Wow, what a fantastic time we had at the John C Campbell Folk School last week! It was full of fun, adventures, laughs, and learning! Terry, my partner, and I arrived on campus last Sunday afternoon, July 25th and got checked in and settled. I taught the same workshop as I did there in fall of 2019, "Wanderlust: The Art of Travel Photography." Terry signed up for the first ever "A Taste of the Folk School" which was a sampler of 4 different classes. He made a basket, two silver rings, savory and sweet hand pies, and learned how to marble on paper.
After we got settled in on Sunday, I went to set up my classroom and then we headed to supper in the dining hall. That evening, I headed back to the classroom to meet my students. It was an absolute pleasure having Jill, Barry, Lynn, Flora, and Pier in my class. We had such a fun week and everyone learned so much! We focused on some basics in photography to start with. We also learned about what makes a great photograph as you travel, how to prepare for such a trip, and what equipment to bring, and how to plan.
With the folk school campus as the location for most of our assignments, we also headed out one morning on a field trip to Fires Creek within the Nantahala National Forest. Each day in the morning we worked on our assignments outside, before the heat of the day in the afternoon. Afternoons were spent inside for class discussion, downloading & culling images and looking at one another's work on the big screen. You would've thought that being in higher elevations the temps would've been cooler but it was around 90ºf+ every day, especially in the afternoon.
Although things were a little different this time, I was so grateful I could teach there this year at all. The folk school is requiring you wear as mask inside any of the buildings or classrooms, but we were free to take them off while outside. We also weren't permitted to go inside the classrooms this time which made it a little tricky to get the full travel photography experience at the folk school. One of my students, Lynn was able to slip in the the clay studio to photograph her daughter's hands at the potter's wheel and another student asked about photographing another student making a basket & it's just of his hands. Other than that, we made it work by staying outdoors mostly along the nature trail and creek, in the vegetable & herb gardens, and walked most of the campus together as a class. Everyone loved Fires Creek - highly recommend! Typically I would've taken them to Vogel State Park, however it would've been a bit of a hike with us each taking our own individual cars there.
Towards the end of the week, Jill, Barry, Lynn, Flora, and Pier made their final selections for the Friday morning closing ceremony slideshow and that's what you are seeing here too. They sure did create some incredible photographs, which tells the story of their travels. And on that note, I'll let the photos speak for themselves! Below, each photo has the individual student's © and name on them, however also be sure to click on each photo for a larger view. Our class group photos were taken at Fires Creek located in the Nantahala National Forest.
If this class sounds like something you'd like to take, I will be doing the same in July 2022 at the folk school. Stay tuned for details!
Also, this month I'm teaching an upcoming local class, "Macro Photography" at Paul J Ciener Botanical Garden on August 10th & 17th (both Tuesday evenings). There is still more space in that class & you may sign up HERE. Lastly, I am also teaching another travel photography workshop August 19-21, 2021 at Highland Arts Academy in Monterey, VA.
Please do not copy photos without permission. All are © copyright protected!
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