Reviews and Comments

Student Reviews and Comments

Iowa Summer Writing Festival

University of Wisconsin -- Madison

I'm not quite sure how the "Focus on Photos" workshop that I selected came to be included in a writing festival, but I was glad it was! Michael Lemberger was my instructor, and he's had an award-winning career in photography; primarily newspaper photography. He was a great instructor, and obviously enjoyed his students as much as we enjoyed him. He and his wife (also teaching at the Festival) graciously gave up their Saturday evening to take us for an evening walk through campus and along the river so we could do some night photography.

I gained and learned more from this workshop than I imagined... It was neat to see people from California and New York coming to Iowa for the festival...

The instructor was well-prepared, knowledgeable, and brought an enthusiasm to his presentation. The class was an excellent mixture of the theoretical, the practical, the demonstration, and then hands-on work of the instructor, and then hands-on work by the students.... I was amazed at how much information was presented and discussed in the two days...

Michael was fantastic! ... I feel we were given a great deal of information on how to improve our work, regardless of subject matter... I have highly praised (the workshop) and recommended it to friends and co-workers...

I got my money's worth in the first hour. Michael did an excellent job of critiquing our work and offering advice on how to improve.

... A great addition to the two days here.... Very good and helpful handout. Very willing to answer questions. I liked going outside around campus.

Excellent teacher, content geared to the needs of the participants, non-threatening, supportive learning environment. Feedback on photos and opportunity for the night/day shooting sessions were very beneficial.

Great class interaction; enjoyed the "photography walks."

I liked Michael's style; very helpful. I especially enjoyed the Saturday night photo session and walk. He gave very useful critiques of student photographs.

He was a wonderful instructor. I especially appreciated taking part in the evening stroll for taking photos and getting to have informal conversation afterwards. He didn't have to do this and he did, which made it especially pleasant for me. Many participants were more skilled than I was but the instructor made all feel welcome and worthy.