PHOTOGRAPHY

Courses and Classes

Xtreme

Astro Photography

There is a whole, beautiful world that only comes out at night, and capturing it can be tricky. Here you will find course and photo expedition options that will help you hone your astro photography. And have fun doing it. Please note: a certificate is issued only to people who attend our 6-week course. The field trip will be educational, but not ... certifiable.

Course C1MACAP - Astro Photography • Certificate Included

Register now

6 Weeks • Wednesday evenings 6:30-8:30

Next course starts:

TBA

Location:

Amherst, NH

Seats available: 8

Any accomplished photographer knows that low-light settings present serious challenges. But sometimes, depending on what you want to photograph - say, the Milky Way, for example - you can't avoid them. In fact, if you embrace the challenge and learn the right way to work within that framework, you can capture stunning, other-worldly images of the night sky. If that's something you've been longing to do, we can help.

Our Astro Photography course will include a brief review of the basics of stunning photo composition and camera-slinging. We'll then go over the gear that will make night photography possible, and the camera settings that will be necessary. We'll also go on a class field trip where you'll have the opportunity to practice your new skills in a live situation. The culmination of the class will be a show-and-tell slideshow showcasing your best work.

Included with the course are all the notes you may need to take. We already have that done for you. You will get a well-organized book with notes and information for each photography class.

This course runs only once a year, and it's possible that it may only be a one-time offering. So, if you'd like to learn to photograph the night sky from us, the time to act is now.

Requirements:

A digital Point And Shoot or SLR (strongly recommended) camera with a wide angle lens

For best results, a full frame camera with a 14mm lens is recommended

Recording medium (e.g.: Film, Compact Flash or SD card)

Instruction booklet that came with the camera

Tripod + remote control for your camera

We'll introduce you to the smart phone apps you may want in the course

Class 1: Comprehensive review of camera basics and principles of composition

Class 2: The gear, apps, and settings for night photography

Class 3: Idiosyncrasies of night photography (e.g., mirror lock, the 500 rule, noise reduction, etc.)

Class 4: Field Trip! (No sunscreen required)

Class 5: Editing and tweaking images

Class 6: Student Showcase slideshow & Graduation Night

To get your certificate in Astro Photography, all you need to do is attend 3 of the 6 classes in our Astro Photography course.

Your $699 course retainer reserves your seat in the next Astro Photography course at our Amherst, NH location.

By purchasing a seat in this course you agree to our terms and conditions of sale. Your retainer fee reserves your seat and is fully refunded if the course is canceled. Per RSA 361-B, you may cancel this transaction any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. When you sign up we'll send you an email to confirm. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours, please call us. From time to time, we videotape our classes, so it is possible that you will be recorded while studying with us. Warning: On rare occasions we do run out of chocolate chip cookies.

$699

Purchase the Astro Photography course and our Landscape Photography course as a bundle. You'll get the 6-week Astro Photography classroom course as well as the 6-week Landscape Photography classroom course, at a significant savings. Summer is a wonderful time to explore the possibilities of the night sky, and it's the ideal time to capture the lush greens that we get for such a short time here in New England. With this bundle, you'll get to do both this summer, with our guidance.

$1049

By purchasing this bundle you agree to our terms and conditions of sale. Your retainer fee reserves your seat and is fully refunded if the course is canceled. Per RSA 361-B, you may cancel this transaction any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. When you sign up we'll send you an email to confirm. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours, please call us. From time to time, we videotape our classes, so it is possible that you will be recorded while studying with us. Warning: On rare occasions we do run out of chocolate chip cookies.

C1MACNDM - Night & Day in Maine

4 Days • 3 Nights • Shoot for the stars (and for the ocean, too)

Spots available: 5

Trip Dates:

September 22-25, 2023

The Milky Way over the Atlantic Ocean, in Acadia National Park.

Here in southern New Hampshire, we are pretty lucky, geographically speaking. In not very much time at all, you can drive to the beach, to the mountains, to the woods, or to a place with minimal light pollution that allows you to capture the heavens in all their glory. In fact, we can find all of those things within driving distance in the majestic Acadia National Park. And we will.

Our Night & Day in Maine Photo Expedition is a natural extension of our Astro Photography course - although you don't have to attend the course to take part in the trip. We welcome any and all who want to embark on this photographic adventure that is practically in our own backyard. We'll include a couple of chances to capture the Milky Way, a sunset shoot, and all the coastal beauty you can handle. (Maybe a sunrise shoot, too, depending.)

Day 1:

We'll meet at 2PM at - or near - the hotel of our choosing. There, we'll discuss techniques, and gear, with a manual photography refresher. After dinner, weather permitting, we'll take our first stab at shooting the Milky Way.

Stay: Ellsworth, ME

Day 2:

We'll spend the morning sharing the lessons learned in our night shoot and will go over editing techniques for night photos. Following lunch, we'll depart for Acadia National Park. Everyone should be prepared to drive, but not everyone will have to drive. We'll carpool as much as possible. The drive to Acadia will be a scenic one, and we'll be stopping along the way for some landscape photography assignments. We'll eat dinner near the national park and then head out for our second Milky Way shoot.

Stay: Ellsworth, ME

Day 3:

In the morning, once we've recovered from our late night, we'll return to Acadia for a workshop on shooting the ocean with a long exposure. Please note: you'll need an ND filter for this workshop. Mid-day, we'll return to our hotel to edit and tweak photos. We'll critique each other's work, gently, of course, and everyone will select their 5 best images for inclusion in a Student Showcase Slideshow. Maybe there will even be popcorn. For sure, there will be plenty of oohs and aahs to go around.

Stay: Ellsworth, ME

Days 4:

Depending on the will of the group, we may be up and out early for a sunrise shoot in Acadia. If so, here will be a stop for coffee somewhere along the way. If not, we'll simply head home at our leisure. Either way, we'll have experienced this lovely bit of Maine as fully as possible in a short time.

While we will do our best to be flexible with the details of the schedule, we cannot guarantee clear skies. If we can't see the Milky Way, we'll paint with light in the dark, instead.

Your $999 retainer reserves your spot in our Night & Day in Maine Field Trip. Please note, this does not include lodging, meals, park fees, or transportation costs.

$999

By purchasing a seat for this field trip you agree to our terms and conditions of sale. Your retainer fee reserves your seat and is fully refunded if the course is canceled. Per RSA 361-B, you may cancel this transaction any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. When you sign up we'll send you an email to confirm. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours, please call us. From time to time, we videotape our classes, so it is possible that you will be recorded while studying with us. Warning: On rare occasions we do run out of chocolate chip cookies.

Astro Photography Course and Night & Day in Maine Field Trip Bundle

Save when you purchase the Astro Photography course and the Night & Day in Maine Field Trip as a package. You'll get the full benefit of 6 weeks of lessons in our Amherst, NH classroom and then get to apply everything you learned - with refresher lessons along the way - as we traverse the rugged Maine coast. What could be better?

$1598

By purchasing this bundle you agree to our terms and conditions of sale. Your retainer fee reserves your seat and is fully refunded if the course is canceled. Per RSA 361-B, you may cancel this transaction any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction. When you sign up we'll send you an email to confirm. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours, please call us. From time to time, we videotape our classes, so it is possible that you will be recorded while studying with us. Warning: On rare occasions we do run out of chocolate chip cookies.