"An Inspired Eye" is a workshop for amateurs who, confident with exposure and camera handling skills, want to extend their vision and expand their creative eye. This is a week to look, listen, ask questions, take risks, make mistakes, push through boundaries and blocks, and elevate your work beyond “adequate” to something that is honest and unique.

We spend the week experimenting with the techniques that make our pictures interesting, beginning with composition, where rule-breaking is rewarded. We learn to look at light, the essential element of photography. We explore the special vision of the camera, to see how it differs from the naked eye, and we examine the visual elements essential to creating a meaningful photograph. We “push” the settings on our camera, and play with motion and blur to show differentials in space and time. We learn to look at our surroundings with fresh eyes and develop our unique perspective.

Morning critiques of the previous day's work are followed by discussions of technical and creative concerns, as well as photographic problem solving. We spend afternoons photographing in and around Santa Fe and participants begin to see “the extraordinary in the ordinary.” Assignments encourage participants to experiment with new skills—to move beyond the technical boundaries, and concentrate on developing a personal voice and a distinctive photographic vision.