Thanks, for the comments everyone.
Kevin Caulfield said:
… are you asking about conducting or attending a workshop?
First, I should say that I posted the thread because I was considering taking a workshop. I signed up the next day, but the comments are still interesting.
I've tried giving workshops, but I don't have the name recognition necessary to command any sort of price where it's worth my time to do so. If I may be so bold, I am a good teacher, but then, I am not a former AA assistant, have a famous last name, or have a vault full of AZO ...
Bob Carnie said:
These courses were worth every penny to me.. A lot depends on how you value the workshop to your current life situation.. casual entertainment - low value course.
high energy detailed information - high value course.
I have taken hundreds of courses over my career, with conflicting results and satisfaction...
That really sums it up, doesn’t it? Like so much in life, one gets out of something in proportion to what one puts into it. And, of course, some workshops are good, some are crap.
Like other posters, I, too am generally skeptical of workshops and their perceived value. I have taken very few over the years. On the other hand, my wife is a painter, and she takes one or two a year and considers them money well spent. Yet, (as she and I were discussing as I posted the thread) her painting workshops tend to be much less expensive than the going rate (based on my research) for equivalent photo workshops.
Aware of the cost, that is why I restated the question to how much is it worth “to you”. Obviously to some folks, not much or nothing. Fine. YMMV
The last workshop I took was 10 years ago. The late apugger Lee Carmichael had brought in a well-known printer, and I took the workshop to 1) help out Lee and 2) meet some other apuggers. Both purposes were accomplished, but I also learned some things.
This is probably going to follow pretty much along those lines. I’ll probably learn a few things that may or may not be applicable to my own work. But, I will support the local community, and get to spend the day in the company of a well-known photographer that I think highly of, whether or not I adopt any of his practices.