Photography News Issue 33

Photography News | Issue 33 | absolutephoto.com

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Frenchclickers We sent two lucky winners off for a week’s photo tuition, all thanks to the expert expats at French Photographic Holidays. Here’s how they got on… Competition

A couple of months back, we gave PN readers the chance to win a gloriousweek of shooting inFrance’s beautiful Dordogne region, thanks to French Photographic Holidays (FPH). Steve Jones was the lucky winner, so we caught up with him after his trip to find out what went on. Steve and Jane took the Eurostar to Paris, then the TGV toAngoulême where they were picked up and driven to FPH’s base in the hamlet of Les Ages by owner Paul Edmunds. Paul had already sent a questionnaire to Steve and he’d detailed the equipment they he and Jane would be taking and their level of experience. “I’ve been a photographer since boyhood, but started taking itmore seriously some two years ago when we went on a photographic holiday in England. I try to post images everyday on the Blipfoto website and in January this year I joined our local photographic society,” explainsSteve. “I’ve recently upgraded to a Fujifilm X-T1 and XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, which I find a very versatile combination. We both also bought Velbon tripods along.” Paul also likes to find out how active his guest are, so trips can be tailored to their energy levels, and Steve and Janewalkmost weekends. Arriving at the FPH’s base, Steve and Jane were warmly welcomed by Paul’s wife Pam and shown around the converted barn which would

be their home for the next week. “The accommodation is in a perfect setting and was spotless,” says Steve. The modified barn provides two en-suite bedrooms for guests, a lounge with a wood-burner and a photographic studiowith fourApple Mac computers for use by guests. Steve was big fan of the cuisine, too: “We had a superb three-course dinner cooked by Pam every night with local produce, as well as lunches and all our food and drink was included, as it would be for a regular booking. I can honestly say that the meals were wonderful. I am a registered coeliac, but Pam took that in her stride and never failed to provide tasty gluten-free food.” On their first evening, Steve and Jane were given an introductory talk by Paul, followed the next day by a trip to Brantôme, the nearby town. “Nicknamed the Venice of the Dordogne, Brantôme was beautiful” says Steve. “It has an Abbey and many marvellous buildings, and Paul was on hand to point out the best locations for us to shoot.” After lunch back at Les Ages, Steve was keen to get out for an afternoon walk around in the local area shooting wildlife and the atmospheric village itself, which was an instant hit; “dereliction and rust are two of my favourite things to shoot, so I thought I had died and gone to heaven in Les Ages!”

Snapping France Steve and Jane Jones had an excellent week shooting with French

inSt Jean-de-Côle. There are somany other quaint local towns, and Paul and Pam are always happy to drop guests off and collect them later.” On their final night guests can choose images from the week and Paul will print them as a memento; “He even provided some very sturdy packing for us to transport them home safely.” That care and attention, says Steve, really summed up French Photographic Holidays’ outlook. “Our hosts were charming, informative and friendly – even the weather cooperated, and the food was wonderful. This is the first time I’ve ever won anything and I couldn’t have asked for a better prize. We’re already planning a return trip to FPH next year, probably in the autumn, when the colours will be different to those this spring.” Photographic Holidays in Dordogne and gave the hospitality of Paul and Pam Edmunds a glowing review. You can find more of Steve’s shots from the trip on his Blipfoto page at blipfoto.com/ CatchitwhenIcan

As part of his photographic packages, Paul also offers processing advice, as Steve describes; “At 5pm each evening we had Paul’s undivided attentionwhilst we began processing our photographs. Paul asked that we shoot all in Raw and provided a crib sheet for processing. Normally I find Lightroom is all I need for processing, but I did find using Photoshop interesting. Jane doesn’t usually do any processing and found the crib sheet invaluable.” Each evening, Paul also got Steve and Jane to chose their best images and keep the processed versions in a folder. At the end of the week it’s customary for each guest to show off their best work with Paul providing advice. Of this, Steve said, “with his background in the printing industry and as a pro photographer of 20

years experience, before setting up FPH, the tuition was excellent. Paul gave tips on how to improve, even though we were at different levels and he certainly had us outside our comfort zones on several occasions. By the end of the week, we were able to look at our photography in a different way; I definitely now appreciate the benefits of Raw.” For the rest of the week, Steve and Jane enjoyed four days out with Paul where they had the opportunity to do a dawn shoot, night photography, portraits, horse photography at a Police horse sanctuary, street photographyinmarketsinBrantôme andPerigueux, andmore shooting of the derelict buildings in Les Ages. “We also had two ‘free’ days,” says Steve, “and decided to take in the preparations for the flower festival

Fact file

French Photographic Holidays offers tailor-made seven-day residential workshops in the Dordogne region of France. Arrivals and departures are on Saturdays. Prices start at £950, and include full-board five-star accommodation. Non- photographers are welcome at a reduced rate. Nearest airports and stations are Bergerac Airport (37 miles), Limoges Airport (42 miles), Bordeaux Airport (123 miles) and Angoulême Station (32 miles), and collection from these can be arranged. A week includes at least six ‘half day’ shooting trips with a maximum of four photographers per workshop, and all skill levels are welcome. Tripods and other accessories are available to use.

frenchphotographicholidays.com

0033 (0) 5535 47485 frenchphotographic@gmail.com