Does anyone know of any good photography schools in our general area. I live in the southwest corner of Wisconsin and am able to drive a few hours a few days a week. This site has tweeked my interest so much that I am now thinking of becoming a serious amateur, but need some hands on training. Our local school does not offer what I am looking for and the only other thing I have found is "seminars" through the PPA and other orgs. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Ken

I don't know of any, sorry. I'm wondering if your best bet wouldn't be Madison, though. Maybe try UW-Madison?

I went to this last year: http://www.bookpassage.com/classes/twc.htm
and came home majorly inspired and feeling like I had learned a lot. There was no hands on training; there was no technical instruction; there was very little personal consultation; all we really did was see the work of a few pros and listen to them talk about how they took their pictures. But I learned SO MUCH from them! These are guys who get published in National Geographic and similar magazines. They had a LOT to say about lighting, and approaching their subject, and patience, and equipment, etc.

But it *was* quite expensive to go. :(

So I guess I'm saying, don't discount a "seminar" if it's put on by reputable people. It could prove very beneficial.

Hey Ken,

I took a photo class (Basic Photography) at UW-P last year and I loved it! It dealt with B&W film and we spent the majority of our time in the dark room. It was a 3 credit class, and it cost about $600, plus supplies (film & paper). I got the company I work for to pay for it. :) I want to take more classes there, but my work schedule changed. :( I was talking to the professor before I finished the class, and they were adding more photo classes to the course offerings. From what she told me, you can now major in photography at UW-P. Actually, I think it's a Communications Technology major, with an emphasis in photography. They were in the process of adding more digital imaging systems also, and getting more into digital photography. They have a bunch of Digital Rebels in the photo dept. for students to check out, as well as tripods and studio lighting equipment. I found it to be a very worth while course, and would recomend looking into it.

If that's not an option, and you can't find anything else close to this area, I would recomend spending some time in the library. I have been reading every photo book, and magazine I can get my hands on. There is TONS of info out there for the taking.

If you find any courses or seminars in the area, let me know, I would interested in going too.

I don't know of any schools with a semester-long class (might be one offered at Rockford Art Museum) but Peninsula Art School (http://www.peninsulaartschool.com/) up in Door County has a few different photography programs that they put on. Most of them are a few days long, so it's really more of a workshop. Dan Anderson teaches there and I'm sure you'll learn alot from him. Never met him personally but heard very good things about him as a teacher. He's a large format B&W photographer (what he's known for, at least) but doing a lot of digital printing these days.

I've seen some nature photography workshops around the Great Lakes, and maybe another one worth checking out is at the North House Folk School (http://www.northhouse.org/) in Grand Marais MN, on Lake Superior. Layne Kennedy puts on a class in July and he's a great teacher. I'm thinking about doing another one of his workshops because I got so inspired in '01 at his Apostle Islands workshop. He also has a dog sledding photo workshop trip in the Boundary Waters in winter -40 deg doesn't phase you...! :)

Thank you everyone for your replies...I'll check them out...and Michael...I'll definitely have to look at UWP again...I was looking at the catalog and all I could find was the film courses designed mostly for the communications dept.
Kelly...I did look at UWM and they had some courses that looked very interesting as well...again all...thanks for the suggestions...
Ken

One other thing you might want to look into, is a photography club. I don't know of any right in this area, but I would be willing to bet there are some in Dabuque, and Madison. I wasn't into photography when I went to UW-P, so I don't know if there is a club on campus or not. You could call, or email Christine Holtz, and ask her. She is the professor I had for my photo class. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to post her email address, and work phone number here, so I will PM it to you. If you find out that there is a club on campus, let me know!