Kauai Photo Workshop July 2010

 

Kauai, Hawaii

The Garden Isle - Tropical Paradise

July 12-16, 2010

 

Join me and instructor, Gary Hart, for a photographic journey to one of the most beautiful islands in the world, the garden isle of Kauai, Hawaii! This deluxe workshop (limited to only 12 participants) will be held at the luxurious Hilton Kauai Beach Resort and is located just five minutes from the Lihue airport. The resort is a five-story oceanfront property situated on 25 lushly landscaped acres surrounded by exotic lagoons, cascading waterfalls, and lush tropical settings. 

The resort also offers the following amenities: 

   *  Complimentary Shuttle Service to/from the airport and the hotel

   *  Oceanside sandy beach, sand bottom fresh water pool

   *  Flume and lava tube waterslide

   *  Three main hotel pools and two whirlpool spas

   *  Wireless high-speed internet access

   *  Hawaiian Rainforest and Fitness Center

   *  Nightly entertainment

So besides being pampered, you will spend five days photographing this island from some of the most incredible locations to be found. I have personally made many photographic visits to Kauai for my own stock photography and have found numerous iconic and lesser known locations that will provide incredible photo opportunities.

The Hilton is located conveniently on the island's east side meaning sunrises are literally right outside our window! I have carefully scouted all our sunrise and secondary locations and will keep you relatively close by allowing you to spend a bit more time in bed than most workshops. But that will just be the beginning. After our two morning shoots, we will return for a buffet-style breakfast and then you will be free to relax, prep images, or explore on your own. We will then reconvene in the early afternoon in one of the Hilton's air-conditioned conference rooms for training in Photoshop, RAW Conversion, High Dynamic Range software and processing techniques, Soft Proofing, Printer optimization, Composition, Tips for shooting moonrises and moonsets, and more. There will also be (2) image review sessions where Gary and I will discuss some of the pros and cons of images you have captured on this workshop. These review sessions are becoming a huge hit in our workshops and are proving to be an incredible teaching tool for us!

We will then head back out for a pre-sunset and sunset shoots. Dinner will be either before or after depending on the time we depart and return.  Some of the locations we will visit include:

   *  Ke'e Beach and the Na Pali Cliffs

   *  Hanalei Bay and taro fields

   *  Lydgate Beach

   *  Wailua Beach

   *  Brennecke and Poipu Beach

   *  The Spouting Horn

   *  Waimea Canyon

   *  Kalalau Valley and the Na Pali Cliffs from a 4,000 foot overlook (used in the movie: 7 Days and 7 Nights)

   *  Wailua Falls and Opaeka'a Falls

   *  Shipwreck Beach

 

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS:

Monday, July 12 - Workshop officially begins at 1pm with a 3-hour group orientation meeting followed by (2) location shoots at nearby Poipu.

Tuesday, July 13 - Friday, July 16 -  We will explore many of the famous iconic (and some lesser known) locations that make this island special. You will recognize many of the locations from numerous movies and television shows. Tropical sunrises and sunsets are always on the agenda, but because Kauai is one of the wetter islands, there will be ample opportunities to capture stunning rainbows! 

Each day's training seminars are geared to answer your personal questions and improve your technical abilites, plus we will show you our workflow techniques that have resulted in our images appearing in worldwide publications and gallery showings. Combined we have over 50 years of photographic experience!

The workshop will conclude with a sunset shoot near the hotel on Friday evening. Also, the Hilton is offering you an extended stay (at a discounted workshop rate) for four days on either side of the workshop! This is perfect for those of you wanting to spend more time on the island.

 

Cost: $1975 (Includes 4 nights double-occupancy lodging / participants are resposible for resort parking and amenities).  Room rates may increase for reservations made inside of 60 days prior to start of workshop. ($250 deposit required. Full payment due 60 days prior to start of workshop).

Deadline: When workshop fills (limited to 12 participants).

Lodging/Meals: Lodging for 4 nights is included. Meals are not included in price of workshop.

Transportation:  We will carpool to shooting locations. Participants are required to have transportation to and from the workshop and workshop locations.                                                                             

E-mail me for more information at don@donsmithphotography.com

 

 

Deposit
A $250 deposit holds your workshop space. If you cancel no later than 60 days prior to the workshop, I will refund $150. Or you can opt to apply all of your deposit ($250) to any future workshop. This deposit credit is open-ended and remains on my books until you use it, or until I cease offering workshops. Accepting this option forfeits your partial ($150) refund option. A deposit credit applies only to workshops (scheduled and private) and can’t be transferred to other offerings (such as prints) or to other individuals.
Workshop payment
The balance of your workshop payment is due no later than 60 days prior to the workshop. I will try to send a reminder invoice a two or three weeks in advance, but you are ultimately responsible for getting your payment to me on time (in other words, “I didn’t receive a bill” isn’t an acceptable defense for late payment). Late payments are subject to a $50 penalty (I much prefer a timely payment to collecting the extra $50). Also, anyone who hasn’t paid or contacted me by the due date risks forfeiting their workshop space and their deposit.
Cancellation
If conditions beyond my control (such as a weather- or disaster-related park closure) force me to cancel a workshop for which you’ve already paid, I will give you a full credit toward any future workshop. While I don’t require that this credit be applied to a future year’s version of the cancelled workshop, it does only apply to scheduled workshops for which workshops you aren’t already enrolled—in other words, if you already have a deposit for a different workshop, you can’t apply the replacement credit to that workshop. This credit can’t be used for a private workshop.
If illness, injury, or personal emergency makes it impossible for me to conduct a workshop, the workshop will go on with a qualified substitute, and with as much participation from me as I’m capable of providing. If you accept this option, I’ll also give you a partial credit toward any future workshop for which you aren’t already registered. This credit will be no more than 50% of the missed workshop’s fee, and may be a bit less depending on the amount of my participation. You can also opt to take a 100% credit toward a future workshop—in this case the same rules as a “beyond my control” cancellation apply.
I will never cancel a workshop because of low registration—if you’re the only one enrolled, you’ll get a private tour.
Travel and other expenses
Under no circumstances will I refund any charge not paid to me, such as (but not limited to) airfare, lodging, car rental, or meals. Though I’ve never had to cancel a workshop, and consider the possibility extremely remote, for your peace of mind I strongly encourage you to purchase travel insurance to cover any losses resulting from a cancelled workshop.

My Qualifications

 If you like my style of photography, that would be one reason to take a workshop with me. If you would like to learn more about me, click on the link.

My Qualifications