I enjoy listening to the Mirrorless Minutes podcast (audio on iTunes, video on YouTube).  It’s an interesting show on photography and since  Mike Boening and Jamie MacDonald  (the hosts) are both Olympus Visionaries, they often have good information and tips on Olympus camera gear.

So when I heard their announcement about a photo workshop in Atlanta I was eager to go – and It wasn’t too hard to talk Lynn into getting this for my birthday!  They coordinate using the Mirrorless Adventures page on Meetup.com so sign up was an easy process. If my post gets you interested, you can find out about their future workshops there.

Atlanta Marriott Marquis Interior 2

Our HQ was the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta and it’s an awesome photo-op itself – lots of interesting architecture, angles, and patterns to fill your memory card.  And if you get tired of the photo ops there, you can take a break at one of their restaurants or bars!

We met on Friday evening and then left for the Jackson Street bridge for some sunset and light trail photography.  It’s a popular spot.  There were lots of folks making photos and it’s easy to see why – the skyline view is awesome!  Here’s one of mine:

A little after sunset.

I made this image with the Olympus “Live Composite” mode.  I’ve used this once before, but it was great to get in some guided practice and I’ll be using it more in the future.

Other stops on the workshop were at Old Car City (http://oldcarcityusa.com/), Amicalola Falls (http://www.amicalolafallslodge.com), and Oakland Cemetery (https://www.oaklandcemetery.com).  The workshop was last weekend and I came home with hundreds of photos.  I’ve been going through them every day since then – but I’m not finished processing yet.  So today I’ll just include a few from Atlanta and maybe do another post later about the other locations.

Watching sunrise.  We stopped near this park while we waited for the cemetery gates to open

Oakland cemetery was founded in 1850 and many of Atlanta’s prominent citizens are buried there.  It has a great deal of sculpture, architecture, and gardens to draw your eye.  And an interesting sign across the street!

Six Feet Under BarAtlanta Skyline from Oakland Cemetery

I’ve always liked Atlanta.  My mother’s family lived in the area (in Cedartown) so we visited often when I was growing up.  I also went to college there (Go Tech!) and that’s where I met Lynn.  It was great to visit for a long weekend, and the drive from Central Florida isn’t too bad.

A photo workshop can be a big boost to your image making.  You might;

• Learn or improve your skills:  I refreshed and practiced “Live Composite” mode and will likely use it more often now.
• Go places you wouldn’t normally see.  I’ve been to Atlanta many times, but the only place from this workshop that I’d seen before was Amicalola Falls (mentioned in this post).  Trying new things is good for your soul!
• Meet new people.  Hanging around with other folks passionate about photography is fun!  They don’t even get bored when you talk about lenses, cameras, technique, processing, etc.!
• See different approaches / techniques.  On the last day, we spent a few hours processing images and each of us picked out several images to show the group and talk about.  I was floored by the variety and ideas that everyone shared.  It’s amazing how people can go to the same place and come back with such different photographs.

I really enjoyed this workshop – it was a pleasure to meet so many new photo friends! I thought the locations we went to were terrific and Mike and Jamie were extremely knowledgable, friendly, and always willing to help anyone with questions. They created a wonderful atmosphere for us to learn and make beautiful photographs.  And I liked the van they used for transport – it was a real pleasure to just climb in and have someone else drive us around to all these spots.  Well done Mike and Jamie!!!

I’ll be adding my photos from the workshop to this album on Flickr as I finish them.  Check back later for even more.  And if you want to see some of the photos the other attendees made, watch episode 95 of the Mirrorless Minutes podcast on YouTube.

And to all my new (and old) photo friends, If you’re in the Central Florida area, look me up.  Maybe we can meet at one of my favorite spots.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Now – go make some photos!  On a workshop!

©2018, Ed Rosack. All rights reserved