Prepping for Your Adventure

The workshop will be based out of Natural Spaces Studio - home base for instructor Dave Miess. For this workshop, we don't have a specific workshop hotel. Just a note - we will be transporting participants to all shooting locations, with pick-up and drop-off at your hotel. We recommend Lake of the Torches Resort and Casino in Lac du Flambeau as this is the closest hotel to the Studio. If you do use Lake of the Torches Resort, we recommend signing up for their free Club membership which will provide a big discount on rooms. 

The Winter Northwoods workshop includes lunch at the Studio on days 2 and 3. Breakfast and dinners are on your own.  Some suggested restaurants: 

• Rustic Pines, 11758 WI-70, Minocqua
• Black Bear Bar and Grill, 11045 WI-70, Minocqua
• Northfork Fin and Fillet, 11084 WI-70, Woodruff
• Heart II, 11023 WI-70, Woodruff
• Monica's Pizza, 360 US-51, Woodruff

Our shooting locations will be anywhere from 15 minutes to a bit over an hour away from Natural Spaces Studio, so we will be heading out at the appropriate times to ensure we are ready to shoot when we have good light. If we have interesting weather conditions, we may alter the schedule to take advantage of them.

Here’s our schedule (subject to change):

Monday, June 15

• 3:00pm: Welcome, Natural Spaces Studio
• Evening shoot
• Night sky shoot if conditions allow

Tuesday, June 14

• Morning shoot
• Lunch, Natural Spaces Studio
• Afternoon Processing Class, Natural Spaces Studio
• Evening shoot
• Night sky shoot if conditions allow

Wednesday, June 15

• Morning Shoot
• Lunch, Natural Spaces Studio
• Afternoon Processing Class, Natural Spaces Studio
• Wrap up

We may have our cameras with us, but our priority is to assist you! We may also take some photos so that we can share our vision of the places we are photographing and to gather group photos. Please do not hesitate to ask any questions at any time. For the most part we will wander amongst the group to assist with questions, compositions and/or suggestions.

Transportation to all locations and any park entrance fees will be handled by us.

We are outdoors for much of this workshop and conditions can be unpredictable, so we want to put safety first. The locations on this workshop will vary from wooded paths to areas near water with some easy hiking, but there will be plenty of options for those that prefer a scaled back effort. Please let us know if at any time you are unsure about walking a specific trail. Some sites may not be for everyone, but we’ll have some alternative options nearby. Waterproof boots with non-slip soles are strongly suggested and hiking poles can be very useful!

So, please speak up if you don’t feel comfortable at any time. It’s much better to err on the side of safety than push yourself too far.

Summer in the Northwoods is glorious! Expect temperatures in the 70s during the day and 50s in the evening. This is primarily a dry time.

One thing to plan for is bugs. Please bring your favorite bug spray. We also encourage picking up a bug head net!

Trying to decide what to bring along on a workshop can be an adventure in itself! Certainly bring along what you feel necessary. Here's what we consider important gear: 

• Camera body.
• Lenses - generally from the 16mm-400mm range.
• Camera backpack.
• Tripod. 
• Polarizer filter.
• Memory cards.
• Remote shutter release.
• L-Bracket for camera. (We recommend this model if you don't have one.)
• Batteries, battery charger, cables.
• Camera user manual.
• Camera rain sleeve.
• Laptop computer or tablet with image processing software. 
• Headlamp.
• Water bottle.
• Packable snacks.
• Waterproof hiking boots/winter boots.
• Rain jacket and pants.
• Hiking poles.
• Bring along layers for all temperatures.

If you're in the market to purchase some of the gear, please feel free to reach out to us - we have recommendations of brands that have a solid reputation and will serve you well.

If you are looking for gear, we encourage you to Shop Small! Four Elements Photo Adventures are proud business partners with The Camera Company in Madison, Wisconsin. As the largest camera company in Wisconsin, they have a wide selection and competitive prices.

We ask that all participants read and sign the liability waiver for the workshop. You can print off a copy in the Downloads section below - please bring a signed copy with you to the workshop.