Eureka Springs is a unique Victorian resort village in Carroll County, Arkansas which has its own culture and lifestyle. The city has steep winding streets filled with Victorian-style cottages and manors. The old commercial section of the city has an alpine character, with an extensive streetscape of well-preserved Victorian buildings. The buildings are primarily constructed of local stone and lie along streets that curve around the hills and rise and fall with the topography in a five-mile long loop.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not has noted numerous details about the city: The Basin Park Hotel is built on a hill, so that people can enter from ground level at all eight stories. The Palace Bath House has the first neon sign west of the Mississippi River. Penn Memorial Baptist Church connects to three different streets at three different levels and has three addresses. St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church is the only church that is entered through the bell tower. The town’s winding, hilly, curved streets form 16 “S’s”, a large “O”, and numerous “U’s” and “V’s,” yet the town has no perpendicular street crossings.

Workshop Itinerary

Dates:

September 24 – 25, 2011

Saturday:

Meet at Eureka Springs & North Arkansas Railroad depot Saturday morning at 9:00 where we will photograph the historic train depot and the collection of vintage rolling stock which is one of the Ozarks’ largest. All the authentic railroad memorabilia is here to re-create the turn-of-the-century era and give modern visitors a taste of how it was when rail service brought the first visitors to Eureka Springs in 1883. Exhibits, include a restored turntable, a handcar, vintage locomotives and rolling stock galore, and even an automobile outfitted to run on the rails.

We will visit the historic Crescent Hotel was built in 1886 and was at that time America’s most luxurious Hotel. The hotel seamlessly retains its 19th-century character, from the Victorian-Style Crystal Dining Room to the bold colors and antique furnishings in all guest rooms. The resort boasts 15 acre of meticulously cared for gardens, walking trails and unsurpassed mountain views.

Adjacent to the Crescent Hotel is Saint Elizabeth’s Church which has become a landmark in Eureka Springs and is listed on the National Historic Register. The Church’s unique unattached Bell Tower, which serves as the entrance, has welcomed thousands of visitors each year from all over the world.

We will make a trip to Thorncrown Chapel just west of Eureka springs. Thorncrown was the dream of retired school teacher, Jim Reed. In 1978 Jim enlisted the help of renowned architect E. Fay Jones to design a place of worship for the visitors to Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The chapel rises 48 feet into the sky with over 6,000 square feet of glass and 425 windows. Its dimensions are 24 feet by 60 feet. The chapel is made with all organic materials to fit its natural setting. The only steel in the structure forms a diamond shaped pattern in its wooden trusses. The building has a native flagstone floor surrounded with a rock wall which gives the feeling that the chapel is part of its Ozark hillside.

Saturday evening we will do a night photo shoot in downtown Eureka Springs.

Sunday:

We will spend Sunday morning Photographing downtown Eureka Springs.

Blocks and blocks of history, Victorian architecture, shops, art galleries, hotels, homes and cottages, and charming atmosphere. The entire downtown is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in America. In the Spring of 2001, Eureka Springs was named one of 12 DISTINCTIVE DESTINATIONS by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

No trip to Eureka would be complete without a visit to the Christ of the Ozarks statue. The 7-story tall, 2 million pound, white concrete statue of Jesus known as Christ of the Ozarks, erected privately in 1966 as part of a planned religious theme park. The statue sits across the valley from the downtown area and is visible from many points in the immediate area.

After lunch we will head southwest to War Eagle Mill and the recently renovated Historic War Eagle Bridge. War Eagle Mill is a true working water powered mill stands proudly as the premier Ozark-based producer of whole grain organic stone ground meals, flours and mixes.

The workshop will end at the Mill.

Location

Eureka Springs Arkansas

Cost

The workshop fee per session will $229.00 per participant.

The workshop fee includes all lectures, fieldwork and critiques of your images during our sessions. This is a photography workshop, not just a photo tour, my goal is provide as much personal hands on help as possible. I will check with each participant to see how you are doing and if you need help, if you wish for assistance let me know, if not just let me know, and you will be free to shoot on your own. I will be more than willing to look through your viewfinder or at your LCD to check your images.