Quest Photography

2008

These are normally one, or two day, events. The workshops are conducted in a friendly and informal manner and are suitable for beginners and advanced photographers alike. Numbers are kept to a reasonable level to ensure individual tuition and support

Please click on the Course Title to get more information about the course content and fees.

Picture Forum

Tutor: Hugh Milsom MFIAP; At Seaford, E. Sussex; 1 day, 9 am to 7.30 pm; Saturday 8 March 2008

This event has established itself as a ‘must’ in the Quest programme, through a mix of mini presentations, a competition and a talk. This year, a new ‘debate and discussion’ session is being included as an evening feature. Picture Forum is literally that - an opportunity for everyone to share his or her work. Presentations of up to 15 minutes, say 25 pictures, which can be slide, print or digital, are invited. This is your chance to show your pictures, so please bring some if you can. These are for enjoyment and appreciation only, so please do not be put off from coming forward! ‘Slots’ may possibly have to be restricted, according to numbers, but if possible, everyone will be accommodated. In the event of this feature being oversubscribed, slots will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, but also with regard to a balanced programme.

We are fortunate to have Hugh Milsom to give us the talk this year and he will be showing his stunning landscape prints. The competition this year will be for prints only and everyone is invited to submit one entry for this. A brief appraisal will be given by Hugh and prizes of one of his prints and Fotospeed materials will be awarded for the best entries, chosen by audience vote.

A new feature is being introduced this year, which will carry us through into the evening. This will be in the form of a ‘debate’ or discussion, with audience participation. As camera club members will know, there is usually little or no opportunity to actually talk about pictures on club nights. The judge for the competition will say his or her piece, but there is no feedback or chance to challenge the opinion. So this feature in Forum will provide the opportunity! The intention is to have a ‘panel’ of people, with a Chairman to start the discussion, which can be not only about pictures, but also any other photographic topic, the more controversial the better! - and everyone is invited to join in. This promises to be an entertaining and stimulating aspect of Forum and a suitable finale!

A buffet lunch is included in the price, and there will be suitable breaks for refreshments during the day. An evening meal (cost not included) will be arranged for those wishing to stay on before returning home.

Price £24 includes buffet lunch, light tea & refreshments (but not bar drinks!).

Payable in full on booking - not eligible for early booking discount arrangements. 

How I Make My Exhibition Pictures

Tutor: Hugh Milsom MFIAP; At Seaford, East Sussex; 1 day, Sunday 9 March 2008

Hugh Milsom’s digital colour prints have been accepted in numerous National and International exhibitions and he has been the recipient of many awards. His pictures have a wonderful subtle quality not often seen elsewhere and in this workshop, he will demonstrate his techniques used to make them. He will cover both technical and aesthetic aspects, with particular emphasis on use of layers, masking, hue & saturation, levels and curves, and use of colour. A digital projector and large screen will be used so that the procedures demonstrated can be clearly seen. To get the best from this workshop, some previous experience is recommended but is not essential. You could attend just to enjoy the beautiful images!

Price £49 (deposit £20)

20 places Includes lunch.

Exploring the Abstract

Tutor: Priscilla Thomas FRPS; 1 day, at Seaford, East Sussex; Saturday 12 April 2008

If you enjoy colourful, intriguing and stimulating abstract images, but are uncertain how to go about making them, this workshop will explain and show you some of the possibilities. Using several ‘photo stations’ various methods will be demonstrated, after which everyone will be able to create and photograph their own designs. You will be limited only by your imagination! Every picture is unique and individual. Colour is recommended, film or digital. You might even consider using some monochrome and hand tinting (or digitally enhancing) the resulting prints!

Priscilla Thomas is well known for her imaginative and artistic pictures, and in this workshop she will be sharing some of the techniques, including one or more new ones, that she employs when producing her creative and often evocative results.

Priscilla exhibits regularly and has been awarded numerous medals. Your opportunity to make some truly unusual images!

Price £59 (deposit £20)

10 places 

The Expressive Landscape

Tutor: Colin Westgate; 2 days, at Seaford, East Sussex; Wednesday/Thursday 16/17 April 2008

Landscape photography is often thought to be simple and indeed, it is not difficult to obtain ‘straightforward’ pictures. However, these can often be disappointing and to make outstanding landscape pictures requires commitment, patience and vision. The literal ‘straight’ landscape picture is almost invariably unsatisfactory, but as any darkroom worker will know, with suitable contrast and tonal control, the original capture can be greatly enhanced, whether this is from a digital file, a negative or a transparency.

This comprehensive workshop will include a mixture of discussion and picture review, and a field trip into the local area where there are features such as the wonderful cliff scenery of the Seven Sisters. In-depth discussion will cover the principles of landscape photography, whether using colour or monochrome, digital or film. Topics such as the use of different lenses, various filters, choice of subject matter, viewpoints, composition, principles of exposure, use of light and more will be included. Vision and Interpretation are vital elements in the production of an ‘expressive landscape’ and by employing simple Photoshop procedures these aspects will be demonstrated to help you get the best results from your landscape photography. Where possible, a selection of images taken digitally on the workshop will be used, but if you are a film worker, you are invited to bring negatives or transparencies with you.

Price £105 (deposit £30)

6 places  

Spring Impressions

Tutor: Colin Westgate; 1 day, at Leonardslea, near Horsham; Saturday 26 April 2008

A perennially popular workshop, where special techniques are used to make beautiful pictures of the vibrant spring flowers in this spectacular garden location. The impressionistic effects that can be obtained will often greatly enhance the literal reality of the subject and make pictures you will want to hang on your wall! An opportunity to try something really different and exciting, with lovely images virtually guaranteed!

Price £55 (deposit £20)

  Includes entrance fee to gardens.

Digital Audio Visual

Tutor: Barry Beckham; 1 day, at Seaford, E. Sussex; Sunday 27 April 2008

NEW WORKSHOP! - FIRST & LAST CHANCE!!

A brand new workshop with digital expert Barry Beckham. Barry will use the highly acclaimed ‘Pictures to Exe’ software, which makes possible very sophisticated AV presentations. Gone are the days of the relatively crude slide AV’s, and this superb form of entertainment is now within the reach of everyone with a computer, including a laptop, and a television or digital projector. Producing AV’s is a very satisfying and entertaining way of making use of the large number of images digital capture provides.

Barry Beckham is a leading tutor in this field, having written for various magazines, including Digital Photo, Photography Monthly and Professional Photographer. He has lectured in many parts of the country, and in Australia. He also produces his own highly rated tutorials on DVD. With this track record, you can be assured of a very stimulating and exciting day. This will almost certainly be your last opportunity to see Barry, as he will be emigrating to Australia later in the year - so don’t miss this workshop!

Price £39 (payable in full on booking)

 Includes lunch and refreshments.

Figure Lighting in the Studio

Tutor: Roy Taylor ARPS; 1 day, at the Camera Club, Kennington, London; Saturday 14 June 2008

NEW WORKSHOP!

A new Quest workshop, where you will learn how to pose your model and use lighting to make artistic photographs of the female form. This is a challenging subject, where getting things wrong can easily lead to unsatisfactory and perhaps unfortunate results.

Roy Taylor is an expert in this field, and we are fortunate in having the use of the excellent studio at the Camera Club in London, which is one of the oldest in the country. Two models will be employed and Roy will demonstrate various lighting methods to obtain different effects. Everyone will have the opportunity to take photographs throughout the day.

Price £95 (deposit £30)

8 places 

A Way of Seeing - Unlocking Your Photographic Potential

Tutor: Les McLean; 2 days, West Mersea, nr. Colchester; Wednesday/Thursday 23/24 July 2008

This highly acclaimed workshop is designed to stimulate ideas and encourage you to think about your photography. If you belong to a camera club, the competition judge will, at best, give you a couple of minutes critique, which is hardly of much use in helping you improve your photography. On the other hand, if you work alone, you may have reached the point where you feel you are getting nowhere. So If you are feeling photographically jaded, lack inspiration, need guidance on how to develop ideas, or simply enjoy in depth discussions about pictures, then this interactive workshop is for you.

During the workshop, Les will talk about his photographic philosophy by showing examples of his work, ranging from landscape to still life and documentary, but the core element will be to look at pictures from participants and discuss everyone’s aims and desires. All will be involved in this and the interchange of ideas and thoughts promises to make this an extremely interesting event. You will be invited to bring a selection of pictures, whether these are individual images or on a theme. Les is a sensitive and feeling photographer and his aim will to get behind your thoughts and intent in making your pictures with a view to giving you the stimulation and impetus to take your work to new levels.

Les McLean has written for various magazines, including Black & White Photography and Amateur Photographer. He is the author of the book ‘Creative Black & White Photography’ and the subject of a tutorial CD on digital techniques. He regularly teaches workshops in the UK and internationally, including the USA, Canada and Ireland.

Price £145 (deposit £40)

10 places 

Thames Barge Race

Tutor: Colin Westgate; from Maldon, Essex; Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, 25/27 July 2008

Now a regular event in the Quest programme, this is a wonderful opportunity to sail in a genuine Thames barge! Seeing these beautiful vessels at close quarters, under full sail, is a never to be forgotten sight. Quest has chartered ‘Reminder’, built in 1929. for our exclusive use. She will be taking part in the Barge Race from Maldon and will sail early Saturday, returning on Sunday afternoon. There could be as many as eighteen barges in the race and we will be sailing and racing with them for the whole of the day. The barge offers a very special viewpoint with the possibility of some stunning photography. This can include activities on deck, the barge skippers and crew, local boats at anchor and under sail, as well as, of course, the magnificent barges themselves!

We will embark on Friday evening, when we will enjoy a superb seafood platter and wine, courtesy of Quest (an alternative will be provided for anyone not able to eat seafood). We will sleep on the barge Friday and Saturday nights. Returning during the afternoon on Sunday. All meals are catered on board, so you will not have to do anything on the barge except relax, enjoy the experience of a lifetime and take photographs - although you are welcome to help the crewing if you so desire. A wonderful way to get away from it all! All meals included.

Price £325 (deposit £100)

10 places (strict limit)Price is based on double or sharing a twin or triple berth. No singles are available due to the nature of the accommodation. In the event of severe weather conditions it may be necessary to change or curtail the planned itinerary. - this will be the decision of the skipper. In the extremely unlikely event that it is unsafe to sail, no refund can, regretfully, be given, but the barge, her crew and all food will remain at the disposal of the group.

Traditional Oyster Smacks and Winkle Brigs

Tutor: Colin Westgate; 1 day, at West Mersea, nr Colchester; Sunday 7 September 2008

Mersea native oysters are claimed to be amongst the best in the world and this event marks the opening of the season when a multitude of traditional vessels dredge for them under sail. There is a contest for the biggest catches, and there is plenty of action! The traditional vessels, known as smacks, together with the smaller winkle brigs, are often well over 100 years old, and are truly picturesque subjects for the camera. Quest will be chartering a small motor vessel in which we will be able to move amongst the smacks for the best views of the action as well as longer distance shots with the boats under sail.

Price £75 (deposit £25)

10 places Includes seafood lunch.

Pictures Under Discussion

Tutor: John Blakemore; 2 days at Seaford, East Sussex; Wednesday/Thursday 10/11 September 2008

NEW WORKSHOP!

John Blakemore has been in every Quest programme since the workshops were started in 1994. He is one of the U.K's most respected and best loved photographers and has probably done more for the recognition of the medium as ‘fine art’ than anyone else in the country. His tremendous sensitivity and vision is legendary, and his constructive insight when reviewing pictures has given countless photographers the confidence to develop their own individuality and expression.

This workshop will differ from previous ones in that John will not only discuss his own work and philosophy, but will introduce pictures from his own extensive collection, which includes work from a number of internationally renowned photographic artists. The discussions will, of course, be interactive and in addition, everyone will be invited to bring a selection of their own work for review.

Until retiring a few years ago, John was Reader at Derby University, where he taught the BA (Hons) course in Photographic Studies. His pictures are highly collectable and he has exhibited in Europe, Japan and the USA. He has been the recipient of numerous awards from the Arts Council, including the prestigious ICI/Fox Talbot award for Photography in 1992.

Price £138 (deposit £40)

10 places 

Landscape with Joe Cornish

Tutor: Joe Cornish; Seaford, East Sussex; 2 workshops - Saturday/Sunday 22/23 November 2008 and Tuesday/Wednesday 25/26 November 2008

We are delighted to welcome Joe Cornish for his second Quest visit. Joe is arguably Britain's finest contemporary landscape photographer and his use of light and composition, in conjunction with his total commitment, has resulted in a series of magnificent pictures of the British landscape and elsewhere.

In this workshop, Joe will be showing and discussing his work and philosophy, and will also appraise pictures brought along by participants. There will be one or more field trips and conditions permitting, these will include one to a local beach to catch a winter sunrise. This really is a workshop not to be missed, as it represents a very rare opportunity to work with this top professional landscape artist. Joe is the author of several superb landscape books and autographed copies will be available for sale.

Joe regularly leads workshops in the UK and his enthusiasm and experience will guarantee an inspiring two days. Not to be missed, but book early, as places will be quickly filled.

Price £225 (deposit £80)

10 places (strict limit)