Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore of Maryland
Instructors
Editor, Photographer, and Curator Molly Roberts
along with
Naturalist and Artist Laura Vernon Russell
June 12, 13, 14, 15 16, 2025
This workshop is inclusive of 4 nights accommodation, ground transportation, airport transfers, and a number of meals. As well as the instruction of two excellent instructors!
Molly and Nancy will be your chauffeurs during this long weekend, touring you around in a comfortable and spacious travel van.
Our home will be the Stewart House, an 18th century Victorian located in the historic district of Cambridge, Md. This is where we’ll start and end our days with food and drink, looking at and talking photography, making new friends, and enjoying the company of old friends. There are 6 available bedrooms with double occupancy (a single supplement is offered, also. See Fees below) The house includes 5 bathrooms, a large living area, and a complete kitchen, as well as an outdoor area and deck. We are a 5 minute walk from shops, restaurants, and the waterfront. This will be known as The House in future references.
This workshop is limited to 10 students.
Broad Creek egret ©Molly Roberts
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Molly Roberts is a documentary photographer, visuals editor and curator residing in Baltimore, Maryland.
Roberts’ 35+ year career includes creating visuals and managing contributing photographers at The Washington Post Magazine, USA Weekend, Smithsonian Magazine and National Geographic Magazine. She is the recipient of multiple awards for her magazine work including, the NPPA award for Best Use of Photography in a Magazine, finalist for National Magazine Award, special recognition for photography features by Communication Art, American Photography, and Society of Publication Design.
In 2019 she was awarded a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation fellowship to study and teach photography and multimedia at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where she received a masters degree in Visual Communication in 2021 focusing on the creative process and the history of the medium.
She has curated exhibits for PhotoWorks, Art Works Projects, University of Texas; Corpus Christi, Women Photojournalists of Washington, SXSE Gallery and Gallery 1448. She works on book projects for independent photographers and National Geographic Books. She has also participated in panels discussions and presentations about the current state of the photographic medium and the future of publishing at Ohio University School of Visual Communication, the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Northern Short Course and the Corcoran/GW school of Fine Arts,
Roberts leads workshops in photo editing for long term visual projects and photo books. She teaches photography, photojournalism and photo-editing, recently at Ohio University and Loyola University. Roberts is a regular reviewer and mentor at La Luz Workshops, Palm Springs Photo Festival, Social Documentary Network, and Review Santa Fe as well as the annual Women Photojournalists of Washington portfolio review and Seminar, which she is co-chair of the mentorship committee. She is co-host of the weekly podcast 10fps.net a podcast about photojournalism by photojournalists, but for everyone produced by Loyola University in Baltimore.
Molly fell in love with photography at age 17 and her love for the medium has been most enduring. “As a teenager, I stumbled upon the work of Robert Frank and Diane Arbus in the Harvard Square bookstore and time stood still. I decided it was the most revolutionary art form I’d ever experienced and I wanted it in my life. Since then I studied photography at UMD with John Gossage and along the way with many other generous mentors and creative souls. I have worked as a photographer for newspapers, magazines and books. I have edited books, magazines and special issues. I’ve judged photo contests and given lectures. Mostly, I’ve just enjoyed a life made richer by photography, a medium that is wonderfully suited to explore and make sense of the world and the issues that surround us.”
Past collaborations with SXSE Gallery and Magazine include the exhibitions,The Women’s Show, Picturing Self and Others, and Southern Landscapes. Workshops with SXSE include, Photo Editing for Long Term projects, and the Yucatan Peninsula, Merida, Mexico workshop.
Molly lives in Baltimore, in an artists community where her studio is a sanctuary of photobooks which she is happy to share with her fellow creatives and the gallery associated with the community is a never ending source of inspiration and lively collaboration.
Laura Vernon Russell is an artist whose work is based solely on nature and its form and function.
She’s studied wildlife and the mechanisms of nature for over 40 years. She has spent thousands of hours walking in the woods, on the shore and through the fields seeking inspiration for her artwork. Over the years she has gained much knowledge of bird and animal behavior through her observations, investigations and studies.
Artist’s Statement
The natural world has always been my inspiration and obsession. My painting, photography and fiber work serves to further my investigations into the mysteries of nature and the energies of life. The cacophony of the urban landscape has created a kind of hyper-focus on the mechanisms and spiritual properties of Nature. Tuning out one enables me to tune in to the other.
ITINERARY:
THURSDAY, June 12th
Please arrive Baltimore Washington International (BWI) no later than 1:00pm ET. Molly and Nancy will pick you up at BWI. We will all leave together for Cambridge, MD and The House.
There will be time to settle in and enjoy a nosh & beverage before Molly’s presentation on her career and experience begins at 4pm.
After her presentation we’ll take a walk into Cambridge for our Welcome Dinner. Afterwards, we’ll make it an early evening as we start before dawn on Friday!
FRIDAY, the 13th
Grab a cup of coffee downstairs before we head out to nearby Oxford, MD for sunrise on the Tred Avon River and Chesapeake Bay. Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland, marking the year 1683 as its official founding.
Pre Civil War Oxford was once a center of shipping but today is a waterman’s town, renowned for oysters and other seafood delicacies. Here you will also find the oldest private ferry in the nation offering a connection across the Tred Avon to Bellevue, Md and St Michaels Md a little further down the road. As time – and sunrise – allows we may also shoot in Bellevue and St Michaels.
Maryland’s eastern shore is well-known for its myriad varieties of bird life in all seasons. The marshes and woodlands abound with Bald Eagles, Peregrine, Merlin and Kestrel falcons, Red Tail, Cooper’s, Sharp-shinned hawks (and many others during the Spring and Fall migrations). Canada geese, King Eider and Brant geese, Mute Swans, Harlequin and Long-tailed ducks, and other water birds can be seen and admired. Warblers, sparrows, wrens, tanagers and four kinds of woodpeckers are found high in the trees, fields, and undergrowth.
We’ll stop for brunch along the way.
Afternoon: Into the town of Cambridge.
Explore Downtown Cambridge. Established in 1684, Cambridge embraces its Colonial and maritime heritage. Step back in time while strolling brick-paved streets in the historic district. We can check out the waterfront park, public marina and boat launch, and the Choptank River Lighthouse.
5-8pm: Hop aboard our private boats to explore the Choptank River. Laura and Captain Brandon have mapped out locations where we’ll shoot flora and fauna. Nancy will pack a picnic dinner we’ll enjoy along the way, arriving back at the dock in Cambridge at sunset.
SATURDAY, June 14th
Coffee, tea, light breakfast at the House … And then….Everybody in the van!
Morning: Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 12 miles south of Cambridge, MD, is a refuge for migratory birds.
Habitats of the Refuge include rich tidal marsh, mixed hardwood and loblolly pine forests, and managed freshwater wetlands. The Refuge is known for one of the largest breeding populations of American Bald Eagles. Mammals include river otters, foxes, rabbits, ground hogs (or woodchucks if you grew up west of the Mississippi), white-tail deer, opossums, chipmunks, beavers, shrews, moles and bats. The region is known for over 35 species of reptiles and amphibians including at least nine species of turtles in the waterways and woods.
The Chesapeake Bay is home to more than 72 species of fresh and saltwater fishes, bottlenose dolphins (in warmer months) and including two maybe three species of shark. Occasionally, West Indian manatees make their way north into the bay and once in a while the occasional whale.
Important species to Maryland’s economy are the Maryland Blue Crab, Eastern Oyster, Striped Bass (rockfish) and the Atlantic menhaden.
Trees on the eastern shore include oaks (like white and red oak of varying kinds), maples, pines (like loblolly pine), and other species like American Holly, Eastern White Pine, White and Red Cedar and Sweetbay Magnolia. There are many, many shrubs, wildflowers, grasses and aquatic plants to be seen.
**NOTE:
We’ll collect items along the way ( feathers, shells rocks, dried flowers, driftwood, and seeds) to use either for photographic still life constructions or as part of a medicine doll making workshop Laura will lead that evening back at The House. Laura’s workshop is designed to connect us to the Native American and wildlife presence in this area and to make something lasting and personal from our experiences walking through these historic and resource-filled lands. Please see her website here.
Afternoon: After lunch we’ll head to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument to absorb some of the history of this remote area and the work of Harriet Tubman to assist former slaves seeking freedom. Boardwalks through the marshland are accessible here as well. As we drive back we can stop at points of interest related to Tubman and Civil War History
Late afternoon/Evening: back to The House for happy hour, and into Cambridge for Dinner before returning to The House for Medicine doll and Still life workshops with Laura.
SUNDAY, June 15th
coffee, tea, light breakfast at The House
Free day to go back for another look at some places, or walk around Cambridge, or edit your shots for the review, or an excursion to …
Tilghman’s Island and the Watermen’s Museum for a look at the lifestyle of the historic waterman community along the Chesapeake Bay.
Return to The House for the group review at 4 and our farewell dinner at 6:30.
MONDAY, June 16th
EARLY morning return to BWI with Monday traffic.
NOTE: Please do not schedule return flights earlier than Noon. With Monday morning traffic we hope to have everyone at the airport no later than 10 am but we cannot make a promise.
FEE:
Full fee (double occupancy): $3750 – click here
10% off Early bird rate, paid by April 15th: $3375 – click here
Single Supplement: $800 – click here
Fee includes:
Instruction, direction, and review with Molly Roberts
Fieldwork and workshop of naturalist and artist Laura Vernon Russell
Airport pick-up and drop-off
All ground transportation during the workshop via our tour van
4 nights accommodation at The House (double occupancy, or single supplement additional)
Private boat tour
Continental Breakfasts at The House
Nosh and beverages at The House
Welcome Dinner Thursday evening
Picnic dinner on the boats Friday evening
Farewell Dinner Sunday evening
Fee does not include:
Airfare from and to your home and BWI airport, Baltimore MD
Alcohol – other than what may be offered during reviews, presentations, and workshops at The House
Friday brunch
Saturday lunch
Saturday dinner
Sunday lunch
NOTES:
Dress appropriately for the weather. Keep in mind that it will be cooler on the water.
Other things to consider bringing: bug spray, sun block, snacks, water, and cash. There are restaurants and shops for you to buy food, drinks, and other necessities but keep in mind, some local businesses do not take credit cards, so make sure you bring cash.
Questions? Please email nancy@sxsemagazine.com.
Hope to see you soon!
