What’s Ahead for 2020? 

What is the most useless purchase in 2020?  A planner book!  Since our outstanding photo workshop “Escape to the Golden Isles,” Mountaineer Photo Excursions had to reschedule or cancel all our photography workshops and classes this year!  We certainly hope everyone is doing well, hunkering down when you can, wearing your mask and staying as safe as possible in this time of Covid-19. 

After cancelling our Outer Banks and Southern Shores of Maryland workshops, and rescheduling our Colonial Williamsburg event to next year, Amanda and Ron have been working hard to find ways to continue helping you to improve your photography.  We did put a quick workshop together at Babcock State Park here in West Virginia.  We visited the Park with stops at the Glade Creek Grist Mill and Boley Lake, as well as various waterfalls, abandoned coal towns, beautiful views of the New River Gorge, and even a distillery!

Now, we are finally bringing a few ideas to fruition!  We have started a series of online classes using the Zoom service.  Our first class, “Basic Photography,” was a great success.  It was designed to help kick-start beginners with info on cameras, exposure, lenses, and flash.  Our next several classes are already scheduled and will include topics such as “Personal Travel Photography,” “Fabulous Filters,” “Flash Photography Explained,” and “How to Improve Your Landscape Photography.”   

We are also bringing back a fresh version of our “Beginner Bootcamp!”  This year’s Bootcamp will be arranged differently, offering a full day of intense classroom instruction on camera functions, exposure, lenses, auto-focus options, and composition.  Our second day will be spent in the field, camera in hand, as we work with our students to put their new knowledge into practice.  Once again, we will be at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV, and will take advantage of their great facilities and beautiful setting.  Keep checking back, as we are also working on a sequel to this event for more advanced photographers. 

Finally, we still have three other travel workshops remaining on our schedule for 2020.  We are still hoping to offer “Autumn in the Laurel Highlands” in PA in September; our cooperative Regional Event with the North American Nature Photography Association in the Outer Banks of NC; and wrap up with our return to Jenny Wiley State Resort Park in KY. 

Please visit our website, especially our Workshop and Classes pages to stay up to date on what we can offer!  Who knows?  Ron may actually write another blog before months pass! 

July 13, 2020