‘COMPLETELY OUT OF THE WAY’

Arts | March 24th, 2016

On a hilltop nearly 30 miles east of Interstate 29 sits the Coteau des Prairies Lodge. And to Phillip Breker, that’s a beautiful isolation.

“Coteau des Prairies Lodge is completely out of the way,” the lodge’s marketing director said. “Virtually no one stops in to stay the night because they are traveling through the area.”

The lodge, constructed between 201012 from Slope County, N.D., ponderosa pine logs, hosts a bevy of activity and opportunities for travelers and tourists, Breker said, from wildlife to hiking to agritourism.

Breker’s PhotoRx Getaway is another option. His photography workshop, set for classroom and field sessions April 810, offers photography savvy in a unique setting for beginners, amateurs and any skill level.

The Coteau des Prairies Lodge sits at the head of its namesake geologic formation, a dramatic rise from the prairie floor created by two divergent glacial lobes thousands of years ago. Pastures, area tours, Dakota markers and the Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge are all available to shoot.

“Our guests can travel a matter of a few miles and discover a whole different ecosystem of plants and wildlife as the sprawling flat farmland to the north meets the undulating cattle rangeland to the south,” Breker said. “The lodge is located at this amazing intersection ... .”

Breker, a pharmacist, lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and their eight children. After graduating from North Dakota State in 2007, he found his way into photography and something clicked.

“I love talking with people about photography. Nothing gets me quite as excited as discussing composition, exposure and camera gear,” he said. “I had extensively explored the photographic opportunities in the area around the lodge and still I am amazed with the abundance of new opportunities each time I return. From wildlife and landscape, to lifestyle and portraiture, there is no shortage of subject matter, no matter what season.”

Breker holds multiple photography sessions a year at the lodge, and said 70 students have graduated from the workshop.

His workshop takes participants through photography fundamentals to manual DSLR camera operation to Adobe Lightroom. Field sessions include a hike in the pasture and tours of the area.

Sargent County, where the lodge is located, has fewer than 4,000 residents. The lodge sits south of North Dakota Highway 11, which runs through the towns of Cayuga, Geneseo and Rutland, which all together boast urban populations of no more than 250.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

PhotoRx Getaway

April 810, Sept. 911

Coteau des Prairies Lodge, 9953 141st Ave SE, Havana, ND 58043

$525 (price is per person for a shared room); single room add $175; $500 early bird

price until Aug. 1 for Sept. sessions

7013717227; phillip@photorxmedia.com