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"They are driven by a strange desire
Unseen by the human eye. The carnival is over.
We sat and watched
As the moon rose again
For the very first time."

The Carnival is Over
by Dead Can Dance


"I see skies of blue
and clouds of white
The bright blessed day,
the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
what a wonderful world."

What a Wonderful World
(George Weiss/Bob Thiele), first recorded by Louis Armstrong
Our schedule for 2009 - more details, offerings TBA

Private Instruction - designed around your needs Dates/times by arrangement
Death Valley (Death Valley Nat'l Park) Oct 31, Nov 1-2, 2009
Island Night (on Mare Island) October 2009 (Alumni only)
SoMa Nights (held at RayKo Photo Center) August 6, 13, 20 (Th'days)
College of Marin (7-week course - Spring 2009) March 27 - May 15, 2009
Return to Rush Ranch (Solano County) May 7, 2009
San Francisco (sites within the GGNRA) May 8-9-10, 2009
Mare Island Nocturne (part of SF Flyway Festival) February 7, 2009
   


Mono Lake NPy Conference, Photo: Copyright Joe Reifer, 2003 Alum

Our comprehensive workshops, tutoring sessions, and semester-long courses at local colleges, etc. run in length from specialized. as-needed. one-on-one instruction to one-night Introductions to NPy; two, or three-night workshops; and on to a semester in length - involving field work, great locations, follow-up critiques, planned visits from special guest lecturers, and a few surprises! See examples of work created by alumni in our workshops, and read comments by some of the participants in our various programs.

You will learn to evaluate existing lighting situations and compose/expose accordingly. Most workshops are limited to 10 participants (semester-length courses, sometimes more) who will be closely supervised on location by one to two instructors, depending on final number of registrants. Students will provide their own equipment and are expected to be familiar with basic photographic techniques. Many of our semester-length courses deal with portfolio development during the second part of the course(s). The links at the top of this page will take you to a detailed description of the individual workshops and a link to download a registration form.

Our instructors are accomplished photographers who take "night work" very seriously - and have fun doing it! Founder/Director Tim Baskerville is no stranger to the nocturne having worked in this area of photography for more than 25 years. Tom Paiva is an industrial photographer from Los Angeles, who is somehow able to convince some of his clients that night imagery is "the way to go." Adam Moore, a digital wizard with a soft spot for traditional black and white night photography, is part time faculty at Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Dan Heller is a Northern California photographer specializing in adventure travel who brings digital expertise and a vast knowledge of exotic locations to The Nocturnes. Lance Keimig is a self-described 'reformed Nocturne' living in the Boston area, who, along with Tim Baskerville, actually helped found The Nocturnes Workshop Series in 1998 - together, we cooperatively offered two programs in 2006 - one, to the West of Ireland, and the other in the Eastern Sierra, as part of festivities celebrating the 15th Anniversary of The Nocturnes. Please click on any one of the instructors' names above for a biograph / CV for each instructor - and be sure to visit our Gallery pages to learn even more about these artists and their work, with links to their Web sites.