Winterlight 2011

The teacher in me is continually fascinated by what drives people to make photographs. There are many different reasons for indulging in the pursuit of photography: for some it is about achievement, about winning awards and titles, about winning the respect and admiration of your peers; for others photography is a great way to pass time; and yet others it is about self-development, about increasing one’s knowledge.

I would like to suggest however that there is another reason, and it is one which increasingly has drawn me into discussion in conversation with my fellow photographers. This reason lies in the act of photography, in that glorious moment when we are totally involved with what we are seeing in our viewfinders, when we become so enslaved to the moment that we forget ourselves. At that moment we are in place where Time has no relevance (shutter speed excepted). For a moment we step outside ourselves and become one with our subjects and, I have often observed, what comes is usually a surprise. I have heard students on my workshops, when they review their images later, asked wonderingly: where on earth did that come from? I have  certainly had the same experience myself, and is this one of which I never grow tired.

The act of photography then is about experiencing, wholly and totally and, in doing so, experiencing ourselves.

It allows us to move away from day-to-day worries and to be at one with ourselves. It is quite possible, at that point, to recognise who we truly are. And is that not the whole point of our lives?

Workshop goals

My workshops and seminars have three goals:

1. To grow you aesthetically
2. To grow you technically
3. To grow you personally

Workshop structure

All of my workshops contain the following threads:

1. A knowledge component. The more we understand about the wider world of photography, the more choices we have for our own direction.
2. A technical component. Working on our craft is an unending joy and offers us the ability to say more, with greater clarity
3. A practical component. All workshops contain exercises  designed to challenge you and get you thinking
4. An evaluation component.  Learning to study and reflect upon your work in an objective way is crucial to growth as an artist and important, wherever you are on the Artist’s Way.

Mile Marker Series

1. Visioning in the Picture Space -Visual Design and Composition ( 2 day workshop)
2. Realising your Vision using Post-production I ( 2-3 day workshop)
3. Realising your Vision using Post-production II ( 2-3 day workshop)
4. Photography as Art ( 2-3 day workshop)
5. The Art of The Panorama- it is all about time ( 2-3 day workshop)
6. Seeing with my own I ( 5-day workshop)

Genre Series

1. Winterlight                       Wedderburn      The landscape as Art                                                   6-day workshop
2. Masterlight                       Wedderburn      Post-production  and concept Masterclass             6-day workshop
3. Life as a document          Auckland             Documentary and street photography                    5-day workshop

Exhibition series

1. Innerlight North              Waikaremoana                 Fine art                 6-day workshop

Personal Journey series

1. Northernlight                   Hokianga                             Archetypes         6-day workshop

Workshop-Overview

Workshops can be tailored to order, to suit individual and specific needs.

In New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, the American continent…wherever.