photographing close to home

Location. Online classroom.

Dates.  Six weeks beginning April 7, 2025.

Plus a final assignment review the following week.

Time. Log in at your convenience. (This is not a live class.)

Levels.  Intermediate, Advanced 

Tuition.  $595  

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A landscape becomes a place when people identify it and assign meaning to it. A place evokes memories and emotions. While we may long to photograph distant or dramatic landscapes, exploring landscapes close to home can result in more intimate and meaningful photographs because of the connection we have to place. Nearby landscapes are also more accessible, so we can visit there often—in different light, in changing seasons and over time. Photography is a great way to explore and get to know a new place better or to share our intimate knowledge of places we have known our entire lives.

The challenge with photographing close to home is that it can sometimes seem too familiar. We pass by photographic opportunities daily without even realizing it. In this course, we'll explore new ways of looking at familiar landscapes and seeking out details that give a place character. We'll also broaden our concept of landscape by including culture, history, architecture, traditional crafts and other elements that address the relationship between humans and the land over time.

What to expect

Each week, you will receive a link to a new lesson that includes a slide presentation, journaling prompt and assignment. There will be a place to share your work, comment on your classmate’s work, and converse with other students and your instructor.

You will discover:

• where to find interesting locations to photograph.

• what gives a place a strong sense of place.

• new ways of seeing familiar sights and subjects.

• how to move beyond the single image to better tell a story.

• different ways of working that can lead to short series, articles (whether for magazines or your own newsletter), photo books or exhibitions

Your instructor will share her work and experiences as well as draw from the work of other photographers. Plan to get outdoors and photograph nearby locations—whether you have deep connections to these places or are exploring them for the first time. Allow time to review course lessons and feedback, at least several hours for photography and ample time to process and post your images each week.

This is not an introductory course to landscape photography course. The focus is more on what we photograph and why we make photographs (rather than equipment, image processing or other technical aspects of photography). Rather than critiquing individual images, our discussions and feedback will revolve around groups of images and what they convey about a place. Students should already be comfortable with their cameras, image-processing software and sharing images. Any camera (including those on smart phones) may be used and students are welcome to work in color, black-and-white, or alternative processes as long as images can be shared.