I booked what was advertised as a photographic workshop in Death Valley, California, with Gale Perry d/b/a The Light Fantastic, based on the satisfied comments from former clients on her website. The "workshop" was 3 1/2 days and cost $585.00. I learned that there were going to be 10 people total at this "workshop" and had high hopes that I would gain some better knowledge of my digital SLR camera, and photographic techniques, along with making new friends that had similary interests. The group did not mesh well with each other, and Ms. Perry's comment to me after the workshop, was that she had no control over "group dynamics." When I did not have the equipment that she suggested that we bring for the workshop, due to the expense, and my limited budget, she did not try to work with the equipment that I had, preferring to spend her time with those in the group that had better equipment. When I asked questions of her, she seemed exasperated, gave short, clipped answers, with no explanation of the reasoning behind what she was telling me. She seemed exasperated that I did not have a good working knowledge of my camera, and at one point stated to me "you don't know how to use your camera, so I am just going to set it on manual" and left it at that. When we were not shooting at locations of her choosing, we were viewing photos that each of us had brought to show our skill level. This did nothing to go over the exsiting conditions that we had encountered that day, tricks of the trade, what to look for, how to change settings for different conditions, etc. I was so disappointed, that on the third day, I left the group and headed out to take pictures on my own. I have never been so disappointed in a "workshop" or a supposed instructor in my life. I saved for three months to afford this disaster, and when I e-mailed Ms. Perry about my perceptions of what I perceived went wrong in her workshop, I was totally dismissed, and she blamed me for not asking enough questions. I can't believe that as she told me she has "repeat business" if she treats all of her participants the way I was treated. You may have a good experience with her, but I did not, and absolutely would NOT recommend her to anyone.