Costa Rica Travel Photography Workshop

March 1-5, 2010

Introduction to Travel Photography

at the beautiful Casa Marbella hotel

in Mal Pais/ Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.

Join instructors Rob Knight and Jesse Brown for a five-day workshop that features a small class size, friendly instructors and lots of shooting in a breath-taking tropical setting. No matter what your experience level, we can help you improve your photography. We want to help develop your skills as well as your vision. Click HERE for more information about our instructors.

Your tuition includes:

• Five nights lodging at the Casa Marbella hotel in Mal Pais, Costa Rica.
• Non-workshop spouse or guest is free!*
• Reception dinner at Casa Marbella Sunday night, February 28
• Your five-day comprehensive workshop including classroom instruction, peer and professional critique, and hands-on learning opportunities.
• All course materials, including our Digital Workflow Guide
• Excursions and transportation (Zip-Line, ATV's and more!)
• Lunch each day
• Transportation to and from Tambor Airport

Students will check in Sunday, February 28, and check out Friday, March 5. Additional nights can be arranged through the hotel. The staff at Casa Marbella will be happy to arrange activities for you or your guest, such as in-room massage, surfing lessons or board rentals, fishing and more.

Workshop Itinerary

Sunday, February 28

• 7:00pm Welcome Dinner. OK, the workshop doesn’t officially start until Monday, but we are going to have a big welcome dinner at Casa Marbella, and Your instructors will make a presentation of their work.

Monday, March 1

• 8:00am Classroom instruction. DSLR Basics: We’ll get you up to speed on DOF Control, Shutter Speeds, ISO, etc. - Rob & Jesse
• 10:30am Field Study. Put your camera skills to work around Mal Pais/ Santa Teresa with the instructors on hand to answer questions. - Rob & Jesse
• 1:00pm Lunch is served at Casa Marbella
• 2:00pm Classroom Instruction. Lightroom Workflow: File management, importing, sorting and develop basics. - Rob  Photoshop Basics: Tools for image enhancement - Jesse
• 5:00pm Field Study. We’ll head to the beach for amazing sunset shots. - Rob & Jesse
• 8:00pm Review and Discussion. Review the days photos and Q&A with Rob & Jesse

Tuesday, March 2

• 8:00am Classroom instruction. Design principles for photographers. Shooting for HDR and panoramas  - Rob & Jesse
• 10:30am Field Study. Focus on shooting for HDR and panoramas - Rob & Jesse
• 1:00pm Lunch is served at Casa Marbella
• 2:00pm Classroom Instruction. Lightroom Workflow: Using Lightroom with plugins, HDR basics with Photomatix Pro, working between Lightroom and Photoshop. - Rob  Photoshop next steps: Finishing images in Photoshop using advanced techniques. Creating dynamic Black& White photos - Jesse
• 5:00pm Field Study. Back for more sunset shooting... Great for HDR!. - Rob & Jesse
• 8:00pm Review and Discussion (optional). Review the days photos and Q&A with Rob & Jesse

Wednesday, March 3

• 8:00am Field Study. We’re off to Montezuma to see the sights and put your camera skills to work! Rob and Jesse will be on hand to answer questions and give you ideas throughout the day. If you are traveling with a guest, they are welcome to come along on this excursion.
• 10:00am Zip-Line! We will gear up for a zip-line adventure by Montezuma’s famous waterfalls. *non-student guests will have to pay $50 for the zip-line tour.
• 1:00pm Lunch in Montezuma
• Afternoon. Rob and Jesse will be available to students during the afternoon, but you are welcome to explore on your own. If you choose to do your own thing you will be responsible for your transportation back to Casa Marbella. The instructors will head back when the students are ready to go.
• 8:00pm Review and Discussion (back at Casa Marbella). Review the days photos and Q&A with Rob & Jesse. Jesse will share some advanced Photoshop techniques.

Thursday, March 4

• 8:00am ATV’s! We will mount up and head out to explore the countryside on our way to Cabuya and the Cabo Blanco Nature Preserve. 
• 9:00am Wildlife photography tips. Once we arrive at Cabo Blanco, Rob and Jesse will give the students tips for capturing great shots of the wildlife in the park. 
• Morning. We will spend the morning exploring the nature preserve.
• 1:00pm Lunch in Cabuya
• Afternoon. Rob and Jesse will be available to students during the afternoon. We can pretty much go wherever we want to on the ATV’s, so we will have a lot of opportunities for unique photos, including Cemetary Island and many beautiful beaches. The instructors will head back when the students are ready to go.
• 8:00pm Review and Discussion (back at Casa Marbella). Review the days photos and Q&A with Rob & Jesse

Friday. March 5

• 8:00am Wrap-up. We will have a final review session and students can ask any remaining questions. Rob and Jesse will give some final tips and techniques.

Another important part of the Edge of the World Photo Workshop is critiques. You will learn from the instructors, as well as other students, ways to improve your photography and how to develop your personal style. Rob and Jesse will assist each student to choose their best shots of the day to be displayed on the workshop website.

Getting There

Mal Pais is located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica on the Nicoya Peninsula. From the U.S., we recommend students fly into San Jose, Costa Rica, then take a commuter flight to the Tambor airport. These flights are offered by Nature Air and Sansa, and leave from the Pavas airport in San Jose. Both options are very inexpensive, although Nature Air is usually a bit cheaper. Contact Carol Lopez at Nature Air (clopez@naturevacations.com) and mention Edge of the World Workshops for the best rates. Please let us know when you book your flight so we can arrange transportation for you from the airport.