Wade Laube is a photo editor, a photographer and an opinionated ranter (the two last descriptions make him a "my-kind-of-guy"), and he's penned an interesting post on his blog titled Buyer Beware of the Dodgy Workshop.
He says this:
"The travel industry has offered photography-themed holidays for years. Hobbyists spend their annual leave somewhere picturesque, get expert tuition and access to expensive gear they wouldn’t normally, while the organisers make some money and everyone’s happy. But what aboveboard entrepreneurs started, parasites are mimicking."
And I couldn't agree more. Caveat Emptor is the rule here. I would also add that great photographers are not necessarily great travel photography workshop teachers and/or leaders. Some are and others are not.
Once again, here's Wade's wisdom:
"Ultimately what you need to ask yourself is whether you are purchasing a valuable educational experience. Are you just paying for the brand-value of a big name photographer and getting little more?"
Having one of the highest number of "repeaters" (returning participants) in the business is a fillip that I wear with great pride, and as one of the few in this business who's decided to reduce the number of expedition participants to a maximum of 5, I thought it useful to once again feature the verdicts of my past photo~expeditions as follows:
Bali: Island of Odalan Photo~Expedition
Tribes of Rajasthan & Gujarat 2010 Photo~Expedition
Bhutan Photo~Expedition 2009
Morocco-Gnawa Festival Photo Expedition 2009
Theyyam of Malabar Photo~Expedition 2009