Michael Shainblum and Eric Bennett put together an outstanding workshop. It was a tremendous learning experience with the guidance they provided at each the various photo spots we visited as well as their review of some of our sample images and post processing tips. Their gracious with their time an attention and just really nice individuals. It was a great group of participants as well. I'm anxious to do another workshop with them.

I had a fantastic time at Michael and Eric’s Death Valley workshop! I came in aiming to grow artistically/creatively, gain/refine technical skills, explore new types of landscapes, and come away with photos I was proud of. Michael and Eric certainly helped do all of those while enjoying the company of a fun, light-hearted group! Creatively, abstracts (dunes, mud cracks, badlands colors) pushed me the most so it was really helpful having them provide a range of potential inspiration ideas to discover what we resonated with while also giving feedback (both the what and why) on specific compositions to help iterate on and improve them. The mid-day classroom sessions helped by (1) showing a wide range of Death Valley landscape photos to draw inspiration from, and (2) seeing how Michael/Eric approached editing our photos was a great combination of critique/showing what editing could draw out of RAWs. Watching their two different styles across Lightroom and Photoshop in real time was also very helpful in getting a sense for their artistic process as well as picking up some technical tricks. Their deep knowledge of the area was apparent, and locations were thoughtfully chosen to make best use of weather conditions. All combined, I learned/grew a lot, had a great time with the group, and brought back photos I love. I look forward to future adventures!

I really enjoyed the Death Valley workshop. Michael and Eric worked hard to make sure it was a great experience for everyone and put us in position each day to photograph beautiful scenes during the best light. Their attention to detail, tips on composition and frequent reminders to follow the light were very helpful to me during our photo shoots. They also provided valuable feedback during a couple of dedicated image editing sessions that has already made noticeable improvements to my image processing. Just as important as the photography, though, is that I had a blast during and in between our photo shoots, which was in large part due to Michael and Eric keeping the mood light and fun. They are excellent photographers, great guys, and were a pleasure to spend the week with. I look forward to joining them again on another workshop in the future.

Michael and Eric are great workshop leaders. The planning, contingencies, instructional were all top notch. While on locations, they both offered gentle suggestions (all appreciated) and were very patient. I would definitely schedule another workshop with this crew.

Michael Shainblum and Eric Bennett are the best kind of workshop leaders, bringing with them a depth of photography experience and familiarity of location that would be difficult to equal. Their workshop is not some sort of “stand here, set you camera like this, and point it there” photo consumption tour. They are more interested in helping those in the workshop see for themselves than they are in telling people what to photograph. I only occasionally saw either of them capturing photos for themselves. Far more often they were answering questions, helping troubleshoot challenges, or complimenting the compositions of others. First and foremost, these are two really good people, genuine and considerate, and if that was all, it would still be worth spending a week in the desert with them. I cannot recommend their workshop more highly.