"Waking up at 4 a.m. to kayak into the swamps of Louisiana in order to greet its unknown inhabitants probably isn’t on your bucket list, but it should be! It certainly wasn’t on my bucket list either--I just went on a whim and can’t say enough about how glad I am. Being alone in the early hours on the still waters of the Atchafalaya Basin as the mist rises was possibly one of my most enchanting photography encounters, almost surreal in its effect. The historic cypress, many over 1000 years in age, appear to be carved by artists of nature, draped in moss that comes alive in the early sunlight. Under the expert direction and tutelage of Doug Hansgate, award- winning photographer, we captured images of birds and plant life I’d only ever seen before in photographic magazines. Doug went above and beyond my expectations in making this photographic journey one to put at the top of my book. Doug's gentle guidance and patience, helping each person at his or her own level of ability, was a major part of what made this experience appropriate for the novice to expert. Every person in our tour came away with a feeling of having learned new skills while undergoing an adventure that was nothing short of magical!"
"I attended Doug Hansgate’s autumn in the bayou workshop in early November of 2019. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from him or the workshop since I’d never heard his name mentioned among my landscape photographer friends or the people I followed on social media. Having attended the workshop I can say that this is one of the best photo workshops I’ve ever attended. Many photographers offering photo tours use the term “workshop.” But this was truly a workshop. In between shooting sunrise/sunset, Doug led us on a 2-3 hour editing session every day. I’ve been using Lightroom and Photoshop for 4-5 years now, but I learned many tips and tricks from him during these sessions, and I really appreciated his artistic and creative perspective on the images he edited.
As a guide Doug really knew his locations, and he took us to the best locations according to the weather conditions we received. Many photo guides will take you to a location and simply turn you loose to do your own shooting. Doug allows you the freedom to do so, but he was constantly pointing out possible compositions and nuances with the light that made you see scenes in a way that you would probably never see on your own. To me this is the real value of a photo guide. Not just pointing out good locations but helping you to see it and photograph it properly.
As a bonus the food in Louisiana was amazing. I felt like I got a twofer - a photo workshop and a food tour of the south! Fairfax House was very comfortable and had a lot of character. It reminded me of one of those antebellum houses in the south during the Civil War, and the lady who runs the place was very attentive and accommodating to our needs.
I’ve photographed many well known locations around the world, including Iceland, Lofoten Islands, Greenland, New Zealand, China, Patagonia, the Canadian Rockies and Namibia. I have to say that photographing mossy cypress trees in the swamp during the golden hours and especially in the fog rivals any of the above locations, and should be on every serious landscape photographer’s bucket list. If you’re thinking about joining this workshop in the near future, I would not hesitate. Doug is a great landscape photographer and just an all around nice guy!"
The focus of my photography and travel has always been adventuresome, to stay off the beaten path, while trying to see things from a diffferent point of view. So when Doug said to me after taking two of his weekend workshops " you should really come with me to the swamp" it felt like a fit. HE WAS SO RIGHT!
Paddling in the dark and the silence ( before even the birds arose for the day ) to Dougs perfectly curated locations in the Atchafalaya Basin for sunrise ( and sunset ) was magical. The colors, the ancient cypress trees with spanish moss, the birds never disappointed. The " mist rising" was ethereal otherwordly and breathtaking ( and made for some super images! ). I never knew where to look, as the next amazing view was in all directions!
I recommend this trip to beginner and advanced photographers, beginner and advanced paddlers, foodies and nature lovers. Doug's vision, creativity, superb teaching ability and wealth of knowledge was shared freely on our excursions and daily workshops/photo reviews. His attention to detail ( the perfect kayaks, the best launch sites), and knowledge of the area was always apparant. I would have changed nothing ( except more hours in the day!).
I learned so much from Doug on this very special photo workshop. As he has said " I want my clients to have a great experience ". That I did Doug, and more. And yes, he's also a really great guy!
“I highly recommend the Doug Hansgate workshop in Louisiana. I was a little bit nervous about everything,… my photography skills….whether I’d be outdoorsy enough….my general dislike of water and reluctance to kayak….my photography equipment….and critters (alligators, mosquitos, snakes….you name it!) just to name a few. But Doug totally put me at ease. He is meticulous about planning and he is a great guide for that reason and many others including: knowledge of the area, a strong commitment to workshop attendees that they will have a productive week, ability to outfit the group for kayaking, excellent accommodations and more. And over the course of the week I am amazed at my progress. Plus the animals I worried about were no threat at all. Alligators want to avoid you and were no threat whatsoever. And snakes and bugs were a non-issue also.
Access is always a part of any great photography week and Doug has the access, knows where the great places are depending on the weather, water depth, physical abilities of the attendees and more. I ranked some of the places we saw as top 5 in my life. No small feat; it’s a gorgeous area. Doug knows a lot about every detail from the best places to eat local delicacies to the best places to photograph at dawn.
Doug also taught me how to shoot my camera in manual mode and that has simply changed my life. I look at the thousands of photos I took that week and it’s amazing to me that I was able to capture the shots I did on my last day. The improvement in my work during the course of the week is obvious to all, but I know that Doug’s patient teaching taught me even more than how to use my camera. He taught me how to see the Bayou. He taught me how to tell which trees would light up with the sun when it crested the horizon at dawn. He taught me how to notice the wildlife which was everywhere once you focused on it. He taught me to be confident in my kayak and to be confident in my photography skills. And by the end of the week I didn’t want to leave.”
My wife (Jenny) and I are avid outdoor/nature photographers-having been to many places around the globe to pursue this passion. As such, we have accompanied, worked with and studied under many noteworthy professionals. We have now been on 3 outings with Doug Hansgate and each of those were a memorable, thoroughly satisfying event.
Doug is a first class photography teacher- who takes the time to study/know the area- and always finds/puts us on the best spots. He is also incredibly adept at teaching “Lightroom/Photoshop” to help maximize the quality of our images. Despite his superior knowledge he is very patient and understands that many of us are challenged by the development technology (which is in constant evolution- with new innovations) and takes the time to teach and demonstrate those changes.
As a bonus, he is fun to be with ,and yet, flexible to accommodate the group’s needs and circumstances such as weather. I/we highly recommend Doug to anyone who might be considering attending one of his workshops/ outings.