This 5-session course is designed to teach adult students how to get the most out of their cameras and how to photograph a variety of subjects. Instruction includes discussions of camera settings, equipment choices and composition. This course also covers sports, event, landscape, wildlife, lightning, firework and night-sky photography. You will get the most out of these classes if you have an interchangable-lens camera.

Photography using cell phones is not covered. You have the flexibility of registering for the classes that suit your learning needs.

Register phone (719-260-6637), e-mail or by via the 3 Peaks Photography website. Each class is $75.

Session 1, April 8 from 1-5pm: Camera Basics and Composition

In this class you will learn about basic camera settings, auto focus, equipment choices, composition and how to start thinking like a photographer to make better photos. Half the session will concentrate on compositional elements and techniques.

Session 2, April 15 from 1-5pm: Basics Part II

This session covers advanced camera settings, including shooting in manual, aperture-priority and shutter-priority modes. You will learn how to use the camera's meter, focus modes/points, white balance and the histogram.

Session 3, April 29 from 1-5pm: Subject Matter (Nature, Wildlife, Sports/Events and Macro Photography)

This session includes tips and techniques on a variety of subjects, including nature/landscape, wildlife, using filters, sports, events, and macro (flowers, small objects, textures) photography. There will be hands-on macro session. Please bring some small items such as candies, coins, jewelry, etc. to photograph.

Session 4, May 13 from 1-5pm: A Shot in the Dark

This session features instruction on taking photos in low-light conditions, including night scenes, the moon, lightning, fireworks, night sky and painting with light techniques. Bring 5-10 photos on a thumb drive for a critique of your work.

Session 5, June 3 from 1-5pm: Intro to Photo Editing

Learn how to use the tools in Adobe Camera Raw (Photoshop) and Lightroom's Develop Module to perform basic edits to raw photo files. These two programs are almost identical, and most of your editing work can be done using either one. It is not necessary to have a laptop to participate in this class, but you may bring one with the latest versions of Photoshop CC, Bridge, Camera Raw and Lightroom Classic installed.

Join Chuck Benson* for a for a four-part series on Noteworthy Cathedrals, French & German Neo and Romantic Classicism in Art & Architecture, & The Hudson River School of Painters…! All sessions are from 5:30 pm to 7:15 pm. Price is $15.00 per person – cash taken at the door. Part of the proceeds go to an ongoing fund for UCCS Downtown activities.

March 23: European Gothic Cathedrals of France & England

We will journey back in time to a variety of architectural “gems” in the form of the French Gothic Cathedrals of Amiens & Bourges, & the Royal Chapel of St. Chapelle in Paris. Our journey will then take us to Great Britain to explore both Lincoln & Ely English Gothic Cathedrals, along with the Great Chapel of King’s College in Cambridge. These six architectural masterpieces are – in my opinion – some of the most iconic of both French & English Gothic Sacred Spaces!

March 30: French Neo & Romantic Classicism in Art & Architecture

This broad-based examination will look at renowned & great artists such as Ingres, David, Gericault, Delacroix, Ledoux, & Boullee, along with the architecture and sculpture of such monuments as The Arc de Triomphe, the Church of The Madelaine in Paris, The Pantheon in Paris, The unrealized Cenotaph of Newton, & The Tomb of Napoleon at Les Invalides, in Paris. This era of heroic art is and masterpieces are seminal to defining the glory & greatness of France! 

April 6: German Neo & Romantic Classicism in Art & Architecture

This continued exploration will look at great artists of Germany such as Caspar David Frederich, Arnold Bocklin, Fredrich Gilly, Karl Fredrich von Schinkel, Leo von Klenze, & Bruno Schmidt, along with the architecture and sculpture of such monuments as The Altes Museum in Berlin, the unrealized Villa Orianda in the Crimea, The Brandenburg Gate, or Tor, The Befreirunghalle, & The Leipzig-Dresden Monument, near Dresden, Germany. This contrasting era of heroic art is both similar & different to France, and this presentation will hope to point out both similarities & differences! 

April 13: The Hudson River School of American Romantic Painting

This beloved purely American School of Painting features amazing painters such as Thomas Cole, Asher Brown Duran, Albert Bierstadt, and the incomparable Frederic Church. All of these artists used light and shade for extended drama and effect, and were all superb draftsman as well in their approach to capturing accurately the feel of a place. Many art experts consider this to be one of the most beautiful and “luminous” periods of painting not only in the U.S.A., but in the world!

*Chuck Benson has been teaching the History of Art & Architecture for over 35 years in the greater Pikes Peak Region and the front range of Colorado. Chuck has taught at UCCS part-time, the Bemis School of Art, The Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, as well as at the PILLAR Institute. He is both an Architectural Consultant, Designer, & Art & Architectural Historian – and has led numerous local, regional, national, and international trips and tours to learn more about Art & Architecture.

Chickens!!! - Saturday, March 25th from 9am-4pm

In this 1 day primer, we will talk about everything you need to know about keeping chickens. From incubating eggs or starting with day old chicks, to using the behaviors of chickens for your benefit.

Workshop Fee: $35

Visit pikespeakpermaculture.org/events to get on the participant list.

Join Pikes Peak Table Tennis every Tuesday night from 7:30-10:00pm.

$8 per person--10% of which is donated to UCCS. For more info, please visit facebook.com/pikespeakttc

The Pikes Peak Table Tennis Club is a USA Table Tennis affiliated club.