A 5 day photo workshop June 11-15, 2009 for a maximum of 8 participants in the beautiful Abruzzo, Italy at the best time for spring/early summer colors. The workshop is aimed at giving the workshop participant the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful areas of Europe and get some great pictures. You can find examples of pictures from Abruzzo in June here and in this gallery below (click slideshow). The instructor is Hans Kruse, owner of HansKrusePhotography. He is very experienced in landscape photography and in post processing techniques. More of Hans Kruse's landscape photography work can be found here. The main focus will be to show and teach how to get pictures in his style and inspire the participants to further develop their own style.

The workshop will include

• lectures about composition, scene selection, post processing, etc.
• critique and discussion sessions about the pictures taken during the workshop
• morning and afternoon shooting sessions through the area with a selection of the most interesting spots for the time of year
• on location instructions and discussions about composition and technique
• opportunity to learn from fellow photographers

The schedule will be adapted to the weather conditions. The start is a morning shoot at sunrise (around 5:30) on a location and a drive through the area with stops at interesting locations. We will start early from the hotel around 4:30 and have breakfast when returning around 9:00-9:30. In the middle of the day there will be class room sessions with critique sessions, lectures on composition and post processing, etc. and some refreshments. Then a late afternoon shooting session with dinner at the hotel on return. At this time of year sunsets are very late and we may experience just one during the workshop, but we will experience the light in the last hour which is the best in the mountains. This is the schedule overview for the 3 full days. The arrival day will include an afternoon shoot as time permits depending on the arrival schedule. All will join for dinner and welcome at the hotel in the evening. On the day of departure there will be a morning shoot as time allows, so please arrange return journeys in the afternoon of the departure day if you plan to fly out on that day. The priority between shooting sessions and class room sessions is expected to maximize the opportunities to get some great shots from the scenic area and learn from working on location. Critique and repeated critique based on pictures taken on location will be attempted and one afternoon shooting may be shortened to make this possible. The preferences of the participants will be the deciding factor for this balance versus shooting on this particular workshop. Following the workshop images from the participants will be loaded in a subfolder of the instructor images from the workshop. The language of the workshop is English unless all participants are speaking the Scandinavian languages.

Images from the autumn workshop October 23-27, 2008 can be seen here and the images from the participants are in a subfolder.


There are no specific expectations for the skill level of the participants to get full value from the workshop. You will likely have been interested in photography for some years and have acquired a digital SLR and a few lenses. For landscape photography in this area the focal lengths from 24mm to 200mm in 35mm full frame terms will be adequate (approx. 15mm to 135mm on crop DSLR cameras). A wider lens can be useful and a longer lens also (16mm and 300mm in 35mm full frame terms). It is expected that you are familiar with your camera including the most typical functions. Bring a manual for your camera too. A tripod is recommended and a cable release for your camera. The instructor uses Canon cameras and have detailed knowledge of these cameras, however photographers with any camera are welcome. For post processing the instructor will use and show Adobe Lightroom 2.x and with additional processing in Adobe Photoshop CS3 (using Windows XP). It is recommended that the participants bring their own laptop for post processing. For critique sessions you will need a laptop to process your own images. You are welcome to bring examples from your portfolio for critique sessions on your laptop or in print, however the focus will be on critique of images from the workshop. The temperature will fall to around the freezing point at this time of year in the morning, so please bring warm clothes and good, comfortable footwear for the time we will spend outdoors. Only short walking distances are planned from the roads (up to 15 mins).


The cost of the workshop is 845 Euro which include hotel, meals and wine (breakfast, lunch time refreshments and evening dinner and drinks). A single room for each participant. The price does not include transport to and from the hotel (air fare, rental cars, etc.) and transport in the area. It is planned that the 8 participants and the instructor will drive in 3 cars for the shooting (the instructor in his car and 2 cars from the participants). To share a car e-mail addresses will be exchanged among the participants such that sharing of rental cars can be planned in advance. The distance from Fiumicino (airport of Rome) to the hotel located just outside of L'Aquila, is around 2 hours by car. A rental car no smaller than a Fiat Punto is assumed for 3 photographers per car including their equipment. Every day changing who is driving together. The reason for not including transportation is that it would add substantial extra cost to the workshop to include this and most participants would likely combine a workshop with a stay in the area. The hotel has conference facilities for class room sessions. The hotel is http://www.compagniadelviaggiatore.it . Only registered participants are allowed to participate in any aspects of the workshop, no exceptions. If you would like to bring a spouse or friend to the workshop, then please indicate this in the registration e-mail and we will try to accommodate such requests on a space available basis. A GPS unit is highly recommended and mobile phones to get reconnected, if getting lost. The instructor will have a mobile phone operational at all times.

Please book space on the workshop by sending an e-mail to Hans Kruse at hans@hanskruse.com or if you would like to ask additional questions about the workshop. You will get infomation about payment details and liability limitations. If you are not able to join this workshop or it is sold out, then please consult the workshop schedule or contact Hans Kruse. As the time of the workshop approaches (1-2 weeks in advance) you will get updates on the detailed schedule and meeting times and additional relevant information. You are welcome to divide the payment of the 845 Euro into a non-refundable deposit of 345 Euro at sign-up and payment of the 500 Euro April 1st, 2009. If the workshop needs to be cancelled a full refund will be paid.

Feedback from workshop participants

.... I am even more hooked up on this hobby as I was before. My recommendation to other photographers is to go for it if you like landscapes. It is a wonderful area, and Hans know where to go.

Finn Worsøe, Denmark

.... Hans did a good job of integrating a group of people, many who never met the others before. Overall, a very good experience.

Matt O’Brien, Ireland

I really enjoyed Hans' Abruzzo workshop. The area offers some amazing landscapes and Hans does a lot of preparation beforehand, is familiar with the area and scouts out some great locations. Through this workshop I feel I have started to understand how to indentify, isolate and capture the essence of the landscape and to get some great images.

Alistair Owens, UK

.... But to sum it all up: A very pleasant and very giving experience. Not the last time I enroll on a Photo Workshop. And it could well be with Hans Kruse once again.

Frede Hansen, Denmark

.... Hans Kruse leads a very friendly and informal photographic workshop to well researched locations. I look forward to future workshops.

Des O´Riordan, Ireland

I enjoyed the workshop very much, my enthusiasm for landscape photography got reinforced, and I decided to enroll on some more photography workshops in the coming years. More....

Fabian, Germany

This workshop turned out to match my expectations, which were pretty high in advance. It is not because I learned a few new tricks with the camera (I did), or the crash course on Lightroom 2. It is because I had the chance to witness a new attitude, a new and absolutely inspiring way to look at a landscape. Driving next to Hans and listening to his small comments on the hills, ridges, shapes or sheep passing by, and learning why we didn't stop there was a revelating experience, even so in such an amazing landscape where I could easily spend days just by looking at it, and contemplating on what to shoot next day, or maybe the day after that. The experience of being there at the exact spot where the rapidly changing interaction between light and land happens, and having an experienced photographer next to you, who tries to build on your thougths on what you see, instead of forcing you to think like he does, is really invaluable and I just can't think of anything else which can replace this opportunity.

Dávid Udvardy, Hungary -- http://www.motifnation.hu/