Upcoming
In Light of Nature
Photography Workshops

Southern Colorado Nature Photography Intensive (POSTPONED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS)

San Juan Mountains, San Luis Valley, Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

Dates

March 18-22, 2020

Due to the risk from the Coronavirus COVID-19 we will reschedule this workshop at a future date when it is safe to travel.

Locations

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Wildlife Refuges in the San Luis Valley

San Juan Mountains

Workshop Level

Intermediate to Advanced.

Workshop Cost

$875 + tax. Limited to 6 participants.

Moonset in the Belt of Venus, San Juan Mountains, Colorado

More info and registration for the 2020 Southern Colorado Nature Photography Intensive

My Approach to Teaching Nature Photography

Emphasizing

  • Teaching digital photography technique that is practical
  • Developing robust and ethical nature photography strategies
  • Understanding the fundamentals while also embracing the latest technology
  • Individualized attention to help you advance the skills you are interested in improving
  • Continuous learning and skill refinement
  • The workshops we teach are for learning and improvement at all levels

Integrating the Art and Science of photography

  • You will learn how to capture the emotion of a scene to tell an interesting story.
  • We do not separate “landscape photography” from “wildlife photography”.
  • The best images convey the context of the natural scene while also capturing the emotional behavior of the wildlife in that scene.

Learning the behavior of wildlife

  • You will learn how to anticipate wildlife behavior to capture exciting images
  • We teach you how to photograph wildlife without disturbing or impacting them
  • You will learn how to optimize the quality of your images in challenging lighting situations
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About the Instructor

  • Ed MacKerrow is a full-time professional nature photographer
  • His images have been published internationally, including magazine covers, winning first-place awards in prestigious photo contests
  • Ed has a Ph.D. in Optics and has published multiple research papers on light
  • Ed has published research on raptors and conducts official scientific surveys of wildlife
  • Ed teaches the why of nature photography, versus memorization — allowing you to advance your photography in a meaningful way
  • Ed serves on the North American Nature Photography Ethics Committee and is a strong proponent of ethical nature photography
  • Ed works closely with USFWS wildlife refuges in New Mexico and Colorado.

“The quickest way to become an old dog is to stop learning new tricks”
— John Rooney

Testimonials

“The instruction was great! I learned quite a bit camera settings even for my small camera. Ed was very helpful and answered all questions.”

“It was a well valued experience. I look forward to my next opportunity to be out in the field with you.”

“Ed packed a ton of information into his one-day workshop that you’d normally get over the course of a week. He gave me a fresh way to capture a location that I had previously photographed several times over the years. In fact, one of my images from that workshop was selected for a competitive exhibition in Denver just a month later.”

“Ed’s technique as an instructor is caring and supportive and not just technical in nature. He really wants his students to succeed. He goes above and beyond the workshop description. I continue to recommend his workshops to all.”

“Ed has a wealth of knowledge about nature photography.  I look forward to more workshops with him in the future”

One of my main goals in traveling to Colorado for Ed’s San Luis Valley photography workshop was simply to follow the sandhill cranes up from the Bosque del Apache. After three trips to Socorro, I’d fallen in love with these birds and wanted one more chance to share their beauty with my audience. My other goals – to understand manual exposure and tripod use, specifically for shooting wildlife.
To my delight, I received this and so much more during the 5 days of shooting with Ed. A passionate teacher and former physicist, he taught us everything from cameras to the scientific properties of light, to wildlife behavior. We covered a lot territory too, traveling up to the continental divide through Creede, and two trips the Colorado Sand Dunes. Most important – he encouraged everyone in the group to practice his personal techniques in the field, focusing on creating better habits for both wildlife and landscape photography that ultimately led to taking better pictures.
After each morning’s shoot, we’d come back for post-processing sessions where Ed generously shared his personal techniques and workflow with Lightroom, Nik, and Aurora. Compared with the three workshops I’d been on to date, this was by far worth the investment. It was a very fun trip!
I’d say he is the perfect choice for any amateur to professional who wants to learn specific techniques and viewpoints from a generous professional. If you feel like you have more than enough knowledge under your belt, consider hiring him as a knowledgable guide who will take you to gorgeous locations during the very best light.

“Ed gave me great individualized attention and helped me advance my photography in a comfortable way”

“Just wanted to let you know how much I have been enjoying your articles “Photo Ops” in the Bosque Watch Newsletters.  I am just starting back up my long dormant hobby of photography and find your articles both informative and inspirational.  I was just there this past week and can’t wait to get back, too bad it is such a long drive from Denver.“

“During and after Crane Fest I heard many positive comments about how nicely you and your photography workshops worked out, …, and your donation on top of that!  Thanks so much.”

I wanted to let you know I’ve had an incredible run in 2016-17 in my photography and your workshop was a key to that success. I have been accepted into juried competitions from New York to San Francisco and from Chicago to Houston (about a dozen all together). And one of the photos from your workshop has sort of become an “iconic” one of mine that has been selected several times for shows.

Recently attended one of Ed’s classes and was very pleased with the way he coaches and interacts with his students. I relearned how to use fundamentals of exposure and focus to greatly enhance my skills in bird photography, from an obvious expert in his craft.

In Light of Nature operates ethical photography workshops with official permits from the relevant US agencies and is specifically insured for photography workshops.