Weekend Photography Workshop(研讨班): Seattle Aims

Learn new techniques from a great photographer

Take photos of Pike Place Market, Bainbridge Island, and more

Activity Details

    Seattle is a fantastic place to photograph. Spend the weekend taking photos of the historic Pike Place Market, get a new angle on the Space Needle, and photograph harbor views on Bainbridge Island.

    This workshop is led by a great photographer and a professional instructor and is designed for people who are interested in improving their digital photography. All participants must bring a digital SLR camera(单反相机), a laptop, and the software for organizing and presenting images. The workshop is limited to 25 participants.

Plan – 3 Days

Day 1—Thursday: Seattle

    Settle into our hotel or stay in accommodations of your choice. Gather tonight at a restaurant in town for a welcome dinner.

Day 2—Friday: Pike Place Market & Pioneer Square

    Start the day in the classroom with an instructive talk by our photographer. Our first task this afternoon takes us to the oldest running farmers' market in the country, Pike Place Market. Work on portraits, street scenes, and food photographing. Then photograph the stately 19^th century brick buildings of Pioneer Square, Seattle's historic center. End the day with an edit-and-critic meeting.

Day 3—Saturday: Olympic Sculpture Park & Space Needle

    Head out to the Olympic Sculpture Park. Then go to the streets of the downtown area to get a unique view of the Space Needle, and photograph city life against a background of diverse architectural styles. Tonight, we'll present our best images to the group, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant and end our journey.

Cost

    Meals noted in the plan are included in both options(with and without hotel)

Dates

Jul 11 – 14, 2013     Aug 08—11, 2013       Sep 26 – 29, 2013

Contact Information

    For questions about this workshop, please call 1-886-797-4686. Or you can visit the website: http://www. nationalgeographicexpeditions.com.

    Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be a simple fact? Do you argue whether it's cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit (限速)?

    If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant's trunk (象鼻) said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant's side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear( 矛 ) as he touched the animal's tusk. The fourth, who took hold of the elephant's tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked liked a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant's legs. The last, who was tall and got hold of the elephant's ears, said it was like a huge fan.

    Each man's idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a “simple fact”, it's often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.

    To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a “simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water (温水)in the third. Now put your left hand in the hot water. Put your right hand in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it is hot.

It's almost camp season!

    Summer is wonderful. Summer at one of the following awesome camps? Even more wonderful.

Tahosa High Adventure Base

    Location: Ward, Colorado

    People puzzle: Tahosa's ropes courses are some of the nation's best. Use your hands, feet and brains to take up high-flying challenges and overcome your fears. Fly fishing at 9,000 feet? Yes. Fishing licenses or experience needed? No, sir!

    Choose your adventure: Go all-inclusive, where the staff prepares meals and runs the program, or take control and plan your perfect week. The choice is yours.

Camp Raymond

    Location: Parks, Arizona

    Don't look down: When looking up at the stars, light pollution is your enemy. But Camp Raymond's location and elevation (海拔) of 6,700 feet offer perfect conditions for seeing otherwise invisible stars.

    That's cool: Don't forget your camera and a jacket. During the day, you could spot bears and deer. At night, temperatures can fall sharply. Hot cocoa at summer camp? Cool.

Pamlico Sea Base

    Location: Blounts Creek, North Carolina.

    Go coastal: Explore the Carolina coast by boat. You choose the route, and Pamlico provides the equipment. Keep an eye out for wild horses, lighthouses and boatloads of fish.

    Set sail: Even if you don't know the difference between starboard and star-lord, Pamlico's sailing journey will make you a first-rate sailor in no time. You'll even practice finding your way using the stars.

Base Camp

    Location: St. Paul, Minnesota

    Big upgrade: What happens when you change a 1907 cavalry drill hall (骑兵训练场) into an adventure destination in the heart of the city? You get Base Camp for overnight lock-ins, weekend retreats (隐居处) and summer camp.

    Inside out: Most of Base Camp is indoors, meaning the activities like climbing walls can be undertaken on winter's coldest days.

    "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Similarly, if we drink a little more water every day, we may find that we need to go to the doctor a lot less often. A healthy diet is made up of water and a great many different kinds of foods. We know that healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and fish, are important as they provide us with energy and fiber, without giving us too much fat and sugar. But why is water important?

The human body needs water to survive. Water is important as it carries poisons and waste out of our bodies. However, doctors advise us to drink plenty of water, much more than the small amount we need to stay alive.

    Some doctors believe that water is important for our health in all kinds of ways. They believe that a great many illnesses and health problems start as a result of dehydration (脱水)-—a lack of water in the body. Most people are dehydrated at least some of time, although they probably don't know it. It is surprising to learn that if we feel thirsty, we are already in the first stage of dehydration. In fact, we are advised to drink water before we feel thirsty.

    These doctors think that health problems such as headaches, high blood pressure and asthma (哮喘) could be helped if people drink more water. They also believe that drinking more water can help people who are overweight. Water contains no calories so it will not make us put on weight. If we drink water, we will probably drink less sugary soft drinks such as Coca-cola. Doctors also believe that drinking more water may stop people from overeating. They say that many people think that they are hungry when they are, in fact, thirsty. Doctors suggest, therefore, that we eat less food and drink more water. There are still many health problems that cannot be solved by drinking water, so we should not stop going to seeing the doctor completely. However, if we make a decision to drink water every day, we may find that we need to go to the doctor a lot less often.

    The sun was shining and Clare felt like doing something active. She'd had enough of the moment of living in the past. What she really wanted was some skiing if she could get herself organized. She walked into the ski school office and within ten minutes had arranged a private class for the whole afternoon. One of the ski teacher would meet her at the ski lift station at the end of the village at midday. The ski hire shop next door rented her some skis and boots and she carried them back to the hotel. There she changed into some more or less suitable clothes and took the hotel's electric taxi down to the lift station. She was a bit early and had time to look around, and get nervous. She hadn't skied for about ten years, though she'd been quite good at that time. Everyone said it was liking riding a bike-you didn't forget how to do it. She stood there looking up at the mountains, trying to remember what to do.

    Madam Newton?" Yes," she said. And there was her ski teacher, looking exactly like all the other ski teachers she remembered sun-tanned, handsome and totally self-confident. Half an hour later all thoughts of the unhappy days had disappeared as she skied behind Bruno and concentrated on staying on her feet.

    "Upper body still, make your legs do the work, Madame", shouted Bruno over his shoulder. "Call me Clare, please" she said. "OK. Lean forward a bit more, Clare. That's it. Good. You are remembering now, en?" "Yeah, I am ... slowly. It's great. I'd forgotten what an amazing buzz skiing gives you".

    They skied down some different runs with Bruno being wonderfully encouraging, and she really did begin to feel confident on the skis. Going up in the lifts, Clare and Bruno chatted — just the usual "where are you from, what do you do" sort of chat, but it was pleasantly relaxing. In the middle of the afternoon, they stopped at an old farmhouse for coffee and apple cake. There were lots of other skiers doing the same. Clare felt as if she belonged - something about being part of a group, all with a shared interest, she supposed. It was a feeling she'd not had for a long time.

    Bruno said hello to a few people, and went over to talk to one of the waiters. Clare took the opportunity to study him a bit. Up until now, she'd just been skiing behind a man in a red ski suit, so it was interesting to see that he was quite tall, with curly brown hair and eyes to match. From the colour of his face he looked as if he'd spent his whole life in the open air. She guessed he was about forty.

    "Are you in Zermatt for long, Clare?" asked Bruno, after he'd been sitting with her a few minutes, "No, only a few days probably. Just a short break to get away from everything at home", replied Clare. She didn't feel like explaining the real reason. People looked at her differently when they knew. "But I'd like to do some more skiing. Would you be able to do anything tomorrow?"

    "I think so. But you'll have to book it through the ski school office. I can't arrange anything with you directly", said Bruno, putting on his gloves and standing up. "Come on. Let's do a bit more now." "Great," replied Clare. After another hour, Clare said, "Time to stop, I think," Bruno agreed. "You should have a sauna tonight. It'll help your body relax. Not so stiff (僵硬的）tomorrow, you know." Clare didn't care about stiff she was going to be tomorrow. She hadn't felt quite as good as this for months — full of fresh air, physically tired but in her mind — alive. Happy! Yes, that was how she felt.

A night in the African rainforest camping under the stars is just one of the many never-to-be-forgotten experiences of our latest offer to Weekly News readers.

Day 1: The 5* Victoria Falls Hotel will meet your needs during your first day in Africa after the 30 km drive from the international airport. Located only minutes from the falls, the hotel has splendid views of the breathtaking waters.

Day 2: Your night under the stars, within few minutes' walk of the Victoria Falls. Our purpose-built campsite offers our guests a chance to feel the atmosphere of the rainforest. Your evening starts with a great barbecue cooked by our head chef, followed by a program of African music and dance. Then, as moon rises and the stars shine, you retire to your tent to sleep or to listen to the fascinating sounds of the African rainforest.

Days 3-4: The 5* Zimbabwe National Hotel will accommodate you in the heart of the Zimbabwean wilderness. By jeep from your campsite near the Falls, you arrive at midday via the Zambezi river. The hotel offers you everything you would expect from 5* luxury hotel. In the evening, enjoy our international menu, or relax in the gardens. Those who love adventure can join our specially arranged rafting trip down the Zambezi river.

Days 5-6: Arrive by helicopter at the 5* Plaza Hotel, only 20 minutes' drive from the airport. Day 5 includes an amazing safari to see some of the world's most unusual animals in their natural habitats. On the final day, you can make shopping trip into town.

Included in this special offer: 6 nights in 5* hotel accommodation. Depart from London Heathrow Airport. Bed and breakfast meal basis. Price (£1, 355) is per person based on two people sharing a room.