Learn about the camera settings for landscapes. Topics will include shutter and aperture settings for the best exposure;  understanding the use of natural light;  finding the best composition; understanding the use of  focal length lenses; using depth of field; and  filters. This class is for digital cameras and smartphones alike.  It’s helpful to have a tripod but not necessary. 

This is a live online using ZOOM. 

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Steve McGrath is a professional freelance photographer and photography teacher who has been creating images for 20 years. Steve first began by shooting sports photography for local high schools, then weddings, and stock agencies. His love of the outdoors led him to focusing more on his true passion. Steve was an active member of the Gateway Camera Club for many years, and has won many ribbons and awards at fairs and competitions through the club and on his own. Many of his images have been published in school text books.

Are you still getting to know your digital camera and its features? Here’s an opportunity to learn from an expert in this seminar for beginners! Have your camera ready and learn when and how to use its special features such as program mode, manual mode, aperture priority and shutter priority. Also covered will be basic composition and best use of light for different situations such as plant, people, macro, and landscape photography.  This five week series covers multiple subjects with assignments and sharing of the students' work.

  This is a live online class using ZOOM.

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Steve McGrath is a professional freelance photographer and photography teacher who has been creating images for 20 years. Steve first began by shooting sports photography for local high schools, then weddings, and stock agencies. His love of the outdoors led him to focusing more on his true passion. Steve was an active member of the Gateway Camera Club for many years, and has won many ribbons and awards at fairs and competitions through the club and on his own. Many of his images have been published in school text books.

This presentation will be a live, online zoom class and will provide an entry point for beginners who wish to add bird observation to the walks they take.

Our session will include habitat clues, seasonal changes and events, using audible ID cues, user-friendly apps and online resources, and optics.

Craig Kesselheim is a life-long birder and long-time resident of MDI. Craig has taught Observing Birds I and II for MDI Adult Ed in previous years. He loves sharing his passion for birds.

Maine is known for bad weather. Explore the impacts of some of our worst weather and learn more about how climate change is accelerating storm severity and sea level rise. Bring your curiousity!

Donations to the MDI Historical Society are encouraged on the night of class.

Raney Bench is Executive Director for the Mount Desert Island Historical Society, author, and historian.

This is a live, Zoom class!

Once you know that you're looking at a hawk, or a duck, or a warbler, you can hone in on some of the shared and distinctive features that are considered special to that bird's family. The characteristics that make a bird species belong to a family will be the theme of this 3-session short course. Warblers and vireos once were considered to belong in the same family, but no longer. Why? Why did some species get removed from the family of sparrows and now belong to a different group? What makes a group of species... a family? We will dip into a wide array of local and distant examples to help us appreciate the diversity of bird families in our region, and those qualities that make them belong with each other. Families can provide a scaffold for rapid bird identification, but can also give us a deeper appreciation of behaviors, habitat preferences, seasonal patterns and plumages. Knowing a bird's family can make us better observers. This course will be coupled with one optional field trip for participants who can reach Mt. Desert Island. Note: geographically far-flung Zoom attendance is welcomed!

Possessing a pair of binoculars is recommended but not necessary. Please reach out to Craig if you need advice on how to shop for a pair.

Craig Kesselheim has taught Observing Birds I and II through MDI Adult Education in previous years. He is a life-long birder and year-round resident of MDI, and his birding experiences cover all of the North American continent north of Mexico. He loves sharing his passion for birds.