Photography Forum

There are so many photography forums on the web .....many excellent ...but just wanted to share a two or three I am involved in.

First forum signed up for was photography4allforum a friendly site for photography lovers of all abilities and any type of camera. They have challenges to join in with and a real friendly group - several meet up have been arranged, unfortunately haven't managed one yet.

Nearer to home a smaller forum - Wirral Photography Forum - some members of which are in the above forum. Many galleries are for local photographs but other areas are also included. Have managed to meet up with people from this group - easier as close to home. We have collaborated on a photographic project for Shotwick village. The church in the village is most interesting and we were granted access to the tower and to watch the bell ringers. A portfolio of our work was given to the residents at their annual BBQ (to be left in the church) and was much appreciated.

Stuart Little - an expert in photoshop training, supported by excellent video tutorials and photoshop actions has an excellent site - thelittlephotoshop. The challenges and video tutorials here have been instrumental for improving photography technique and photoshop skills.
His action kits have also been invaluable in speeding up digital workflow and designing wedding albums - i wouldn't be without them now. Weekly and monthly challenges to get involved with too - always something new to learn and plenty of friendly members always willing to help as with the other forums mentioned. Check out the website for all sorts of goodies. In particular his latest product THE BIG PICTURE is a 4 DVD set jammed packed with tutorial and techniques on how to shoot, edit and retouch like a Pro. An invaluable asset when you think of the price of photography seminars - and the DVD can be played and paused at your own pace as you try the techniques for yourself. Its going to be holiday "reading" whilst away and I can devote some time to it.

There are many other forums you may know about - but there is only so much time to devote to them but joining one or two is so much fun and the creativity gained is great. So get involved and increase your skill levels and make new friends.

Sicily Trip

Well it was a lovely wedding anniversary break in Sicily at the end of March. Impressed with BA who we flew with this time - we were able to choose our seats on line and print off our boarding pass within 24 hours of the flight which meant we could cut down the time spent at the airport.....there was still time to pick up a lovely new Nikon D90 at tax free prices though, saving £100 on the normal retail price. A great way to start an anniversary!
The weather was fine and the views were beautiful, even from the approach into Catania we flew over Mount Etna still heavily snow covered from the good winter they had. The classical shot from the ground from the amphitheatre in Taormina our base for 5 nights was just as rewarding.
We enjoyed some short walks around the hilltop village of Castemola above Taormina and a walk down from the castle on another hill above. Cities we visited included Messina and a last day in Catania. Plenty of photographic opportunities means loads of pictures to sort!

Welshot imaging

Well it was a long day with a trip out to Menai Bridge on Anglesey for an open day with Welshot imaging - a fairly new photographic academy team aimed at educating and supporting photographers. We had met the team at Focus purely by chance on the way out and learnt about this 1 day taster session of what they offer.

In the morning we had short seminars on
Lightroom digital workflow - John Arnold from http://www.photowalkthrough.com/ - so glad I have Stu's big picture now with all those Lightroom tutorials on it. The quick overview on this session really gave me an insight into the concept of Lightroom and its dynamic collections.
How not to get arrested - James Mather, Solicitor
Why you need insurance - Nik Stewert - a really entertaining look at the pitflls of no insurance
How tax advice can save you money- Sharon Horsley Anglesey Accounting
Earn money with Magazines - Will Cheung FRPS, former editor of Photography Monthly

Time for some buffet lunch and a chance to chat

Afternoon Modules were of a "round robin" where small groups went from one session to another - a taster of what fuller courses might be like.

Learn to take great “Urban” portraits with a difference
An introduction to mains flash photography
How to shoot weddings like a Pro
Make prints to be proud of to sell / hang on walls
Take amazing shots with your flashgun
Getting creative with your composition
Can you solve my insurance problems?
How you can make £750 a night with Event Photography
A day in the life of an image retoucher
How can YOU capture the perfect wildlife image

Some of the above were practical and involved shooting urban models and wedding models.
John Arnold took the creative composition section - he had us walk 15 paces from him and then stop and take just 5 images, and then choose what we considered the best and then he and the rest of the group could critique them f so wished. A great practical, interactive way of making you stop and think about composition before snapping away.

Will Cheung also took the portrait mains flash photography and was very practical in.

In all a great educational and fun day out - and for just a tenner (really just to cover food and coffee costs) it was a bargain too.