2009 Save-the-Dates: Dubai, Paso Robles and Santa Fe Workshops

In late March / early April, I'll be teaching three classes at a new, expanded Gulf Photo Plus 2K9 in Dubai. More on that full line-up (and an amazing video) after the jump.

Also coming soon is a week-long intensive lighting workshop in California in late April, details of which will be posted shortly. And looking further out, I also will be teaching for the Santa Fe Workshops in San Miguel d'Allende (Mexico) in mid-October. More on those last two when the respective sites go live.

But Dubai is fast approaching, so hit the jump for more on that...
__________


GPP 2009

What can you say about Dubai that has not already been said? It's insane. But a picture is worth a thousand words, so check out what The Big Picture had to say on the matter.

I was there last year for Gulf Photo Plus '08, and I am looking forward to getting back for GPP 2009 at the end of the month.



Scheduled to teach this year: Zack Arias, Carol Dragon, Drew Gardner, Chris Hurtt, Chase Jarvis, Vincent Laforet, Bobbi Lane, Cliff Mautner, Joe McNally, Robin Nichols, David Nightingale, Asim Rafiqui and yours truly.

I'll be teaching three classes -- a two-day lighting seminar for beginners, an introduction to headshots class, and a two-day class on self-generated personal shoots with a purpose.

Which pisses me off, really, because I would much rather be off the clock and attending things like Laforet's three-day assignment class, or any of Zack's classes, or learning high-end HDR with David, or draping models on water buffalos with Drew, or anything with Joe. You get the idea.

Chase is even reprising his five-day soup-to-nuts commercial shoot course, too. Last year it was a huge hit -- one of those things that erases a few years of "school of hard knocks" from your career track. It is the full deal: A 360-degree look at a full commercial assignment, from creative brief to preplan to model selection to shoot to post. Everything.

Note that 5am - 8pm sked on the shoot day, too. Heh.


You'll Run Out of Adjectives

I know Dubai is a stretch for most. Would be for me, too, if they were not bringing me in. But if you are one of those lucky souls with some disposable income left, and live in that quadrant of the world, it might be worth a search on economy-depressed airfares into DXB. Emirates Airlines flies there -- in style -- from just about any major international airport. And the onsite hotel (next door, actually) for GPP is significantly cheaper this year because of those empty rooms, too.


If you are rationalizing the trip as a getaway with your significant other, Dubai is a shopper's paradise. (Or hell, depending on who gets the credit card bill.)

The Mall of the Emirates with the indoor ski slope now only barely cracks the top three offerings. My personal favorite is Ibn Battuta Mall, just one of the pavilions of which is pictured at left.

Of course, it has been almost a year since I have been to Dubai which means there is an all-new "biggest mall ever" -- the creatively named Dubai Mall. (Lotta thought went into that, I am sure...) I'll have to check that one out, along with Ibn Battuta again. Not that I am a shop-a-holic. I am mostly in it for the over-the-top cultural/capitalist/visual stimulation. And the air conditioning.

But Dubai's most Freudian attraction is, of course, the Burj Dubai. It will be the tallest building in the world (by a long shot) upon completion this year. If you ever do visit The Burj, skip the stairs and head straight for the elevators for the ride up. I'm just saying.

But for the ride down, you may wish to consider an alternate route:



__________


Links:

:: Gulf Photo Plus 2009 Main Page ::
:: Blog: Dubai Strobists ::