At the end of every September, you can watch photographers from all around the world come into Jackson Hole, Wyoming – usually the camera strapped on their arm and their athletic outerwear makes them stand out.
When this happens, that means it’s yet another year for the National Geographic Adventure Photography Workshop.
With 6 days of action-packed learning, students from all backgrounds and skill levels come together for in-the-field shooting, classroom tutorials, presentations, networking, and more.
It’s hard to put it into words, but photographer, Corey Rich, managed to do so.
“That’s really what this workshop is designed to do. It’s setup to accommodate those with the desire to be outside playing and recreating and wanting to document those adventures,” said Rich.
And not only do the attendees come from all over, but so do the faculty.
Since the inception of the Summit Workshop Series, it has been a trademark to have ‘team teaching’ – that is, 5-10 teachers instead of a few.
This helps everyone to learn from varying perspectives in the wide world of photography. Because let’s face it, photography is subjective and it helps to have multiple opinions on how to do to things.
Student David Carlier from Geneva, Switzerland said, “The great thing is that the ratio between the students and faculty is great so you get so much time with them to ask any questions and have them shadow your every move.”
For the students, the second to last night becomes one of the most rememberable when students and faculty camp together in Grand Teton National Park to enjoy some good-hearted fun around the fire… with the occasional light painting, of course. Then before the sun rises, everyone is already spread out to shoot camping, running, yoga, and more once the golden light hits.
If you still aren’t convinced however, National Geographic photo editor, Sadie Quarrier, taught at the workshop for the first time this year.
“We are all here to have fun and get outside in one of the best locations the world has to offer. It’s just a fun group that everyone gets to know each other by the end,” said Quarrier.