#586 Winter Landscape Photo Workshop

Last week, one of our ProProgram students who shoots in the Arctic with PolarHorizons.com asked for a custom photo course to cover Winter Landscapes. Shooting in the winter & in the cold has its challenges – and photography is only one of them.

We had beautiful weather. It was quite cool at -15C.

Winter photo landscape course

Winter photo landscape course © France Rivet

For France’s photo workshop we first met in Ottawa at our studio to cover the ideas of staying warm in winter’s cold as well as shooting ideas for the wilderness.

There’s no need to be cold when shooting in the winter! With the right knowledge and preparation you can be warm and capture some stunning work at sub zero temperatures.

We took France to some secret spots in Gatineau Park including a location with abandoned vehicles surrounded by acres of wilderness!

Winter Landscape Photo Workshop © France Rivet

Winter Landscape Photo Workshop © France Rivet

France did well. We were in the cold for 6 hours – far enough from any shelter to make it a true wilderness shooting expedition.

She said:

The preparatory discussion on the Sunday was very beneficial as it gave me an excellent idea of what I was to bring.

The chosen location was perfect.

I appreciated the fact that you provided suggestions when you saw something of interest which had gone totally unnoticed by me (e.g. getting the star bursts behind the evergreens).

Nice work, France!

#585 Assignment Spotlight – Family Portraits

Lately we’ve been all about photo workshops, courses and classes.

So today we’d like to show some fun from a family portrait package we shot recently.

We spent a little time candidly following the family’s daily fun. This involved piano, lively group portraits, funny faces and Lego. Remember Lego?!!

Funny Faces - Family Portraits

Funny Faces - Family Portraits

Thanks for the fun!

#584 Exposed! Photo Newsletter – Lightroom vs Photoshop?

Photoshop vs Lightroom

Digital photography was supposed to be easy! No more film. No more processing. Right?

In reality, modern photography now involves a tech-heavy process relying on processing power and software. And when we talk about photo software, really, we’re talking about Adobe’s cousins Photoshop and Lightroom.

In this month’s Exposed Photo Newsletter, we look at your software options, what to buy and when…

And this month we thank DaveAndrews.ca for supporting the Exposed! Photo Newsletter.

Dave Andrews - digital art and restoration

Dave Andrews - digital art and restoration

#583 Review – Ottawa Hockey Photo Class

Two weeks ago, we brought photo and hockey enthusiasts to a big treat – we brought students to shoot the Ottawa 67s hockey team alongside mainstream media photographers. The Ottawa 67s beat the London Knights handily.

Ottawa Hockey Photo Workshop

Ottawa Hockey Photo Workshop © Alan Dunne

These teams are the next NHL stars. London’s goalie, Bobkov, won the Jr World Champs for Russia recently so the skill level is high and the players are hungry (ie work hard) to make an NHL team.

Hockey Photography Workshop

Hockey Photography Workshop Student

The photo course went well with students progressing nicely. We covered technical aspects, of course, but also encouraged our photographers to experiment with different lenses, styles, and subjects – not all the action is on the ice.

Ottawa Hockey Photo Class

Ottawa Hockey Photo Class - © Barb M

Students excelled. See some of the photos from the hockey photo workshop throughout this post. Three students wrote about their experiences – read their posts – thanks Alan, Barb and Wayne!

Ottawa Hockey Photo Class

Ottawa Hockey Photo Class - shooting with media: Valerie Wutti

And student’s loved the photo class:

Harry is a personable and gifted teacher, drawing upon a wealth of photographic and other life experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop.” 2011 student

Ottawa Hockey Photo Class

Ottawa Hockey Photo Class © Wayne S

A big thanks must go out to the Ottawa 67s for providing access for the course. And thanks to Valerie Wutti, graduate of our first Hockey photo workshop, who now shoots the 67s fanblog at every home game, for encouraging the students.

Ottawa Hockey Photo Class

Ottawa Hockey Photo Student

Sign up for next year’s hockey photo workshop at the Ottawa 67s!

Ottawa Hockey Photo Class

Get close to the action on our Ottawa Hockey Photo Course!

#582 Where’s Harry!?

Ok, ok, this last week we have been slow on the blog posts.

I could tell you that I was on a fabulous photo assignment to capture northern Finnish ski culture.

Or that I was teaching a photo course in California’s Cascade Mountains.

But I was not!

ski photo

Whitewater ski vacation

I was in southern BC skiing myself silly.

I took a fun and relaxing ski break to visit friends and telemark ski some of the most fun ski hills out west.

I wanted to find low key ski hills that were far from the glitz of Whistler, Tremblant and geared towards skiing and local community, good snow and friends.

I wasn’t disappointed – the terrain made my quads burn, heart pound and my face smile. The people were small town friendly and old friends became new again.

ski photo

Whitewater Ski Photo

I spent almost a week in Nelson and Rossland in southern BC skiing at Whitewater and Red with friends. It was fun. Really fun.

So, Let’s see all the photos!!

Well, see, there’s the problem.

I was skiing. On vacation. Time off.

I have a few snapshots and I shot a little with medium and large format film for the photo art side of the business… but I went to ski.

Now it’s time to catch up.

ski photo

Whitewater ski vacation

#581 Great new wildlife and landscape photography workshop

We are so excited to be offering a new workshop this spring on wildlife and landscape photography. Mostly we’re excited to be working with veteran nature photographer J David Andrews.

Photo by J David Andrews

Photo by J David Andrews

Some of you might know David from his coffee table book, Gatineau Park: An Intimate Portrait or his national bestselling book The Forests of Canada. He’s been shooting for years and specializes in landscape, wildlife, natural history, travel and outdoor recreation themes.

The course takes place in June and will help you develop your wildlife and landscape skills. It’s a combination of in-class and in-the-field work and is a great opportunity to access a seasoned professional.

Learn more about the course

#580 Anniversary!!

Yes, it’s our anniversary!

For our Ottawa photo blog, that is.

In February 2008 I was urged to start a blog: “It’s a good idea!

And, of course it was a good idea.

It took a while to figure out the blog idea but we got the hang of it. The first post didn’t even have a photo. Our first blog photo? See below. We were talking about style and motion.

We usually post three time a week – and that’s taken us to 580 posts so far.

Over the next week there may be some gaps. Bear with us – we’ll be back up to full speed soon.

Coming to the blog soon:

First blog photo

First blog photo!

#579 Photo Course Follow-up

January is a big month for workshops at our Ottawa studio. We ran two sections of:

Ottawa Course - Student Photo

Ottawa Natural Light PortraitCourse - Student Photo

These are among our most popular photo courses.

Why? They cover photography’s base elements in a way that makes sense: “I enjoy your down to earth teaching methods – easy & clear…”

Ottawa Photo Course teaching

Teaching Creative Fundamentals Photo Course

I saw some stressed students develop the confidence to shoot well built photos with accurate exposures. Smiles grew as the photo class progressed.

The next sessions are coming soon:

Creative Fundamentals – April 7, 9, 14

Natural Light Portraits – August – dates coming soon.

Email us to save your spot!

Ottawa Photography Course Results

Ottawa Photography Class Results - Natural Light Portraits

#578 Photo Courses – what they’re saying

Yes, we’re tooting our own horn but students say it time and again, loud and clear – they like our photography courses.

We collect feedback from people on our photography classes in Ottawa to help us make courses better. See what they’ve said recently, below. Find out why they say these things, at the end:

[This course] should be coupled with every new DSLR purchase.
Kevin Creative Fundamentals

I enjoy your down to earth teaching methods – easy & clear understanding way of explaining techniques & methods. I love your honesty in critiquing my work. – You are a model for sharing your knowledge, I learned so much.
Brenda Natural Light Portraits + Creative Fundamentals

Organized, thorough. Well-tailored to our needs.
anonymous Custom Photography for Communications Professionals

Harry was very good at explaining complicated issues in plain language.
RV Natural Light Portraits

Very good. Easy to understand. Well explained. Learned more than in previous courses elsewhere.
Manon Photography for Communications Professionals

Learned a lot more than expected.
Stephanie Natural Light Portraits

I also appreciate the break down for flash use – much simpler to understand and apply.
MDH Natural Light Portraits

We hired Harry Nowell Photography Inc. to provide photography training to a few select staff as an economic alternative to hiring a photographer for major events. We found it worthwhile and cost effective to provide photo training for staff through Harry’s firm.

Harry Nowell brings the complex ideas of digital photography to a simple and achievable level. He is patient, organized and talented at teaching concepts of photography to diverse people who learn in different ways.
J.C. NGO Custom Photography for Communications Professionals

So, how are we different from others?

  • I struggled with learning. I wasn’t a good student. I get frustrated easily. And I understand how hard learning a complicated skill can be!
  • I have solid photo skills based on almost 20 years of photography work.
  • I am a trained teacher. Not public school… Years ago I went through many technical training courses to develop training courses and teach skills: alpine skiing (Austria), staff training & student development (Outward Bound staff training) nordic skiing (CANSI), mountaineering (Yamnuska), telemark skiing (CANSI), canoeing (ORCA), etc.

So, we take care of our student’s needs in many ways. You’re in good hands at HarryNowell.com

Harry Nowell - working with students

Harry Nowell - working with students

#577 Hockey Photo Course – this weekend!

Yep, this weekend we are running our annual Pro Hockey Photography Course with the support of the future NHLers at the Ottawa 67s.

Ottawa 67s hockey

Ottawa 67s hockey

It’s a fun filled and fast paced photo workshop weekend starting with some help understanding the ideas of shooting hockey (or any pro field sport).

Ottawa Hockey Photography Workshop

Ottawa Hockey Photography Workshop

We test photo skills a little on Saturday and make it to the big game on Sunday where the Ottawa 67s will host the London Knights. Game day is fast paced and the photographers are tested (and pretty tired) by the end of the game.

Ottawa hocky photography Course

Ottawa hocky photography Course

A big thanks to the Ottawa 67s for making this workshop accessible to aspiring photographers!