Classes – the life of a nature photographer

Wildlife Photography Class

Wednesday, June 19th, 2019

Canoeing by a grizzly bear near Jolly Lake in the Northwest Territories. Check out the claws on this guy, which let him dig up plant roots and arctic ground squirrels.

On June 29th, I’ll be teaching a wildlife photography class at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. It will be a fun day full of learning, taking photos, and enjoying the animals at the zoo. Register at the city of Edmonton’s website:
https://movelearnplay.edmonton.ca/COE/public/booking/CourseDetails/647871. Hope to see you there!

If you have any questions, you can send me an email at joel.koop@gmail.com and I’d be happy to answer them (Although I will be gone from June 23rd to 27th on the Athabasca River, and I don’t know if I’ll have much cell service).

Classes & Kaleido

Business, Classes, Water

Thursday, September 14th, 2017

This weekend is Kaleido Festival on 118 Ave, and I’ll be there with lots of new prints! I also have greeting cards for the first time in a few years – I know people have been asking for them for a while.

On Sunday I’m teaching a Mastering Your SLR class in Edmonton – there is still space! Head over to Threaded Studio to sign up online or visit me at Kaleido on Friday or Saturday to get a discount!

Taken in southern California.

Wildlife Photography Classes

Classes, Photo of the Day

Wednesday, October 12th, 2016

I’m excited to be teaching two new “Wildlife Photography” classes, and one more “Mastering Your SLR”. Hope some of you can make it out!

The Wildlife Photography classes are at the Edmonton Valley Zoo and are on January 7th and April 1st. You can register for them by going to the City of Edmonton’s site at ereg.edmonton.ca (course codes 571161 and 588946) or by calling 311 in Edmonton.

Mastering Your SLR is in St. Albert on January 8th. You can register at stalbertphotoclasses.com/wp/mastering-your-slr/.

Happy Thanksgiving! I thought I’d celebrate with some live wild turkeys. The photo is taken in Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve near Palo Alto, California.
150mm, f4, 1/640 of a second

Finally, Composition

Classes, Composition

Monday, March 21st, 2016

It’s been a while since our last composition class, so I’m excited to have one scheduled again! We also have the ever popular “Mastering Your SLR” class coming up pretty quick. The Composition Class is May 8th and the Mastering Your SLR is April 24th. For information or to register visit the Mastering Your SLR page or the Composition page on the St. Albert Photo Classes website.

I took this photo in a cave in Cuba. It was a fascinating experience – partly lit because of the holes in the ceiling but still dark enough to need flashlights or headlamps. There were many little bats chittering away. They seemed to be hanging out in little groups (probably with their families) with one in each group keeping an eye on us to make sure we didn’t bother them.

I chose this photo for the Composition class announcement because it is an interesting example of some of the topics we discuss as a group. It is a good example of leading the viewer’s eye with lines and with strong contrast. It also shows how the contents of a photo are always viewed in relation to the edges. I love talking about this kind of stuff (and much more) with students and it’s always interesting to hear other perspectives on this! While everyone sees different things when they look at a photo there are a remarkable number of similarities in what we see. If you’re interested in composition I hope you can join us!

Zoo Classes and More

Classes, Wildlife

Thursday, March 10th, 2016

On Saturday I’m teaching a Wildlife Photography class at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. There’s still a few spots left if you’re interested. You can register at https://ereg.edmonton.ca/. The course code is 554483. If this Saturday doesn’t work for you, we also have classes set up for May 14th (course number 554483) and we’re in the process of setting one up for July 23rd.

Then on April 24th Eric and I are teaching a Mastering Your SLR class at the St. Albert Community Hall. More information at http://stalbertphotoclasses.com/wp/mastering-your-slr/

Taken near Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, Alberta
210mm, f8, 1/500 of a second

Thanks for a Great Evening!

Business, Classes, Mountain, Photo of the Day, Wildlife

Friday, January 15th, 2016

Thanks to everyone who made it out on Wednesday night to the St. Albert Photo Club! We had a packed room — I got to meet lots of photographers, and see some familiar faces. I had a great time and appreciated all your comments and questions! Best of luck to all of you in your photography adventures!

Bighorn Sheep in Jasper National Park
210mm, f4, 1/640 of a second

Wildlife Photography Class

Business, Classes

Wednesday, December 30th, 2015

On March 12th I’ll be teaching a Wildlife Photography workshop at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. This will be the first winter course at the zoo, and should give us some simple snowy backgrounds which should let the animals really stand out – a great opportunity for photographs. If you’re interested in registering you can go to ereg.edmonton.ca website (the course code is 554483) or call 311 in Edmonton.

I’m living in Camrose now, so I’m starting to think about teaching some classes down here if there’s interest. I haven’t had a lot of time to look into it yet, but if you’re interested, please either send me an email at joel.koop@gmail.com or in the comments below.

Lynx at the Edmonton Valley Zoo
210mm, f4, 1/250 of a second

Photo Classes in St. Albert

Business, Classes

Tuesday, December 29th, 2015

On Saturday January 23rd Eric and I are running the Mastering Your SLR class in St. Albert and it’s filling up fast. This is good news – if it fills up, we’ll schedule another date for people who couldn’t make this one.

We would also love to schedule a Composition & Editing and a Mastering Editing class if we get enough people in the SLR courses. If you’re interested in these, let me know. You can always sign up for class notifications on the right side of the page – StAlbertPhotoClasses.com

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Photo was taken near Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site
40mm, f5, 1/250 of a second