Classic wood yachts, fresh trade winds . . . spray flying and the challenge of a race . . . this is Antigua’s annual Classic Yachts Regatta, held April 15 to 20, 2010. This year’s event will also be the venue for the first Antigua Marine Photography Workshop workshop. This 8 day course in yacht and sports photography is about helping you become a better photographer and storyteller. Through daily critiques, lectures, an mentoring we will help you develop a more personal style, help you improve your technical skills as well as your ability to use photography to tell a visual story. We will also help you acquire valuable knowledge of the marine photography industry, how and where to place your images, develop a web site, layout a book, or create a professional portfolio. There are lectures and demonstrations, portfolio reviews, field work on the water, editing and critique sessions, along with screenings of the work of major photographers in the field. We will discuss trends in the editorial market, commercial assignments, and fine art print sales. As the week progresses, you will become more comfortable working from the deck of a racing sail boat, shooting from a chase boat, using your cameras and both wide angle and telephoto lenses. We will discuss each day's events and discoveries, the business and technology over shared meals.

For more information on The Classic Yacht Regatta in Antigua, visit their website.

You will be provided with a list of possible photo ops, but are expected to conduct your own research into possible stories, personalities, and boats on which to shoot. Assignments include photographing a specific yacht, capturing its personality on the mooring and underway. You will make portraits of personalities and characters along the waterfront as well as photograph the social side of yachting.  You will work from a chase boat as well as from the deck of racing yachts, as you capture the drama and action of a series of races. Covering the behind the scenes of each race is also part of the assignment: the preparation, rigging, team work and the awards ceremony. Personality profiles of people, boats and the island of Antigua itself will be explored. You will be up early each morning to make use of pre-dawn light. We will explore the possibilities of night photography with available, practical and artificial light.

Structure
The week begins with portfolio reviews on Monday morning, April 12 with portfolios reviews,  a discussion of the week's events, the schedule and possible assignments. We meet mornings and/or evenings to review, critique, edit and sequence your work. In the process your composition will improve as will your use of lenses, the frame, shutter speeds and camera handling . The goal is for you to come back each day with clear,  sharp, colorful and dynamic images. The first few days of the week prepares you to cover a major yachting event that begins on Thursday, April 15.  The whole week is an opportunity to not only acquire new technical knowledge, but to also develop your skills and improve your vision, gaining new images for your portfolio and web site. The workshop ends the morning of Wednesday, April 21, following the awards  banquet. with a final critique and debriefing.

This Workshop is an intensive experience, requiring full-time participation, 8 AM to 11 PM for the 9 days.

Who Should Attend
This one-week workshop is for professional photographers, experienced amateurs and emerging pros who want to gain technical knowledge and practical experience in working with boats, sailing and marine subject matter and for editorial and commercial clients. All those participating must be thoroughly familiar with their SLR digital camera and digital workflow, and be prepared to commit a full 8 days to the process.

Costs and Fees
Non-refundable application fee: $55.
Tuition: $950 includes the workshop, lectures, critiques, and personal mentoring.  Not Included: Air fares, accommodations, meals and transportation or chase boat rentals. More information on chase boats is coming.

Technology
This is an all digital workshop. You need to bring at least one digital camera with at least one wide angle lens and a telephoto zoom. Additional lenses are advisable as is a water proof point-and-shoot camera for those situations where a larger camera would be intrusive. Students must also bring a laptop computer, with image management software, such as Apple's iView, iPhoto, Preview,  Aperture or Adobe's LightRoom, or Photomechanic, which can be downloaded, free, on a trial basis. Make sure you have a back-up system on which to download each day's work. This can be your laptop, a portable hard drive storage device, or something like Epson's P-3000 or Western Digital hard-drive. You will need a means of getting your edited images to the Faculty for the final slide show - this can be on a CD or DVD or Thumb-drive.  Bring at least 4 extra cards (4 G each), extra batteries and a charger. Antigua is on the 220 European electrical system, but lap tops and batter charges usualy work on this power setting, but plug adapters will be needed.

If you wish to shoot film, don't. This is a digital workshop.

What to Bring
In addition to your camera equipment, bring a body of your creative work with you to share. A small print portfolio is ideal but a CD or file of your images on your laptop are fine as well. Bring a notebook or journal, a small tape recorder to record the lectures and discussions.  Bring foul weather gear, your own PFD and boat shoes.

Registration
A non-refundable application fee of $55 gets the process started. A deposit of $500 holds you a seat in the class. Enrollment is limited to 12 participants. Final payment is due March 15. Go to the  "Registration" link above for information and an application. You can mail us your completed application form together with a check for $555.  You can also Register by e-mailing us a completed application form. If you wish to pay by credit card, indicate so on the form, and we will send you an invoice by PayPal.

Space Reservation
You can also call us, or send an e-mail to pre-register.  We will "pencil" you in for a slot in a specific class, pending arrival of your application and deposit.

Accommodations
There are many options for accommodations on Antigua. The workshop will be based in English Harbor where most of the activities take place. The Antigua Hotel Association has a listing of available accommodations.  http://www.antiguahotels.org/hotelguide.php

Participants may be living on their own boats, or may be members of a party that is chartering yacht or is one of the participating yachts.

Companions
Companions may not join you while in class, but they are welcome to join you for the evening social events and final meal and screening.