This workshop is now full. If you would like to be notified if and when a spot opens up join the waitlist via email.
Total workshop fee: $2,995, which includes five days of instruction and all entrance fees.
Download the workshop PDF for a complete description of the workshop, including full itinerary, specific gear recommendations, lodging and travel information and more.
Course Description
The Columbia River Gorge is a crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Dividing Oregon and Washington, this spectacular photographic location offers forests, waterfalls, glaciated volcanoes and wide open high-desert landscapes.
Growing up in rural Oregon, I’ve had the Gorge as a backyard playground for the majority of my life. From climbing to the summits of Mount Hood and Mount Adams to kitesurfing the mighty Columbia River, exploring and photographing everywhere in between, this place has shaped who I am not only as a photographer, but as a person. I’m so pleased to have this chance to share it with you on this photographic adventure.
The Gorge offers a vast array of photographic opportunities for us from the mountain scenery and lakes surrounding Mounts Hood and Adams to the spectacular waterfalls, woods and river scenery for which this area is so rightly famous. This is one of those special places where we can photograph alpine zones, deep forest, and desert scenery all from one location. While our focus will primarily be on landscapes, the Gorge yields opportunities to photograph birds, street-scenes and sports action as well.
This workshop will be based in the beautiful town of Hood River. This town was a historic hub of fruit and lumber distribution, but now thrives on tourism and outdoor recreation like hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and wind sports. It has that old west feel with safe streets loaded with fun shops and good restaurants. If you haven’t been before, you’re going to love spending time here.
I’ll be joined on this adventure by my good friends David Archer and Rick LePage, my workshop coordinator. Both are fantastic photographers who love to be out with groups photographing and helping others hone their skills. Their presence will give us a 4:1 student-teacher ratio, ensuring that you’ll have plenty of opportunity to get the help and direction that you need.
Workshop locations
The Columbia River Gorge and the Mount Hood area is a wide expanse that covers Oregon and Washington, with different terrains, viewpoints, and excursions that we can take during our time together. Seeing all that the Gorge has to offer can take weeks, months, or more—even Rick and I don’t feel that we’ve seen it all. As such, we’ll be flexible in our schedule, depending upon the weather, the group’s interest and availability of some of our locations. We could also be in the midst of wildflower season, which can mean colorful meadows full of lupine and other spring flowers.
Some of our potential locations include:
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Waterfalls: The Gorge is well-known for its plentiful waterfalls, on both sides of the Columbia. Almost everyone has heard of Multnomah Falls, but there are so many other ones in the Gorge that beg to be seen—Panther Creek Falls in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest; Latourell and Horsetail Falls along the Historic Columbia River Highway (aka the Multnomah Falls loop); Punchbowl Falls along the Eagle Creek Trail; and many more.
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Lakes: While most of the waterfalls run into the river, the Gorge has plenty of beautiful lakes. Trillium is one of the most photographed locations in the Gorge, for good reason, but there are many other lakes to explore, including the lovely Trout Lake, with its breathtaking view of Mount Adams.
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Overlooks: From the shores of the Columbia to the tops of the hills along the river, there is a multitude of viewpoints where there are stunning views of the river and the mountains, pastures and hills that line it. These spectacular places to shoot sunrise, sunset and blue hour, range from the top of Larch Mountain to the Women’s Overlook Forum, to the Vista House and Rowena Point, the Lewis and Clark Overlook in Washington, and more. Even the small, almost pedestrian, turnout on Interstate 84 in Corbett can be a beautiful place to shoot at the end of the day.
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Mountains: Obviously, Mount Hood is the dominant peak in the area, and we will have opportunities to photograph its distinctive shape, as well as the iconic Timberline Lodge and some of the surrounding area. In many locations we could also see (and shoot) Mount Adams, Mount St. Helens, and some of the other Cascade peaks in the region.
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Forests: The Gorge is more than water—it has a rich forest ecosystem that surrounds it. Gifford Pinchot is lush and inviting in the spring, with small creeks and streams dotting it throughout, but there are plenty of other forests to be found near waterfalls and streams.
Initial meet-up
We’ll meet on Monday morning, May 18, at 9 am in our classroom location (to be determined). There, we’ll give everyone an overview of the Gorge, and talk about how we will spend our week together. We will have sunrise and sunset shoots during the week, and we will also have some classroom time to view each other’s photos, talk about photographic processes, showcase our photo editing techniques and have general Q&A.
Payment Terms
The Gorge workshop is priced at $2,995, which includes five days of field and classroom instruction, and admission to all locations. You can reserve your spot with a $1,500 deposit. You will receive an invoice for the final balance approximately 90 days before the start of the workshop. The balance must be paid in full 60 days prior to the workshop to hold your place.
All workshop payments are fully refundable less a 10% fee up to 60 days prior to the first day of the workshop. If you cancel anywhere from 59 to 30 days prior to the workshop, we will make every effort to find a replacement. If we can fill your spot, 90% of your workshop fee will be refunded; if we cannot find a replacement, we will refund 50% of your workshop fee. Any cancellation within 30 days is non-refundable.
We do expect that all workshop participants will have read, acknowledge and understand our workshop Code of Conduct, as presented at hudsonhenry.com/workshop-code-of-conduct.
For all information regarding this workshop, including gear suggestions, accommodations options, and more, please download the workshop PDF.
