“Home after an invigorating week in Santa Fe with Allen Birnbach. His workshop was the most challenging and rewarding of any I’ve taken these past few years. It was inspiring to work hard, to reap the benefits of Allen’s feedback and to share it all with the excellent company of other photographers. Kudos!”
Bernard Gateau, Walden, CO
“Your workshop was like a drink of cool water to a very thirsty creative soul.
Honestly, I’ve grown and learned so much in these four days. I went in feeling stuck and less than impassioned with my photography and left with more skills, more passion and more material than I’ve ever had thanks to you and your impeccably organized and executed workshop. The models were so far beyond what I could have imagined we would be working with….all of them beautiful, skilled and really exciting to work with.
I have rekindled my creative fire and have a much clearer idea of how to continue to develop and grow as an artist. Thanks so much, for me this is the greatest gift you could give.”
Alba W., Sedona, AZ
“Allen Birnbach’s Figure in the Landscape Workshop is an immersion course in figure photography. You are guided by a master photographer who will encourage you to develop your personal photography style. Like a GPS guide, Allen will give you the direction, it is up to you to decide how fast or slow you get there, and how wide or narrow the turn.”
Martin Tsien, New York, NY
“There was a big difference between this workshop and others I’ve taken. You were very actively engaged with all of us. You took an interest in what we were doing, offering your thoughts on what would make what we had in mind better. That’s HUGE! In past workshops we just took pictures of the models with almost no input from the instructor. And the more structured approach to rotating time shooting and with the models was a fabulous idea. That gave all of us an opportunity to work with each model and everyone got a chance to shoot them without having someone else ask them to do something else while we were setting up. I felt I got plenty of time with each model and a lot more time with them than in any past workshop. And I didn’t feel rushed or pressured to take my shot and move.
I would absolutely recommend the workshop. The most important reason is because you were there, not just physically, you were there for us, offering your ideas, guidance, suggestions, and experience. You showed up in every way. I can’t tell you how important that is, and how much I appreciate that. I’d take it again! With each setup my images got better. I can hardly wait to see what I have from this weekend. I’m expecting greatness beyond anything I’ve done so far.”
Ed Robb, Denver, CO
“Allen is a wonderful teacher and a magnificent photographer. His choice in location and talent is remarkable in itself. I would recommend his class to anyone to desires to learn and has a passion for photography.”
Caron A. Bainbridge Island, WA
“Thanks for everything, this was a huge help for me. I was looking to push myself forward and find some new challenges. This [workshop] definitely expanded my thinking and desire in photography. Your one on one input while shooting was very valuable and worthwhile. The time you spent going around while all of us were shooting and the commentary was great. I will definitely look for doing a workshop with you again.”
Carl Bowden, Los Angeles, CA
“As much as I love Allen’s photographs, I love his very gentle, informative and supportive way of teaching. He showed me how he does his work, made me think about how I feel and what I should try (instead of just pushing his way), and then gave me helpful feedback. His workshop was full of fun and learning experiences. I truly would love to take his workshop again.”
Yuko Hirao, Santa Fe, NM
“We had a wonderful trip and one that I will always cherish. Iceland is truly a special place. Add to that the wonderful fellowship that was such a big part of the trip and the great photos we got and the result is an amazing experience.”
Keith M., Phenix City, AL
Thanks for all of your hard work in putting the trip together and for your willingness to share your knowledge of photography.
“From organization to critiques to the extraordinary models who collaborated in our creative processes, it was one of the best workshops I have ever attended. I will be attempting to attend similar workshops led by Allen in the future and would recommend that anyone with a serious interest in developing their figurative work also sign up as soon as possible.”
David S., Modesto, CA
“As a European, I very much enjoyed the gentle approach of Allen to every situation, from organization to teaching. His great sense of humor brougt joy to the group.”
Antoine B., Santa Fe, NM
“I had a lot of fun and learned a tremendous amount. Thank you for great support, friendship, laughs and for giving me the encouragement to imagine.”
Sam K., Roanoke, VA
“I am happy to say that your landscape nude workshop exceeded all my expectations. An excellent introduction to the material the night before, while also giving you an opportunity to learn about the participants and develop goals and tips for everyone. The next day the workshop was run professionally–great time management, and a well executed plan. You were present just the right amount, offering tips for how to look at a scene and improve the resulting images. Thankfully, the pointers and help supported the goals discussed the night before. It was nice to observe that instruction was tailored to each student’s level and supported with examples right in the field.
I would recommend this workshop to any photographer trying to improve their skills. Excellent instruction, plenty of time with fantastic models in a dynamic landscape. Well done.”
David Spiciarich, Denver, CO
“Allen is a compassionate instructor who offers an array of opportunities to improve your image making.”
John Seward, Oklahoma City, OK
“Allen is an amazing photographer and a really wonderful person. His care and connection with his models is very rare. He has a genuine interest and concern that they are comfortable and a burning commitment that their trust and expression is not exploited, but celebrated in the most beautiful and heartfelt way. He is a true artist.”
Mark Auria, Los Angeles, CA
“I found the structure of the Friday night session to be outstanding — the combination of the critique of our work and the nude photography history lesson was very enjoyable and informative. During the shooting days, I really appreciated the way time was managed. Your strategy of moving from group to group, providing suggestions and on-the-fly critique was ideal. Oh, and the fact that you were not shooting (except to show one of us an alternate idea) was very much appreciated. The fact that you were there to teach, not to shoot, was very clear.”
Dave Wood, Denver, CO
“Allen is a most gifted teacher, and for anyone considering a unique opportunity to visit a beautiful country and learn a form of photography under a true artist, this is it. I have great memories of the workshop and cherish what I learned and the beautiful images I was able to capture.”
Marc Safran, Liverpool, NY
“Allen teaches advanced level photography classes for us at UCLA Extension, and does a remarkable job. He takes on challenging custom classes – many delivered off campus – requiring careful coordination. He is a visually and conceptually gifted photographer in both the commercial and fine art realms, and I know students leave his class better photographers and thinkers.”
Scott Hutchinson
Director of Visual Arts
UCLA Extension, Los Angeles, CA