Southern Adirondack Fall Tour - Chasing the Color

Our first tour based in the Lake George region area offered a diverse selection of photographic sites, from grand panoramic overviews to intimate riverscapes and waterfalls to macro opportunities. API staff instructor Mark Bowie, who photographed this area extensively for his three Adirondack books, guided participants from one special site to another.

We persevered through strong sun and wind on the first day, making some nice images of Lake George from the Top ‘O the World and Rodger’s Rock State Campground. The shooting conditions improved progressively over the next couple of days. We shot a quaint, unnamed waterfall cascading off a hillside, then splitting into two channels as it winds through Lake George Wild Forest. We photographed fall foliage along the Hudson and Sacandaga Rivers, and a dramatic misty sunrise over the confluence of the Hudson and Schroon Rivers near Warrensburg. All this followed by peak fall foliage reflected in a still pond high on a wild mountaintop. Absolutely immaculate conditions!

With an experienced local guide, enthusiastic participants and the wealth of autumn beauty around the “Queen of American Lakes”, the tour was great fun, with lots of nice image making. We’ll be back!

Adirondack Fall Workshop - North Country Color!

Our first workshop based in the North Creek/Indian Lake area of the central Adirondacks proved to have a bounty of photogenic sites. For three days we immersed ourselves in the Adirondack autumn beauty. We were greeted by a spectacular sunrise over Lake Abanakee, with colorful clouds reflected in the mirror-like water. A deer swam across it, a loon glided through the colors. On another morning fog hung low over the colorful mix of evergreen and deciduous trees lining the shore. We looked looked down on the fog from an overlook with a panoramic view of the mountains to the east. Along the Indian River the foliage created fanciful foreground elements against the dark water. And at night, the Big Dipper hung just above the quaint railroad station across the road from our hotel.

API staff instructor Mark Bowie led interactive sessions with tips and strategies specific to photographing autumn. He also covered digital workflow in Lightroom and Photoshop, and techniques for creating multiple exposure images, including panoramas and high dynamic range images.

With so many opportunities for great photography in this region, the wonderful hospitality of the Copperfield Inn and conference facility, we hope to host another workshop here soon. There’s so much to explore!

Our First Retreat - A Great Success!

The retreat gang and our Wall of Expression









How much better can it get? That's what Mark and I kept asking ourselves. Six days of sharing the goodwill and creativity of an Adirondack retreat. Beautiful images, poignant moments, lots of laughs, solitude. So many memories...

The Nature of Possibility Retreat that just ended at The Woods Inn was the first of its kind for API. It far exceeded our expectations. We were so excited to participate with eleven accomplished photographers in the goal of exploring ourselves and our relationship to nature through images, writings, conversation. We feel that we have truly found a format that goes beyond the typical workshop, into the realm of personal creativity and exploration.

Thanks to The Woods Inn for providing an absolutely perfect environment for immersing ourselves in the Adirondacks and the creative life!

We are so excited to see how we can improve and extend the concept next year. We think that every accomplished photographer should have an opportunity to experience what we did over these past six days...