Photojournalism

Do you think your images lack that “special something?” After all, you understand exposure, composition is a skill that is becoming second nature, and light is something you see and use whenever you can. Yet your images still do not stand out. This is where we come in. With a coach-to-student ratio of approximately 1:6, the Photojournalism Workshop can bring you to a new level of story telling, one you never thought you could reach. You will get closer to your subject than you could ever imagine, get up early and stay out late, get down in the mud with the subject, and ultimately climb into his or her heart.

Mountain is all about building relationships and using meaningful photographs to tell a story. If you want to be a photojournalist, your coaches – some of the best visual professionals in the nation – will give you a motivating push in the right direction. To complement your days and nights of shooting and editing, each evening includes inspiring presentations by the coaches, as well as critiques of a selection of images taken that day. If you find any down time it will be spent soaking up the knowledge of your passionate coaches and maybe sleeping a little bit.

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"There is a spirit here that lifts people up and pushes them toward successes in their photography that they might not have achieved on their own." "

Rick Loomis, Independent Photojournalist | Photojournalism Coach

 

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What we do

Each October, a group of visual journalists set up shop in a different community in Kentucky to document life and culture in a way that is rarely attempted. Raw and live, it’s all about the people and their stories, not the institutions. It’s called the Mountain Workshops, and dozens of students and professionals from around the country swoop in for a week every year to garner new skills and fresh inspiration.

It’s a crash course in visual journalism.

Participants can choose from one of five options for the week. Photojournalism, the original workshop at Mountain, has always been a big hit, but Video Storytelling is increasingly in demand. If you wish to increase your knowledge in other visual skills, the Mountain Workshops can deliver. Picture Editing pushes a traditional skill set of image selection and book design into the digital age.

Three workshops held in one location, in one week, with a constant flow of new ideas and one-on-one guidance by the top professionals in their fields, all add up to an intense five days of high-octane education in visual communication and storytelling.

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A sneak peak behind the Mountain

Housing

You are required to provide your own lodging and dinning arrangements during the Workshops.  Because of the remote location of the Mountain, there is limited housing options available, so we recommend that you reserve your room as soon as possible.

Our headquarters, Rough River Dam Resort State Park has a limited number of lodges available for workshop participants. To reserve a lodge room, contact the resort directly by calling (270) 257-2311 and indicate that you are a PARTICIPANT for the 2022 Mountain. You cannot book these rooms online; the resort has blocked off the entire resort for our use. (If you try to book online it will only indicate the resort is sold out, phone reservations only)

If you are into rustic camping, the Rough River Dam Resort State Park is offering tent-camping opportunities along their airport runway for $10 a night. You will be able to make use of the pilot’s lounge and shower facilities.

On Highway 79 near the State Park entrance is St. Clair Motor Lodge, a recently remodeled hotel.

In Leitchfield, about 18 miles from our headquarters, the Hatfield Inn has approximately 30 rooms. 

There are many AirBNB and VRBO options available. Search "Falls of Rough".

Once you have been accepted AND paid to attend the workshop of your choosing, you will be invited by your registration email to join a PRIVATE Facebook group for all the 2022 participants. It is in this social space that many of our workshop attendees coordinate hotel and optional transportation arrangements.

Extremely Important

This area of the state is a popular destination location. This time of year attracts a large amount of hunting and fishing enthusiasts and rooms can sellout quickly. It is important that you reserve your room as soon as possible (we suggest as early as July) to guarantee you have housing close to our headquarters. We do not offer refunds due to lack of nearby available housing.

Travel

The nearest airports are Louisville (SDF), a 74-mile drive or Nashville (BNA), a 127-mile drive. We have noticed drastically different rates depending on where you are coming from, so be sure to shop around for the best deals.

You will need to have a vehicle for the workshop and there are car rental places at the airports.

If you are in the Picture Editing workshop you may be able to share a car rental with others in that workshop to commute from nearby hotels, restaurants, and ground transportation from the airport to the headquarters and back. The participants in the picture editing do not travel for their assignments but will need to provide their own transportation for all other activities. If you are in Picture Editing and you book a room at the resort, you will not need transportation during the week, everything is within walking distance.

Keep in mind that the video and photo storytelling workshops will require working at various locations each day and it is mandatory to have your own car during the week.

Dining Options

The headquarter location at The Lodge at Rough River has a dining hall, Grayson Landing, and will be offering buffet style as well as menu options for all our participants at their published rates. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There are several other local locations for dining while attending the Mountain.

Lake House Restaurant

14033 Falls of Rough Road

Falls of Rough, Ky.

phone: 270-257-2020

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner

Open Thurs-Sun

 

Little Daves

9536 KY-259

McDaniels, Ky.

phone: 270-902-4400

Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner

 

Porgies

406 S. Highway 79

McDaniels, Ky.

phone:  270.257.3021

Hot Dog and Soda Shop

 

Tom & Al’s

8637 S. Highway 259

McDaniels, Ky.

phone:  270.257.3050

 

Headquarters location and tentative schedule

Rough River Dam Resort State Park

450 Ic-1003, Falls of Rough, KY 40119

GOOGLE MAP LINK

Tuesday, October 18, 2022 (all times are CDT)

• 7:30 AM Registration opens
• 8:00 AM Vendor’s tables open
• 9:00 AM Session #1: Large group introduction: Overview of workshop and small group assignments
• 10:00 AM Production and workflow tutorials
• 10:30 AM Session #2: Break into small groups with coaches
• 11:00 AM Lunch on your own
• 12:30 PM Session #3: Opening ceremony for all participants and hat draw (story ideas)
• 1:30 PM Meet briefly with coaches in small groups; fieldwork
• 6:00 PM Dinner on your own
• 7:00 PM Session #4: MWS evening presentations (all participants)
• 9:30 PM Session #5: Meet with coaches in small groups
• 11:00 PM Lab closes for the night

Wednesday, October 19, 2022 (all times are CDT)

• Morning Fieldwork, shoot features and story; meet with coach during the day
• 9:00 AM Building opens
• 12:00  Lunch on your own
• Afternoon Continue shooting features and story; write story and captions; meet with coach
• 6:00 PM Dinner on your own
• 7:00 PM Session #6: MWS evening presentations (all participants)
• 9:30 PM Session #7: First story critique (Photojournalism workshops participants only)
• 10:30 PM Session #8: Meet with coaches in small groups
• 12:00 AM Lab closes for the night

Thursday, October 20, 2022 (all times are CDT)

• Morning Fieldwork, shoot features and story; meet with coach during the day
• 9:00 AM Building opens
• 12:00 Lunch on your own
• Afternoon Continue shooting features and story; write story and captions; meet with coach
• 6:00 PM Dinner on your own
• 7:00 PM Session #9: MWS evening presentations (all participants)
• 9:30 PM Session #10: Second story critique (Photojournalism workshops participants only)
• 10:30 PM Session #11: Meet with coaches in small groups
• 1:00 AM Lab closes for the night

Friday, October 21, 2022 (all times are CDT)

• Morning Fieldwork, shoot features and story; meet with coach during the day
• 9:00 AM Building opens
• 12:00 Lunch on your own
• Afternoon Continue shooting features and story;; write story and captions; meet with coach
• 6:00 PM Dinner on your own
• 7:00 PM Session #12: MWS evening presentations (all participants)
• 9:30 PM Session #13: Second story critique (Photojournalism workshops participants only)
• 10:30 PM Session #14: Meet with coaches in small groups
• 2:00 AM Lab closes for the night  (first draft of story/final presentation edit due)

Saturday, October 22, 2022 (all times are CDT)

• Morning Fieldwork, shoot features and story; finish written story and captions
• 8:00 AM Building opens
• 12:00 Ceremonial close of content and group photo, lunch on your own
• 4:30 PM All photo story edits, captions, story and headlines complete; checklist review with coach
• 5:00 PM Dinner on your own
• 6:00 PM MWS closing ceremonies and presentation viewing
• 9:00 PM Vendor sponsored pizza party
• Midnight Workshop closes

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