In my first workshop in 1969, I began a new journey to accumulate, gather, and share experiences for my life as a photographic artist. This has been a rewarding process of sharing as a photographic educator while learning from others, and capturing some amazingly beautiful and emotional moments in time. I teach with the theory that all good photographs are self portraits, that lie somewhere between imaginations and dreams. For me photography has become a way to document the objective world by looking out and the subjective world by reflecting in. In my workshops, that is the road we journey as we discover and (re)create a part of ourselves in our art.

Workshops are a time to feed the soul visually and emotionally— away from the daily routines and refresh the creative energies. Please join me in making new friends, exploring a new environment, and letting yourself experiment with finding new ways of expressing yourself through your photographs.

CALENDAR OF WORKSHOPS

       2008

• California Happenings and Creative Women Sharing    
           Napa Valley     Email for more information
• Capturing the Invisible Spirit with Infrared     Jan 11-13, 2008     Venice Beach, CA
• Buenos Dias Argentina and Uruguay     Feb 17-27, 2008
• Imagination and Dreams     July 27 - Aug 2, 2008
• The Beauty Within        Aug 3-9, 2008      Maine

Capturing the Invisible Spirit with Infrared      Jan 11-13, 2008

In this workshop we will explore ways to photographically convey inner feelings that are poetic and capture the essence of our subjects. On Friday evening we will start by looking at students’ portfolios and utilize that information to help each participant develop, in a hands-on shooting session, their own style. With digital infrared on Saturday, we shall explore its unique qualities in the landscape and around the Venice Beach environment of people. We’ll return at the end of the day to critique what we have learned and apply it the next morning with another shoot involving models. With fabric, props, styling, and lighting we will create sensual images, while exploring digital infrared images for their ethereal mood and lovely skin quality. In doing so we shall discover ways to create intimate, honest portraits that cross between fine art and commercial. We’ll view that work on Sunday afternoon. Elizabeth will also share original work in film and digital infrared, while discussing print presentation and how to organize a portfolio for exhibition or commercial purposes. Suitable for photographers wishing to explore different avenues for artistic expression, this workshop promises to introduce new and exciting ways of producing images which challenge our way of perceiving the world, pushing the creative envelope.

For registration information contact Julia Dean Workshops

Buenos Dias Argentina and Uruguay       Feb 17-27, 2008

Arrive in Buenos Aires to begin our journey with tango dancers and a typical barbeque in an Argentinean country house. We’ll embark  by private yacht to explore the Parana River Delta where we will photograph the labyrinth of calm waters from our delta house.  We’ll sail to Carmelo, Uruguay a riverside town know for its collection of refurbished cars from the 1920’s and 1930’s where we’ll also explore the vineyards,  lagoons, rivers and small ponds.  While in Uruguay we shall visit Colonia del Sacramento, the oldest town in the country,   before returning to Buenos Aires for a tour of the city.   By plane we shall fly to Jujuy and begin our journey through such XVII villages as Purmamrca “town of the Virgin Land”; Tilcara with it low adobe buildings and steep streets inhabited with a rich cultural life; and Humahuaca, a world heritage site amid a heavenly landscape where the Rio Grande flows in colorful orange hills.  Here the Hispanic-American roots can be seen in the valleys and narrow paths where indigenous and Spanish cultures merged.

Imagination and Dreams     July 27 - August 2, 2008
Santa Fe, NM    Santa Fe Photographic Workshops

I remember my excitement with the first image I made 30 years ago that spoke softly “yes.” My world changed upon realizing, through metaphors, that I could convey my feelings and thoughts photographically. With creativity I found my voice through images, and learned that all good photographs are self portraits that lie somewhere between imagination and dreams.In this workshop we shall go searching for that excitement and those images that move and sustain us. We will remember why we create images to express our ideas and explore various exercises to bring awareness to ourselves, others around us and the precious moment’s in life’s fateful detours. From portraits to landscapes, images are stepping stones that trace where the mind has been and form the unique vision each of us carries through life. By revealing ourselves, we shall discover new tools to convey the essence of our subjects. Together we shall explore how to express those heartfelt emotions and create the images that continue to speak softly “yes”.   There will be daily assignments using each other, local models and ourselves. This workshop is about taking risks, applying new skills learned daily and sharing our collective knowledge to take that next step in a supportive environment.What takes time to create, time respects. Good images don't just happen. They take a lifetime of practices and willingness to share your soul to be repeatable and lasting. Most often, our best images lie just beyond our greatest failures. We shall applaud failures in this workshop and be rewarded with new ideas and paths.

Elizabeth will share and discuss extensive bodies of work that span her 30-year career as a photographic artist. There will be discussions on print presentation, organizing a portfolio, digital infrared and intimate handmade books. Come with an open mind and questions, prepared for long days and the possibility of viewing the world differently when you leave.
(Click to read Camera Arts article on this workshop)

The Beauty Within      August 3-9, 2008
Rockport, ME     Maine Media Workshops

   When you find yourself, you find your vision.                     

To connect with the heart of our subject, we ‘ll go looking for our own personal beauty and what makes us unique. We’ll use this  visual voice to express our relationship to the subject, be it a person, object or moment in time. As we search for the spirit within, we’ll define our point of view, for in photography it is one of the most important tools we have.

Using our personal journey in photography, we will remember why we create images to tell stories and how metaphors creatively express our thoughts, feelings and life experiences.  We’ll explore various exercises to bring awareness in our images that show not only what the subject is, but what else it is.

In this workshop we shall use models, each other, what surrounds us daily and inspiration. There will be laughter, there will be tears, there will be assignments. We shall share this photographic journey to the beauty within through images, journals, poetry and supportive discussion.  Images are made by taking new risks and being willing to fail.  The reward is new ideas, new paths, a newfound passion and work that lasts beyond the first glance.

Elizabeth will share her personal journey in photography and discuss extensive bodies of work that span her 30-year career as a photographic artist. We will make images each day and spend time on print presentation, organizing a portfolio, intimate handmade books, and seeing life’s possibilities. Come with an open mind and questions, prepared for long days and the possibility of viewing the world differently when you leave.

Students should bring a body of work to share and discuss.

For registration, please visit Maine Media Workshops www.theworkshops.com

A Healing Workshop for Women Living with Cancer     
2008 date tba,  Georgetown ME

   "Let the wind of change blow by.  Leave me a little bit frayed and tattered, but keep me tethered to the truth, aware of the direction from which my own life will evolve."   - Wendy                            

The Retreats, located in the historic and elegant coastal F. Holland Day House “chalet”, are an opportunity for women with breast or other cancer or life threatening illness to mobilize their natural powers of healing through creativity. There are daily photographic assignments combined with the coaching of Dr. Matthew Budd, a 20 year professor at Harvard Medical School and author of the book You Are What You Say.

At the workshops, we engage in creative activity through word, image making, movement, and even prayer (a special form of poetry). In so doing we witness our hesitancy to be artists, our fears of the unknown, our embarrassment, but we also experience being on the cutting edge of the moment….standing in the present and creating the next moment. Our poems, essays, and photographs are the artifacts of our creativity as we remind ourselves that we do have a divine spark, can imbed this in color or word, and then talk about it and learn from it.

When this creative energy is present and palpable, we can begin to examine our stuck places and invent or bring forth new possibilities for action. Our life can become a work of art. When this is done in a community, as in the retreats, an irresistible force for change and innovation develops and we move toward balance and healing together. Then we can begin to imbed these insights and energies into practices for change which we can take with us as we leave the retreat and journey homeward.

F. Holland Day House "chalet"

The workshops are co-taught by experienced teachers who will gently guide you along your path. You will participate in carefully designed group discussions, read inspirational material, and join in rituals and photographic exercises…all designed to help you mobilize your natural powers.

For additional information, registration and other classes offered, please visit F Holland Day Center, Georgetown, Maine

View Enlightenment 2005 Calendar: Finding the Beauty Within