Photography tours

anyone?

I'm not a tour person.... (said by way of bump).

Let me link to the ones I am wanting to go on..


http://www.jimcline.com/PhotoTours/tours.htm

Well scratch the Ensenada/Tecate tour for a while - too much violence
towards tourist at the moment. For the past several weeks, people were
robbed of everything they've had, including their cars. The last incident
was where 4 surfers got held up at gun point, their girlfriends were sexually assaulted and they were left stranded in the middle of nowhere.

The border towns and roads going to Ensenada aren't safe at all.

Friends of mine lead cooking/photography/wine tasting/bicycling tours of Italy a couple of times a year.

They are chefs. Depending on the region and group, they bring along photography instructors (from various colleges)/sommeliers/bike tour pros.

In my friends' trips, if it's a food/photo group, there will be cooking classes as well as photo tech classes, trips to various sites to practice the new photo techniques people have learned, and excursions to kitchens/farms/restos.

Their trips are nowhere near as inexpensive as you've indicated. They pay quite a bit for the pros they bring along.

I was reallllly thinking about the trip to Tecate..

Not now.. !
There is another that goes into San Diego that I was thinking of as well.. but I have to find the link for it.


I have seen some of the photo tours go for as much as 25,000.
Of course, I cant afford that , but I can see why they would be that expencive. It is the teachers that make the trip, Im sure.

Im looking at smaller, more local ones that may only have a group as big as 10 with one or two teachers/tour guides..

If I were you, and I'm not, I'd take a good photography course or two at your local junior college and then set out on your own.. you'd have more control.

I went to Italy to photograph piazzas, spent 29 days in 13 cities... by myself (or mostly by myself - that's another story.)
So you can see I happen to like to control where I go and when, and this is not the mode I'd suggest for everyone.

But, that 29 days cost me a total of, I think, $2600., including flight to and from the west coast of the US. (I can be quite the spare traveller.) That was seven years ago and the euro and value of the dollar have changed things, but last I looked, I bet I could near replicate that with some judicious staying at hostels. So, if you go to a location that is closer and with not such a change in money value, and for a shorter time - I'd be surprised if you couldn't beat those prices handily.

The deal is, a tour might be worth it to you for the camaraderie and informational value.

Do you speak Spanish at all?

If you need some help around San Diego, let me know.

Look, why not start with something like this
http://www.webphotoschool.com/

That looks interesting, CJane...

That web photo school is interesting and really convenient!

I have been taking classes for over a year now.
My last one ( for a while ) will start in February at Austin Community College. I am considering though, working my way into UT's photography course. Going to the class for non credit allows me in that school for less then 1/3 the average class cost. Even cheaper if it happens to be a professor I know.

Im really not looking to the tours for.. 'education' in the sense that someone may think.

Each person wether it be photographer, painter, sculptor..etc.. has their own style and things they do well. The kind of education I would want would be from the teacher/guide themselves.
I would want to know how they do what they do.. or see what they see.. for more of a good rounding experience. Not so much for a book and paper lesson.
Besides that, the tours seem to be cheaper then if I loaded up and packed out there myself. Not to mention, they provide transportation to and from locations ( vehicle ) and that right there saves me HUNDREDS . If i were alone, a rental car would be almost 80 a day not to mention gasoline for that thing.


One of the reasons I want to take some tours, and go to different places is because I am thinking of starting a 'store' sort of..
A place on my site to sell calendars, prints, just things that will bring in a little money, but allow me to not fall into doing just portraits for a living.


In all fair honesty, it was seeing Boom's photos that gave me an odd creative stirring that lead me to school for photography, and now to my own small business. I want to be like her.. heheheh..
But I want to do many things with photography.

It is a medium that just resinates with me, so I want to make it my living. I am tired of having to balance two small businesses just to make my ends meet. So I have the idea to start a small store of trinkets people can purchase for gifts without having to rely on them wanting portraits.
I am thinking of getting some commercial accounts as well , but I need more examples outside of people and simple every day places.

I have been driving around Austin and have found MANY places that are just as great to photograph, if not better then foreign countries! There is much here to see that I did not know.

My first project is to keep working with United Way and get a calendar ( or something like it) made for people to buy that will give proceeds to homeless shelters, non profits and places like that.



ugh.
sorry.
Im rambling again.

I just may take you up on that in the spring.

I have been to the coast of California several times and I just LOVE it.

There is a freight train that runs from Los Angeles straight up to Concord via the coast line.
I have hopped trains several times just to watch that coast line. And ( minus the train hopping) I want to do it again.