs, what's left is all cool.
Bring your point-and-shoots, 35mm SLRs, real Hasselblads (no digital), wet-plate colliding, Pentax K1000, rangefinders (LEICA M9 is AOK), camera phones or whatever, but leave the DSLRs at home.
I was just kidding about wet plates since we'll probably be moving too fast for large format cameras, but we're serious about no DSLRs on this tour. Dave and I run enough tours for DSLRs, so bring your Canon S100, your kid's camera, your Mamiya TLR, Mamiya 6 or whatever, and be ready to make some great snaps with some even more exceptional shooters.
Digital cameras are fine for this trip, and so are any sort of SLR, just not a digital SLR. Bring anything and everything else.
This trip never happened.
02-06 November 2011: Neon, New Mexico, Arizona and Route 66 (oops - haven't shared all the photos yet. sample 1, sample 2 and sample 3)
16-23 October 2011: Yosemite & the Eastern Sierra.
26-28 August 2011: Monterey and the Central California Coast. (no photos published yet. Sample pic.)
24-26 June 2011: The Southern California Photo Express.
16-22 May 2011: Yosemite Waterworks in Spring.
This was a unique photography workshop and bicycle tour of Yosemite.
14-17 April 2011: Plein Air (Outdoor) Photography along California's Central Coast.
Dave brought along our own caterer and we enjoyed a few freshly-prepared French bistro meals, as if the Central California Coast in springtime wasn't enough.
The trip started with the San Luis Obispo Farmer's Market, about which which my wife some years ago remarked was "the best thing she had ever done with me."
22-27 February 2011: Yosemite in Winter.
17-24 October 2010: Autumn in Yosemite & California's Eastern Sierra: Bodie, Mono Lake and the Colors of Autumn (photos still not up).
Cancelled due to family: 06-12 November 2010: The American Southwest: Northern New Mexico.
26-29 August, 2010: Point Reyes National Seashore and Tomales Bay. (Thursday through Sunday)
Tomales Bay.
17-21 June 2010: California's Central Coast: San Luis Obispo to Big Sur.
16-21 April 2010: Goldrush!
GOLDRUSH!, Highway 49 and California's Gold Country.
12-14 February, 2010: Route 66: Barstow, California (first trip).
14-17 February, 2010: Route 66: Barstow, California to Kingman, Arizona. (second trip: Sunday evening - Wednesday morning.)
2009 November: Monument Valley.
19-25 October 2009: Autumn Light in Yosemite & The Eastern Sierra
30 August - 02 September, 2009: Point Reyes.
My photos and Dave's photos from this Trip.
12 - 14 June 2009: California's Steinbeck Country.
17-22 April 2009: Lands of Fire and Ice: Exploring the Backroads of Northern California
6~8 and 8~10 February 2009: Route 66.
The first Rt. 66 photo tour this year was an instant sell-out, so to give more people the chance to make it, Dave Wyman added a second Rt. 66 photo tour which still has some openings.
2008 November
Rancho de Taos, New Mexico.
Photos from trip: digital and film.
14~23 October 2008: Yosemite & The Eastern Sierra. Not yet published; here are some extra digital photos.
25~27 January 2008: Route 66. Photos not posted yet.
2007 October
California's Eastern Sierra, October.
Thursday through Sunday, October 18-21, 2007: Bodie and the Eastern Sierra.
Stoneman Meadow, Yosemite National Park, October.
Monday through Wednesday, October 22-24, 2007: Autumn Light Photography in Yosemite National Park, California. I'll be helping teach this workshop sponsored by The Yosemite Association.
January 2007: The Route 66 Workshop was written up in The New York Times's Travel Section, June 10th, 2007. Photos from trip.
October 2006: Yosemite & The Eastern Sierra. (incomplete.)
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