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Happy New Year Everyone !

Thank you for visiting my photo safari website. Its been ten years now since I started teaching photo workshops from my base in San Diego, California. My big thanks to David Luria from Washington Photo Safari who got me started in the business. I always wanted to teach people photography and art and my mentor David made it possible. I also wish to thank my art instructors Olya Losina and Reed Cardwell for helping me become a better art teacher. I adopted many of the teaching methods from David and my art teachers to teach my unique hands-on photo instruction to over 2,000 students to date.

Many students attend my photo workshops and safaris ( which I teach all over the country ) to learn how to master the complicated controls of their digital camera. I wish that Nikon, Canon, or the other camera manufacturers would have created a much more simpler digital camera with simpler controls but their engineers choose to add a lot of worthless features. This makes operating your camera a lot more complicated to shoot compared to working with a film camera. But have no fear grasshopper as I have develop a method to overcome these technical obstacles. Let’s get done with the technical part of photography so we can move on to the creative part.

My goal in these classes is to first teach you how to master your digital camera ( semi-pro DSLR or point and shoot ) and then teach you how to become a more creative photographer. Forget about reading the thick camera manual.Throw the book away. Everything can be learn by doing and that is what we do best. We teach you one-on-one or with a group on how to use your new digital SLR. Our digital photo workshops are fun and informative and conducted in the outdoors
in photogenic locations across the country. You will have a wonderful time on our digital photo safari tours. I also teach photoshop basics, advance photoshop, and web design skills.

I look forward to teaching you a valuable and rewarding skill.

Elle Gamboa Jr.
Main Photo Instructor/Owner
USA Photo Safari Company
Ph. 949- 436-8154

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I found these quotations from some of my favorite photographers.
I just want to share them with you. Read and enjoy

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange

“ Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

“ Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.”
– Imogen Cunningham

“ If I saw something in my viewfinder that looked familiar to me, I would do something to shake it up.”

– Garry Winogrand

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange

“If you are out there shooting, things will happen for you. If you’re not out there, you’ll only hear about it.” – Jay Maisel

“I think all art is about control, the encounter between control and uncontrollable.”
– Richard Avedon

“To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt

“If your photos aren’t good enough, then you’re not close enough” – Robert Capa

To sign up for any of my photo workshops, please write your info below,

Our Portfolio

Seattle All Day Creative & Travel Photography Workshop

Testimonials

I have completed the San Diego Photo Safari that I signed up for in Aug and had a very rewarding time. Elle did a great job of showing me the sights & provided me much information on taking better photos. It was a very good time and I do plan on booking another photo safari with him in the future. Thanks for making the arrangements.
Owen Owens

Hi Elle! I just want to THANK you for such a great day! I just reviewed all of our shots and after explaining what the experiments were to my husband I realized how much we covered today. I really learned a lot about white balance which was such an interesting study with our night photographs.That was a function of my camera that I never even knew had such creative possibilities and can't wait to use it again. The observatory black and whites surprised me as it appeared on the LCD that there was more separation of the domes and sky but perhaps this was b/c the brightness setting gave us that impression? Kelli from Los Angeles

Hey Elle, thanks so much I had a great time today and I learned soooo much. You are a wonderful, patient instructor. I started out today feeling like a mute learning a new language, now at least I feel as is a few letters make a bit of sense, like A and S and ISO! ...Best, Susan

This is a must read article for all new students

Guys, please read up on the Triangle of Exposure prior to showing up at the class. This is the relationship between film speed, shutter speed, and aperture. Master this technical principle & you can operate any brand of cameras.Follow this link

Give the gift of digital photography

Digital photography and photoshop workshops makes a great birthday present or thank you gift for a family member, a dear friend,a loved one, or a hardworking employee. Gift certificates are available as one to two full day digital workshops.We print these beautifully design gift certificate and can mail them to any location in the US. Please email us for more details.Below are some sample designs.

Photography Tip No. 1

Early morning and late afternoon light is the best for any travel picture or people.The Golden hour is usually one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset insunny condition. Overcast lighting in the golden hours creates a dreamy mood or emotion.

Photography Tip No. 2

The rule of thirds - The first rule of composition taught to most photography students. It is a very effective technique in landscape photography but once you know the rules you can break the rules and produce dramatic and interesting shots.

The basic principle behind the rule of thirds is to break down an image ( horizontal or vertical format ) into nine equal parts.The theory behind this principle is that if you position points of interest in the intersections or along the lines that you will photo will become more balanced. Studies have shown that people's eyes are usually drawn to one of the intersection points than the center of the shot.

We teach digital photography to beginners

Learn the basics from a working professional photographer .Celebrating 8 years in the business of teaching digital photography to over 1000 students nationwide .Go from zero knowledge in photography & photoshop to advance basics in a few days. Personalized one-one-one instructions available.

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