Anyone with a camera can make a “good” picture, but photography as an art form calls not only for a mastery of technical skills, but for a strong vision that shapes the creative process.
In this workshop, we’ll discuss technical skills and tools, composition, use of light, capturing “decisive moments”, the use of “enhancing accents”, and paying close attention to details that support your artistic vision. The objective of this class is to learn to use the camera to create a work of art—rather than to simply record a scene.
This is an intermediate to advanced program; foundational photography knowledge and skills are required.
This program meets in person at the Arboretum.
Instructor: Will Clay, photographer; Ken Thompson, photographer
Age: 16 and older
Course number: P300
Instructors
Will Clay, photographer
Formerly a professor of botany, Willard Clay has been a full-time photographer since 1982. Specializing in large format photography, he has been the primary photographer for nine coffee table books and has been published in myriad calendars, magazines, books, and advertisements. Clay has taught at The Morton Arboretum since 2005, at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont since 1985, and classes and seminars at many venues across the country.
Ken Thompson, photographer
Ken Thompson became serious about photography after retiring from a job managing a chemicals business. He is most interested in “the world within,” that part of the world that we often ignore or walk right on by: water drops, insects, dragonflies, butterflies, and small plants. Thompson is best known for close-ups of water in its many forms, especially dew drops and ice formations. He has been teaching photography at The Morton Arboretum since 2006 and taught for several years at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in Tennessee.
What to Know
This program meets indoors and outdoors. Check the forecast and dress for the weather.
Please bring a fully charged digital camera.
This is an intermediate to advanced program. Foundational knowledge and skills are required.
Program Schedule
This program meets the following five times.
Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 18, 2025, 8:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday, October 22, 2025, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 1, 2025, 8:00 to 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday, November 5, 2025, 6:00 to 9:30 p.m.
Thornhill Education Center (parking lot P-21), West Side
