How-To | Travel Related | Shorts | Under Development | Request Info

Hank teaches and gives programs and presentations to many varied organizations. A sampling of those programs follows. New programs are always under development. Workshops, seminars, phototours or variations of all can be designed to fit any organizations instructional needs.

Personal instruction is also available and described on a separate page.

Photographic “How To” Programs

“Art Versus Technology"; Keep Photography an Artform and less of what you can with computers and software.

The process of creating an image, at least a great image is much more than pointing and shooting, but creating art, atleast photographic art, is done in a camera. And it is done to its greatest and fullest when that images is made as best as it can be, in the field and not "fixed" afterwards in the computer. Today we use digital cameras for the most part, but whether we record pixels or still shoot film, our images invariably end up as digital files. This program speaks to the process of creating an image, one that is more than technically correct, but one that is artistic. An image is more than mere subject matter, it is an artwork molded by the way we see through the process of our own lives as it connects with light, mood, and subject.  Learn how you can capture images that express your artistic vision. I speak to using technology to accomplish that goal without becoming slaves to that same techology. 1 1/4 hours in length. Can be combined with "Composition Mechanics" and or "The Picture Within The Picture" for an afternoon or evening seminar.

“Composition Mechanics ”
Sound a bit mecahnical? Yes, this is the program that explores the nuts and bolts of composition, how line and shape and color, format, texture and pattern, mood and color all combine to form cohesive photographic images. We look at how to construct landscapes, close-ups, and intimate landscapes, and how to keep unwanted subject elements from dargging our viewer's eyes out of our images. 1 hour.

“Artful Composition” turn snapshots into works of art on your walls
Composing an artwork takes in many aesthetic variables and that's just what we'll explore. We'll look at waht subject matter belongs and what doesn't, we'll check out what the great painters did and how we can use what they did in our photography. Last we'll look at how we put images together, what goes where and why. 1 hour plus

“Seeing the Picture Within the Picture”
An hour-long program that shows the process of removing unneeded subject content, in camera, in field, and yes occassionally in the computer and defining the essence of a subject into a single image with impact.

“Photo Impressionsim, Abstracts and Beyond”
Seeing past the obvious and literal, this program shows how to make evocative images that combine art and craft and nature to make the artistic imagery. We'll explore the subjective image, subject and camera movement, multiple images on the same frame, and soft and select focus. 1 hour plus.

“Controlling Exposure”
A look at controlling exposure to make images look like you want them, versus what the camera wants. How to use and interpret Histograms. I explore the relationships of aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. We'll talk about the concept of midtone, how we used to use midtone to determine exposure and how we now determine exposure very much differently in the digital age. We'll also discuss image quality and show why RAW files are the only way to go. 1 Hour plus.

“Light and the Art of Photography”
An hour program that looks at what our images are made from; light. We look at the direction of light, the quality of light, the color of light, in short, the charecteristics of light. This program currently under re-construction!

“The Long & Short Of Close Up Photography”
An hour program that makes close-up imagery a snap. Learn why it's not absolutely necessary to go out and buy the $2400 Macro lens and how to make great close-up images with just the gear you have and a few inexpensive additions to you camera bag.

“6 Steps to Better Outdoor Images”
An hour and 15 minute program highlighting six easy steps that will make any photographer’s images better. Aimed at the novice and intermediate photographer. This program currently under re-construction!

“Facing The Howling Blizzard with Your Camera – Winter Photography”
How to prepare yourself and your equipment for winter photography, 1 hour plus questions. This program currently under re-construction!

“To Polarize or not to Polarize, that is the question! How to use polarizers and the two other essential filters, warming filters and neutral density filters"
I think the polarizer is one of my most valuable tools in my camera bag, here's how why and when to use them and how they work. 1 hour

"The Edge of the Pacific" Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Marin County, California © Hank Erdmann Photography

Photographic & Travel Related Programs, Other Programs

“Door County, Bayshore to Lakeshore”
One hour and 15 minutes on photographing this spectacular Wisconsin Peninsula in all seasons.

“Two Islands, Surrounded by Water ~ Michigan, Truely the Great Lakes State"
An hour long hike through the natural beauty of the State of Michigan

“Illinois, More than Just a Cornfield”
An hour long travelouge through the natural beauty of the Prairie State

“Midwest Gems ~ Great and Sometomes Almost Unheard of Photographic Sites in the Midwest”
An hour to hour and a half (a two part program that can finish at the two-thirds point) visual guide book on gret places to photograph in the Midwest with a bunch of little know or photographed gems.

“Lake Superior Provincial Park, Gitchegoomee’s Photographic Wonder”
An hour plus. A two person program with Fred Drury (depending on both photographer’s commitments, or can be given by either photographer) on fall in this fabulous jewel of a park an hour and a half north of Sault Ste. Marie on the shore of Lake Superior. This program currently under re-construction!

“A Lake Michigan Lighthouse Photography Tour”
A guided forty-five minute tour of Lake Michigan Lighthouses, where to find them, how to access them, how to photograph them and when to visit them. This program currently under re-construction!

“The History of Nature Photography”
1 hour on the history of photography, primarily as it pertains to nature photography.

"Gold Water Falls", Detail of Laughing Whitefish Falls, Alger County, Michigan © Hank Erdmann Photography

Short Multi Image Programs with Musical Backgrounds
(under 30 minutes)

“The Art of Leaves”
A look at the beauty and diversity of the leaf, forty-five minutes.

“Islands Of Nature in the Land Of Lincoln”
Northeastern Illinois is full of small parks and preserves that showcase Islands of Natural Illinois and this program highlights many of them. An hour plus tour of this “urban wilderness”.

“The Sun Rises On Wisconsin”
An hour long look at the Eastern shore of Wisconsin from the Michigan Border to Chiwaukee Prairie at sunrise.

“Winter Solstice”
A celebration of Nature in it’s season of rest. An half hour long with questions. This show is often paired with “Facing the Howling Blizzard”.

"Frost Pond" Hiawatha National Forest, Upper Peninsula, Alger County, Michigan © Hank Erdmann Photography

Programs Under Development

“How to Photograph Lighthouses (and other buildings)”
How to phoptograph lighthouses, what lenses, what times of day, how to get to them, where to find information on them and much more about shooting these historic and magnificent structures. Summer 2009

“Landscapes, Intimate Landscapes, and Close-Ups, ~ Three ways to look at a subject through a lens”
This one hour program looks at subjects through three distinct perspectives, and discusses lens selection in depth as well as in some not-so-common ways, ie; wide angle close-ups. Summer 2009

Spiderwort, Grant Creek Prairie Nature Preserve, Will County, Illinois © Hank Erdmann Photography

Program Request Information

I give programs to camera clubs, garden clubs, sporting clubs, corporate audiences and many other groups. Bookings are usually made a few months to a year in advance. Availability varies greatly depending on current bookings, my photo travel schedule, and projects in progress.

My Biography and a list of organizations to who I have given programs is available on other pages in this site. I create and give custom photographic seminars and workshops to camera clubs and many other organizations. Please call to discuss options, scheduling, and fee structures.

Fees and honorariums; I do ask for some honorarium of the organization’s choice for programs for local non-profit organizations, but I leave that amount up to those entities. I try to cover mounting gasoline, travel and handout costs. For travel over fifty miles round trip (I do programs this distance and farther quite often), I do ask for a minimum honorarium, and depending on distance, required lodging costs. Corporate speaking fees are quoted upon request. Photographic field workshops and phototours are quoted specifically to meet a given organizations needs.

Tulips, Morton Arboretum, DuPage County, Illinois © Hank Erdmann Photography