What a year it's been! Covid 19 has certainly put a damper on travel and photo opportunities this year, even closing down my beloved Chicago Botanic Garden for several months. I used the time to find subjects in my neighborhood and, I have to admit, those daily walks kept me centered through this difficult time. I hope all my readers were able to get out and do some photography, too. Out of Chicago came to the rescue in April with a wonderful online conference that brought 70 photographers and over 800 attendees together for a successful and uplifting learning experience. We are about to do it again and I'd like to share with you some details.

Please join nature photographer Sarah Marino and me as we pair up to teach a deep-dive into "Photographing Plants and Flowers in New, Creative Ways: An In-Depth Exploration" at Out of Chicago IN-DEPTH: A Live Online Photography Workshop Weekend, August 21-23, with image reviews on September 2 and 3. I am excited to teach this in-depth class with Sarah. She has been one of my photography heroes from way back. I admire her work and her skilled teaching. We have been working hard on this new presentation and can't wait to share it with others.

This is a brand new, interactive format from Out of Chicago with new, unique classes that have never been taught before, including 30+ advanced sessions from over 50 world-class photographers, some brand new to Out of Chicago. We'll have a variety of topics and genres, including landscape, nature, travel, street, architecture, post-processing and more. Two instructors lead each session and share with you their individual methods and practices on a favorite topic. Assignments will be given to get you out to shoot and return for two days of image reviews that highlight what you've learned. You'll be able to watch up to 5 sessions live throughout the workshop weekend, and then have access to all the presentations on video for up to a year after the conference. Please visit our website to see the amazing line-up of instructors and learn more details: www.outofchicago.com/in-depth. If you are interested in registering, please use my personal discount code to get $50 off: BELMONT.

Another exciting opportunity leading up to the conference:

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Botanical Beauty: Case Studies on Creatively Photographing Plants and Flowers

Tuesday, August 11 - 6PM ET, 5 PM CT, 4PM MT and 3PM PT

Join Sarah Marino and me for a free webinar about creative approaches to photographing plants and flowers. Using in-depth case studies, Sarah and I will talk through these topics: the importance of connecting with your subject, deeply observing details, creating a compelling composition, working with different kinds of light, using a shallow depth of field, and processing to help realize your vision of a scene. This webinar is a free preview of the four-hour, in-depth class that Sarah and I will be teaching together on this topic for the upcoming Out of Chicago In-Depth online photography conference.

This webinar is a great opportunity to learn from two photographers, each with a different perspective and approach to photographing similar subjects. Due to limited space, you must register in advance if you would like to participate in the live webinar. By registering for this webinar, you consent to being added to our respective mailing lists (you can unsubscribe at any time and your email address will never be shared). The link to register for the webinar is here.

I hope you'll join me for one or both of these events. Always feel free to reach out if you have questions. Lastly, if you ever need a discount code for Lensbaby products, I'm officially a Lensbaby Ambassador now. My affiliate link to Lensbaby is here. Use the discount code WBELMONT to receive 10% when you check out.

Stay well and keep learning and photographing! I hope to see you online in August!