In this photography workshop, you’ll experience four days and three nights of photography where you’ll have a chance to capture the Hoodoos lit up with the setting sun and stars behind – while another night, learn and practice light painting in a prairie ghost town, and finally star trails or other nighttime photography.
Capture sunrise over the Alberta badlands in an early morning shoot and then photo lessons and image review throughout the day. Learn how to position and light a model with the Atlas Coal Mine as your backdrop, then tour and photograph the once-thriving mine.
Learn Lightroom and image editing techniques in a classroom setting while reviewing your images. Come and enjoy a 4-day weekend of photography with other avid photographers.
Student Image – Karen Albert
4-Day Southern Alberta Photography Workshop
- Where: Drumheller, Alberta
- When: 2021 dates TBD
- Who: You and up to seven other fabulous people. Spouses and non-photography types are welcome (a small room fee applies, and inquire about a meal package).
- What: Photography workshop with on-location lessons including a portrait session and night photography.
- Why: To expand your photographic horizons, meet some new friends, learn a trick or two and have lots of fun.
- Max Group Size: 8
- Remaining Spots: Cancelled due to Covid-19
Price: $1595 CAD
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Well thought out and well planned
I learned lots of valuable information at this workshop. The locations, meals and notes were all well chosen and detailed class plans all came together in a great value photography workshop.
On the second day, I was already approaching my shot differently which improved my photography significantly.
Best Light
You get to photograph at the optimal times of day for the best light possible, not like other workshops where you end up at the best locations at midday, and the worst lighting conditions. This is a workshop and designed for photography.
Night Photography
Learn and practice night photography to dazzle your family and friends! Even if you’ve never done night photography this workshop will help you learn some ins and outs of shooting at night, and once again, on-site help as you’re shooting.
Gain Confidence
You will get to work with an experienced photography teacher, Darlene Hildebrandt, who will show you how to create great lighting on location and pose people. With a little guidance and support, you’ll be photographing with confidence. YOU will take images so good you may surprise yourself!
It’s Easy
All the arrangements, bookings and schedules are planned for you – all you have to do is register, pay and show up! What better way to spend a weekend.
Portrait Shoot
Our photography workshop includes a non-intimidating photo shoot with a model (an old miner). With professional photography instruction and assistance during the session, the fear factor will be removed from the equation. If you’ve never worked with people or done any portrait photography, now’s your chance!
Your Images Will Sing
With class time to review images, learn how to make improvements, post-processing tips and tricks that are easy and you can do yourself. You will leave with knowledge on how to take your images to the next level.
The Drumheller area of southern Alberta is an oasis on the prairies. It’s a desert in the middle of wheat fields, where you’ll find old coal mines, dinosaur bones, deep canyons, ghost towns, and even a tumbleweed or two on occasion. If you are not familiar with the area, it’s sort of like a mini Grand Canyon, mixed with Arizona desert, mixed with the old west. If you live in Washington, Idaho or Montana you’re just a day’s drive away. Of course, if you live in Alberta, BC or Saskatchewan you are even closer.
Experience a Uniquely Beautiful Valley With Other Photography Enthusiasts
I learned a lot about light, lens selections, & night time settings, and equipment handling.
The workshop schedule allowed for many varied time of day opportunities. Sunrises, sunsets, the blue hour, total late night. I learned a lot about light, lens selections, & night time settings, and equipment handling.
Exposure to people with my same interest was also one of the highlights I had not expected and a real treat for someone who lives in a very rural Oregon community.
This is a tentative schedule, may not be exactly as shown here:
- Thursday Evening
- Arrive at 5 p.m. in Drumheller to check in before a meet and greet between 6 and 9 p.m. We will discuss logistics for the weekend. Workshop notes will be handed out and we’ll go over general tips to get the most out of the weekend. You’ll learn some shooting tips for sunrise, sunsets, texture, shooting around your subject and just generally get to know one another.
- Friday Morning
- We’ll be up bright and early for a stunning sunrise photo shoot over the valley of the Badlands. Then lessons and a few exercises at a local attraction and another interesting venue, all before 9 a.m.
- Friday Mid-Morning
- A few hours on your own from 9 a.m. until noon. Take a nap, look through your images and grab a lunch meal with a buddy before some optional one-on-one time with your instructor. (lunch on your own, not included)
- Friday Afternoon
- One-on-one time with your instructor after lunch, in scheduled time slots from noon until 1:30 p.m., followed by image review from the previous evening and the morning photo sessions. Then night photography instruction in preparation for the evening’s activities.
- Friday Early Evening
- Supper out with our group before the evening activities (dinner is included in your fee)
- Friday Evening
- An evening workshop south-east of Drumheller at the Hoodoos. We’ll get there just before sunset and then spend a few hours working on night photography. It’s this first night that you may begin to understand that photography doesn’t have to end when the sun goes down, that’s when it just starts to get interesting.
- Saturday Morning
- Join your instructor at the Atlas Coal Mine, along with a former coal miner, for lessons in lighting and portraiture. Following the portrait session, feel free to wander around the mine and photograph anything that captures your eye. Your mine tour fee is included in your registration fee and our miner model is quite happy to lead the tour explaining what it was like in his day. An abandoned train trestle nearby provides ample opportunity for some great shots, as does an old cabin from years ago.
- Saturday Early Afternoon
- Lunch in the historic East Coulee School museum tea room, time on your own to tour and photograph in the school, or just learn the history of the area from the miners’ perspective. We’ll do a lesson in HDR photography and then practice at this unique location. Your instructor is available to answer any questions.
- Saturday Afternoon
- Free time from 2-5 pm and a great chance for image review with the instructor, get some extra Lightroom tips and examples and have us answer your questions.
- Saturday Evening
- Dinner out and then night photography at a ghost town a short distance from Drumheller. Sunset photos with the dramatic backdrops provided by the ghost town. Classic prairie landscapes with the rustic charm of a small practically abandoned (but cared for) ghost town. Photos of old buildings and once the sun sets, night photography on site with a light painting demonstration and practice. Make use of the grain elevators, a restored railroad station and plenty of rustic buildings and machinery. Things wrap up close to 11 p.m., so be prepared for a very long day – from just after sun up until well past sundown.
- Sunday Morning
- We get to sleep in a little and will then have a final image review and wrap-up. You’ll be on your way by about 1 pm, so time to drive home or back to Calgary for any late afternoon or evening flights.
Instructors were available and approachable
Having instructors that were available and approachable is very important when someone is not always confident in what they are doing. Darlene was great with instruction and the image reviews each day were most welcomed.
While I knew about lighting, I wasn't using it as effectively as I could have been. My time at the workshop helped me become better with natural light and so much more.
Pricing
This workshop has a great value. Everything below is included:
- 3 nights accommodation (prices based on single occupancy – you get your own room).
- 3 continental breakfasts.
- 1 lunch.
- 2 dinners.
- 5 on-location photo shoots.
- One shoot at an old mine which includes a private guide and model who used to be a miner when it was still operating.
- 2 sessions of class-time for review of images, processing tips and a general question and answer time.
- Ongoing instructor support during the location shoots.
- Photography instruction and tutoring from an experienced professional photographer and teacher.
- A private Facebook group to share your images after the workshop and continue to get feedback from the instructor and fellow workshop participants.
Your Instructor Darlene Hildebrandt
Darlene is the creator of Digital Photo Mentor, a photography teacher, tour leader, traveler, and a cat owner. She has over 32 years of experience as a professional photographer and has been teaching photography since 2011. She is a Fuji shooter but speaks almost all other photography languages including; Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax and more. Whatever your skill level and experience, she can help you unlock the next level and take better photos.
Cancellation policies
If for some reason you need to cancel your registration (of course we’ll be very sad!) the following cancellation and refund policies will apply. Due to the limited size of the workshop, if you reserve a spot and then cancel, it may mean that we have turned away other interested people. So after the cut-off dates, a retainer fee will be charged based on the date of cancellation. Please read these policies carefully, there will be no exceptions.
- In the event of a cancellation, your initial deposit is non-refundable unless we can fill your spot.
- Final invoices will be issued 90 days before the workshop and are due 60 days in advance of the start date.
- Cancellation more than 60 days in advance – you will get a full refund of your final payment (not including your $250 deposit).
- Cancellation 31-60 days in advance a 75% refund of your final payment will apply (not including your $250 deposit).
- Cancellation 15-30 days in advance 50% refund of your final payment will apply (not including your $250 deposit).
- Cancellation less than 14 days before the workshop – no refund will be issued. At that point hotel rooms, meals, and other booking fees will have been paid in advance and cannot be returned to the workshop organizers, so any last-minute cancellations, unfortunately, cannot be refunded and the full balance is the retainer fee.
Darlene really knows her stuff
She's patient and instructs in a laid back way that encourages learning. I learned so many things in this workshop including back button focus which will help me with my bird photography.
I look forward to attending more trips, tours and workshops with Darlene.
This workshop IS for you if:
- You are a beginner to intermediate, amateur or hobby photographer.
- You have a DSLR, Mirrorless, or Micro 4/3’s camera (that has manual controls) and want to get more out of it.
- You like meeting new people.
- You love to travel.
- You love learning new things.
- You want to improve your photography.
- You want to know how to make your images have the punch they seem to lack.
- You want to have new experiences.
- You are fun and open-minded.
This workshop IS NOT for you if:
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- You are a working professional photographer (this is not a portfolio expansion opportunity).
- You have a point and shoot camera (unfortunately those cameras are a bit limiting and there isn’t’ as much to learn about them so you may not get as much value out of the workshop).
- You already have some good images (you think) but want someone to review them for you.
- You are under 18 (sorry no minors).
Don’t take my word for it, see what past participants had to say:
I LOVE that learning never stopped
I feel much more confident navigating through the settings and menu's on my camera and also using a tripod. The one-on-one instructor contact, combined with enthusiastic participants who were willing to share, was invaluable.
Instructors were available and approachable
Having instructors that were available and approachable is very important when someone is not always confident in what they are doing. Darlene was great with instruction and the image reviews each day were most welcomed.
While I knew about lighting, I wasn't using it as effectively as I could have been. My time at the workshop helped me become better with natural light and so much more.
Learn your camera better than you thought possible
Be rested and ready because you are going to learn your camera better than you thought possible and also get a gallery of shots that surpass anything you ever imagined being able to take!
Darlene, you are most definitely meant to teach
I was not sure what to expect going in, as I knew I had a lot less experience than anyone else in the group. I was basically starting from scratch with SLR photography. The group size was perfect for me to ask questions, get some help, and then play around on my own. Darlene you have an incredible amount of patience with everyone, most definitely meant to teach. I feel inspired to keep learning, and will be back for another photography workshop in the future.
Pricing for Drumheller Photography Workshop
Get notified when there’s workshop availability
Note: Once we receive your completed registration form, you will be sent an invoice for a $250 reservation fee in Canadian dollars with the remainder being invoiced 90 days prior to the workshop. Prices are based on single occupancy.
This workshop is limited to just eight people so we can keep the group small enough for individual attention from the instructor.
Our Photo Tours & Workshops
Click here for our complete list of photo tours of exotic lands including Cuba, Peru, Morocco, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Bhutan. OR if you’d like more hands-on, photography education, you’ll love one of our workshops, held in Western Canada, and a new landscape photography workshop in Scotland featuring the Isle of Skye.