Surf's UP!

What a day. What a superbly singularly fantastic day today was.

I ran one of our one day Landscape Photography courses up on the Downs today with two brothers, andI have to say it was oneof the more succesful days. Not that others are not, just some will stand out in the memory for longer. They were both a pleasure to work with and the confidence levels just rose all day until by the end of the day I couldn't believe just how far they had come, not just in termsof confidence but in terms of the quality of photography being produced.To say a very high standard had been reached would not be putting too fine a point on it.
We ended on the beach as usual, taking in the beach huts in all their glorious multi colours, and rusty padlock and hinge details, really working hard on macro detail, as well as the Peace Statue on Brighton seafront and various buildings, such as the lovely old sea front Embassy Court; built in the style of a tall Ocean liner, it was recently refurbished by Joseph Conrad in a slightly dulling off white. Pitched against the glorious pristine blue sky both are absolute stunners....
Talking of stunners, we were very fortunate to join the BrightonGroup Shoot at the West Pier on the seafront. BGS, as it is known, is an annual, sometimes twice annual, group event where photographers andmodels get together to help each other enhance each others portfolios. It is a superb opportunity for all to jump into this kind of work; you can keep it simply head and shoulders as I tend to or go down the bikini route as others do which I am never quite comfortable with; not just on moral or PC basis, and no offence intended to the models, I just find it all a little too naff and clichéd from a photography point of view. I worked with several very beautiful women ( and no I am not Swiss Tony!) and the skin tones and bright lively eyes should be enough for any photographer really.
What amazed me though, with the two customers with me today, was that after a simple introductory shoot with a lovely woman called April both grew in real confidence and just jumped in. I was really pleasantly suprised, one brother zonedin on a particular model that caught his eye ( deep red hair, pale skin and a chinese umbrella on her shoulder), persuaded her to shoot with him and both brtohers took to it like ducks to water. And the images were absolutely amazing, when I receive a couple of copies I will post them up so you can see what I mean.
Both reported they had had an awful day and wanted their money back! :-)

So, all in all,the course and day were a great success. I am suffering for burning a little though, not badly fortunately. By 5pm the light was just perfect. So come and join us, courses are very reasonably priced and offer a very rare opportunity to not only spend a day out with your camera but with the support of a professional able to guide you through the camera's settings, elements of composure, using light, focussing in on detail using macro, depths of field etc etc,and courses are always pitched to your ability so be put off byany jargon; I promise itis a jargon free day! These two Alpha Essex lads were pouring over bluebelles, butter cups and grass heads up on the Downs at mid-day today, and thoroughly enjoying themselves. One even said onshowing me his flower photos ' but dont tell my dad.' Hahaha. It is a genuine joy to watch peoples confidence and artistic expression come to the fore with such great results.
This evening, Mrs Blog and daughter Blog (son Blog is on a sleepover) are watching Briatains GotTalent (give me strength.........) so I am retiringto the garden with a large glass of iced ginger beer and and fine Rioja to stare skywards and watch the swallows dance in the sky, high, high above. These are the days that we live for!
See the details for our one day photography courses in Brighton, Sussex here http://www.weddingphotorgaphyworld.co.uk/ Click on Courses in the main menu for a taster of the perfect day out.
Ciao.

Sunny days, photography tuition and avoiding sunburn!

Saturday I ran another of our photography courses on the south Downs and on Brighotn seafront. I had advised students, as I do on the day or days before, to remember to charge camera batteries, bring a spare if possible, and to pack a pac-a-mac type outer wear in case of inclement weather. The south Downs Way can be wild at times. I should, of course, have reminded myself and students to bring sun cream at this time of year. Ouch! As ever, I never feel myself burning up until late in the day, and too late to do much about it, I really must get into the habit of applying sun protection before going out. The sun is extremely powerful at this time of year, particularly in unsheltered areas like the south downs and Brighton seafront.

After starting at Ditchling Beacon we movedon to Devils Dyke. Both points provide very dramatic scenery and endless possibilities with the camera. I never tire of these places. Lunch was at the pub at Devils' Dyke, and whilst adequate, thisis such a splendid natural place that the food served really ought to be, and could quite easily be, substantially better than what is on offer. Lunch was ultimately dissapointing, I am thinking there are better places to eat in town; it's not cheap either, just consistently poor and I work too hard for my money to spend it on 'not very good.' One day someone with the means will take this place by the horns and do a roaring trade based on good quality. It was also disapointing to see the National Trust introducing Car Park charging when it has been free for as long back as I can remember. Ok, it's only two pounds, but this is one of the last places that could be enjoyed for free, and in a recession as serious as this one, the NT could not have chosen a worse time to introduce charging.

The course was a great success, thoroughly enjoyed, good company, intelligent questions and real ability as well. It is a pleasure to see others getting as much out of photography as possible, and enjoying getting to grips with camera settings, exposures, composure etc etc. I'd run these courses 6 days a week if I could. Ah well, we cant have everything in life, and I have another course running next weekend, with more vouchers sold this week in the run up to Father's Day, and a number of new wedding photographers in Australia joining us as well. And the sun has been shining too!