Photography Workshops in Enderby, BC!

Hi all, due to much demand in the Shuswap and North Okanagan for quality photography workshops in the area, I have put together some sessions to be held this month in beautiful Enderby, BC! Whether you’re just learning about photography, or you just need some professional tips to truly inspire and elevate your imagery, these workshops are fun, and affordable!

Please click here to download the PDF which outlines the dates, prices and workshop descriptors! Book your spot now by emailing me at darren@darrenrobinsonphotography.com or by calling (250) 838-6195. Hurry, space is limited!

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Discover BC Photo Tours announces new People & Places workshops in Kelowna

My good friend and business partner, Kelly Funk and I have completed our 2012 Kelowna workshop schedule and we think you’re going to like it!  The theme of the workshops is: ‘People & Places’.  We’re offering 3 dates for each theme, for your convenience. The workshops are a full day and all the details can be seen on by clicking here. We’re very excited about these and we hope you will be too. We welcome all levels of photographers to explore their creative visions while perfecting any technical issues. Space is limited so be sure to book for your preferred dates early!

Discover BC Photo Tours launches new website

Discover BC Photo Tours (a joint venture between Darren Robinson Photography and Kelly Funk – Natural Wonders Photography) is proud to announce the launch of its new website www.bcphototours.com. Our mission is to foster an environment conducive to learning photography, both artistically and technically. By fusing together dynamic small group learning with optimal one-on-one instruction, participants are sure to notice a dramatic improvement in their imagery whatever their skill level. Through our workshops, we strive  to bring the classroom to life by introducing participants to some of the most iconic and breathtaking locations in British Columbia.

We’d like to thank Powell River based designers Massive Graphic for putting together such a captivating site. Please check it out and stay tuned as we release details on our Wells Grey Provincial Park workshop in March 2012!

Also, be sure to become a Facebook fan of Darren Robinson Photography by clicking here.

 

Summer workshops to get you shooting…better!

I love spring. It provides me with much needed hope that summer is just around the corner. It means the beginning of more favourable “keeper-to-loser” image ratios, warmer light, new blooms, bluer skies and longer shooting days. In great anticipation of the short (seems shorter anyways) season, I eagerly plan shoots and workshops that will keep me shooting as much as possible while the weather is delightful rather than frightful. 

With this in mind, I have now put together the new Inspired By Nature photo workshop series here in Powell River. The new series consists of four, four-hour evening workshops spanning the glorious summer/fall months on BC’s Sunshine Coast. The workshops are geared towards those that wish to vastly improve their photography skills, but are limited due to time restraints and unforgiving commitments called life. Topics include: All About Light, Composition 101, Intimate Sunshine Coast (macro/close-up photography), and The Magic of Water. Each workshop begins with a recap of camera basics to ensure that everyone is in the know when it comes to their basic camera functions. I will email a camera basics worksheet a couple of weeks before each workshop for all participants to review for homework (darn rights there’ll be a test…it’s called the field shoot :)). Then once we are done our recap, we will start putting that new knowledge into practice in some of the most spectacular locations on the upper Sunshine Coast. Here’s the catch. To ensure everyone gets as much attention as possible, I am capping each workshop at 10 people. So make sure you contact me as early as possible if you would like to reserve your spot. Each workshop is only $75 per person!

If you are the kind of person that doesn’t want to wait to learn…there is also Coast in Focus, a weekend chalked full of classroom and field instruction, fun and unforgettable photographic experiences in Powell River. My good friend Kelly Funk hosts this weekend workshop with me as part of our Discover BC photo tours. Stay tuned as we continue launching more experiential photography workshops throughout our beautiful province. To steal an old cinematic cliche, it won’t be long until we’re “coming soon to a theatre near you.” Or something to that effect. Coast in Focus is now 1/4 of the way booked, so contact me right away to book!

Coast in Focus weekend workshop is confirmed for 2011!

The Sunshine Coast of British Columbia is undoubtedly one of the most stunning areas of Western North America. On July 22-24, 2011 Kelly Funk and myself will teach you how to capture all that this place has to offer.

See the pdf here

We’ll start the weekend with a ‘camera basics’ lesson and a meet and greet on Friday night. Saturday will be a mixture of field time and informative classroom lessons. We’ll work in the field for a half-day on Sunday in order to give enough time for people to travel home. Last year, the format seemed to work very well, and we had 14 happy participants leave this beautiful part of the province.

Along with the nature aspect of the weekend, Kelly and I will answer questions and showcase techniques that include: utilizing the human form in your imagery, how to make your pictures stand out from the rest, story-telling, impact, color balance, movement techniques for effect, artificial light and the list goes on. This is truly a unique workshop that brings you a combined 25 years of professional experience.

We’ve moved the date from last year as well, as we were hit with torrential rain throughout most of the weekend. We should (cross fingers) have great weather and fantastic sunrises and sunsets. This will be a ‘bang for the buck’ workshop, so we want everyone to come out with their hard-hats and steel toed boots on, because we not only intend to have a hoot but to work you like rented mules as well!

If you have any questions about the weekend please contact either myself or Kelly here right away as this weekend will book fast.

Kelly and I both share the same informal, non-stuffy nature with our workshops, so if you’re looking to learn a ton and have some laughs this is the place to be in July! Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Coast in Focus II ~ The Lower Sunshine Coast

It’s official! The Coast in Focus photography weekend workshop is coming to the Lower Sunshine Coast on October 1-3, 2010. Fall on the Sunshine Coast is an amazing experience. Not only are the colours beautiful and the light warm, there is also lots of room to move and explore as tourist season winds down dramatically in this region. This is my favourite season to get out and explore, shoot and enjoy this stunning region I call home.

This past May, we welcomed sixteen incredible individuals to join us in gorgeous Powell River for the first Coast in Focus workshop. Although the weather was extremely challenging (my hiking boots are still a little damp) the weekend was a tremendous success and I am still seeing dramatic improvements in the imagery our participants are producing. What an experience for all of us.

Coast in Focus participants after shoot at Stillwater Bluffs

There was great demand to see this workshop series come down south to the Lower Sunshine Coast…….and we concur.

So if you didn’t get the chance to join us in Powell River, now is your chance to learn how to vastly improve your imagery and photography skills in one of the most spectacular settings in British Columbia, or the world for that matter. We will cover topics including composition, lighting (natural and artifical), working with subjects, storytelling, essential gear, camera basics, aperture and exposure, and my favourite subject….how to infuse creativity into your image making.

Kelly and I are very excited for October. New this time around, is the proud sponsorship of Outdoor Photography Canada magazine, Canada’s coolest publication for all things nature photography! And best of all, included in this year’s package is a free subscription to the magazine for every participant!

Interested?

Click here for the full details. A little hint: this PDF is 4 mb, so please be patient as it downloads for you, might take about 1-2 minutes. While you let it download, you could always visit www.darrenrobinsonphotography.com or www.naturalwonders.ca and learn some more about the instructors. Or you could play Farmville. Whatever your pleasure 🙂

The “Suggestion” of Thirds

Here in Powell River on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of BC, the weather is warming up quite nicely and my yard is starting to show some fantastic blooms. You gotta love spring.

As mentioned in my last post “Spring Brings Macro” I talked about a future blog on the “rule of thirds.” Well, here it is.

According to Wikipedia, the rule of thirds is a compositional rule of thumb in visual arts such as painting, photography and design. The rule states that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections. Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject would.

Okay, great. Let’s visualize this shall we?

Biker on Palm Beach

I’ll start with this shot of my good friend Kelly taking in a magical Powell River sunset from a mountain bike. I have divided the shot into nine equal sections, as described above by Wikipedia. See how Kelly sits right along the meeting point of two of those lines? This, in a nutshell is the rule of thirds at work.

Biker on Palm Beach - Centered

Here, I have cropped the same image to show you what happens when Kelly sits directly in the centre of the frame. I greatly prefer the image that follows the rule of thirds in this case.

Let’s look at another example. This time, I’ll illustrate the rule with a vertical image. Notice again, how the key subject is positioned almost directly upon two intersecting points of our divisional lines. This composition invites the eye to focus first on the subject, then follow an inviting path towards the branch and unopened buds in the background. If I were to have centered the subject, the image would not have this inviting feel.

Plum Blossom

Who doesn’t love rebellion? Although I am an advocate for the rule of thirds, there comes a time when breaking the rule not only makes me feel like a photography badass, it increases the overall impact of the image. Take this image below of a kayaker in Desolation Sound. I played with a few different compositions here, including utilizing the golden rule, but I always get drawn back to this image, where my main subject is centered.

Kayaker in Desolation Sound

In my opinion, the centered aspect of my main subject works well here because of the balance offered by my kayak on the left, and the beautiful volcano-shaped mountain on the right.

Here’s one of my favourite shots taken on my honeymoon last year on Vancouver Island near Parksville.

Paradise Bridge

The bridge and its reflection are centered within the composition and create an overall sense of balance. Another example of when breaking the rules is a good thing. Deciding on when to use the rule, or when to break it, only comes from practice. Continue to experiment. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Digital photography is great for experimentation, you can always rely on your delete image button when a certain composition isn’t working for you 🙂

If you are interested in learning more about the art of composition, join Outdoor Photography Canada columnist Kelly Funk and myself at Coast in Focus in Powell River May 28-30. We’ll uncover more photography rules, and how to effectively break them!

Cheers!