The Finger Lakes Region of New York boasts one of the best concentrations of world class waterfalls in the U.S. What could be better than spending a long weekend photographing some many of these waterfalls? Photographing them with fall color! 

This 5 day workshop will be dedicated to the techniques involved with photographing waterfalls in the Finger Lakes Region near Ithaca and Watkins Glen, New York.  Each day we will head into the field to capture a number of my favorite waterfalls, including Taughannock Falls, Watkins Glen, Buttermilk Falls and Ithaca Falls as well as Robert Treman & Letchworth State Parks.  Each afternoon we will return to a lovely Craftsman Cottage near Ithaca to take part in classroom sessions and post-processing our images. The workshop will end with a group slide show and critique on Sunday morning. 

   Field lessons will include tips & techniques for

• Capturing the power and/or silky smoothness of moving water and waterfalls
• Making your fall color images pop 
• How to capture good images in challenging lighting conditions
• varying shutter speed for creative effect
• Reading and shooting the light
• working with a range of lenses for a variety of compositions
• using filters to improve artistic results

 - Fall foliage photography techniques

 - Adobe Lightroom post processing workflow for getting the most from your waterfalls images

 - Creating dynamic black and white images from digital color captures 

 - A positive group slide show and critique of images to end the workshop. This can be a wonderful lesson in composition and seeing the world through other artists' eyes.  

Skill Levels

All skill levels are  welcome.  Participants who have a good working  knowledge of their  cameras, a basic understanding of digital workflow,  and knowledge or exposure to Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop will get the most from this workshop.   

Physical Demands

Though  locations visited during this workshop are readily accessible, the hilly terrain requires some moderate hiking (typically less than 3 miles round trip). Participants MUST BE IN GOOD PHYSICAL SHAPE and able to climb and descend moderate to steep inclines and stairs. They should wear sturdy  boots and use caution on slippery and rocky slopes.  

Group Size

Maximum 8 photographers 

(Note - this workshop is sold out, but you can join a waitlist.  There's usually a cancellation or two along the way)

Accommodations are available in the 4BR & 3BR vacation rental properies that will be the home base for the workshop, giving us a place to gather for classroom sessions, a kitchen to use for meals, and a chance to mingle with and learn from your fellow photographers.   Prices shown do not include local taxes.

• Private bedroom (King bed, shared bath (0 avail): $225/night single occ, $275/night dbl occ. 

• Private bedroom (Queen bed, shared bath (0 avail): $195/night - $235/nt dbl Occ 

• Private bedroom (full bed, shared bath (0 avail): $160/night 

Room packages include workshop registration plus one of the options above.  If a room you are interested in is not available, we can add you to a wait list for rooms.   There are various good chain and independent hotels/motels in Ithaca, NY,  but they are all on the pricey side.  Contact colin@Lightandphoto.com with questions.

Registration fee: $1200 per person 

Deposit to reserve a date: $500

 (Note - this workshop is sold out, but you can join a waitlist.  There's usually a cancellation or two along the way) 

Dates and Times

Workshop begins Wed, Oct 15, 2025 at 3pm, and ends Sun, Oct 19 at 11am.

Non-photographer/tag-along rate:  $400 - for a spouse/partner/friend who wants to come along, eat meals with the group, and travel to some of our shooting locations.  Note there is a double occupancy rate for the lodging options at the vacation rental properties.

Where to Meet

Participants will gather and be based at the Ithaca, NY vacation rental property that will be the home base for our workshop (320 Hook Place, Ithaca, NY 14850)    Directions and details will be sent well in advance of the workshop.

How to Get to Ithaca:

The closest major airports are in Syracuse (SYR) about 75 minutes away, or Rochester (ROC) about 2 hours away. There is also a small airport in Ithaca (ITH) with daily flights from Newark and JFK. Ithaca is approximately 4 hours drive from New York City.

What to bring:

• ·         A digital SLR or mirrorless camera capable of manual exposure settings.  Due to the short time frame of the workshop.

• ·         Plan to bring all of your lenses, from 14mm to 200mm (full frame equiv.), as the variety of locations for waterfalls & fall color will put all your gear to work! 

• ·         A sturdy tripod, which you can easily adjust on uneven, rocky terrain 

• ·    FILTERS: The following filters are strongly suggested for this workshop for at least you favorite wide and medium focal length lenses. Colin is a rep for NiSi Filters, and he can get you a 15% discount off retail prices on all of their filters, gear and gadgets. Contact Colin to get an order drop shipped to you or delivered to you in Ithaca.

  • A circular polarizer (CPL) filter: an essential tool for controlling glare and reflections off waterfalls, streams and pools, as well as making your fall colors pop.

  • At least one ND filter to slow down the water. I like to have an ND8 (3-stop) and an ND64(6-stop) filter in my kit. NiSi makes fantastic combination CPL & ND64(6 stop) in one filter, that allows you to both slow down the water and control glare and reflections without having to worry about filters getting stuck together, or causing vignetting at the wide end of your lens because of stacking. If you have multiple filter sizes, consider using step-down or step-up rings so you don't have to buy multiples. NiSi has some circular filter kits that can save you some money if you are buying a bunch of things, including a kit designed for waterfalls, but you can of course buy these À la carte. https://nisiopticsusa.com/discover/nisi-circular-filter-kits/

• ·        Plastic rain covers - transparent plastic covers made to protect your camera from rain or waterfall spray, designed to go over your camera and tripod. Also, bring an extra supply of absorbent cloth wipes to wipe spray off your lenses/filters as needed.

• Waterproof hiking boots or other sturdy shoes: while the hikes to locations we will visit will be fairly short (typically less than 1-3 miles round trip) a good set of sturdy hiking boots is good for protecting the ankles on rocky trails and slippery rocks, and to keep your feet warm and dry from rain and waterfall spray.

• ·         Clothing layers - Ithaca weather can change on a dime, from sunny to dreary/wet and back again in an instant. Even if there's no rain, we will be around waterfall spray quite a bit, so a good waterproof jacket you can pack away and get out when needed is essential. Make sure you have a good pair of gloves, a warm hat and a puffer jacket in your arsenal for chilly mornings, and consider waterproof or water resistant pants as well.

• A good backpack with a waterproof cover that can contain your camera gear, tripod, water, snacks, and extra clothing layers for hiking and easy access to gear.

• ·         Your own method of transportation.  We will carpool to locations as possible, so not everyone needs to drive every day.

• ·         A laptop computer (or tablet), ideally loaded with Adobe Lightroom Classic, to best take advantage of the Lightroom workflow instructional session.  Cables and devices necessary to download your images from camera to laptop.