HPW MISSION STATEMENT

                   HPW 2007: Mirror Lake; Highlands, North Carolina *Photo: Mark W. Hutchison c.2007

The WHAT   It is our professional & aesthetic goal with HPW to provide up-to-date, practical technical and creative digital photography instruction in one of the most beautiful natural environments in the Souheast. Our photographic emphasis has always been the technical - learning how better to use your own particular cameras, (small, medium, or large formats) and specifically digital; and equally important, the creative - learning how better to 'see' and capture the stunning landscapes, mountainscapes, riverscapes, and waterfalls that are so abundant here on the Highlands Plateau of Western North Carolina.

The WHY   We are about the environment, We were doing "green" long before it became a trendy buzz word today. The major reason folks travel so far to come to this area is the natural environment. Though the small town atmosphere of Highlands and her sister town, Cashiers, offers many fine dining & shopping experiences, it is the stunning natural beauty, the high elevations, the forever vistas of the Blue Ridge mountains, the distinctive and numerous waterfalls, (the most found within a 25 mile radius along the East Coast) and the exciting visual seasonal differences, especially during our brief but outstanding colorful Autumn days, that draws people year after year. Our Workshops are designed to take advantage of this extraordinary natural beauty while calling attention to the need for environmental preservation up here on the Highlands Plateau.

The HOW  We offer 3 full days of digital photo instruction, spending most of the day outdoors driving to many different locations on the Plateau. But we also make time for the very important indoor class time during the first and 3rd days, (during the mid-day hours when light tends to be rather harsh) while making a field trip the second day, visiting locations up to 75 miles away from our base in Highlands. Our educational emphasis has always been about a class structure that allows for students to interact with each other, as much as with the Tech Assitant & Instructor. Learning can be a shared experience that a Workshop may make possible. And that is our goal as much as helping yopu to make great photographs.

NEW & Continuing for 2010   We will continue with a new feature in which we bring in a top notch expert working in the Hi-Tech Digital realm, having access to some of the latest digital technologies to view, and to learn from, both during the indoor and outdoor classrooms. Both amateur & professional photography enthusiasts are always welcome. *We encourage such blending to make class chemistry as eductational as possible. We believe the best workshop experience, whether in a classroom and in-the-field envronment, is one where the students learn from each other as much as from the Instructor

                   HPW Fall 2008: Student @ Work / Highlands, North Carolina / Photo: Mark W. Hutchison c.2008

Mark W. Hutchison  dba: Light Image PRO Digital Photo is a Member of the FUJI FILM USA ProTalent Team & Member of the Highlands Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Hutchison is also working alongside the HIGHLANDS-CASHIERS LAND TRUST to help bring about consistent environmental awareness needed to help preserve and protect our natural environment here on the Highlands Plateau through his photography and writing efforts.

*Watch for the new book celebrating the Centennial Anniversary of the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust, "First Creation" due out August 2009, which includes Mark's photography & writing *(For more details, and to order the book, please go to website link page and click on the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust link )