Join our photo lessons at the Waterloo Village Historic Site, one of the premier New Jersey venues in our rotation, offering an incredible variety of photographic opportunities in every season.
Nestled along the Musconetcong River in Stanhope, Waterloo Village is a restored 19th-century canal town. The Lenape first lived along the river, and by the 1760s European settlers had built iron forges powered by its water. In the 1830s, the village became a busy port on the Morris Canal, where mule-drawn boats carried coal, iron ore, and goods across New Jersey. The name Waterloo was adopted between 1840 and 1860, as part of an American trend of naming towns after the 1815 Battle of Waterloo (Napoleon’s defeat was seen as world-shaping, and communities borrowed the name to give their towns a sense of importance and permanence.).
Today, the restored village features a working gristmill, blacksmith shop, stone taverns, clapboard houses, and churches — preserved much as they appeared in the mid-1800s. Set among wooden bridges, dirt paths, and water, these landmarks offer photographers rich opportunities to capture architectural details, nature, and more. Your Digital Photo Academy instructor will guide you through a range of shooting styles and composition techniques to make the most of these subjects.
At the historic buildings, learn to use doorways and windows as natural frames, angle the camera upward to make steeples and rooftops more dramatic, and move in close to capture the textures of stone and wood.
Along the bridges and dirt paths, learn to turn them into “Leading Lines” that guide the eye deeper into the picture, or work with reflections in the river to create mirror-like compositions from a low angle.
At the waterfall, learn to adjust shutter speed — slowing it down to blur the water into a soft, silky stream, or speeding it up to freeze the splashes in mid-air.
When photographing people in the environment, learn to place them off to the side instead of directly in the center, using the historic buildings and rustic paths as natural backdrops for portraits or candid shots.
These approaches are just a few of the possibilities for building creative and professional-looking images at Waterloo Village. With so many subjects in one place, each scene offers a chance to try new techniques and come away with a varied set of photos.
Bring your camera or cellphone and any gear you can comfortably carry. Make sure batteries are fully charged and memory cards have space. Dress for the weather, and wear comfortable shoes for walking the grounds.
Each Composition in the Field class begins with a talk with one of our experienced instructors, and then you and your fellow students take a stroll through one of a variety of photogenic locales (in any of the 20+ cities the DPA encapsulates). There is street photography, magnificent interiors, farmers markets, zoos, landscapes, and more, photos of which are included within. These photos are a mix of student and instructor images in many different venues and cities across the United States and Canada.
You will have fun in the three hour session, learn to shoot strategically, get more interesting photos of the event, and walk away with a foundation to improve your photographs in the future, whether you’re traveling, or at a birthday party and everywhere in between.
Meeting Spot:
Please meet at the Meeting House at Waterloo Village.
Address: 526 Waterloo Rd, Stanhope, NJ 07874
Parking: Free parking is available in the main lot. Please do not park on side roads or in restricted areas.
Please note: If a class must be cancelled due to weather or other circumstances beyond our control we will be happy to work with you to reschedule. If you should need to cancel and require a new class date, contact us. A $25 transfer fee will be imposed without a 3 day notice before the scheduled class.
