It'll all come out in the wash ..

I don't know why, but this photograph of mine has always pleased me. It was shot in a launderette in my home town of Eccles in about 1977. Perhaps it's the repetition or the pattern, or the humour of the three trolleys queueing to be used but, for me, it just 'works' as a photograph. I'm in the process of designing a one-day photography workshop, which I will offer to clients staying at our gîte in France, and I'm trying to get to grips with teaching the concept of the 'photographer's eye' - that ability to just see/feel when a photograph is right. I think I might be wasting my time, as I feel it's a skill that is innate, and can't be taught. Still, if I can't teach it, perhaps I can awaken it in people who have never before given it any thought. It'll all come out in the wash ..

Back to school ..

I'm going to talk about the gîte again. Oh no, I hear you cry, this blog's supposed to be about photography. Ah well, it is, because today I want to tell you that the latest people to book our place have also booked .. my photography workshop! Yes! Can't wait! It's (probably) the first time I'll give it in France ..

My workshop is a simple day's photographic fun. A couple of hours on mechanics: aperture/shutter/ISO etc .. and then we move onto the good stuff .. composition and framing and seeing photographs. More importantly, it's an afternoon concentrating on what the 'students' actually want to shoot. It might be portraits or ladybirds or sausages but the main thing is they'll get the chance to photograph their subjects alongside a professional photographer. A debriefing follows, when we download and compare our photography and then, well .. it's France .. wine and cheese .. bien sûr!..