Everybody Has Something To Learn
As many of you probably know already, I may have married one of the greatest ladies of all time. How do I know she's great? For the one-year anniversary of our wedding, she presented me with an incredibly unique and exciting gift, one that was tailored to my hobbies, and one I would be sure to enjoy. My wife got me a day-trip "Photo Safari" in Washington, DC with Washington Photo Safari. We would both be going on a trip to DC (arguably, one of the most photogenic places on the East Coast) for a whole day, learning from a professional photographer, and getting the chance to see the sights and sounds around town.
It's important to understand that my wife HATES history. Museums, tours, statues, monuments; she can't stand being around ANY of it. For her to sacrifice that hatred for a single day is pretty gosh darn special, and I think it's even safe to say that she enjoyed the safari almost as much as I did!
I'll admit that, at first, I was concerned that this wasn't going to be a fun trip. I was worried that this was going to be a couple of hours with some out-of-work photographer who catered to folks with no experience and nothing but point-and-shoots. He'd probably teach them the proper way to hold their cameras (he did) and maybe speak a little bit about composition (he did that, also), but I was happily surprised to find out that he was able to recognize that I was a photographer with a bit more experience, and give me some information that I had never heard before!
The tour took us to a bunch of places, starting in front of The White House, and ending up at The Marine Corp monument (Which was great to see, as I'd never been there before). We visited the major War-related monuments, all the while having our instructor teach us the proper way to capture each scene from the composition, to the white balance and technique.
E. David Luria (David) has been a photographer for a LONG time, and it showed in his presentation and ability to communicate with everyone in the group. I never once found myself thinking that the trip was boring, and that I wasn't going to learn anything, and before I knew it, our time was up.
My wife and I are greatly looking forward to booking his group in the Baltimore area, as we found out on our trip that they run "Safaris" up here as well. If it was half as good as David's trip, it's sure to be a great time. If you've got a day to walk around your city, I would highly recommend these folks. And if you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment after the gallery from our trip!
