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05-20-2007, 05:49 PM   #1
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my experience at Tamron photo workshop

Hi gang,

I took the Tamron photo workshop in Austin last weekend and thought some people may be interested in hearing about it. The class was 1.5 days (Friday night at the sponsoring shop, Precision Camera & Video, for ~3 hours, and then ~8 hours in the field at Pioneer Farms on Saturday). The instructor was Angela Carson, who specializes in portraits both indoors and outdoors. The shooting for this class was all outdoors using reflectors, diffusers, and on-camera flash, if anything at all. There were about 50 people signed up (it was full) and it was a little crowded at times, but not that bad.

On Friday night, Angela went over here style of shooting and gave some basic tips about studio lighting, posing people, running a business, creating a brand, etc. Her advice ran the gamut from the most basic beginner info to specialized tips for other pro's (and wannabes, of which there were more than a few). That night, they gave away prizes (I won a book), and they had discounts on Tamron products (I bought the 18-250, which they had gotten in just the day before specifically due to my request of Tamron USA).

On Saturday, we all met at Pioneer Farms, an historic working farm just outside of Austin. They had several different types of models for us to work with. First, we had a family with 3 kids. Then we had 4 year old twins. Everybody shot these first two modeling sessions, which got kind of crowded. Angela would set up the shots and take several, and then it was pretty much everyone jockeying for position. After lunch (onsite, provided by the store as part of the cost), we then had three different models (three different ladies) with different groups following each around. Angela let us pretty much pick our locations and lighting based on her earlier instruction. This was much more useful as the crowds around each model were much more manageable, and you could avoid the pro-photog wannabe's (the pushy ones that thought the class was strictly for their personal benefit). The class wound up later in the afternoon with Angela holding another debriefing session with questions and answers. There wasn't any time or place to actually review the shots each person had taken.

In addition to the class instruction, we received a few Tamron freebies (coffee cup, lens cloth) and some special rebates. We got a $20 gift card for the store, which was doubled if you bought a Tamron product with it. Also, Tamron had rebates on many of their products, which were doubled if you bought the two days of the workshop. This included a $20 rebate (doubled to $40) on the newly released 18-250. This also added up to $170 in rebates/discounts on the SP 90mm macro, which is an outstanding deal. Unfortunately, they didn't have Pentax mount in stock. Which brings me to another point.

If you sign up, be sure to request through Tamron USA via email that the rep have Pentax gear for you to try. I did this and both the store employees and the Tamron rep said they got specific notice that the Pentax gear they had just received was due to my inquiries. However, there was a shipping screwup so that the crate of demo Pentax/Minolta lenses didn't arrive, even though the packing list clearly showed it was supposed to be there. All they had was Canon and Nikon stuff. That was the negative. On the plus side, they did have 3 18-250's there to borrow/sell, and they had just arrived in Texas the day before. I went ahead and bought one on Friday night to use during the class and my subsequent week-long business trip. The Tamron rep (along with the Fuji and Bogen reps) were all very friendly and gave me a lot of insight into the business end of photography and lenses. Very interesting and fun.

All in all, it was a great experience and well worth the $119 it cost. If there's a class near you, I'd highly recommend it.

Here are a few shots I took during the class, all with the K100D and the 18-250.









Yeah, I know. Not a lot of portraits for a "portrait" class. I didn't feel like fighting the crowds. I do have several more of the lady at the top. She wasn't hard to photograph. And I think she was the most experienced model there, so she knew how to pose.

Anyway, let me know if you have questions.

05-20-2007, 06:53 PM   #2
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Russ,
I am glad that it was worthwhile. I like each of the photos you posted. It sounds like they need to reduce the number of participants, though; or increase the number of models available at one time.
What happened with the Gerlach Outdoor Photography workshop? Did you end up going? How was it? how did it compare with this one?
Thanks for sharing your impressions.
05-20-2007, 07:25 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by Wethphotography Quote
Russ,
I am glad that it was worthwhile. I like each of the photos you posted. It sounds like they need to reduce the number of participants, though; or increase the number of models available at one time.
What happened with the Gerlach Outdoor Photography workshop? Did you end up going? How was it? how did it compare with this one?
Thanks for sharing your impressions.

Hi Erl,

I appreciate the compliment. The class was still fun. Less people would have worked better in the morning. I think they purposely kept everyone together so that Angela could impart wisdom on the whole class, and then apply it in the afternoon when they had more than one model. It wasn't perfect, but it worked okay and I'm glad I went.

I meant to mention/compare to the Gerlach Outdoor Photography class I took back in March/April. That class wasn't worth the money to me, though it was completely full and everyone else seemed to like it. I just thought it was odd that an outdoor photography class would be held completely indoors, and you were even encouraged to leave your camera at home. The information was good (though I'd read 90% of it before in other places), and the presenters were good and not boring. However, I actually left about two hours early since I wasn't really getting anything out of it, and there was a local camera show I wanted to stop by. I don't think I'll take photo classes again that don't feature at least some shooting. I've read a bunch on photography, but I don't really learn it until I put it to use. To me, the class where you combine classroom and field work is the best.

There's an Outdoor Photography magazine class coming up in Houston the last weekend in July. I'd like to go to it (Bruce Dale is one of the photographers), but it looks like it's another classroom-only setup. If so, I won't waste my money. They're not really worth it to me, but (like I said before) a lot of people like them, so obviously they have some merit.
05-22-2007, 04:39 PM   #4
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Thanks for the review, Russ. I've been curious about these types of workshops for some time now, so read the report of your experiences with some interest. Did the participants have any opportunity to direct the models, or did the models simply pose themselves?

The "portraits" of the metal jug, flowers, and nail were nice also. The other picture isn't bad either. Just kidding, of course. I saw your comment about not wanting to fight the crowd. All the pictures are very nice indeed. I especially like the old house with the flowers since it reminds me of a similar old house near my grandmother's farm years ago.

stewart

05-22-2007, 04:55 PM   #5
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I agree classes that allow shooting are fun. I have attended two that had no shooting and was worth every moment spent there. They were very informative and really uplifting. They made me want to go out and shoot in new and interesting ways. The first was Galen Rowell and the second was Dewitt Jones. So glad these were attended.
At the Tamron lens booth did they happen to have the 180 3.5 macro? Would love to hear about it if possible. May be my next lens.
thanks
barondla
05-22-2007, 08:04 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by stewart_photo Quote
Thanks for the review, Russ. I've been curious about these types of workshops for some time now, so read the report of your experiences with some interest. Did the participants have any opportunity to direct the models, or did the models simply pose themselves?
Yes, we could direct the models however we felt. That was part of the exercise in the afternoon. We were also supposed to seek out the better locations depending on the light. It worked out okay.

QuoteOriginally posted by barondla Quote
I agree classes that allow shooting are fun. I have attended two that had no shooting and was worth every moment spent there. They were very informative and really uplifting. They made me want to go out and shoot in new and interesting ways. The first was Galen Rowell and the second was Dewitt Jones. So glad these were attended.
At the Tamron lens booth did they happen to have the 180 3.5 macro? Would love to hear about it if possible. May be my next lens.
thanks
barondla
I expected to feel that way after the Gerlach Outdoor Photography seminar, but it just didn't hit me that way. Also, you get a lot of people at these classes (the Tamron one, as well) that must have stopped by the store on the way to the class and bought a whole suite of new camera gear. They ask the most basic RTFM questions. I know everyone has questions and I'm as ignorant as most anybody when it comes to something new, but I sure don't want to spend $119 to have someone explain the buttons on my camera to me. I'd rather class time be spent on photography. OTOH, I'm sure other people there occasionally get annoyed with me, so it all evens out I guess.

There wasn't any Pentax gear there except for the 18-250. They had all the other lenses there and I looked at a few of them. The 90mm macro sounded interesting since it had $170 in rebates on it if you bought that day. But again, no Pentax gear. The rep was very apologetic and would probably have given me the deal later, but I wanted to try the lens first. They probably did have the 180mm macro there, but I didn't really pay attention to the other gear. I told then to make more lenses in Pentax mount and he said they were coming out with the 70-200 f/2.8 later this year.
05-23-2007, 01:49 AM   #7
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Wonderful colors in these photos. I especially like nr. 3 and nr. 1. Nice to see since i´ve been pondering buying this lens (somewhere down the line...).

Regards

05-23-2007, 05:08 AM   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by Aanund Quote
Wonderful colors in these photos. I especially like nr. 3 and nr. 1. Nice to see since i´ve been pondering buying this lens (somewhere down the line...).

Regards
Thanks. I've got a thread devoted to my 18-250 experiences in the SLR lens forum which may give you more information.
05-24-2007, 01:29 AM   #9
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Thanks again Russ.

Some very nice ones over there as well.

Regards
05-24-2007, 06:46 AM   #10
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Thanks for your review Russ. Tamron has held several of these here in the big apple but they fill up really quickly! I always dithered, wondering if it would be worth the $. Now that I know they are, next time I'll know to sign up right away. Thanks for spending the time to post the review.

NaCl(one of the problems with living in the Big Apple is there are lots of ppl wanting to do the same thing)H2O
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