visual artistry photography workshops
with Tony Sweet and Susan Milestone
Our goal is to get you to the right place at the right time and help you capture the images you envision. Contact Susan to register or with any questions. When registering, please include your name, address, phone number and the workshop you’d like to sign up for.
Comments from workshop participants
General workshop information
My gear
Purchase gift certificates for workshops, software training, private instruction and personal photo critiques (call or e-mail Susan to order or for more information).
NOTE: All workshop galleries open in a new window.
Our 2012 location workshop schedule
April 1-5: Charleston, SC workshop with Tony & Susan
$1150, limit 10
FULL – put your name on our waiting list
Charleston workshop image gallery
Charleston is a magnificent historic city, with numerous photo venues. During this workshop, you’ll photograph Magnolia Plantation, where explosions of colorful flowers, huge oak trees draped with moss, and bald cyprus swamps signal the beginning of spring time; historic Charleston architecture; famous White Point Park, brimming with azaleas; the Charleston waterfront and other locations. As in all our workshops, we’ll have ample field instruction and daily critiques, as well as compositional and software presentations. During critique sessions, we’ll demonstrate and apply the various software programs we use on our own images.
April 9-13: Charleston, SC
Digital Edge software/HDR training workshop with Tony
$1750, limit 5
FULL – put your name on our waiting list
Charleston Digital Edge image gallery
Join Tony in Charleston, SC for this exclusive shooting and software workshop. The number of participants is capped at five, to ensure maximum personal attention both in the field and classroom. In addition to shooting every day, we will also spend several hours in the classroom learning essential and creative use of software plugins on images you’ve shot earlier. During these daily critique sessions, we will work on those images using Photoshop with Nik Software plug-ins, Alien Skin, Topaz, Nik HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix HDR software. There will also be ample individual help with RAW processing and demonstrations of workflow. At each shooting location, we will discuss how to “shoot for the software” and pre-visualize the final results, which may not be readily apparent when viewing a scene. A work CD is included, so everyone can learn the software on the same set of images. A DVD containing Tony’s instructional videos is also included.
April 22-26: Great Smoky Mountains, TN with Tony & Susan
$1150, limit 10
FULL – put your name on our waiting list
Smokies workshop image gallery
We should be in the Smokies just when dogwood is in bloom and streams are beginning to run fully. Early spring skies can be quite dramatic and fog rolls in and out of the landscape. Spring wildflowers are beginning to bloom and we wouldn’t be surprised to find spring snow or hoar frost covering the mountaintops! There are layered mountain ridges and photogenic old historic settlements. As with all our workshops, there will be ample field instruction and daily critiques. In the critique sessions, we’ll demonstrate the software we use on images. There will also be compositional and software presentations.
April 29-May 3: Great Smoky Mountains, TN
Digital Edge software/HDR training workshop with Tony
$1750, limit 5
FULL – put your name on our waiting list
Smokies Digital Edge image gallery
Join Tony in the beautiful Smoky Mountains for this exclusive shooting and software workshop. The number of participants is capped at five, to ensure maximum personal attention both in the field and classroom. In addition to shooting every day, we will also spend several hours in the classroom learning essential and creative use of software plugins on images you’ve shot earlier. During these daily critique sessions, we will work on those images using Photoshop with Nik Software plug-ins, Alien Skin, Topaz, Nik HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix HDR software. There will also be ample individual help with RAW processing and demonstrations of workflow. At each shooting location, we will discuss how to “shoot for the software” and pre-visualize the final results, which may not be readily apparent when viewing a scene. A work CD is included, so everyone can learn the software on the same set of images. A DVD containing Tony’s instructional videos is also included.
May 6-11: Cape May “Split Week” with Tony Sweet and Rick Sammon
This event is part of the Mid-Atlantic Regional School of Professional Photography (M.A.R.S.) 16th annual workshop. Rick will take you through “Exploring the Light” during the first half of the week, then Tony will present “Creative Outdoor Photography.
Click here to register or for more information. You may also contact M.A.R.S. by email or phone at 888-267-MARS.
May 20-24: St. Michael’s, MD
Digital Edge software/HDR training workshop with Tony
$1750, limit 5
FULL – put your name on our waiting list
St. Michael’s Digital Edge image gallery
Join Tony in scenic St. Michael’s for this exclusive shooting and software workshop. The number of participants is capped at five, to ensure maximum personal attention both in the field and classroom. In addition to shooting every day, we will also spend several hours in the classroom learning essential and creative use of software plugins on images you’ve shot earlier. During these daily critique sessions, we will work on those images using Photoshop with Nik Software plug-ins, Alien Skin, Topaz, Nik HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix HDR software. There will also be ample individual help with RAW processing and demonstrations of workflow. At each shooting location, we will discuss how to “shoot for the software” and pre-visualize the final results, which may not be readily apparent when viewing a scene. A work CD is included, so everyone can learn the software on the same set of images. A DVD containing Tony’s instructional videos is also included.
June 8-10: Philadelphia, PA
Eastern State Penitentiary HDR/software with Tony
$525, limit 10
FULL – put your name on our waiting list
Eastern State Penitentiary is a national monument in Philadelphia that provides the texture and detail perfect for HDR – the colorful, cracked paint, rusty prison cell doors, towering guard towers, even Al Capone’s “lavish” cell. It’s a wonderful, graphic venue and the location in our HDR DVD. The photo ops are tremendous and subject to interesting compositional and software-driven interpretations. We’ll have an opening evening presentation on HDR and software optimizations (Nik Color Efex Pro 4, Silver Efex Pro and HDR Efex Pro are highly recommended), to get you ready to hit the ground running the next day. We’ll shoot from 10am until mid-afternoon on Saturday. Tony will be working with everyone individually on location. After dinner, we’ll have class time to work on processing and technique. Sunday morning we’ll critique the images and have a final Q & A. Price includes location instruction, software training, critique session, admission fees, hotel parking and special access area fee.
July 15-19: Shawnigan Lake, BC, Canada with Tony
Join Tony on scenic Vancouver Island. This workshop is available through Image Explorations, a PPA affiliate photography school. To register or find out more, email Don MacGregor.
August 2-5: Cuyahoga Valley, OH with Tony
This workshop, conducted through the Cuyahoga Valley Photographic Society, features a range of field locations, primarily landscapes and scenic areas, in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and possibly other locations outside the Park to encompass a range of shooting and subject opportunities. To register or for more information visit www.cvps.org or email info@cvps.org .
August 19-25: Iceland – through Focus on Nature in Iceland
Quite simply, we will be getting lost in Iceland. We can’t wait to return to share this breathtaking location with more people. Iceland is one of the last uncorrupted landscapes on the planet and we will be in an all-terrain vehicle exploring areas that are impossible to get to in a standard vehicle. Be prepared to be blown away! From the wonderfully photogenic city of Reykjavik to the incredible, vast and varied landscapes, to the mind blowing glaciers, awesome waterfalls, geothermal springs and power plants, rugged coastlines, turf houses (my personal favorite) and much more. This is a photo trip of a lifetime. Between shooting sessions, we will get in some class time for critiques, software training (Nik plugins, Alienskin, Topaz, etc.) and discussion. NEW! We will be actively shooting with the iPhone and processing as we go, using apps to create new and unique interpretations of this incredible landscape. This workshop is available through Focus On Nature. Click here to register or for more information.
September 9-13: Badlands, SD with Tony & Susan
$1150, limit 10
2 spots available: e-mail Susan to register
This is like shooting on the moon – incredible, colorful, graphic, easily accessible, and wide open to interpretation from stitched pans to HDR! There are many outstanding venues for first and last light. The Sheep Mountain area is particularly graphic at sunset (Sheep Mountain is very remote and there are no bathrooms for 40 miles). The terrain goes from full-frame sandstone teepees to soft rolling hills populated by cottonwood trees. Buffalo may be seen in the area, as are prairie dog towns. As with all our workshops, we’ll have ample field instruction and daily critiques. During the critiques, we’ll demonstrate the software we use. There will also be compositional and software presentations.
September 15-19: Badlands, SD
Digital Edge software/HDR training workshop with Tony
$1750, limit 5
e-mail Susan to register
Badlands Digital Edge image gallery
Join Tony in the Badlands for this exclusive shooting and software workshop. The number of participants is capped at five, to ensure maximum personal attention both in the field and classroom. In addition to shooting every day, we will also spend several hours in the classroom learning essential and creative use of software plugins on images you’ve shot earlier. During these daily critique sessions, we will work on those images using Photoshop with Nik Software plug-ins, Alien Skin, Topaz, Nik HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix HDR software. There will also be ample individual help with RAW processing and demonstrations of workflow. At each shooting location, we will discuss how to “shoot for the software” and pre-visualize the final results, which may not be readily apparent when viewing a scene. A work CD is included, so everyone can learn the software on the same set of images. A DVD containing Tony’s instructional videos is also included.
September 30-October 4: White Mountains, NH Fall Photo Tour with Tony & Susan
$1150, limit 10
e-mail Susan to register
The White Mountains in New Hampshire is one of the best fall venues in the country, featuring brilliant reds and golds, colorful flowing streams, overlooks, birch forests and numerous macro opportunities. We will be visiting our favorite locations, some very specific and generally not well known. This is a tour where class instruction will be plentiful and field instruction will be minimal. The color window is very short and we’ll be shooting along with the class, but will always be available for field help when needed. We’ll touch on the various software that we use on images supplied for the critique sessions and there will be compositional and software presentations.
October 10-14: Acadia, ME Fall Photo Tour with Tony & Susan
$1150, limit 10
FULL – put your name on our waiting list
Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine has the most rugged coastlines on the East Coast, but is very accessible, with pink granite, cliffs, ponds, lakes, fall color and overlooks. This is a tour where class instruction will be plentiful and field instruction will be minimal. The color window is very short and we’ll be shooting along with the class, but will always be available for field help when needed. We’ll touch on the various software that we use on images supplied for the critique sessions and there will be compositional and software presentations.
November 4-8: Cape May, NJ
Digital Edge software/HDR training workshop with Tony
$1750, limit 5
FULL – put your name on our waiting list
Cape May Digital Edge image gallery
Join Tony in Cape May, NJ for this exclusive shooting and software workshop. The number of participants is capped at five, to ensure maximum personal attention both in the field and classroom. In addition to shooting every day, we will also spend several hours in the classroom learning essential and creative use of software plugins on images you’ve shot earlier. During these daily critique sessions, we will work on those images using Photoshop with Nik Software plug-ins, Alien Skin, Topaz, Nik HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix HDR software. There will also be ample individual help with RAW processing and demonstrations of workflow. At each shooting location, we will discuss how to “shoot for the software” and pre-visualize the final results, which may not be readily apparent when viewing a scene. A work CD is included, so everyone can learn the software on the same set of images. A DVD containing Tony’s instructional videos is also included.