What folks are saying about Wild Amelia Nature Festival
"Maria, regarding the "photo track", you were everywhere and had every detail handled. Very impressive and a big "well done".
It was for me certainly a pleasure being a part of this weekend. I admire all of your energy and intiative in taking on this large effort and putting on an event such as this. Every organizer or helper I met was cheerful and bent over backwards to be helpful. It sure made my role that much easier. Keep this spirit moving and I can only see bigger and better things in the future." - John Reed, Photographer, Instructor, Writer"The photography classes were excellent on Saturday. Will Dickey's keynote prestation was great. John Reed's workshop on Sunday was also excellent. I learned tons of stuff about photography. One of the highlight of Sunday's workshop was going out and taking pictures then coming together as a group and discussing the pictures. More time doing that next year would be great." - Dawna Moore
"I did the photography classes and they were amazing - great teachers and a lot of fun. I learned a ton." - Lori Moffett
"I took all the photography classes and they were awesome! The teachers were fantastic." - Jane Hawthorne
Nature Photography Contest 2010
Deadline for entries for the Nature Photo contest is April 2, 2010. Rules and entry forms can be found on the Photo Contest page.
Saturday May 22 classes
Photographing Amelia Island's Wild Side
Time: 9:15-10am
fee - no charge
tour leader - Maria Struss
Description - Join Maria Struss for a slide show tour of Amelia Island and surrounding areas from a nature photographer’s prospective. Maria will share her tips, locations, and recommended times of year for capturing the landscapes, plant and wildlife found in the Amelia Island area.
Meeting place -Atlantic Recreation Center Classroom Tickets
Zoo Photography
Time: 10-10:45 am
fee - no charge
tour leader - John Reed
Description - Come along with John Reed as he takes you on a Zoo safari and shows you how he creates beautiful and unique images of wildlife and birds. He will also share with the audience some behind the scene stories about the zoo animals. John will explain the techniques he uses in his work at the zoo and show how these techniques can be applied to photographing Amelia Island’s wonderful wildlife.
Meeting place -Atlantic Recreation Center Classroom Tickets
Basics of Nature Photography
Time: 12:30-1:30pm
fee - $10*
tour leader - Sara DeNucci
Description - This one hour class is designed for the beginning nature photographer. Join Sara DeNucci as she covers the basic concepts and equipment needed to create a good nature photograph. Participants will be introduced to shutter speeds, aperture setting, ISO setting and exposure. Will include hands on demonstration using props and lighting gadgets available to anyone.
Meeting place -Atlantic Recreation Center Meeting Room Tickets
Seeing the light
Time: 12:30-2:30pm
fee - $20*
tour leader - John Reed
Description - It is frequently said that photography is all about light. Join John Reed for a two hour in-depth class that explores the different types of light in nature photography and how to recognize them. Participants will learn how to correctly meter and exposure for the different lighting situations and create good images. This class is well suited for both beginning and intermediate level photographers.
Meeting place -Atlantic Recreation Center Classroom Tickets
Composition
Time: 2-3 pm
fee - $10*
tour leader - Maria Struss
Description - Have you ever taken an image that did not come out looking anything like the scene you had in mind when you took the image? Join Maria Struss, as she covers creative compositional techniques such as subject placement, lens choice, use of color, rule of thirds, graphic elements, and lighting to produce images that “Wows” the viewer. Participants will learn about the different compositional guidelines for landscape, macro and wildlife images such as where to place the water’s edge in an ocean sunrise image.
Meeting place -Atlantic Recreation Center Meeting Room Tickets
Getting the most from your camera
Time: 3-5 pm
fee - $20*
tour leader - John Reed
Description - Are you scared of all those buttons on your camera and/or don’t understand your camera manual? Join John Reed in this two hour session as he explains each dial and shows what the dial does with hands on demonstrations. Participants will learn the differences between the auto mode, program mode, landscape mode, and all the other controls and settings on today’s digital cameras. John covers how to change shutter speeds, aperture settings, metering modes and everything a participant will need to produce a good image.
Meeting place -Atlantic Recreation Center Classroom Tickets
Nature Photography for Children
Time: 3-4 pm
fee - $10
tour leader - TBD
Description - This one hour class is designed for children under 12 and will cover basic nature photography in a fun and interactive manner. Children using all types of cameras including disposal cameras will enjoy this class.
Meeting place -Atlantic Recreation Center Meeting Room Tickets
Sunset Workshop
Time: 5:30-8:30 pm
fee - $35
tour leader - Maria Struss
Description - Join Maria Struss on the Greenway for this 3 hour field workshop which takes advantage of it’s large variety of subjects to practice compositional skills, metering of different lighting situations, and exposing for a wide variety of subjects. Maria has some unique approaches to some of the Greenway’s subjects guaranteed to surprise the participants. After an hour or more on the Greenway, the group will move to Fernandina’s downtown dock for sunset and other photographic opportunities.
Meeting Place - Entrance to Greenway behind Atlantic Recreation Center Tickets
Sunday Classes
Sunrise Workshop
Time: 6-10:00am
fee - $45
tour leader - John Reed
Description - Join John Reed on Sunday morning for a 4 hour workshop to practice the lessons from the May 22, Saturday Wild Amelia photography classes. John will guide a group through various aspects of exposure, metering, and composition while providing individualized assistance. The session will begin by photographing sunrise and various beach compositions. Depending on lighting and other factors, the group may move to other areas such as the Greenway and Downtown dock after sunrise. This is a great chance to work with a nationally recognized photographer and instructor and learn to see what John sees.
Meeting place - Main Beach parking lot (across from restrooms) Tickets
Creative Lighting in the Outdoors
Time: 10-11am
fee - $10*
tour leader - Maria Struss
Description - Why would anyone need to use a flash or other lighting tools when photographing outside in bright sunlight? Join Maria Struss in this one hour class as she discusses and demonstrates the use of flashes, diffusers, reflectors, flashlights, and other gadgets and lighting aids. Participants will view images photographed in daylight without any lighting aids and then photographed again with different lighting aids and evaluate the impact of the different lighting tools.
Meeting place -Visitor Center Ft Clinch State Park Tickets
Digital Darkroom
Time: 11:30-1:30 pm
fee - $20*
tour leader - John Reed
Description - In this two hour session, John Reed will guide participants through a recommended workflow for editing digital images. Four basic steps will be explained and demonstrated that correct and enhance digital images. The steps demonstrated will be suitable to all versions of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and other digital editing software.
Meeting place -Visitor Center Ft Clinch State Park Tickets
Flower Photography
Time: 2-3 pm
fee - $10*
tour leader - Sara DeNucci
Description - – Join Sara DeNucci as she guides participants through this one hour class specifically focused on photographing flowers. Sara will share with the class her techniques and tips for producing better images of flowers. This class will include hands on demonstration using props and lighting gadgets available to anyone.
Meeting place -Visitor Center Ft Clinch State Park Tickets
NOTE: Classes marked with * can be purchased individually or as a package for $65. Workshops and children's class are not part of the package.
Mail-in registration - download Registration Form- complete registration form and mail with check. Mail in registration must be postmarked by May 1. Forms postmarked after May 1 will not be accepted. There is no online registration fee with mail-in.
Forms and checks should be mailed to Wild Amelia Nature Festival PO Box 15434 Fernandina Beach, FL 32035.
Online registration - Nature tours and Photography classes can also be accessed online. This is available at any time. Payment will be with credit card and there is a small service fee.
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