A Full Year of Excursions!
A Full Year of Excursions!
Mountaineer Photo Excursions has kicked our game into high gear, and many of the ideas we have been developing over the past two years are beginning to develop into workshops and classes for our you!
We’ll be sharing some of this news in more detail in our next “Mile Markers” newsletter, I want to give you a quick update on what 2017 holds.
We started with our “Buffalo and the General” workshop in northern Kentucky. This was the first time holding a workshop here, which included visits to General Butler State Resort Park, Big Bone Lick Historical Park, and Clifty Falls State Park in Indiana. Our Workshoppers came back with some terrific sunrise photos from both inside and outside the amazing General Butler Lodge, documented a bison “stampede,” and enjoyed the trails on the way to and from the Clifty Falls overlook.
Ron has been working with West Virginia University at Parkersburg (WVU-P) to offer a “Digital Photography Class.” This was a course across three weeks, which he taught during February and March. The class was one of the most popular offered through the school’s Workforce and Economic Development department, and both offerings filled quickly. Another class is planned for May.
Amanda and Ron are excited for the “Return to the Outer Banks” workshop in April, which has already sold out. Once again, we have arranged for an expansive beach house, and have included lodging there as part of this excursion. We’ll be revisiting some popular locations from our 2015 workshop, as well as new venues for amazing subjects!
In late May, we are proud to partner with the Harpers Ferry Park Association to lead a unique adventure to one of America’s most beautiful and memorable locations, the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Thomas Jefferson said, “The passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge is perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature” after visiting in 1783. Harpers Ferry was also the setting for the abolitionist, John Brown, when he attempted a raid on the Federal armory, in one of the actions that precipitated the American Civil War.
In June, we will begin a series of in-depth photography classes with West Virginia State University and their Economic Development Center in Charleston, WV. Our first class will be “Photographing Your Art,” which will include both instruction and hands-on learning in their Capture Studio. Additional planned classes for later in the summer include “Personal Travel Photography” and “Learning Digital Photography.”
We are currently accepting registrations for our summer workshop, in the “Southern Shores” of Maryland. In the 17th century, colonists placed their faith and future in a small boat and left England for the New World, and settled in on this peninsula. Their settlement was called St. Mary’s City, which eventually became Maryland’s first State Capitol. Bordered on three sides by the amazing Chesapeake Bay, we’ll visit some of the state parks, along with historical sites, including the Historic St. Mary’s City. We also have arranged for special discounted lodging at St. Mary’s College.
We always love to come back to “Almost Heaven,” and through special arrangement, we will be visiting Cacapon State Resort Park in Berkeley Springs, WV. We have some interesting activities planned, and will be sharing these soon. This will be an early autumn workshop in September, and we hope to see the beginnings of fall color, as well.
There are more events planned, but I’ll wait for another blog opportunity to share them. Until then, I invite you to visit our “Workshops” page on our website, and watch for our new “Classes” page…coming soon! We’re also on Facebook, as Mountaineer Photo Excursions and @MPExWorkshops. If you’re on Twitter, you can follow Ron: @RonWVphoto.
Ron Gaskins
March 11, 2017
