Loire Valley, France

Loire Valley Workshop

September 24-30

How to reach the Loire Valley France Photo Workshop

You can take a train directly from the Paris (CDG) Airport. It’s a 2.5 hour ride to the city of Angers, our meeting place. Arrive a day or two early if possible and enjoy the charms of Angers before officially starting Loire Valley France Photo Workshop.

Day One
Meet at Best Western Hotel Anjou in Angers / Leave to Saumur / Travel in mini-vans
Stops along the way: St Rémy-La-Varenne Prieuré & Cunault Church
Welcome dinner at the Gambetta Michelin Star Restaurant

Day Two
Breakfast
Workshop Orientation
Visit of Saumur and lunch on our own
Experience the Troglodyte Caves and local wine producers
Watch the sun go down at Parnay with a gourmet picnic

Day Three
Breakfast
St. Pierre-en-Vaux Church
Prieuré Church + Bajoulière Dolmen
Lunch at Rou Marson, Fouées specialty in Troglodyte Caves
Doué-La-Fontaine
Les Perrières
Cave sculptures and Moulin de Gouré
Dinner on our own

Day Four
Breakfast (included)
Workshop Review & Critic
Leave for Domaine de Mestré (our hotel with 13^th century origins)
Lunch at La Table de Mestré Restaurant
Candes-Saint-Martin Village
Abbaye of Fontevraud / Stop at the Moulin de la Herpinière (windmill in the vineyard)
Dinner on your own in historic village of Fontevraud

Day 5
Leave for early shooting of Candes-St-Martin & Montsoreau
Breakfast
Workshop Review & Critique
Benoit´s Visit of Domaine de Mestré
Picnic at Montsoreaux Village and Castle
Chinon Village / Fortres
Farewell dinner at Le Chapeau Rouge Restaurant

Day 6
Breakfast
Blois Street Market with lunch on your own as we visit the historic town
Famous Chambord Castle
Evening at Chenonceau Castle and Gardens
Picnic
Private night shoot in Chenonceau

Day 7 
Breakfast
Workshop wrap-up
Check out and transfer to Angers Train Station; Marie can help you make your train reservations to Paris (2 hrs) or to your next destination

Optional Extension to the Brittany Coast and Mont Saint Michelle

Reserving your Spot
Please reserve early as group size is extremely limited. You can reserve your spot on our website, or by calling Busath Studio at 801-364-6645 or Jamie Shaw at 801-450-9221. Payments may be made with Visa, MasterCard or American Express, or you may send a check. Checks should be written to Italy Workshops and mailed to 701 East South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84102. Upon payment of your deposit, we will send you an information packet including suggestions for camera equipment, computer and software, clothing and travel information specific to your workshop destination.

Payment Schedule
To reserve $500
120 days before the trip 50% of balance due
60 days before the trip 100% balance due

Rooms
We use hotels rated 3 or 4 stars, each with a private bath. Rooms are assigned in order of reservations received, so early signup is recommended. Ask about premium rooms, at some workshop locations for an additional supplement charge.

Single Supplements
Fees are based on double occupancy. Single supplement is added for participants who wish to have a private room to themselves. If you are traveling alone and wish to share a room with another participant, please let us know and we’ll do our best to match you with a roommate.

Cancellation fee schedule
90 days prior to workshop start date we retain 25%

45 days prior we retain 50%

15 days prior we retain 100%

No partial refunds will be given for unused portions of a workshop. We highly recommend that all workshop participants purchase trip cancellation insurance independently.

Cancelled Workshops
Italy Workshops and this Loire Valley France Photo Workshop reserve the right to cancel any trip for any reason whatsoever, including insufficient signup, logistical problems that may impede a workshop, hotel closures or acts of God. (We have never yet had to cancel a workshop.) Refund of all fees paid shall release Italy Workshops from any further liability. Italy Workshops is not responsible for any expenses incurred by workshop participants in preparing for a cancelled workshop. In the case of insufficient signup to make a workshop feasible, notice and refund will be sent 120 days prior to the workshop.

Photographic Release
Italy Workshops reserves the right to photograph and film its trips in entirety. Participants should be aware that images of them may be used for promotional purposes or joint marketing efforts with third parties, without renumeration.

The Photographic Workshop
Group Size is maximum 12 photographers. Participants always include a mix of experience levels and we love rubbing shoulders with people from all walks of life who share this common passion for the camera. With two instructors, we can break up to focus on individual needs from basic to professional.

Instructors will offer hands-on technical instruction in the field as we travel to nearby towns and overlooks. The focus of our classroom discussions will be lighting, composition and developing your personal style.
During on-screen reviews of your favorite images, the instructors will offer concrete suggestions to keep you learning. We recommend bringing a laptop to edit your work during the week. You’ll get tips for maximizing Adobe Lightroom, plus workflow instruction, and lots of individual Q&A time.
Classroom and on-screen critique is limited to 1-2 hours per day, with the remainder of the day photographing in the field, and free time.

Partners Welcome
Partners who do not wish to participate in the photography discussions may still join in for all our excursions and meals. This is meant to be a wonderful vacation for couples, not a boot-camp seminar, and some of our very happiest campers are non-photographers.

Workshop Goals
A this Loire Valley France Photo Workshop we’ll be doing less “work” with our cameras and more play. You should enjoy every second of it. We want to help photographers break free from ordinary, overly-serious images, and instead create self-expressive images that say more about the artist and less about the place. We try to take you to the best places at the right times, and offer the inspiration and technical skills to make your lifetime-best images.

Technical discussions will include:
• Fast and accurate methods for proper exposure in a wide variety of situations.
• De-mystifying the features on your digital SLR camera
• Dynamic techniques for subject blur, camera motion and selective focus compositions.
• Lighting for landscape, cityscape and portraiture
• Design issues: composition, balance, scale and dimension.
• Content or the absence of it, and how to create images that have a powerful effect on viewers.
Separate instruction will be scheduled for beginners, allowing serious amateurs and professionals to advance at their own speed. Instructors will available during our travel for one-on-one help with camera mechanics and aesthetic discussions.

Skill Requirement
To be a “Full Participant” you must have an intermediate knowledge of your camera and the ability to download and edit images on a computer. If you need help to reach this level of proficiency, we can recommend some online tutorials to complete before the workshop.

Beginner photographers may participate as “Observers”, attending all instruction and field trips, but not required to submit photos for critique if they choose. In this case bringing a computer is not required. For beginners, we’ll have mini-workshops to address basic camera functions to help you master that digital camera and it’s most essential features.

Staff
Drake Busath, M.Photog.Cr, will be the workshop leader for Loire Valley France Photo Workshop.  Drake has been a commercial photographer 35 years and has taught photography seminars in Europe, Asia, Australia and most US States.  He operates a very busy studio in downtown Salt Lake City with 12 employees, which has been named Best in State 7 years running. Drake will share his work and encourage you to identify and develop your own personal style while in Italy.
More about Drake …

Marie Deforge Heiss is our local host and trip manager in France. She was born and raised in the Loire Valley and promises to show us the very best of the regions villages and landscapes. Marie will keep you informed at all times about schedule, travel, meal options, (bathroom locations), etc. This lets our instructors focus on teaching and is your guarantee of a productive workshop.
More about Marie …