Workshops in 2026
Maine Media Workshops
Exploring The Art Of Multiple Exposure (Online Learning - Six Sessions Over Three Weeks)
Join fine art photographer Manuela Thames for a three-week online workshop that delves into the world of creating multiple exposure images. This workshop is designed to expand your creative vision and elevate your photographic skills.
We begin this workshop with a step-by-step introduction to combining two or more images in Adobe Photoshop. You will learn to use blending modes, layer masks, and other tools and adjustments essential for creating multiple exposures. As you practice these techniques throughout the initial sessions, we’ll also explore the option of creating multiple exposures in-camera. Through experimentation with different settings and reviewing results, we will learn the advantages and disadvantages of both methods. Additionally, we will study the work of various photographers who employ multiple exposures in their art.
February 10 - 27, 2026
South East Center Of Photography
Diptychs, Triptychs, and Beyond (Online Learning - Six Sessions Over Three Weeks)
Diptychs (and triptychs, quadriptych, etc.) have become popular ways to allow images to tell a story or evoke a concept or feeling. It is a fun, creative and imaginative tool to communicate one’s vision as an artist and give new meaning to images. Manuela Thames begins this six-session online workshop by introducing and reviewing techniques necessary to create diptychs using Adobe Photoshop. Participants practice the techniques through various assignments throughout the workshop. As participants become more comfortable with some basic techniques, we move on to creating triptychs and even quadriptychs or beyond, and we explore alternative ways of creating such combinations outside of Photoshop. In addition, we will dive into basics of color theory and visual design and the possibility of including mixed media. Each session includes group image reviews led by Manuela and the study of a diverse selection of photographers.
The goal of this class is to develop one’s own vision for combining/pairing photographs and a better understanding of how to choose the right images, as well as to enjoy the experimentation, play and surprise that comes with this process. This workshop is for photographers of all genres including portraiture/self-portraiture, landscapes, street photography or still life. Get ready to be inspired and expand your horizon for creative image making!
March 3 - 20, 2026
LA Center of Photography
Layers of Imagination: The Art of Multiple Exposure (Online Learning - Six Sessions Over Three Weeks)
Diptychs (and triptychs, quadriptych, etc.) have become popular ways to allow images to tell a story or evoke a concept or feeling. It is a fun, creative and imaginative tool to communicate one’s vision as an artist and give new meaning to images. Manuela Thames begins this six-session online workshop by introducing and reviewing techniques necessary to create diptychs using Adobe Photoshop. Participants practice the techniques through various assignments throughout the workshop. As participants become more comfortable with some basic techniques, we move on to creating triptychs and even quadriptychs or beyond, and we explore alternative ways of creating such combinations outside of Photoshop. In addition, we will dive into basics of color theory and visual design and the possibility of including mixed media. Each session includes group image reviews led by Manuela and the study of a diverse selection of photographers.
The goal of this class is to develop one’s own vision for combining/pairing photographs and a better understanding of how to choose the right images, as well as to enjoy the experimentation, play and surprise that comes with this process. This workshop is for photographers of all genres including portraiture/self-portraiture, landscapes, street photography or still life. Get ready to be inspired and expand your horizon for creative image making!
April 14 - May 1, 2026
Santa Fe Workshops
Words and Images: The Art of Creative Fusion (Online Learning - Six Sessions Over Three Weeks)
We are all familiar with the saying, “A picture says more than a thousand words.” While this sentiment holds a lot of truth, this new online workshop invites you to explore how writing can deepen, expand, and clarify your photographic work. Led by photographic artist Manuela Thames, this six-session course creates time and space to investigate the dynamic relationship between words and images, and how writing can become an active tool within your creative practice.
Through a series of guided prompts and assignments, including journaling, mind mapping, and creating your own erasure poetry, you experiment with different ways of combining text and image. Each session includes time for group discussion and student work review, offering space to share progress, reflect on ideas, and receive feedback. You use writing to generate ideas, clarify intent, and uncover new ways of thinking about your photographs. Rather than treating writing as an add-on, the workshop encourages you to use language as a generative process that informs how you see, sequence, and understand your work.
You also spend time looking at and discussing photobooks and fine-art projects by artists who work across both mediums, paying close attention to how text functions alongside images. These discussions offer insight into how photographers and writers use language to shape meaning, rhythm, narrative, and emotional resonance.
By the end of the workshop, you leave with practical strategies for integrating writing into your creative process, a deeper understanding of how text and image can work together, and new tools for expanding and articulating your artistic expression.
