WEEKS BAY, Ala. — Shutterbugs with a desire to improve their ability to capture spectacular images of nature are invited to take part in workshops soon being offered by the Weeks Bay Reserve Foundation. Executive Director Walter Ernest said the organization will hold a two-and-a-half-day outdoor photography workshop April 25-27.

A half-day beginner’s digital photography workshop, aimed at teaching students how to use their particular camera, will take place April 25. Participants will learn the basics of digital photography to prepare them for the main class, including functions of the camera and terminology used in the owner’s manual. It can be taken as a stand-alone class, or can be combined with the full workshop.

Both will be held on the grounds of the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve at 11300 U.S. Highway 98, near the Fish River Bridge.

Ernest said the workshops will be led by photography instructor Julie Brent, with the help of botanist and naturalist Fred Nation.

“This is the first time we’ve ever done a workshop like this,” Ernest said. “If it works, we may do something like this for (Coastal Alabama) BirdFest. The proceeds will help fund the annual photography contest that will hang in July at the Eastern Shore Art Center. Hopefully some of those taking the workshop will take part in the photography contest.” He added he would like for more talented young people to enter as well.

Brent has been a photographer for more than 25 years. She majored in fine arts at the University of Kentucky. Ernest said Brent has been teaching digital photography for some time, and was a natural choice to teach the workshop.

“Fred Nation will help from a naturist side when they do these walks,” he said. “They will go out in the early morning and late evening so they can maximize the best shots.”

Ernest said the reserve’s pitcher plant bog was recently burned, and it might be blooming by the time the workshops are held, making it an excellent photo opportunity.

“We geared it toward digital photography because more people are going that route, but 35-millimeter photographers are welcome,” he said.

Digital cameras have made photography much easier in many ways, so the workshop will focus on seeing nature the way an artist might see it. Working with natural light, participants will learn how to compose a photograph before pushing the button.

Ernest said Brent took her first photography course as a graduate student, and learned how to use a single lens reflex (SLR) camera. Although many digital cameras are SLR models, many offer a level of automation that eliminates the need for much technical knowledge.

Those attending the workshop will be encouraged to take lots of pictures, and they will have structured assignments. The results will be evaluated, and there will be a discussion about ways to improve one’s skills.

Brent will also teach easy ways to transfer digital images to a computer, how to easily edit photos and how best to manage the files.

Nation will be there to discuss the plants and ecology of the Weeks Bay Reserve, Ernest said.

He added, “Fred is enthusiastic about it. I think they’ll get an understanding of the balance of nature. It’s not every day you get to go out to the reserve with Fred Nation at your side.”

Nation has documented and photographed the wildflowers and native plants of south Alabama for more than 20 years. He teaches these subjects and plant nomenclature for the reserve, the Baldwin and Mobile county Master Gardener intern classes, and for the Adult Learning Center in Fairhope.

He taught classes in wildflower photography at Faulkner State Community College, and is author of the book, Where the Wild Illicium Grows: Historic Plants of South Alabama and the Central Gulf Coast.

“The workshop will give them a better understanding of coastal Alabama,” Ernest said. “So often we take it for granted.”

Ernest talked about a foggy morning a while back when he walked down the Weeks Bay Reserve boardwalk and saw a spider’s web glistening in the mist. He said, “If you walk down the boardwalk in the middle of the day, you won’t see that. It’s more than snapping a better picture. You’ve got to frame the picture.”

Tuition to attend the primary class is $250. The half-day beginner’s workshop costs $35. Full payment for each must be received seven days prior to the workshop start date. All major credit cards are accepted.

The class is limited to 15 people, and there will be a $35 processing fee for registrations canceled more than 48 hours before the workshop. If cancelled later, the class fee cannot be refunded, but if there is a waiting list, and your place can be filled, the entire fee will be returned, less the processing fee.

For more information, visit www.weeksbay.org. To reserve a spot in the class, call the Weeks Bay Foundation office at (251) 990-5004.

The Weeks Bay Foundation is the 501(c)(3) organization that works to support the reserve through environmental education, water quality monitoring, public outreach and land protection. The foundation is an operating land trust.