“Over the years, I’ve invested a lot of time and energy into the study of how psychology influences successful outcomes in individuals, groups and businesses. One thing that has consistently surprised me is the number of people who insist that some character traits are beneficial and that others are detrimental. This is evidently wrong. Does having a particular character grant us special skills? Is our character responsible for holding us back? I don’t think so. The mistake is in thinking that it’s our personality that drives our successes or failures. It isn’t — it’s our beliefs.”
Nigel Fawcett, 2019
Enjoy a stimulating workshop-based holiday here in the beautiful mountains of Lunigiana
I work with a local special interest holiday business where I run residential photography workshops to sit alongside their existing portfolio of art courses in such disciplines as painting and creative writing.
When I started developing my workshops, I asked myself:
- What kind of workshop would attendees be interested in?
- Who would the audience be?
- What should the objectives be?
That second question was easy to answer because, for me, inclusivity is essential. So, once I’d made that attribute my red line, everything else just fell into place. Therefore, all my workshops must:
- Be open to delegates of any age or ability.
- Be welcoming and non-elitist.
- Be interactive.
- Be project based with set assignments.
- Contain appropriate content.
- Deliver tangible and measurable benefits to all attendees.
From this framework, I have have created the following workshop:
Workshop 1: The art of photography
This 5-day workshop has been designed to teach participants to openly question any existing ideas they have about photography. It is focused on the end product rather than the method used to achieve it — in other words, to start thinking less about the camera and more about the image.
Each day takes a particular element of photography and challenges you to reinvent it — with practical results that will elevate your work:
| Day | Module | Theme | Core content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Towards the blue horizon | Light | Levelling the playing field |
| 2. | Dance with the shadow | Colour, tone & contrast | Developing a palette |
| 3. | In two minds | Focal interest | REM |
| 4. | The curtain falls | Movement | Control the flow |
| 5. | The final truth | Composition | The 3rd Workout |
Key to the success of this workshop is its welcoming and collaborative nature, which creates the perfect environment for practical and meaningful results. All of the methods used are replicable and can be taken away to deliver measurable benefits to your photography, by applying a new way of thinking that will sit comfortably alongside your existing skillset.
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