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Day 1
Workshops start generally on Sundays at 2 PM at the hotel where participants will accommodate. The Sunday afternoon will be used to get acquainted, instructor’s introductions, presentation of work by participants, introducing the basic workshop plan and sometimes lecture by the instructor on his basic focus points. If the weather forecast is unpredictable, we get our personal meteorologist to meet the group to explain his advices regarding weather forecasts. The group will then mosey to downtown Reykjavik for an early dinner together at a good restaurant.
Day 2-6.
Early Monday morning after breakfast we leave in a good vehicle to get lost in Iceland, usually for 5 days and 4 nights. Out in the country we accommodate at convenient hotels, related to the field locations we plan to scout.
The accommodation in the country is no luxurious hotels, but they are clean and every room has it’s own shower, satellite TV and in most cases free Internet connection. There is always free Internet access in the lobby or in a sitting area. They serve breakfast and dinner, but we often go for dining out in neighboring villages or try to find the best restaurant around for dinner. The registration fee accounts for accommodation in a single room.
I like participants to bear in mind that the tourist season is only for 3-4 months in Iceland, so high standard hotels outside the capital are few and not necessarily in the areas we want to stay close to for for photography field work. So we have a contract with a hotel chain around the country that gives us the most flexibility to change our bookings with short notice, so we can plan our basic rout in the beginning taking the weather forecast into account. And then we can even update our hotel bookings during our travel. This does not mean we necessarily want to stay on the sunny side in Iceland, but we do want to avoid staying in pouring rain and wind, with no visibility. Being flexible is the secret.
We pack with us a good quality projector. Some of the hotels do not have special lecture rooms or conference facilities, but we have always managed with their friendly staff to find an area where we can do indoor lessons, critics and discussions, with minimum disturbance.
Each instructor working with the FocusOnNature team determines the detailed plan for each workshop when he arrives in Iceland. We follow the light and take the weather into account as mentioned before. Plans can evolve as the workshop develops and if the weather forecast changes.
Arrival back to the hotel in Reykjavik is late Friday, either in the evening with dinner at a restaurant nearby or in town.
Day 7.
On the evening of day 6 we arrive back to our hotel in Reykjavik. On Saturday, the last day of the workshop in most cases, the time is used in one of the hotels conference room to process images under the assistance of the instructor, on lecture by the instructor and finally presentations of the participants work during the workshop.
In the evening we dine at a good restaurant in town and hopefully can review some good times and experience from getting lost in Iceland.
Additional information:
Iceland is approximately the size of Kentucky; about one-third larger than Scotland or Ireland and one does not shuttle around the country in few hours. It is therefore not a place for photography workshop to see all in one week.
We do strongly separate our workshops from the hectic photography tours that some people offer, both by have a leading renown instructor with us to teach, help, advice and teach participants to improve on their photography experience and in the terms that we spend time at good locations so participants can digest the environment and dig into it, instead of having to do snap shots at many places.
Each instructor has his/her personal style and is the master of the workshop program. The flexibility of FocusOnNature ensures that she/he has all the elements to make the most of his workshop time, By the professional guidance and assistant of the FocusOnNature carefully selected staff.
Minimum number of participants for each workshop is 8 persons and maximum of 12. If minimum number is not reached 2 months before workshop is set, a notice of warning will be sent out to those that have registered and if minimum number is not reached 1 month before workshop is set, FocusOnNature might come up with an optional program or the workshop is canceled and deposits paid refunded.
Many of the instructors will hold an open lecture for the public in Reykjavik one evening before or after their workshop. Participants at his workshop are welcome to attend those lectures for free if they are in Reykjavik at the same time.
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