b this e-mail).Nikonians Academy Europe Updates

UK Workshops

Shoot better portraits using a wide range of traditional and contemporary techniques — John M. McDonald has added two new dates for his Digital Portraiture weekend workshop.

He'll be in London (Hammersmith) on 29+30 October and in Manchester on 19+20 November.

The Digital Portraiture workshop is a great opportunity to improve your Creative Lighting knowledge and explore the fascinating and rewarding world of portraiture. This two-day workshop will improve your photographic skills by submerging you in a potent mix of practical activity coupled with in-depth portraiture instruction. The workshop cost of €325 includes time with a professional model and access to the latest Nikon Speedlight equipment with expert guidance on hand.

For full details of this workshop and to book your place, please see our website.

• 29+30 October, UK - London (Hammersmith)
• 19+20 November, UK - Manchester

Fans of Street and/or Event photography can look forward to two great new extended weekend workshops:

Experience the visual delights of the streets of Liverpool and learn how to respond photographically to those fleeting moments of magic.

Through a series of planned “Street Walks” you will experience many different facets of the city and are given the opportunity to record the places, pass-times and population with expert guidance and support on hand — the Liverpool Street Photography Experience (Fri 14– Sun 16 October).

Timed to coincide with one of the most talked-about football matches of the new season, Liverpool FC v. Premiership champions Manchester United, this workshop is the perfect way to celebrate an approach to using a camera that is arguably at the very core of the art of photography itself. Nikonians Academy Europe has put together an agenda of presentations, group review meetings and a series of accompanied “street walk” sessions in a number of key locations and at very specific times in and around Merseyside.

From our base at the Travelodge Liverpool Central, we will follow a series of timed walks, coming together as a group in the evenings to discuss the images we have made and to exchange our experiences.

To kick things off, there will be a presentation on Street Photography by John McDonald on Friday 14th, in which he will discuss the approach of the major historic and contemporary photographers in this genre and illustrate and explain some of the equipment and techniques you may use during the workshop. John will lead the group through all seven street walk sessions and be on hand to provide support and feedback throughout the two days of image capture.

We have made arrangements with the Travelodge Hotel for use of a meeting room through the workshop for the briefings and reviews. To make the most of the weekend we would recommend you stay at this location but it is not compulsory. As with most hotels, the earlier you book, the lower the price. We would recommend, however, that you ensure the rate you get is fully refundable. As well as the football match, there are a number of special events happening across this particular weekend in October. Hotel room demand is going to be high…

• Friday 14 – Sunday 16 October, UK - Liverpool

New: Tenby Blues Festival available light and Hi ISO workout (Extended Weekend)

In collaboration with the Tenby Blues Festival organisation we have put together a photographic training event that combines a visually enticing subject with a challenging and meaningful project. This unique workshop provides an opportunity to learn how to exploit the amazing Hi ISO capabilities of modern camera models.

We will form a small crew of official Nikonians photographers at the Festival. Your challenge will be to photograph artists and performers taking part, working entirely in available light. As there are 24 individual performances across four official venues over the weekend, there are a tremendous variety of different Blues artists like the Hamsters and Skip “Little Axe” McDonald scheduled to appear plus loads of opportunities to produce stunning performance images both in front of the audience and behind the scenes. Your instructor will be on hand throughout the weekend to provide guidance and support and he will chair the daily revues of images when the group comes together in our Hotel meeting room.

This is your rare opportunity to document a truly special annual event and create exciting, vibrant, powerful and poignant images. Unlike other musical performances, our team will be able to photograph all the way through the sessions - not just the first three songs. Our Tenby Blues Festival partners have indicted a desire to use our images to promote future festivals and welcome the creation of a unique full-on document of the event. And there is an added bonus - a shed load of wonderful Blues music!

The workshop price includes three nights Bed & Breakfast accommodation at the Fourcroft Hotel - where many of the performers will be resident during the festival. Also included is a “Weekend Rover ticket” that allows entry into all of the official performances. Tenby itself is a quaint seaside town in South Wales that is completely taken over during the event with people taking part in the Blues festival.

• Friday 11 – Monday 14 November 2011, UK - Tenby

Germany Workshops

Last month we introduced two new weekend workshops in Germany:

  Learn how to become a better Photographer — the Knackscharf 2011 tour with the two famous German Podcasters “Paddy” and “der Stilpirat”, visiting seven major German cities between October and December.

Come and explore German's industrial heritage like you've never seen it before — the Industrial Heritage photography workshop on 1 and 2 October in Dortmund.

A few decades ago, the German Ruhrgebiet was known mostly for its pollution. Nowadays, people have discovered the stern beauty of the now defunct mines and plants, and strive to preserve them. For this reason the Rurgebiet was made European capital of Culture in 2010.

This exciting weekend workshop takes you to two locations of such beauty and shows you places otherwise forbidden to the public, making for unique photo opportunities.

On the first day we will take you to Kokerei Hansa, an old coking plant. Here we are taken to places normally closed-off to the public, allowing you to take some amazing and unique shots. In the evening the buildings will be lit up beautifully in blue, allowing for some more stunning shots around sunset.

The second day we go to Zeche Zollern, an old coal mine and its buildings. Offering you a diverse mix of photographic subjects including the old railroad yard, the buildings, the mine shaft and tower, the scrap yard, etc.

Throughout the workshop you'll receive tips and tricks helping you to improve your shots, both in-camera as well as in post processing. Old structures and buildings are a typical subject to receive that processed HDR-look so naturally you'll learn about applying that technique as well.

• Saturday 1 – Sunday 2 October 2011, DE - Dortmund
The Industrial Heritage workshop is already at half capacity so, you may want to book soon to guarantee your spot.

Netherlands and Belgium Workshops

Have you always wanted to create beautiful bird of prey images?

Here's a unique chance to photograph them up close, in flight, or on their prey.

This workshop is guaranteed to offer you great opportunities for stunning images of falcons, owls, hawks and other birds of prey — On 8 October, Hayo has scheduled his Birds of Prey workshop in Diessen (near Tilburg).

Other workshops and dates in the Birds of Prey series will be announced soon. 

Artistic Nude / Beauty Photography

Learn techniques to create appealing artistic nude / beauty photography — Pascal Baetens has added new dates for his Artistic Nude and Beauty Photography workshops. You can now join him at his location at Lovenjoel (Brussels) on 10+11 September for a weekend workshop.

A five day version of the workshop is scheduled on 3–7 September in Adrano, Sicily, Italy, and on 7–11 July 2012 in Arles, France.

Italy Workshops

Shoot for the entire weekend with Giuseppe Circhetta and his team, learning how to approach the enticing subject of Glamour and Editorial photography featuring production and post-production techniques.

Shooting outside is such a great experience for both the models and the photographer. Learn how to modify available light in order to get the best out of your shots with flash and light modifiers (both outside and in the studio). Because if you know the technique, you concentrate on the model and you don’t waste precious frames setting up your camera.

Understand the mood you’re shooting, use the light as the creative means to express your idea, talk to the model and let her know what you need, stir her up with your effective communication and then shoot, shoot, shoot! And after that, perfect your shots through realistic and precise photo retouching. All of this, in the quite and calm frame of Legnano, a small village 15 minutes away from the city of Milan with the availability of a studio and different locations.

— Giuseppe Circhetta's  Glamour Photography workshop on 10 and 11 September already has enough participants to be guaranteed to go through. and there are still a couple of seats left.