Wanderlust: The Art of Travel Photography - John C Campbell Folk School Photography Workshop

From November 12th through November 17th, I will be teaching a travel photography workshop at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.  I'm looking forward to coming back to teach at this very special place again.  The class is called "Wanderlust: The Art of Travel Photography" & its going to be so much fun teaching it!

The folk school interviewed me a few weeks ago, so that potential students and others could learn more about me as a photographer & and what to expect in class. They featured me on their blog along with a Q&A and several of my travel photographs. I've been meaning to share this all of September and here it is the 27th of the month already! You may read it here.

Its not too late to sign up for this class! And please by all means, if you know of anyone who may want to take it please share this with them.  The ideal student is an intermediate photographer, however I'm willing to work with students just starting out in photography.

You may sign up here.
Learn more about the class here.

The folk school is in the southwestern part of the state {North Carolina}, but they get students from all over the country and out of the states too. I remember meeting a student from another class who was from New Zealand!  It's a unique place, rather like adult camp.  You can stay on campus in one of the houses or cottages & meals there are out of this world!  I need to lose 10 pounds before November 12th!


© elizabeth larson photography - www.elarsonphoto.com

Tuscany, Italy - Montage 2009

new addition to our family!

introducing little miss daisy. miss crazy daisy, the cutest silliest goofiest calico kitten ever. my partner terry and i simply adore her!  she really loves terry especially, he is the cat-whisperer after all!  daisy has been growing like a weed, since bringing her home in april.  

adopted from a loving chapel hill home {a colleague actually},  she began her life in a house full of children, two adult humans, mamma cat, 3 siblings, another cat, and a dog...and moved in to a house with 3 more adult cats, who i might add are not amused!  even after that much exposure as a youngster, daisy seems to have a shy streak in her. she'll have to come out of her shell soon, when my sister and one of my doggie nephews arrive on friday for a week-long visit!  

and the funniest thing about her... she has a thing for flowers!  i can't put out any floral arrangements in the house {unless up high, such as the fireplace mantel} as she knocks over the vase, spills the water, and scatters flowers all over the house.  do you suppose its because i named her daisy, after a flower? her name really does suit her.

we love her to pieces. she's brought so much joy to us, not to mention non-stop entertainment!

all images © elizabeth larson photography

pictured below {image 1-10} at 10 weeks and at 16 weeks {image 11 -17}. 

summertime news!

where did the summer go? has it been a full month since i've posted to the blog? and almost two months since i returned from italy? how could that be!!??

so this morning i finally had some time to sit down and sort/edit through the last of my travel photos to italy. i've just posted the last sequence (part 5) of these photos to the blog this morning. now its time to get caught up on the weddings, editorials, portraits, and so forth and hope to get some more material up on the blog and soon.

in the meantime, whenever i am not editing, traveling, or shooting an assignment i've enjoyed some quiet time at my farm in the countryside with my kitties, working in the garden, and just enjoying fun times with friends and family. in addition i have had some time to work on some personal photo projects. i truly believe the trip to italy has inspired me!

i've been fortunate enough to squeeze in several music festivals and concerts this summer and hope to continue to well into fall (photos to follow...eventually!).

and speaking of music, i've recently gotten back into doing some promo photography for musicians which has been a lot of fun. so all of you musicians out there, keep me in mind!!

last, but certainly not least a local winery has used one of my italy photographs on a label for a new wine... how exciting!! more on that coming soon.

one of the many reasons i chose to live in the countryside: sunflowers and queen anne's lace, an early evening walk through the field on my farm.




hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

italy: part 4

RADDA IN CHIANTI, CASTELLO D' ALBOLA

the adventure in italy continues, finally!! one of my (many) favorites while there was to visit castello d'albola which is located in radda in chianti, central tuscany. It was about a 30 minute drive from greve in chianti, where we stayed. the scenic drive along the way was out of this world! it was difficult to take so much in... i know that a repeat trip is in order. my father, a travel writer and photojournalist, chiles larson, visited this fabulous vineyard and winery a couple of years ago while working on a book project with barboursville vineyards in virginia. barboursville is owned and operated by the zonin family, one of the italian 'sisters' to castello d' albola. for those who are curious, my dad's book "Barboursville Vineyards: Crafting Great Wines Inspired by the Past" is pretty impressive, to say the least. so when we arrived there we got the royal treatment.... what a fabulous place and such wonderful people! lisa assini gave us a well-informed tour of the winery and history of the place, she made sure we had wine in our glasses and that we enjoyed ourselves at all times (not a problem!). after the tour, we enjoyed a luncheon with director/enologist, allesandro gallo, prepared by the personal chef there. it was truly a wonderful experience i will surely never forget. i left italy with a smile on my face and sadness that i could not bring the cuisine back with me!! what wonderful people, the food, the wines, the scenery. love! love! love!


now for the photos...







our fabulous wine tour gal, lisa assini









excuses, excuses with the harsh light!! finicky photographers (such as myself) only can dream of beautiful early morning or late afternoon/early evening light. especially in tuscany.. so this cherub was photographed in mid-day harsh light.. yikes! its all good. i was in italy, enough said!









i'm in love with this pic... not sure why, i just am





where the corks are made



everything is beautiful there...



my sister, page, grabbed my camera and took this pic of me.. so she takes full credit!



very refreshing on a hot summer's day



my adorable niece, kathryn, who will be celebrating her 19th birthday, tomorrow!! HAPPY HAPPY B-DAY!!



that would be me, kathryn, alessandro, and caroline. kathryn said she liked alessandro's yellow pants... i have to agree!











the tasting room





as we were leaving




needless to say i ordered a half case of wine from them. they shipped it to me thru barboursville vineyards, which is the way to go! so my father and stepmother will be visiting this coming monday en route to asheville, nc, so i will be sharing a bottle from castello d'albola with them!!

italy: part 3

VILLAGE OF GREVE IN CHIANTI

the village of greve in chianti was only minutes from where we were staying. we ventured in on several occasions to go to the market, do a little shopping, go out to eat, the saturday market, and even a cook's and beef festival. not to mention frequent trips to the gelato shop. what a great village and the people there were so friendly.



one of our favorite shops had all beautiful handmade things from baby clothes to tablecloths. loved the lady who ran this shop. she made many of the things here. some of you may just be getting a gift from here :-)



wine openers in a frame and art shop called galleria civetta. bought three prints of the tuscan countryside from this shop and the artist himself was there, and GAVE me a 4th print which he signed for me.





one of the signs at the butcher shop, "marcelleria falorni".





at saturday market, one of the vendors had multiple barrels of produce and goodies of all kinds









a delicious salad with a nice presentation.



the rooster, a symbol of the region. lisa, my friend and photo assistant, got one of these for her birthday! hoping she sees this blog posting.





caprese salad, a very favorite of mine. and with fresh basil and homegrown tomatoes growing in our garden, soon I will be able to make this salad here at home. Fresh soft mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil is all you add. the perfect summer time meal!











cool tee-shirts. now I wish I bought one.



greve's very own wild boar. and he lets you pet him!