Wisner workshop

[Robert Kerner]

Has anyone attended a Wisner workshop and can you comment on the quality of the instruction. Are they worth the money? I am a beginner and hope to refine my knowledge of camera controls, depth of field etcetera. Thank y

[james mickelson]

You can't get a better instructor for learning the view camera and lenses and film response and paper response or....... Get the picture. You can spend less but if you can cough up the dough, go for it. My friends tell me it was a very enjoyable workshop. My suggestion is to keep looking for others who have taken workshops and compare them. But there aren't to many teachers out there with more knowlege. James

[Simon_443]

WHOA! There is a HUGE difference between knowing about something and being able to teach it well, and this may be a good example of that. Perhaps RW has improved his curriculum, but the one friend of MINE who took Wisner's workshop a couple of years ago said it was quite disappointing: "a couple of hours on photo.net/photo or this web site would have taught me much more," he says now. Be that as it may, do not sign up for ANY workshop before you talk to at least two people who have actually paid their money and been through it (no "friends"). Also, so that you know what to ask these people about syllabi, reading materials, etc., before you talk to them make sure you read this excellent advice:

http://www.thefstop.com/workshop.html

There are many, many workshops out there, some of which are life- changing and some of which are little more than four expensive days of casually shooting the breeze with other photographers and one guru (I've heard great things about Howard Bond's workshops, but like the previous poster I can't speak from my own experience). Please don't think I'm anti-Wisner; I have tremendous respect for RW's many gifts and ample expertise (but again, you shouldn't assume that that automatically makes for a good teacher). I'm just saying be careful out there and shop (i.e., read and ask) around before sending in that deposit.

[Mike Long]

I cannot speak from personal experience either and, perhaps, the previous poster and I have heard of the same workshop (Palm Beach Photographics in Delray Beach, FL put it on) but I know of a couple of people that attended it and were sorely disappointed.

Everybody has a bad day but when you hear such good things about John Sexton and Howard Bond's workshops, not to mention Bruce Barnbaum (sp?), think about what you're doing - spending a lot of money to do what using up a lot of film will teach you.

That's not to say you shouldn't do it. But, I think it does point out that if you are, spend the big $$$ and go to a top of the line workshop. Anything else is money tossed away.

Just my opinio

[Brian Ellis]

The things I've heard from several people who have attended (o.k., not exactly a representative sample I admit)have not been good. Thngs like his arriving a day late or leaving a day early, much talk about highly technical subjects such as lens design, little real instruction, some other things I've now forgotten. I know passing on second hand information is usually unfair with something like this but I can tell you that I'd never attend one of his workshops based on the things I've been told by people who have attended.