Yes, I returned safely from Italy, happy, and with lots of good pictures. It’s always exciting to bring a group that hasn’t been there before, to share with them my favorite places. And I always see the place through new eyes, their eyes, because of it. In the 6 times I’ve lead trips there I’ve had to challenge myself to see the familiar in new ways. Sometimes, just the light is different which is exciting enough. Other times, I have to work a little harder to see it differently. A good challenge! I’m looking forward to seeing more good images from the group on our Flickr group site soon as I create the group.

This blog image was made in Burano, Italy. The place is amazing, cartoon-like colorful buildings all attached to one another, lining canals. There were so many pictures to make! Yet beyond the really fun colors, I was drawn to this back alley image – where the house was not kept picture-perfect. It spoke to me. I did remove a pipe running down the right side as it detracted from the composition, and then ran it through Topaz Adjust 4 to bring out the texture a bit more.

Meanwhile, after catching up on some Zzzzzz’s, I’ve had to bury myself in work/admin to meet some pressing deadlines. I’m delighted to announce that I’m teaching a new Travel Photography class at Betterphoto.com. Well, it’s not really new, I’ve been teaching an 8 week class for years, but I have rewritten the course and condensed it into just 4 weeks, and it’s all fresh ideas and images. The course goes on sale soon for the July starting session. You’ll find it listed soon under the 4 week class offerings.

Other News:

Alaska: We’re heading off June 29 for our Glacier Bay, Alaska photography tour – and with some late cancellations, we still have space available! It’s a not-to-be-missed location, Glacier Bay National Park. Come see it before the ice melts! ha ha. Seriously, though, the scenery is astounding and the marine wildlife outside the bay in Icy Straits is simply amazing. Check out Dolphin Charters’ site for more info and to register, or call 1-800-472-9942.

Iceland: There’s still space on this exciting workshop. Despite the media coverage, only a small portion of the country was affected by the eruption, and in an area that did not affect the running of the workshops. In fact, according to Einar, the director of Focus on Nature Iceland, it enhanced the experience for recent workshop attendees. Contact them for info and to Register.

Colorado: I’m delighted to join forces with my good friend Charlie Borland for this photo adventure in the heart of Colorado’s stunning Rockies during peak Autumn color. Checkout Aspen Photo Workshops out for more info. We have 6 people signed up already, so spaces are becoming more limited…don’t miss this opportunity to learn some creative techniques and simply improve your overall skills while photographing in amazing locations. In addition to the essentials of good outdoor photography, we’ll show you how to create dramatic panoramas, how expose for HDR, and how to create a real photo look using HDR; we’ll work on creating abstracts in camera, and apply expressive techniques such as panning, or montage, to give your pictures an artistic ‘twist’.

I’ll be back on the blog again very soon, now that I’ve gotten my Betterphoto class finished up! Lots of pictures to sort through for Italy, lots of fun processing to do!