Magnum Photos announces Sydney photography workshop

For our friends on the other side (of the world…..nothing spooky here) a workshop. Hosted in conjunction with the Head On photography festival, the five-day workshop will be led by Magnum photographers Ian Berry, Eli Reed and Chris Steele-Perkin

Intended to be hands-on and practical, the workshop, which will take place from 21-25 May, will involve group critiques, and reviewing and mentoring sessions.

Image by Ian Berry

Participants will be encouraged to work on self-directed projects under the guidance of Magnum photographers Ian Berry, Eli Reed and Chris Steele-Perkins who will assist in all aspects of shooting, editing, discussing and presenting work across the five days.

The workshop is aimed at photographers who want to challenge their visual understanding, develop their photographic identity and push the boundaries of their personal practice.

It will culminate in a projection of participants’ work as part of the official Head On Photo Festival, Australia’s largest photography festival.

In addition, workshop participants will have the opportunity to produce a group photobook in conjunction with Blurb.

The deadline for applications is 28 April. To apply for a place on the workshop, visit the Magnum website.

For information about Head On Photo Festival, visit www.headon.com.au.

FORMAT International Photography Festival Derby March- April

This festival is one of the foremost held in the UK, featuring a wide range of activities including exhibitions, talks, tutorials, workshops and events. Spending time in Derby might not be your idea of fun but having such a huge range of photographic events in place for just one month might convince you to stay. The one thing that is irritating is their website, I am sure they think it looks very pretty and hip but it is a problem to navigate around. Spending time clicking to try and find venues listed is not my idea of a good website.

Established in 2004 by Louise Clements and Mike Brown, the biennale festival celebrates the wealth of contemporary practice in international photography and is now one of the UK’s leading non-profit international contemporary festivals of photography and related media.

FORMAT is focused on developing opportunities to platform the work of international photographers and to provide links for local/national practitioners to show work, exchange opportunities, skills and knowledge and for audiences to see, debate, develop and engage in the best of what photography is and can be.

8th March – 7th April

Here are just a few of the events.

Derby At Work Photo Walks

Walk and photo workshop with a photographer. Start at QUAD, learn street photo skills and explore the theme of Factory. End at the Chocolate Factory where a selection of your work will be exhibited as part of Derby At Work.

QUAD

Dates and Times 14. 21, 28 March & 4 April 13:00 -16:00 & 18:30 – 20:30 Cost: Free

Pinhole Photography Workshop

Venue The Photo Parlour Dates and Times 9, 16, 23, 30 March & 6 April 10:00 – 14:00 Cost: £23/17

Photography Day hosted by the Guardian Picture Desk

Talk led by Guardian Head of Photography Roger Tooth and award-winning Guardian photographers, with a focus on photojournalism, editing and the range of photography in newspapers today. Portfolio reviews by Guardian editors and photographers: bring your portfolio, join in the discussion or just come to listen.

Venue QUAD Dates and Times 16 March 11:00 – 16:00 Cost: £20

Self Publish, Be Happy Workshop

A two day intensive workshop conceived for people interested in publishing their own photography book run by Self Publish, Be Happy founder Bruno Ceschel.

Venue QUAD Dates and Times 23 & 24 March 11:00 – 17:00 Cost: £210

To see all of the events go to the FORMAT International Photography Festival website here

30 Things you Should Know to Help you Start a Photography Business

2 of my favourite photography blogs are based in Australia, in some ways I am not surprised by this as down under photography is taken seriously. You see photo galleries even in small towns and professional photographers seem to be genuinely interested in the craft of photography rather than it just being a means of making money. Does that mean I don’t think photography is taken seriously in the UK, well maybe. Not amongst the people who read our blog or come to us as students to learn but I do find many commercial operations are satisfied with the pictures that ‘Sarah’ from accounts can take because she has a good camera. Yes I exaggerate but the idea that making good pictures is just about having a decent camera does seem prevalent. The concept that a photographer with an understanding of communicating through images and experience of different situations and knowledge about the technical aspects is not one that many organisations take to heart when requiring images for a web site or brochures. So it was with pleasure that I found this from Digital Photo School in Melbourne suggesting that being a photographer requires more than just owning a camera.

©Keith Barnes

So here is some of the article from Digital Photo School by Gina Milicia that I suggest you read if you are thinking of becoming a photographer

1. Find the best photography course or workshops that work for you. try OSP as a start

If you are going to invest in a photography course/workshop do some serious research first.

It’s a huge investment so find out who the teachers are. Are they industry professionals that are going to be teaching you relevant styles and techniques?

Is the style of teaching suited to your personality and photography?

Who are the ex students that have gone on to create successful careers?

Consider weekend workshops and online courses held by experts in their fields.

2. Find a great mentor

3. Get as much industry experience as you can

4. Be Flexible when looking for an internships

The details of these points and the other 26 can be found here

 

 

Composition in Photography Tutorials

Well finally we get to see some sun and very welcome it is. Of course the shoot I had to do today was indoors in a church, so low light and candles but at least the walk back to my car lifted my spirits.

We are soon starting our Composition In Photography – Seeing Pictures course (06.03.2013) but some of you who don’t live in Oxford might find the commute rather long so here are some online tutorials that might be interesting

http://digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-composition-tips

http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials/composition/master-the-art-of-photographic-composition/

http://photoshoptutorials.ws/other-tutorials/photography-tutorials/10-important-tips-improve-composition-photos/

http://oxfordschoolofphotography.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/4-rules-of-composition-for-landscape-photography/

http://oxfordschoolofphotography.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/how-to-use-natural-frames-to-enhance-photographic-composition/

http://www.lynda.com/Photography-Photo-Assignments-tutorials/Foundations-of-Photography-Composition/80299-2.html

Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VRwyZ2CPQw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMTRQjAl-m0

 

 

Magnum City to Sea Workshop

This spring, Magnum Photos are delighted to be partnering with Goldsmiths, University of London in organising a truly distinctive photography workshop with icons of the British holiday industry, Butlins.

The workshop is inspired by Goldsmiths’ 2011 international symposium ‘City to Sea’, which brought together artists, photographers and social scientists to develop visual projects and sociological research exploring culture, tourism, coastal regeneration and the heritage of the British seaside.

Following on from the symposium’s success, British Magnum photographer Peter Marlow will lead a four day workshop in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis in West Sussex, assisting participants with the production of new exploratory projects whilst developing photographic identity and visual narratives. During the workshop, participants will work alongside Marlow and the City to Sea curators, artists Rebecca Locke & David Kendall, in a daily program of shooting, reviewing, critiquing, mentoring and editing, hosted by Butlins.

The workshop program is accompanied by presentations and discussions with Goldsmiths, University of London researchers and artists, including Paul Halliday, Course Leader of the international MA in Photography and Urban Cultures and Bognor Regis historian Sylvia Endacott. Peter Marlow will also present his work in a public lecture.

Workshop by Peter Marlow

When: Mar 11 – Mar 15 2013

Where: Butlins Ocean Hotel Bognor Regis Resort West Sussex, PO21 1JJ United Kingdom

Costs: £950
Includes tuition and 4 nights’ accommodation at Butlins Ocean Hotel with breakfast. Also includes a welcome dinner.

Further details here

14 Ways to Improve Your Photography in a Few Days

This article by Chase Guttman,  an award-winning travel photographer, whose love for travel and adventure has allowed him to photograph his experiences in over 40 countries, on the Lightstalking website is on the button, I don’t think I can disagree with any of his points.

Some might argue the point that photography is an art form.  Training your eye to see the world and translating your perspective visually takes time and patience. Yet, there’s also technique involved in creating arresting images. There are ways to quickly improve your photography and impact your creative vision. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Here are just a couple of the points Chase makes

1. Read The Manual. Resist the impulse to cavalierly toss your manual in the trash as it holds a plethora of knowledge. For savvy shooters, manuals are the holy grail of photography books. They teach us the functions, capabilities and basics of our most important piece of equipment. The camera manual should be the bible for your gear. I recommend placing it in your camera bag. It will be worth the extra weight.

You could take our Understanding Your Digital SLR Course which would also help

3. Lighting Lessons in a Flash. Beginners seem to misunderstand the magic of a flash.  Keep in mind that most flashes illuminate only about ten feet in front of you. Furthermore, there are two main ways to optimally use flash — flash fill and bounce flash. In flash fill, you use the light source to attempt to fill the shadows created by natural lighting sources such as the midday sun. Bounce flash on the other hand is when the flash’s light is bounced off a wall or surface so it lights an indoor room evenly. To take better pictures, try to diffuse your flash by either aiming the light away from the subject or by using gels to minimize the light’s strength. Harsh or strong light isn’t kind on a subject’s face. Additionally, if the light isn’t diffused you may experience flash blow out, where your subject is a pitch white color and there’s a lack of highlights in your image. For maximum creativity and flexibility purchase an external flash.

We completely agree with this and have a course designed specifically to help people make better use of flash in their photography, here is a link to that course

©Keith Barnes 2012

Chase has more great advice on getting better at photography go here to see the rest

Full details of our course schedule can be found here

Click Here: 14 Ways to Improve Your Photography in a Few Days

Photography Resolutions 2013

New Year resolutions have a habit of slipping by the time January is out but one way you could make sure your best intentions stay on track through the winter is to book onto one of our courses.

You are interested in photography, that is why you are on this blog, so getting better at photography is probably something you would like to do and a course is a way to achieve that. Here is a list of our courses for this term, if you would like to book a course just send an email

Understanding Your Digital SLR Evening Classes:start dates 23.01.13; 7.03.13

Understanding Your Digital SLR Saturday Morning Classes start date 02.03.13

Understanding Your Digital Compact Camera – starts: 24.01.13

Introduction to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements starts 20.02.13

Composition In Photography – Seeing Pictures - starts 06.03.13

Understanding Flash Photography starts 05.03.13

Portrait Photography: starts: 04.02.13

Intermediate Photography - starts: 21.02.13

Black and White Digital Photography – starts 04.03.13

Travel Photography starts 04.03.13

One Day Understanding Your DSLR - 27.01.13; 17.02.13; 24.03.13

Photography Courses starting in January 2013

As the year draws to a close you might be thinking about plans to improve your photography in 2013, or if you were lucky someone has bought you a camera as a present, whatever your requirements a course in photography will help you to be better in all sorts of ways but particularly in photography. Here are our courses for next term, just send us an email and we will reserve your places.

Understanding Your Digital SLR Evening Classes:start dates 23.01.13; 7.03.13

Understanding Your Digital SLR Saturday Morning Classes start date 02.03.13

Understanding Your Digital Compact Camera – starts: 24.01.13

Introduction to Photoshop and Photoshop Elements starts 20.02.13

Composition In Photography – Seeing Pictures - starts 06.03.13

Understanding Flash Photography starts 05.03.13

Portrait Photography: starts: 04.02.13

Intermediate Photography - starts: 21.02.13

Black and White Digital Photography – starts 04.03.13

Travel Photography starts 04.03.13

One Day Understanding Your DSLR - 27.01.13; 17.02.13; 24.03.13

Vouchers for Photography Courses

We start a new term in January and have a mix of our most favourite and some of the more unusual courses we run. You may not know what to buy someone who is interested in photography but, well frankly, needs help. A voucher that can be used against any of our courses or for 121 tuition can be purchased and downloaded on line, here is a link OSP VOUCHERS

Photography Course Vouchers Oxford

That last minute dash around the shops is beckoning, know what to buy for someone is not the hardest thing but it is close to being so. The going out and buying is not hard just hateful. Shopping from your computer is something that makes this time of year civilised. You know someone who is interested in photography what are you going to get them? Most photo gear is really expensive and maybe they already have what you were thinking to buy, a book, that is a good idea but which?

Get them an Oxford School of Photography voucher

Our vouchers can be spent on any of the courses we run and we have three terms a year so lots of opportunity to get on the course of their choice. Maybe they really want some 121 with someone who can get them over that stumbling block. Our vouchers cost from £50, last a year and can be used for courses or 121. It is really easy to buy one, just go to our voucher page, and buy online from there, download the voucher immediately and you are done. If you want you could go and buy a card….. Go here to buy a voucher