The Available Light: Pro Workshop
Six months of creative growth for experienced photographers
Ten photographers · Six months · 12 live sessions · Two private consultations
Regular tuition: $900
Grand-Opening Special
$765
Pay in full and save $135
Or pay the tuition in two installments of $450 each. (No discount.)
Enrollment open until the ten seats are filled · First session November 15
View the complete workshop schedule →
Enroll in the WorkshopYou've spent years making photographs. You know the techniques. You've created images you're proud of.
But you sense there's more to your photography. You're just not sure how to get there.
That's why I created The Available Light: Pro Workshop.
Six months of fresh challenges, experienced guidance, constructive critique, and purposeful photographic work.
Rediscover the excitement. Develop your eye. Make photographs with greater intention. And finish with a body of work you're proud to show.
Your photography isn't finished growing. Neither are you.
How It Works
1
Look at the photographs you've already made. Recognize recurring interests, subjects, and choices. Find a direction that excites you enough to pursue.
2
Make new photographs with greater intention. Explore familiar subjects in unfamiliar ways. Return, reconsider, and learn from constructive critique.
3
Select and sequence your strongest work into a cohesive photographic statement. Present it to the group, see how far you've progressed, and discover what you want to pursue next.
Renewed enthusiasm. Stronger photographic decisions. A clearer direction. Finished work you're proud to show.
Light. Position. Distance. Frame. Moment.
Make the important photographic decisions while the subject is in front of you. Editing can refine the result; it cannot replace the choices you didn't make.
Personal Guidance
A good critique does more than identify what works and what doesn't. It helps you understand why your photographs communicate what they do—and what to do next.
We begin with your intention. We return to the decisions made in the camera, even if the finished photograph has been extensively edited. Then we look beyond individual images to discover the relationships, patterns, and possibilities within your developing body of work.
The objective isn't to make your photographs look like mine. It's to help you recognize and develop what makes them yours.
See what honest critique looks like
I've selected photographs from seven of my professional assignments and examined them individually and as complete sequences — what works, what doesn't, and what I would do differently. Including my own mistakes.
See how I critique my own photography →You'll meet individually with Ernest twice during the Workshop.
The first consultation helps clarify your photographic direction. The second concentrates on the work you're developing and the decisions needed to bring it to completion.
Every session provides opportunities to examine work in progress. Rotating in-depth reviews give participants focused attention, while everyone benefits from seeing and discussing the work of others.
By the final session, you'll have revisited subjects, made new photographs with greater intention, and completed a cohesive body of work to present to the group.
Just as importantly, you'll have a clearer understanding of what moves your photography forward — and what you want to create next.
The Commitment
Two hours each, meeting approximately every two weeks.
Limited to ten experienced photographers.
With Ernest, focused on your work and progress.
Five participants receive extended review at each session, alternating over the six months.
Approximately four to eight hours between meetings; some projects may require additional time.
Alternate Sundays, November 15 through May 2, with a break for the holidays.
Tuition
Grand-Opening Special
$765
Pay in full and save $135
Regular tuition: $900. The $765 Grand-Opening rate is available to the founding group only.
Two installments
2 × $450
$450 at enrollment, $450 on January 15
The regular tuition of $900. No discount.
Secure online enrollment. Choose either payment option at checkout. You'll receive a confirmation and a short welcome questionnaire.
Two-session guarantee. Come to the first two sessions. If the Workshop isn't right for you, tell me before December 13 and I'll refund your tuition in full.
Enrollment open until the ten seats are filled · First session November 15 · Full calendar & policies →
If you belong to a camera club, keep it. The friendships, outings, competitions, and shared experience are valuable.
The Workshop complements those activities with six months of concentrated attention on your own photographic development.
You already know how to use your camera, but you want to see what else you can accomplish.
Perhaps you're feeling stuck. Perhaps your pictures have become repetitive. Or perhaps you simply want a fresh challenge and the satisfaction of making meaningful progress.
You don't need a recognizable style, exhibition history, or finished project idea.
You do need curiosity, time to make photographs between sessions, and a willingness to try something different.
Meet Your Host
By way of introduction, I've spent more than 40 years producing and presenting visual communications for corporate and professional audiences. My experience includes work for IBM, AT&T, KPMG, UnitedHealth Group, and ZEISS, along with multimedia programming and consulting for Luciano Pavarotti. I also studied photography at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC.
My work has required me to make photographs, recognize what matters, sequence images, and present them for real audiences.
Early in my career, I asked New York photographer Simon Nathan to let me learn from him. That willingness to ask, do the work, return to the subject, and follow through has shaped everything since.
I've made it. I've lived it. And I'll show you how as well.
Your Next Step
You don't need a signature style, a finished project, an exhibition history, or even a clear idea of what you want to photograph next.
That's part of what the Workshop is for.
If you've spent years making photographs and want to find out how much further you can take your photography, I'd like to have you in the group.
Enroll online. Choose $765 in full or two payments of $450, and pay securely at checkout.
Tell me about your work. A short welcome questionnaire asks about your photographic experience, what draws your attention, where you feel stuck, and what would make these six months worthwhile. You'll also choose eight to ten photographs that represent your work. They don't have to belong to one project or follow a particular theme.
We begin November 15. The Zoom link and your private upload folder arrive by email before the first session.
No polished portfolio required. No need to impress a competition judge. Just show me where you are and tell me where you'd like to go.
Ten photographers · Six months
Regular tuition: $900
Grand-Opening Special
$765
Pay in full and save $135
Or pay the tuition in two installments of $450 each. (No discount.)
ENROLLMENT OPEN UNTIL THE TEN SEATS ARE FILLED · FIRST SESSION NOVEMBER 15
Enroll in the WorkshopSee what inspires you.
Stay with what draws you in.
Make something only you can make.
Now show it. Publish it. Give it life.