Springtime in Coastal Georgia Photography Workshop
March 24 - 29, 2026
Escape the cold and join me for a "town and country" photography workshop, exploring photogenic sites from Savannah to Jekyll Island, Georgia. Early Spring is a beautiful time to visit Georgia and with daytime temperatures in the mid-60s to mid-70s you can shed your heavy coat and enjoy the outdoors.
We start our workshop in historic Savannah, GA which is particularly beautiful while the azalea bushes are in bloom. Over the course of 2 and a half days, we'll explore the city's historic district with its charming squares, statues and fountains, and soak in the ambiance of the Live Oak trees draped with Spanish Moss. Other Savannah sites we'll photograph include:
On Day 3 we leave Savannah and drive 1.5 hours south to our next location, spending 3 nights in the Golden Isles of Georgia, a beautiful coastal region where we'll explore Jekyll Island, St. Simons Island., and the town of Brunswick. A highlight of this portion of the trip is photographing the skeleton trees and driftwood in the ocean surf at sunrise/sunset. You'll learn how to photograph silhouettes, experiment with capturing wave action, and play with using shadows in your compositions. The driftwood also offers interesting patterns and shapes for close-up and macro photography. Along the way we may also have the opportunity to photograph salt marsh scenes, shrimp boats, pelicans and shore birds.
This workshop is open to photographers at all levels, although a basic understanding of how to use your camera in aperture priority and shutter priority modes is recommended for maximum benefit. There are great opportunities for color photography, black and white photography, infrared photography and Lensbaby lens photography on this workshop.
Some of the photography techniques we will cover in this workshop include:
The workshop fee includes:
Not included:
Group Size limited to 6 participants.
Contact Mary Louise if you have questions.
A professional photographer and photography educator for over 25 years, Mary Louise Ravese specializes in fine art nature and travel photography from locations across the world. Her photographs are in private, university & corporate collections in over 40 states and are exhibited nationally. She has published images in calendars, magazines, books and websites. Mary Louise is a regular speaker and competition judge for photography clubs. She also enjoys teaching on a wide range of topics related to nature, travel and creative photography. Based in North Carolina, Mary Louise leads classes and workshops at a variety of locations across the US and abroad.
Savannah / Hilton Head International Airport is about 25 min drive from our Suites hotel in midtown Savannah.
Other drive times to Savannah:
Charleston, SC: 2 hour drive
Jacksonville, FL: 2 hour drive
Charlotte, NC: 4 hour drive
Raleigh, NC: 5 hour drive
Drive time Savannah to Golden Isles: 1.5 hour drive
Ground transportation during the event is not included and is the participant's responsibility. Participants will drive their own vehicles or carpool with others.
Rental cars are available at the airport. Carpooling is encouraged to reduce the number of vehicles in our group but is strictly a private arrangement among the participants. Participants assume the risks associated with this travel.
Lodging is included in the fee. We will be staying in "Suites" hotels in Savannah and the Golden Isles area.
A reduced fee is available if a participant is willing to share a room with another participant.
Meals are not included. When possible, we'll take advantage of the complimentary breakfast at the hotel. Restaurants are plentiful in the area.
A modest fitness level is required for the event. There will be some walking involved, under 1.5 miles, most is relatively flat and none of it is particularly strenuous. There are benches to stop along the way and participants can proceed at their own pace. There will be options to photograph without walking a mile. Some trails are unpaved and therefore uneven, rocky, and may have protruding roots that could be a tripping hazard. Some photographic vantage points like the driftwood beach could mean walking on ground which is uneven and care should be taken walking around large driftwood trees to avoid tripping hazards. If you are not comfortable with those conditions, there are alternative spots to take photographs.
We will be photographing a diverse set of subjects so a variety of gear would be appropriate:
In general: Bring 1 or 2 camera bodies and a tripod. Laptop with photo editing software such as Lightroom Classic and/or Photoshop. Laptop cables. Computer Mouse. Extra Batteries. Battery charger. Multiple memory cards.
Lens focal lengths mentioned below are based on full frame format, multiple by your camera's crop factor if not using full frame format camera (e.g. 1.5x Nikon / Sony APS-C, 1.6x Canon APS-C)
We require a minimum number of participants to be able to offer this workshop. In case you need to withdraw from the workshop, please notify us by email and phone as soon as possible so we can try to fill your spot and minimize your cancellation fees.
Cancelled Workshops: We reserve the right to cancel a workshop if it is under-subscribed, an instructor is incapacitated, or there is a serious unforeseen circumstance making it extremely undesirable or impossible to photograph at the destination. Workshop cancellations for these reasons are rare. In this case, we will issue you a full refund minus any expenses we incur, please allow up to 30 days for processing.
Travel Insurance: We are not responsible for any travel or other costs you may incur in the event that the workshop needs to be cancelled, or you need to withdraw. Therefore, we recommend you hold off making non-refundable flight arrangements until we notify you that minimum workshop enrollment has been met. While we don't require you purchase travel insurance, it is strongly encouraged.
Price reflects $200 Early Bird Discount (AVAILABLE THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2026)
Lodging is included in the workshop fee. We will be staying in "suite" style hotels in Savannah and the Golden Isles area. The hotels offer free parking and breakfast and have WiFi.
King bed
Each bedroom has a full size bed. There is a $40 upgrade fee for this room type.
I'm sharing a room with another participant, and they've indicated the preferred room type.
1 King bed
2 Queen beds
Price adjustments will be made to the final bill for participants who choose to share a room. Room charges will be split equally between the two participants.
Yes, it's okay to send me text messages including order confirmations, updates, event reminders, and event information. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel. View our terms of service & privacy policy.
Photographers with different experience levels are welcome to attend the photo retreat. If necessary, you can arrange a private lesson with me either in-person or over zoom to teach you the essentials or give you a camera / photography refresher.
Either you have no experience with your camera or can photograph, but only in auto modes.
You are familiar with basic camera settings like aperture, shutter speed and ISO and can photograph in Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority modes.
You are comfortable with choosing camera settings and photograph in Manual mode.
You have no or limited experience editing your images on the computer
You have some familiarity with image editing software like Adobe Lightroom / Lightroom Classic / Photoshop
Very familiar with image editing software like Adobe Lightroom / Lightroom Classic / Photoshop. May also have experience in using third party plug ins like Topaz and Nik.
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