Photography Workshop and No Photos...

I know I've been slacking off in keeping up with my blog...that's what Facebook has done to me!

Last weekend I went to Saint Petersburg, Florida for a one day National Geographic travel photography workshop and VERY happy to report it was money VERY well spent.

I went with my friend CL and we drove down on Saturday afternoon. I was able to get a great friends and family rate at a Holiday Inn Select in Clearwater, which was about 20 minutes from where the workshop was held.

We took a leisurely drive, leaving my house just before noon on Saturday, and fortunately had great driving weather the whole weekend! We got off the intestate in Florida and took back roads for a few hours and then picked up the interstate road again just outside Tampa.

We arrived in Clearwater right around 6pm. Did a quick hotel check-in and went for dinner at an Italian place (Antonio's Pasta Grill on Ulmerton Road) close to the hotel. By 8pm we were back at the hotel. CL decided to try her luck at the Hard Rock Casino, about a 2o minute drive from the hotel. I, on the other hand, stayed at the hotel and continued my Amalfi Coast trip research (I'm sadly slacking in that too!).

The next morning we were up and out the door by 7:30am, had a quick breakfast and a stop at Starbucks for coffee and at Eckert College in St. Petersburg before 8:30am.

We found the auditorium and registered and settled in for the day long seminar. We both really enjoyed it. The two photographer/lecturers they had were terrific. There were lots of helpful tips that we took home and although there were a few times some of the information was "above my photography level" I still got alot out of the day. I learned that lighting is a huge key in making or breaking a photo and to stop and take time to really find a good shot!

The workshop ended right around 4pm and we heading up to CL's friend, Jane's, place just north of Tampa. We had a great time visiting and even got to see the Space Shuttle take off from Jane's backyard...bonus!

Monday morning came all too soon and we were back on the road heading home. We took the scenic route from Jane's all the way to I-95 and were home in about 6 hours.

It was a terrific way to spend a weekend, and I highly recommend National Geographic Photography workshops!