Travel and Photographs: Focus on Workshops

I earlier posted some pictures I took in Stellenbosch. As a landscape and travel photographer, I am always planning a trip around photo opportunities. 

For me as a photographer, I would prefer the least photographed places.  It’s great to get the normal tourist pictures, but I know there is more. That’s why I like to attend photography workshops. You get into places you will normally never see.  Every person knows of a place that is out of reach for a normal tourist. I mean that’s what any photographer look for!

THE WORKSHOP AND HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF IT:

1.  YOUR GOALS:

Why you want to attend a workshop?  Search on the Internet for workshops in your area or country.  Make sure the workshop matches your interest and skills. You cannot attend a workshop for professionals when you are a beginner.  It will cause a lot of stress not knowing all the advance tips and tricks of photography.  Remember that no workshop can teach you everything there is to know.

2. LOCATION:

If you love landscape or travel photography, make sure the location is a good choice.

3. PREPARE YOURSELF:

Before the workshop, make a list of questions you want to ask.  If the workshop states it is for more advance photographers make sure you know the basics! For an instructor to try to teach a person how Aperture and ISO works while the rest of the class had to be patience is not fair to anyone.

Take your camera manual with you.  If you are an instructor/photographer, you are not supposed to know all the brands and all the functions of all the camera’s available.

Make notes. By making notes you can always go back if you are not sure about a specific setting for a picture or technique.

4. YOUR EQUIPMENT:

Make sure you know how to operate your camera.

Make sure your camera is in working condition, if  you are not sure take your camera for a service.  Nothing more frustrating than to be in the field and your camera is malfunction.

Laptop - make sure you have enough space available and that a program like Photoshop is working.

5. WHAT TO PACK FOR YOUR WORKSHOP:

Normally, you will get an email stating what type of equipment you need for the workshop. I usually pack the following equipment.

- Camera body (second one if you have a back-up camera)

- Lenses  *

- Extra camera batteries

- Cards  - I don’t believe in one large card, rather use four cards of 8 gig size.

- Flash

- Plastic bags

- Tripod

- Laptop

- Chargers for laptop and camera

- Cleaning kit

- Cable release

- Cleaning cloth

 * Lenses.  I take at least 3 lenses.  (50mm / 70 – 200mm / wide angle) My reason for that is the following:  I do landscapes and there is always something that you can take pictures off while busy doing landscape photography! I mean, you find this amazing flower or insect, and you only have your wide-angle lens!! I try to keep it to basics, something for close-up, a lens for a portrait or to zoom in detail in a landscape and then my wide angle. With that lenses in my camera bag, I am ready for anything!

6. DURING THE WORKSHOP

Make notes!

Ask questions

Be open to suggestions

If you’re not sure about the angle of a subject, ask to let the instructor show you. Sometimes it’s just a small change of angle, and you get the perfect picture.

Be open to feedback.  That’s the only way you’re going to learn a new technique.

Share your experiences during class, participate in discussions.

7. AFTER THE WORKSHOP

Keep contact with the instructor and fellow participants.

Practice the new techniques. The sooner you start the easier it will get.  Don’t leave it for a month or two, by that time you will not remember all the technical aspects, and even your notes will make no sense.

Read about it.  There are many online photography sites where you can get a lot of info.  Subscribe to their newsletter and keep updated with new developments.

TIPS:

1. When you need to fly with your tripod, and you don’t have a bag to put it in, use the bag of a folding chair and put your tripod in it.  It’s a lot easier to move with it in a bag, and usually you can take it with you as a carry on.
2. I always take a separate hard drive with me.  When downloading my pictures, I make a copy on my hard drive too.
3. I take a small plastic square (table cloth) with me for using it in the field when I want to change a lens or need to put my camera down to take out the batteries.
4. Plastic Ziploc bags are great to protect your cards or batteries or anything else you want to keep dry and safe.
5. Never sling your tripod over your shoulder with your camera on it and do not walk or hike with your camera on your tripod. When you’re moving from one location to another remove your camera from the tripod and pack it in your camera bag and close it!
6. Practice, Practice and Practice!