County Photographer / County Outings, is based in Prince Edward County, Ontario and has been guiding Canadian photography enthusiasts, both beginner and advanced, on adventurous and affordable treks since 2012. Click here to view images from past trips. Below is a list of links to image galleries of our 2015 adventures.
Phil Norton is a veteran photojournalist, having begun at Penn State University in 1977, worked as a community newspaper editor in Quebec through the 80's, a freelance writer and photographer for Canadian Geographic and Harrowsmith Magazines in the 90's, and a daily news photographer at the Montreal Gazette during the digital revolution. He has sold photos to National Geographic and NG Traveler Magazines. A guest speaker at camera clubs, he encourages photographers to be visual storytellers with a purpose, to move beyond winning contests with standalone artistic images, with the goal of influencing public opinion on important issues. With multimedia skills and a documentary style, he creates evocative slide shows with audio recordings, often partnering with local musicians.
His goal is to get great photos and his personal style is regional documentary with an artistic eye. It's fun to shoot with people who see the same scenes and capture it in their own unique style. We have times to view each other's work and work on computer editing in the evenings. The workshop itinerary is not strictly programmed to allow us to remain flexible and open to unexpected skies, wildlife and encounters with local folks. We never worry about the weather or changing plans on the spur of the moment. Nothing is guaranteed except that you will come back with superb new images for your portfolio!
Anyone wishing more information may contact Phil Norton directly phil@philnorton.com or via our Facebook page.
2016
More details about our past photography workshops in Arizona, Newfoundland & Saskatchewan . . .
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ARIZONA, UTAH, NEVADA March 26 - April 2 and April 2 - 10, 2016
The Southwest USA deserts and canyon lands trip is on every photographer's bucket list and we have 8 spaces left for one-week tours or 4 spaces for both weeks at Easter time. The photography workshop fee is $500 CDN plus tax, plus your travel, lodging, food and a share of the park entry fees. Week 1 visits Sedona's red rock region, Saguaro cactus, the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley parks. Week 2 goes to the parklands north of the Grand Canyon, including Bryce and Arches, among others. We will meet the Navajo people and shoot the starry sky in the wilderness. Also street shooting in Las Vegas by night.
This link shows the places we will be going over the 2 weeks at Easter time. Our rallying point is in Las Vegas where we will be lodging before and after each week's tour, overlapping on the Saturday after the first week and before the second. For those signing up for both weeks there are savings on the accommodations and a bonus 3 days (no workshop fee, just travel costs) to California, optional, flying home out of LAX. With the low value of our Canadian $ I estimate the total cost of a one week tour less than $3,000 CDN all-in. You could get that down as low as $2,600 including workshop fee by eating more frugally with groceries and ice cooler and taking triple occupancy in the rooms. The standard will be one roommate per room. Right now some great folks are signed up from the Montreal and Toronto regions and Alberta. Two of them are going all the way, both weeks, from LV to LA.
We travel in 2 mini vans, optimally 5 people per vehicle; everyone has a window and we rotate seating front to back each day of travel. I scouted the routes out in November and feel confident we do not have any very long days of driving, certainly none without awesome scenery. Week 1 we stay 2 nights in the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona, day-tripping to saguaro cactus, hikes within Coconino National Park. We stay at the Grand Canyon and at an far-out desert spot along a river in Navajo country to visit Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon. Week 2 we stay 2 nights at Bryce Canyon and 3 nights near Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Day trips will take in a wide variety of scenery including, depending on our time, Native petroglyphs and pueblo villages. On Saturday the participants from both weeks go out on a night street shoot in Las Vegas.
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NEWFOUNDLAND-LABRADOR June 4 - 11 and June 11 - 18, 2016
Newfoundland was one of our most popular trips last year so we are returning in June to both the wild west coast of Corner Brook, Gros Morne, and L'Anse aux Meadows, plus a repeat of the east coast with St. John's, Cape St. Mary's and Bonavista Peninsula. Whales, sea birds, moose, fishing villages, and the most generous folks with the most interesting accents we are sure to encounter. With pubs, music and seafood, you can't go wrong whether it's sunny and warm or cool and foggy, guaranteed to add amazing images to your portfolio. Workshop fee $500 CDN plus tax plus travel expenses. View pictures from 2015 and a slide show of the participants' work, click here.
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SASKATCHEWAN, MANITOBA, ALBERTA August 27 - September 2 and September 2 - 9, 2016
The Canadian Prairies are a hidden gem. Grasslands National Park, the Qu'Appelle Valley, and the Cypress Hills offer vistas and solitude equal to any alpine peak. Wildlife is abundant and accessible such as antelope and migrating birds at the saline lakes. Diverse cultures merge here like the Hutterite colonies, First Nations communities, French and Ukrainian. We will visit the wilds, the small towns, farms at grain harvest time and the cities.
For further details about these trips, speaker programs or to get on our regular mailing list, contact phil@philnorton.com or "Like" our FB page: http://www.facebook.com/countyoutings
More image galleries of some of our past photography excursions:
Pennsylvania to Texas, April 2015
Arizona and Utah scouting trip, November 2015