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I had somewhat of a unique perspective on this trek with Rosanne Pennella as I was born, raised, and have lived in this area my entire life and had, as such, been to a number of the destination shoot locations previously. I thought, “cool, I’ll know what to shoot”. I was dead wrong. Rosanne and the Mentor Series organizers totally blew me away with fresh ideas, perspectives, and rock solid instructional development. Rosanne was the only Pro Mentor on this Trek and she did herself, Nikon, and the entire Mentor Series proud by her energy, tenacity, and endless list of suggestions and key “ah-ha’s” for the Trekkers. She is truly an amazing photographer, passionate mentor, and just an outright fun person to be around.

The 2008 Wisconsin Mentor Trek Recap follows:
On Day 1 our trek took us out into the beautiful countryside to the Wollersheim Winery where we were able to get some great shots of the wine making and storage processes. (As well as a few tastes of some really great wine.) The Mentor Series even purchased this very beautiful wineglass for all to photograph in different ways. Rosanne was relentless in prodding us to look at things in different ways. “Get down on the ground if you have to… or get up high, but just don’t shoot the same image 20 times the same way!” she would say. This was a giant take-away for others and me.

We then traveled back to Madison to the beautiful Olbrich Botanical Gardens where we were able to meander around the large grounds capturing everything from butterflies to flowers to a golden Chinese pavilion. Rosanne went above and beyond the call of duty by putting her beautiful diamond ring onto one of the flowers for those of us who had Macros/Micros with us.

Day 1 ended with superb food, drinks, conversation, and photo ops, all while cruising on the beautiful Lake Monona on the Betty Lou Dinner Cruise. The Madison skyline with both the State Capital Building and the Frank Lloyd Wright inspired Monona Terrace was stunning. By this point the group had already “gelled” into cohesive group, sharing stories, discussing the day, as well as some photographic geek talk. Day 2 had us up bright and early, but we only had to walk outside the front doors of the hotel to be on the Capitol Square at the footsteps of both the world famous Farmer’s Market and the state capitol building. We spent half the morning interacting with the locals as well as photographing simply wonderful sights. (Rosanne even managed to put on a “fill-flash” mini-course during this time frame for a small group… later to be repeated for the group at large.)

After eating (and shooting) our way around the Capitol Square, and shooting from the State Capitol Observation Deck, we hopped onto the bus to go to Little Norway where we were treated to superior countryside sites, Norwegian costumes, architecture, and a lot about the local Norwegian roots.

Although it already had felt like we had put in a full day already, we stopped in Mount Horeb, a small community with Norwegian roots to have lunch and great conversation. Then it was off to Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s summer home in Spring Green Wisconsin. Needless to say, the photographers who appreciate architecture and the geometry of how light can play, had a blast. A very informative tour of Taliesin provided a wonderful informational backdrop to the sights and smells of this beautiful location.

Being ready for a little rest, we got back on the bus to head back to Madison and the Lake Mendota Memorial Union Terrace. This is the heart of the 40,000 students at UW-Madison campus, and with students just getting back into town made for a delightful and re-energizing end of day. In addition to shooting, many chose to have a brat and a beer, or some of the famous local Babcock Hall’s Ice Crème. We ended the day by sorting through images and getting helpful critical review and feedback on each other’s “Pick-5” photos.

Day 3 was jam packed with sorting through and rating our images for both the “Day 2 Pick 5” as well as our “Top-10” for the entire group review. Rosanne again, rose to the challenge of squeezing in an informational session on the Business and Marketing of Photography. The Trek ended with the “Photo Pics” walkthroughs where we all had a chance to admire each other’s work as well as receive valuable insights from our Pro Mentor, Rosanne Pennella. People lingered at the end exchanging email addresses and voicing resolve to keep in touch, if only through the Mentor Series Alumni Site. The echo of Rosanne’s “Border Patrol”, “Camera Check”, and “shoot it differently” still is etched into my brain every time I’ve put my eye to the viewfinder since the Trek. Until next time…..

Bruce Caucutt