Arenal Eco Adventure Photography Workshop

April 29th, 2010

September 11-17, 2011. Monterrey, Costa Rica
With Rob Knight and Rick Sammon

“Tourism should enhance a community, not overshadow it.”

If you’re looking for something beyond the usual photography tour, this is the trip for you! Immerse yourself in the beautiful Arenal area and leave with a sense of the REAL Costa Rica.You’ll spend seven days learning about the people, culture and wildlife of Costa Rica while you pursue your passion for photography. Develop your artistic vision through the lens, and hone your craft through photography and digital darkroom instruction. You’ll also have the chance to compete for prizes in the Leaves&Lizards Through-the-Lens Challenge.

The Leaves & Lizards Volcano Cabin Retreat will serve as your home base for this unique, all-inclusive photography adventure. Leaves & Lizards’ commitment to the community and the environment made them the obvious choice to host this event. Their cabins have a comfortable, rustic feel, while offering modern conveniences like Wi-Fi internet access. Each one is specifically designed to offer you the best possible views of the Arenal Volcano. Your meals at the Lava Lizard restaurant feature all locally produced ingredients , including dairy products from their own cow. Kitchen scraps go to feed the chickens and pigs which in turn produce eggs and meat for us to eat; a perfect circle of sustainability.

In addition to photography instructors Rob Knight and Jesse Brown, local guide Enrique Molena is on staff to act as our naturalist guide and liaison with the community in Monterrey and La Fortuna. Enrique was born and raised in Monterrey, and he has been a professional guide in this area for fifteen years. His knowledge of Costa Rica’s flora and fauna will amaze you!

Your tuition includes:

• six nights lodging at the Leaves and Lizards Volcano Cabin Retreat
• All meals (Sunday night through Friday night)
• All Excursions, transportation and park entry fees
• Daily Photography lectures, digital processing instruction and organized photo shoots
• Experienced local guide
• A 9″x12″ canvas print of your favorite photo, courtesy of Artistic Photo Canvas
• 1 year SmugMug Pro account
• A copy of Rick Sammon’s Travel and Nature Photography

Itinerary:

Sunday-

• 3:00- check-in
• 5:00- Your adventure begins Sunday evening at the Lava Lizard Restaurant at Leaves & Lizards. Get to know the instructors and the other participants as the sun sets behind the Arenal Volcano. Rob and Rick will give a brief slideshow and outline the photography opportunities and objectives for the week. Enrique will discuss the Through-the-Lens Challenge, and give you up-to-the-minute info about the animals at Leaves & Lizards. After a delicious dinner at the Lava Lizard, the instructors will be available to help you with your equipment or answer questions about the schedule.

Monday-

• Start your first full day with a sunrise shoot at Leaves & Lizards, or sleep in and meet for breakfast around 7:00am. You’ll learn tips and techniques for great wildlife photos before heading to the Proyecto ASIS Wildlife Rescue Center for a program customized for the Arenal Eco Adventure. There are more details of the Proyecto ASIS program HERE. You will have the afternoon free with access to the photo instructors and naturalist guide. You can shoot the sunset over the Arenal Volcano before Rob’s Lightroom workflow class, then it’s dinner at the Lava Lizard.

Tuesday-

• Day two is all about the local flora and fauna. Enrique will give you a special tour of the Leaves & Lizards property and teach you about the wildlife you’ll find there. Today should be a great opportunity for you to check off items for the TTL Challenge. In the afternoon, Enrique will give us a guided tour of Arenal National Park. You’ll hike to the lava field at the base of the volcano and shoot the sunset over Lake Arenal. Dinner will be served at the Lava Lizard, followed by an optional review and critique session.

Wednesday-

• Practice your visual storytelling on day three. Enrique will be your guide when you visit a working Tico farm. You’ll find out what daily life is life is like on the farm, while Rick and Rob will help you tell the story through your photos. Find out more about the Tico farm tour HERE. You’ll be free to work on your TTL Challenge list after (and during) the farm tour. Rick will give a travel photography presentation at Leaves & Lizards before dinner, and there will be a review and critique session afterwards.

Thursday-

• You’ll start day four in La Fortuna for the Independence Day parade, where you will have the chance to capture the vibrance if Costa Rican culture. School children in traditional Tico costumes dance and play music through the streets of La Fortuna. Then you will head to the Arenal Hanging Bridges. This amazing facility offers lost of opportunities for wildlife and landscape shooting. You can learn more about the Hanging Bridges HERE. The evening session will feature Rick’s HDR processing techniques using HDR Efex Pro and Topaz adjust. After dinner, Rob and Rick will review your favorite shots from the first two days.

Friday-

• Your last day at the Arenal Eco Adventure will feature unique photo opportunities. After a lesson in working with light you will have the chance to practice what you’ve learned with a live model. The geothermal hot springs at Eco Termales will be your backdrop for amazing portraits, and then provide you with a relaxing soak and a home-cooked Tico meal. You will have the afternoon free for last minute TTL Challenge shots. Final critiques and door prizes will be offered before dinner. The TTL Challenge winner will be announced after dinner, and you will have the chance for any last minute questions.

DphotoA/ Leaves&Lizards “Through-the-Lens Challenge”

As a student in the Arenal Eco Adventure Photo Workshop in Monterrey, Costa Rica, you will have an opportunity to build an impressivewildlife photography portfolio, and enter your new wildlife photos in the DphotoA/ Leaves & Lizards Through-the-Lens Challenge.

Thanks to Oscar at L&L, we have a list of the birds and other animals that you might see on the L&L property. Each animal has a point value based on how likely you are to see it. The more rare an animal is, the higher it’s point value. The student who has the most points at the end of the week will receive a prize package including a 30”x40” gallery wrap canvas print from Artistic Photo Canvas, and a gift certificate from Outdoor Photo Gear. Winning photos will also be featured on the Leaves & Lizards website and the DphotoA website.

Enrique and Oscar will be teaching you about the local animals throughout the week, and giving you tips on where you can find the more rare animals on the list. The L&L property has lots of trails between the cabins and it should be easy to check off several exotic species by simply taking a walk. You can enter photos you take anywhere during the workshop, and our trip to Proyecto ASIS Wildlife Rescue Center will surely give you a good head start.

Didn’t bring your 400mm lens with you? No problem. As long as the photo is clear and the animal in the photo is identifiable it will count toward your point total. Of course, you should make the best images you can, but don’t be intimidated if other students have equipment you don’t have. The point of the contest is to learn about Costa Rican wildlife and most of all have fun making pictures!

Register for the Arenal Eco Adventure Photo Workshop today to be entered in the Through-the-Lens Challenge. The Through-the-Lens Challenge is brought to you by Artistic Photo Canvas and Outdoor Photo Gear.

More Information:

The Arenal Eco Adventure workshop is suitable for photographers of all skill levels. The small class size insures that beginners can get the time they need with an instructor, and experienced photographers will have unique shooting opportunities and the chance to fine-tune their work.

A DSLR camera is required, as well as a laptop computer with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Other recommended software includes Adobe Photoshop, Photomatix Pro, Nik Silver Effects Pro and Nik Color Effects Pro. Past students have done well in our workshops with Apple Aperture as well, but please note that the workflow demos will be performed using Lightroom.

You can save 15% off of Photomatix Pro by using the discount code “RobKnight15” at www.hdrsoft.com.

The workshop price does not include airfare to Costa Rica or transportation to Monterrey (near Arenal/La Fortuna). It is quick and easy (and cheap!) to get to the Arenal/ La Fortuna airport from San Jose or Liberia via regional airlines such as Nature Air or Sansa. We can arrange transportation to Leaves and Lizards from the airport in La Fortuna.

If you would like to rent a car, it is a beautiful, 3.5 hour drive to La Fortuna from San Jose, and about 4 hours from Liberia. There will be a presentation Sunday night, so please plan to arrive Sunday afternoon. Students will check in Sunday, September 12 and check out Saturday, September 18.

We strongly recommend you purchase comprehensive travel insurance in case of emergencies.

Pricing:

Tuition is $2000.00 per photographer and includes lodging, all meals, all excursions and door prizes. Guests in the same cabin (spouses, guests or additional photographers) are and additional $1500.00. If you are sharing a cabin we can arrange a cabin with up to 4 beds.

Ask about group discounts for your students or camera club.

Use this for to register. You will receive an invoice for a 50% deposit within 48 hours of submitting the form. Your registration will be complete when your payment is received.

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