ISSUE 125
44 / COURSES AND HOLIDAYS
LOCAL HERO The benefit of going on Chris
or confidence is low. And that’s when great images can appear. One man who knows what it’s all about is Chris Simmons, winner of best training provider in the Photography News Awards for a fourth time in a row with his business based in Cornwall. “This success has come from not only being able to take a decent seascape photograph, but more importantly from being able to teach how to do so. My training courses deliver an enjoyably challenging one-to-one learning experience in line with a client’s skill and comfort levels. “I show my customers how shooting a seascape is far more challenging than any landlocked landscape. It’s all about wild light and reflections, expressing visual emotion and capturing movement. I believe that the true art and reward in photography comes from manipulating your light as it hits the sensor.” Like some of the best courses, Simmons’ are all-inclusive. That means
everything from accommodation and food to location, transport and studio facilities are laid on. Learning in public There’s something uniquely effective about learning alongside other image makers. While online resources are incredibly useful, they are easy to pause, postpone or abandon. Going to an in-person workshop removes that safety net. Being guided through a shoot in real time – seeing how other image makers approach the same scene, hearing feedback, making mistakes openly – accelerates learning in a way solo shooting rarely does. Workshops aren’t about being taught how to shoot like someone else. The best ones give you tools, not templates. They help refine your instincts rather than overwrite them. The professional photographer Paul Edmunds hosts and mentors up to four image makers with his French
Simmons’ courses is he knows what locations to go to and how to get the best shots
MANE EVENT A safari trip could see you capture the images of a lifetime and make memories you’ll never forget
Photographic Holidays business, which is located deep in the French countryside, yet only six miles from the beautiful town of BrantÔme in the Dordogne. Your home and base for the week is his 17th-century studio and home in the tiny hamlet of Les Ages. And from the moment that you arrive everything is included, such as great food and drink, so you can relax and soak up the unique atmosphere of the holiday while also pursuing your passion for photography. There are six days of different trips to shoot the lovely French countryside, from visiting local chateaux to shooting candids in towns and villages. There’s also a full studio set-up to use on site – with or without tuition. The power of changing place Travel does not magically make photos better, but it does remove some of the excuses. New locations can compress decision-making. You’re working with unfamiliar light, different rhythms and limited time. So you will shoot more decisively, notice details more quickly and worry less about perfection.
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