italia

We’ve made airline reservations for our Tuscany 2011 tour and this time we’ve given ourselves a few extra days to explore an area north of where we base our workshop.  Hopefully we’ll also get a day or two to relax, but I admit it’s difficult to relax when there are so many amazing things to see!

Before we go to any area new to us, we do a lot of research both by internet and good old fashioned books.  I research the culture and flora, and Joel likes to know which villages face the rising or setting sun.  I have wildflower, tree and plant books in both Italian and French.  Whether or not you take one of our workshops, it’s worth doing a little research before you travel!
Here’s an image of a beautiful, prolific wildflower in Tuscany called the greater boccione (pronounced bo-chohn-ee) and a field of red poppies near our village.

Ciao for now!

Ok, so it’s been a while…  but I am committed to keeping up with the blog!

In recent news, we completed a couple more workshops in January, Basics in Scottsdale, and another Adobe Lightroom class in Flagstaff.  Lightroom is a great piece of software…  and I don’t say that very often!

We only have a couple spots left on our Tuscany tour in May and it should be an amazing trip as always (see back posts on the blog if you’re interested in what we’ve done in the past).  We’re working on a fun new location so there is a possibility we may not do it again next year!  We will have more information on this in a few months…  However, if you or someone you know is interested in Tuscany, take advantage of it this year.  We’d love to have you!

This image is from 2010- that’s our village!

Join us November 10th for a special evening where Joel will take you on a tour of Italy.  He’ll show some of his favorite images on the big screen.  During the presentation, Joel will share stories and techniques behind the images providing useful tips on how to take your own stunning travel photos.  Time will be allowed for a Question and Answer period after the presentation.

Location:  Scottsdale, AZ
Date:  November 10th, 2010

$10 per person for reservations made by Nov 1st ($15 per person after that or at the door).
Light refreshments will be served.  Advance reservations are required.
Proceeds from this event benefit the Arizona Art Alliance and the Sonoran Arts League.

Contact us now to secure your place
Payment by check only
For more info, visit the website.

Click here for a sneak preview of some of the Images of Italy

Ciao!  Hope to see you there…

We’re now booking our 2011 Villages of Tuscany workshop!   It will be a unique cultural and visual journey. Visit some previous posts to get an idea of what we do. The dates are 14-21 May, 2011*.  As always, we include 7 nights accommodation, in-country transportation, many wonderful meals, wine tasting, and much more!  We’re really excited for another great trip.  Click here to see a full description.

*We can also arrange a similar tour for private groups to Tuscany or Provence!  Contact us for more information…

We still have room in two upcoming workshops, September 25th- Digital Photo Basics and October 8-10th- Fall Color in Northern Arizona …  time is running out!

Ciao for now.

Here is Joel’s new release from our most recent trip to Italy in May, titled “Rosso.”  It’s a new personal favorite of mine…  and I’m not usually into abstracts!  Please join us this Saturday or Sunday at the studio (10AM-5PM) for Flagstaff Open Studios.   If you don’t have time to pick up a brochure/map in town you can download one here.  Or contact us for directions.

We’re hosting 3 great artists- pottery and paintings by Garry Sanden, fine silver and gold jewelry by Joan Gould, and mixed media gourds by Jane Boggs.  We’ll also have live music and homemade cookies!

Besides the amazing artwork, it’s beautiful at the studio right now- we have lots of sunflowers and other wildflowers on the property.  I’ll be happy to give a little flower tour if anyone is interested.

Hope to see you!

After we saw our workshop participants off Saturday, we had one last fabulous lunch in our home village. Then we headed down to Rome for our flight on Sunday.  We stayed in a nice seaside suburb and spent our last night in Italy walking around the marina and the beach.  Also in this post is a photo Joel shot of our hotel bathroom because it was so funky…  The Italians are definitely all about style!

As we recover from our jetlag, I’ll make some posts with more photos from the trip.

Ciao!

Today was our last day out and about.  My favorite part of the day was our visit to a local organic farm known for their pecorino cheeses and fresh produce.  We had an amazing lunch, all grown on their farm!  The donkey was actually very friendly and the woman who owns the farm was a wonderful guide in telling us all about the cheese making process.

Here’s our group shot in the winery where we had a wonderful Tuscan lunch of homemade breads, sausages, pecorino cheeses, and of course a wine tasting!  All were products of this family winery dating back centuries.  The well surrounded by flowers is in our very own little village- built in the 15th century- and recently part of a flower festival that ended a week ago.  They only just took the beautiful display down today.

A Domani!  (Until Tomorrow!)

We had a much needed day off, for all of us I think, as the last couple days have been very busy.  Joel and I took a nice walk today to the old church below town, a small 11th century church of Romanesque design.  I took this shot looking up into the bell tower.  Joel took the back-lit poppy snapshot on our walk back.  Tomorrow we visit a beautiful historic garden, so there may be more flowers coming up!

Ciao!

Here’s a fun festa we watched in a nearby village where the four neighborhoods have a friendly annual competition.  The flags represent one of the competing neighborhoods.  It was complete with music, jester and a  story played out by local actors.  Today was a fun cultural day and we were also treated to a beautiful rainbow at our last stop!  After another fabulous Italian meal, we’re all ready to rest up a bit for a long day tomorrow…

Ciao!