Daily Archives: October 23, 2021

Sunday, October 31, 10:30 am – 1:30 pm , and Wednesday, November 3, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Flower Photography from Start to Finish (Hybrid Course)

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This Tower Hill Botanic Garden program consists of two sessions. The first session will take place on October 31 from 10:30 – 1:30 in person and the other session is virtual. When registering, please select both sessions.

If you’ve found that your garden photos don’t quite have the impact that you were hoping for, this class is for you. Join professional outdoor photographer Paul Nguyen in this two-session blended learning class, and discover how to create stunning close-ups and artistic images of your plants and gardens. The first session meets at Tower Hill and emphasizes proper technique, equipment choice, camera settings, and composition to create the best possible in-camera captures, as we investigate trees, leaves, and other Autumn subjects. The second session happens online over Zoom, and reveals the editing techniques that experts apply to give their photos that additional “pop” and polish that bring them to life and make them ready for printing or sharing.

Requirements for the first session:
Camera with a zoom lens or dedicated macro lens
Tripod
Clothing and footwear that allow for mobility and flexibility

Optional equipment:
Reflector/diffuser
Close-up flash
Kneeling pad or folding seat

Requirements for the second session:
Laptop or computer with speakers and a stable high-speed internet connection

Professional Photographer Paul Nguyen is a native of Massachusetts with over 30 years of experience in film and digital photography. He currently specializes in digital photography of natural landscapes and wildlife from New England and around the world. In April 2017, he served in the prestigious National Parks Artist in Residence program, at Petrified Forest, Arizona. His work also includes an exclusive assignment as the photographer for the Gallery on the Charles River at the Museum of Science, Boston. Since 2019, he has been an affiliated artist at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His images have been licensed by organizations such as the Nature Conservancy, Tamron USA, Amazing New England Artworks, and numerous local and international publications, and his outstanding image-making and teaching have gained him equipment sponsorships from Tamron USA and Sun Surveyor. Paul currently serves as a program guide and brand ambassador for Swedish outfitter Fjallraven.

Paul lives and works out of Hopkinton, MA, and can be seen promoting and selling his work at art shows across New England throughout the year, and is also a lecturer and contest judge for local camera clubs and the New England Camera Club Council. The Boston Camera Club awarded him Judge of the Year honors for 2015-2016. He offers local and destination photography workshops through his business, BlueHour Photo Ventures, as well as private one-on-one instruction.

$60 Member Adult; $75 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden) Register at www.towerhillbg.org

Sunday, October 31, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm – Drawing Leaves and Seeds

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Whether it’s acorn leaves and nuts or a milkweed pod and leaves, explore the wondrous and sometimes crazy shapes of seed pods through observational drawing. Add color with colored pencils and learn how to achieve an accurate shape and the importance of shading. This Tower Hill Botanic Garden course on October 31 is focused on learning and applying botanical illustration skills. It is an all levels workshop but it is encouraged to have some basic illustration experience.

Materials List (Not included with registration):

  1. Mixed media paper pad, 9″ x 12″, such as Canson XL or Strathmore or Canson Mi-Tentes Drawing Paper Pad, assorted colors
  2. Colored pencils, assorted colors, brands such as Prismacolor, Caran d’Ache, Derwent, Faber-Castell Polychromos
  3. No. 2 pencil and an eraser

Instructor Carol Schwartz graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute, attending her senior year at Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her MFA in Illustration from the University of Hartford, Connecticut in 2014. Her education equipped her to be diverse and adaptable, with work appearing in 60 picture books and countless magazines, newspapers and advertisements.

$30 Member Adult; $40 Adult (Registration includes admission to the Garden) Register HERE