Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park Photography Workshop, Fall 2010

[keithsnell]

Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park Photography Workshop, 26 September - 3 October 2010.  This is a preliminary announcement for our Fall 2010 photography workshop to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.  With the current state of the economy, we're finding that many people that really want to participate in a workshop like this, are unable to afford it.  Since we don't want to cancel the workshop (it's one of the highlights of our year) we've taken a hard look at minimizing the cost of the workshop, and have structured a workshop to provide the best "bang for the buck" possible.  

The workshop will begin on the evening of Sunday, 26 September 2010, and run through the morning of Sunday, 3 October 2010.  Based on our many years of experience photographing this area, we know this is typically the best time of the year to obtain beautiful fall foliage images in Grand Teton National Park, and to photograph the wildlife activity (especially the bears) in Yellowstone National Park as they forage for food in preparation for the long winter ahead.  The price for the workshop includes seven nights of in-park lodging, and six full days of photography and instruction.  Note that a large portion of the cost of this workshop is due to the cost of in-park lodging.  We're convinced however that this arrangement provides the best "bang-for-the-buck" since we will be able to maximize our time photographing in the park without wasting time traveling to and from the park each day.  We will be spending three nights in Grand Teton National Park before traveling up to Yellowstone.  We have already booked a block of rooms at the Old Faithful Inn for our stay in Yellowstone. The Old Faithful Inn is one of the historic "gems" of the national park system, and is a wonderful place to stay.

Because this will be a "once in a lifetime" experience for some of the workshop participants, our goal is to provide you with the best possible memories of a wonderful week in this special place.  One of our past participants, who is an experienced traveler, described this workshop as the second best trip she had taken in her entire life, with the caveat that nothing could ever top the extravagant european ski vacation she had taken with her husband when they were younger.  As teachers and mentors, our goal is to provide the best possible photography opportunities and instruction during the week of the workshop.  This is not a "photo tour" where the instructors photograph alongside the participants, but a true "workshop" where we will put aside our own photography for the week and concentrate on providing you with the knowledge and skills to significantly improve your photography.  We will teach both the technical aspects required for a good foundation, and the more creative aspects of photography that will help you return home with images you will be proud of.  Although our goal is to maximize our shooting time, we will also take advantage of any "down time" to teach post-processing techniques on the computer.

The price for the workshop is $1355 per person (double occupancy) and includes seven nights of in-park lodging and six full days of photography instruction.  (By comparison, most week-long Yellowstone photography workshops cost about $3,000 per person.)  Because rooms are limited, we highly encourage "double occupancy," (all rooms have two queen beds) however a single occupancy rate is available at an additional cost of $750 per person.  The workshop is limited to eight participants, with several of the slots already spoken for, so please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested in attending.  A $200 deposit will be required to reserve your slot, with full payment due by 1 September 2010.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Keith and Rebecca Snell

[TrvlRick]

Hi Keith, Please sign up Sue and Rick Pepin for the Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park Photography Workshop, Fall 2010. Let me know who to write the check to and where to send it. Sue went on this trip a few years ago and really liked it. Rick

[keithsnell]

Rick,

That's awesome!  We really enjoyed having Sue on the workshop, and I was hoping we would get a chance to photograph with you again too.  I'm looking forward to the workshop even more now!

You can make the check out to either "Keith Snell" or "Spirit of Photography."

Our address in Wichita is:

272 Patton Drive
Wichita, KS 67208

Keith

[H]

Keith, I am interested in photographing the Tetons and Yellowstone next year with a group, and I found you through a Google search.  I just have a few questions.  1)  What is the location and time of the beginning and ending of the workshop?   2)  is tranportation from Jackson Hole airport and transportion during the workshop included in the cost?  3)  Are any meals included in the cost?  4)  Are park entrance fees included in the cost?  If this information is already on a different website, just point me in the right direction.  If not, thanks for taking the time to get me informed.  H

[keithsnell]

Keith, I am interested in photographing the Tetons and Yellowstone next year with a group, and I found you through a Google search.  I just have a few questions.  1)  What is the location and time of the beginning and ending of the workshop?   2)  is tranportation from Jackson Hole airport and transportion during the workshop included in the cost?  3)  Are any meals included in the cost?  4)  Are park entrance fees included in the cost?  If this information is already on a different website, just point me in the right direction.  If not, thanks for taking the time to get me informed.  H

Hi Harolyn,
Thank you for contacting us.  When you say you are interested in photographing the Tetons and Yellowstone with a group, did you mean that you would be bringing a group with you, or that you wished to join a group (ours) to photograph?

To answer your questions:
 
1) “What is the location and time of the beginning and ending of the workshop?”  The workshop will begin in the evening on 26 September.  We will meet at Signal Mountain Lodge, in Grand Teton National Park.  Ideally we will go out to dinner as a group if everyone’s travel arrangements allow them to arrive in time.  That evening will primarily be a chance to get to know each other and talk about expectations for the workshop.  We will be staying at Signal Mountain Lodge for the first three nights of the workshop and then will move up to the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone.  The workshop will end on the morning of 3 October, which is when we will be checking out of the Old Faithful Inn.

2)  “Is transportation from Jackson Hole airport and transportation during the workshop included in the cost?”  Transportation is not “formally” included in the workshop; however, we could arrange for transportation to and from the airport.  We typically “carpool” on these workshops, and have found that there is always enough room for everyone.  I will have at least two extra seats in my car, and I know of at least one other couple joining us that will have extra seats in their car as well.  So, although transportation is not “included” in the workshop, we are typically able to make arrangements so that transportation can be provided at no extra cost.

3)  “Are any meals included in the cost?”  Yes, some meals will be included in the cost.  On the days where we will be photographing far from any restaurants or concessions, we will provide breakfast and/or lunch.  Nothing fancy, but enough to get you through the day.  We’ve found that especially in Yellowstone it just takes too long to travel to a restaurant for lunch and then back out to our shooting location again.  We don’t typically “advertise” that the meals will be provided, because we don’t typically pin down the exact shooting locations until closer to the actual dates we will be traveling (and therefore don’t pin down exactly what meals we will be providing).  Rest assured however that on the days we’re far afield we will provide meals.  Typically we’ll go to dinner as a group in one of the park restaurants, but each individual will pay for their own dinner.
 
4)  Are park entrance fees included in the cost?  Yes.  Since we will be “carpooling” we will purchase an entrance pass for the driver of each vehicle.  The entrance pass will be good for all the passengers in the vehicle.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Keith