Reflecting on my recent photographic journey with Arteh Odjidja (see post below this one), I thought it would be good to re-visit my first photography workshop with Thorsten Overgaard in London. Thorsten is a professional photographer, writer and educator from Aarhus, Denmark and travels around the world shooting assignments and hosting photography workshops. He shoots Leica cameras only and has a very down to earth approach to photography, making this fantastic muse very simple to understand, and improve your skills instantly.
My most memorable moment in the workshop was the portrait shoot. Thorsten covered all the essentials you need to keep in mind when shooting portraits. Finding a location, measuring light, calibration of the colour temperature, how to use a reflector to improve the articulation, the composition of the whole, keeping an eye out for the little details that you can’t really expect to see on the back of your camera. These were all very practical and aimed at improving the results. Simply no fluff around the edges! (more...)
Distance-wise not much of an actual physical travel for me as I live in Sheffield where the photography workshop was held, however participating in Arteh’s fashion model workshop arranged through Leica UK and Harrison Cameras was quite a trip for me. The purpose of this workshop was to gain skills in working with a professional model, setting up the scene and lighting and making sure you get the shots that will sell your client’s clothes.
I only use available light in my photography, and I capture people in the moment, without posing them, so why would I participate? (more...)
Doing a decent hike like Kinder Scout in the Peak District with great weather (this time) is an actual delight! I've scrambled up the Edale side of Kinder quite a few times now and every time it's a different experience. First time it was hell (didn't have a clue what the hike would turn out to be), second time round (more confident, but still painful), third time and a few more onwards in variations if wintery snow, ice, sludge and hail and the second from last I hiked it with a larger group in the snow once again. Walked the full circle to Jacob's Ladder on auto pilot. Fully misted up, no views whatsoever!
It’s something you should do every weekend! It’s taken me years to pack some hiking stuff, leave the house, and get to the Lake district with one of my best friends and go away for a decent walk. Langdale In the Lake District was the scene for this cloudy adventure. A simple backpack with a drybag, waterproofs, a proper man made fibre jumper and good hiking boots and off we went. (more...)
A quick evening visit to Oxford turned out to be intriguing! A city so well known for its' Harry Potter-esque quality of historical buildings, with so many students and even more tourists can actually feel deserted! Imagine starting your city centre visit at 5pm, on a fairly grim and cold day in early March. You would expect the streets to be filled with tourists, cars honking their horns to get through. Bicycles passing by left right and centre. However, the moment you turn into a side street, there's no one there! Is it because they're all done with shopping and sight seeing and have retreated to the comfort of an English Pub? Are they hiding in some hidden backstreet beer garden? (more...)
