Italy 2008 – OPEN SHUTTER WORKSHOPS

Come, join us...

...for a ten day photographic workshop in one of the world’s most beautiful spots - Tuscany. Our workshop is based at a 15th century Villa just outside Florence, located in the center of a large farming estate. You’ll improve your photography skills in a true Renaissance setting - surrounded by olive groves, vineyards, cooling gardens, and authentic architecture. There will be plenty of time for wine tasting and relaxation, right at the Villa. If you like, you can sit in the giardino and look across the hills to the Duomo in Florence.

The adventure begins when we pick you up at the airport in Florence. Open Shutter Workshops provides lodging, food (breakfast and evening meals), transportation, photography instruction, introduction to Italian culture, and a walking tour of Florence with a licensed guide.

Cultural exploration...

Italy is more than just beautiful sights and exciting places to stay. There’s also food and wine, and there’s the beautiful language. This sojourn in Tuscany will bring you directly into the center of Italian everyday life. We’ll go shopping; we’ll take trains; we’ll go to the marble processing regions near Carrara and Pietrasanta; and we’ll learn the secrets of Tuscan cooking at a cooking school in Florence, working and learning as we create a wonderful five-course meal.

Photography instruction...

We will make sure you bring home a treasure chest filled with great images- from the rolling hills of Chianti, to the unspoiled charm of the Cinque Terre in neighboring Liguria, to the animated street activity of Florence.

There will be ample time to address the needs of beginning and expert photographers. Workshop size will be limited to 12 people. Paul has over 20 years’ experience teaching photography workshops, and five years’ experience teaching digital photography. Plus, he speaks fluent Italian.

The workshops are based at an working Renaissance villa, an agricultural community with olive groves and grape vineyards. Our workshop coincides with the vendemmia, the annual grape harvest, and we take advantage of that timing to photograph the activities, and pick a few grapes ourselves.

The house that we use for the workshop is the perfect meeting place for a group like ours. There are meeting places for class and individual instruction. And there are ample opportunities for photography and wandering in the neighboring hills.

The land cost is $4250 per person.
September 30 - October 10, 2008

Call the Open Shutter Gallery at 970 382-8355 to get more information and to register.

". . . your advance planning paid off in spades, and the part that was perhaps most special was . . .the small congenial group and wonderful leaders. I felt privileged to be along."

"Don't change a thing !!"

Did this trip further your interest in photography?

"Yes, yes, yes"

"A marvelous group visiting incredible places. Loved the day trips to Tuscan villages."

"Very much enjoyed the low pressure support of exploring Italy with a digital camera. The experience (photographing) was very educational."

"We got to experience Italy (Tuscany) in an incredibly unique way, up close and personal, with gracious hosts."

"It was my first trip to Europe, so I was very appreciative of photographer, Paul Boyer, being fluent in Italian, and he and gallery Owner Margy Dudley being so knowledgeable of the area."

"We walked with the grape harvesters and enjoyed their wines. We purchased fresh, aged incredible cheeses, olive oils, pasta with wild boar sauce (delicious)."

DRAFT Schedule / Itinerary

This is the schedule from 2007; it will be finalized for 2008 shortly . . . .

September 30, Tuesday

Everyone arrives at the Villa

Rest, relaxation, jetlag recovery time.

Individual instruction

8 – 10 pm Dinner at the Villa

October 1, Wednesday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast

9 – 5 Instruction and photography around the villa.

8 pm – dinner at the Villa

October 2, Thursday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast

9 – 11 am Instruction and orientation to the day in Florence. Review images from Wednesday.

11 – 7 Florence

8 pm Dinner at the Villa

October 3, Friday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast

9 – 11 am Review images from Florence

12 – 6 Montepulciano. Photography and discovery

8 pm Dinner at the Villa

October 4, Saturday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast

9 – 11am Review images from the day in Montepulciano

11 – 7 Return to the area of Montepulciano, Montechiello, and Pienza

7 – 8 pm Piero, operatic baritone performance

8 pm Dinner at the Villa

October 5, Sunday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast

12 – 6 pm Villa Chiocciola and Florence

8 pm Dinner at the Villa

October 6, Monday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast

9 – 11 am Travel to Pietrasanta and the Cinqueterre

12 – 3 Pietrasanta and the alpi apuane above Seravezza. Marble quarries

3 – 7 pm Travel to Vernazza by train from Pietrasanta

8 pm Dinner in Vernazza

October 7, Tuesday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast in Vernazza

9 – 7 Hiking and exploration via train in the Cinqueterre.

8 pm Dinner in Vernazza

October 8, Wednesday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast in Vernazza

10 – Noon Travel to Lucca

12 – 5 pm Photography and exploration in Lucca, the walled city

8 pm Dinner at the Villa

October 9, Thursday

7:30– 9 am Breakfast at the Villa

9 – 2pm Cooking school, with meal served

2 – 7:30 pm Photography and exploration of gardens with Jessica Casoni – Villa Gamberaia.

Open time in Florence

No meal at the Villa

October 10, Friday

7:30 – 9 am Breakfast and departure for guests leaving.

9 – 11 am Review images from the Cinqueterre, Florence, the cooking school. Individual instruction for guests still in residence.