3 Students needed for June 8 Mettawa Workshop

Soft morning light on Mettawa Manor

HI Everyone,

Enrollment is a bit light for the June 8 Photo Workshop at Mettawa Manor. We need 3 more students (at least) to run it so if you’ve been thinking about it, don’t wait. Go on line at www.chicagobotanic.org/adulted/photography to register. You can call 847.835.8261 to register on Monday. If you’re planning to visit the garden in the next day or two, stop at the INFO DESK in the Visitor Center to register.

Charles Morse (of Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines) had the house built in 1929 and presented it to one of his daughters as a wedding present. Usually available only on Open Garden days, Bill Kurtis and Donna LaPietra, the current owners, have allowed us to visit the manor for this CBG photo workshop. You’ll want to explore both the flower and vegetable gardens in addition to the reflecting pond and other structures on the 9-acre property. Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to use different camera settings, focal lengths and polarizing filters as you meander about.

Any way you choose to enroll could make the difference in whether this class runs. Remember that the enrollment fee includes lunch on Friday, June 8th, and an image review session on Monday, June 11th at the CBG.

18mm, f8 @ 1/30, no filter

18mm, f8 @ 1/80 with 3-stop ND Grad

I received a 3-stop, soft-edge ND grad filter from the Camera Clubhouse cats. They decided to purchase from Breakthrough Photography since I mentioned that one of my students brought Breakthrough Filters to a recent class and, on inspection, the filters seemed to be very well made. An ND Grad filter starts dark and fades to clear so the placement of the dark portion is determined by both the bright part of the scene and the photographer. This filter made quite a difference in holding down the sun in the upper part of the image. Check out the “no-filter” image and ND Grad image. The difference will amaze you. Please note: I have no affiliation with Breakthrough Photography and chose them only based on student referral.

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