Photography Course Update
Well, we are nearing the end of the ‘advanced’ photography course. I’ve got about a week and a half to come up with, produce & edit my final project – and I still haven’t got the foggiest about where to start – or what to do.
It’s not the course I hasten to add. It’s me. I have had lots of ideas but done nothing with any of them. Even while I write this I should really be working away on the project. If I could get on with it now, there would be much less of a rush at the end.
The course has been great. David is reassuringly calm and knowledgeable and patient. The speakers he organised (Christophe Dillinger and Andrew Jackson) were inspirational in completely different ways. Christophe has a wild and quirky approach to photography. He seems to want to break all the rules, and is taking his own unique path. His results are often strange, non-conformist and sometimes downright weird. It’s not to everyone’s taste by any means but I admire his courage to create his own path.
Andrew, on the other hand, is much more conventional by comparison. His images are still challenging and, coupled with his stories about how and when they were taken, take on a whole new meaning, particularly his South African pictures. It was fascinating to hear his experiences of getting briefs from magazines and papers and then having to think on his feet when doing the shoot – to keep the editor happy and also to fit in with the subject of the shoot who was often difficult, or short on time. Add in the problems of weather, lighting, venue, equipment etc it all adds up to a scary account of the life of this photographer.
Other sessions on the course have included a photoshop overview, a studio session with two models and only the barest of guidance allowing us to get it wrong and then learn how to get it right. Plus David went through various styles of photography and the work of a number of photographers.
All in all – it’s been good fun. And I’ve met one or two people who I hope to stay in contact with when the course is finished. And I’ve finally taken my camera off Auto.
I just need to think of a theme for the final project. Better get on with it!
Wanna do a photography course and live within travelling distance of Birmingham? Here’s the link:
http://www.fotofilia.co.uk/
