Good news!

Two past students have combined forces and landed a photography exhibition at the Gatineau Park visitors centre. The exhibit includes other photographers and highlights reptiles and amphibians in Gatineau Park… and it’s on until the end of August.

France and Shelley's Exhibit

Shelley Ball combines her biologist background with a passion for photography to run 44th Parallel Photography

Shelley's photo of an Eastern Newt.

France Rivet runs PolarHorizons.com and has taken many of our photography classes as part of her recently completed ProProgram.

Visit the show! Send some cheers.

Shelley and France at the exhibit

We got a call this spring looking for a photographer to cover the Commonwealth Games Staff Orientation Weekend in Ottawa.

One of our ProProgram students (Sandra Finner) was given the opportunity to shoot the event. And by the sounds of it from both sides it was a roaring success! Read an interview below with Sandra about her experience covering the events.

The ProProgram

We started the ProProgram two years ago for people looking to start a photo business. There are many, many part time photo businesses out there trying to succeed. A student recently told me I have her “dream job.”

It’s a tough challenge trying to break through an overload of aspiring photographers. I speak from experience – it took me years to break through!

The ProProgram was developed to help people navigate through the challenges all aspiring photographers face.

Sandra agreed to the photograph the Commonwealth event and did well! Read about her adventure below:

Photo by Sandra Finner

Harry Nowell: What is your photo background?

Sandra Finner: I remember my dad giving me his camera when I was barely able to hold it, reviewing settings, letting me snap away and teaching me processing techniques. When I was a teenager I got my own camera. Actually I got three of them for Christmas one year so I’ve been doing this along time. Recently, I took a class at a nearby college but switched to the Pro Program with Harry Nowell. It’s a more flexible and individualized program and I gained more confidence with my shooting.

HN: What were your thoughts when this opportunity presented itself?

SF: I immediately thought this was something I wanted to do. I have such a huge interest in events, whether locally or globally. This assignment was to document a planning weekend for the Commonwealth Games Mission Staff so naturally I was thrilled. It’s definitely a prestigious group and I was honoured to be able to photograph the event.

HN: How did you prepare for the Commonwealth event?

SF: When I spoke to my contact I realized there were going to be many different scenarios that had to be covered both indoors and out so I had to make sure I had all the right equipment and that I understood what the group expected in terms of photographs.

HN: What were the highlights?

SF: It was really very gratifying getting such great shots given the difficult shooting conditions. I had to switch lenses constantly so I was so pleased that I was able to manage that without too much trouble.  Also, getting to see how well the pictures were received. There were lots of laughs from some candid shots I managed to catch.

HN: What was the most challenging aspect?

SF: The biggest challenge was managing all the different lighting situations – Low light vs. strong florescent light in classrooms and then strong sunlight vs. overcast skies outdoors.  One team building event in Gatineau Park was zip lining. I needed my telephoto lens and an external flash. It was very sunny out but darker in amongst the trees. Also, it was challenging trying to get pictures of about 100 people in action while contending with a heavy camera bag and a forest full of bugs.

HN: How will it help you down the road?

SF: Every time you have an experience like that, the knowledge you come away with is invaluable. I will definitely be confident in my ability to be successful with an assignment of that calibre.

HN: Did you make some good connections?

SF: I think so!  I’m a talker as you know and so many people came up to me and wanted to chat about the my background, the shots I was getting and specific shots they wanted and photography in general. Everyone seemed really excited about the pictures and the feedback was very positive.

HN: How has the ProProgram experience helped you on this assignment?

SF: The techniques I learned in Creative Fundamentals and the Natural Light Portraits course were extremely beneficial because we worked with various types of motion and lighting situations. Also, the networking you do in the ProProgram aligns you with many photographers [who are trying to do photography as a business so there is a lot of sharing of tips and pointers.] Because of those things I was able to have a great experience with this assignment.

Photo by Sandra Finner

________

Her contact at the Commonwealth Games Staff Orientation Weekend had glowing words:

“She did an excellent job documenting the seminar… She got along well with her primary contacts, quickly put everybody at ease and was absolutely unobtrusive despite documenting in detail all the activities.

Thank you again for recommending her. ”

Nice work Sandra!

This is our last post before the weekend – we will be celebrating Canada Day away from the office!

We are very pleased to say we will be again be offering a fall photo workshop with David Trattles in Ottawa.

Photographer David Trattles

Dave is a leading social documentary photography – published widely and well traveled. His work is defined by people and their stories:”All photography that involves people. Documentary, Travel, Portrait and Weddings.”

David Trattles photo

David’s workshops have sold out every time he comes to Ottawa. He wows participants with a mix of experiential stories, new ideas and critique:

“My biggest photo self discovery on this course was that I needed to be a little “messy”. My work was too “square” and “nice” as David put it.” Jessie

“I really appreciated the challenge Dave gave me to see outside my photographic box. I feel a lot freer from my viewfinder, squaring images up and having everything in focus!” Ross

“Harry – thank you for introducing me to David.  This course has changed the way I take photographs.  More importantly it has changed the way I see myself and the world around me.”  Prasad

Interested? Please contact us to sign up.

So, last weekend I did a Custom Photo Course with Luke who had specific questions on some technical photography elements he was working on.

Within half an hour the light bulb popped above his head and he said “Ok – workshop’s over!” – meaning I had helped solve his puzzle. We finished the session (see his photo below) and Luke was pretty pleased:

“Thanks again for Saturday – really enjoyed meeting you and I got a lot out of our time together.”

What about Steve McCurry?!

Luke also said:

“By the way, are you aware that Steve McCurry will be at the Museum of Civilization this Wednesday (April 14th)?  The show starts at 5 and Steve will be speaking at 7:00 p.m.“

See the official details. This is a very worthwhile show – if you have any interest in photojournalism or social documentary photo work you should consider going!

Who is Steve McCurry?

Steve McCurry s a well known photojournalist who made a name for himself by entering Afghanistan many years ago with a bag load of cameras and film returning with the start of some iconic portraits – his most famous being the Afghan girl on the cover of National Geographic magazine.

Luke’s photo of, erm, his instructor:

Photo Course Portrait - Ottawa

We recently launched registrations for the Photography for Communications Professionals workshop coming up March 24, 2010.

The course has been popular in the past – selling out at the last session in November, 2009.

“Harry leads a focused, interesting, extremely helpful workshop – I got what I came for.”
A.A.

The workshop was developed with the idea that many communications departments need access to good quality photos while adhering to limited budgets.

Training staff to capably capture photos at meetings, press releases, creating portraits and documenting speeches just makes good sense.

Photography for Communications Professionals - Ottawa/Gatineau

The course offers a good mix of:

• classroom theory
• practical shooting exercises
• constant feedback and critique.

Participants also get a chance to network with others in similar fields to find solutions to various common challenges.

Photography for Communications Professionals creates better photos and many smiles on student’s faces.

Interested?

Contact us to register.

Nerves to Smiles

Yesterday’s Portrait Custom Course student was nervous – she is preparing for a 90th birthday party photo assignment. There’s a lot to think about when under pressure!

We went through the material from the Natural Light Portraits course spending time specifically on indoor use of camera mounted flash. We did a quick review before I left Nat to prepare for her final exam – producing portraits for an unknown person – Shirley, past photo student. Her modeling instructions were simply “Be yourself.”

By the end of the session Nathalie’s nerves had melted into smiles. She did well and had fun shooting. Nice work Nat!

Below, see some photos I shot during her final exam:

Test your skills at the Sport Photo Workshop Series exploring bike race photography.

The workshop

The course covers four weekday evenings in June experimenting with the challenges of shooting races and cyclists. We will cover:

• equipment management for fast paced sports
• shooting high speed subjects
• motion basics
• use of creative motion
• dealing with different weather and shooting locations
• compositional details

The sessions will be held in different parts of Ottawa including at least one, probably two, criterion bike races as well as a session to challenge yourselves with creative applications of motion.

Who is Harry Nowell?

Harry Nowell has worked as a photographer since the early 90′s covering sports events, editorial work and supplying sports imagery to a network of stock agencies around the world. His imagery has been licensed in Europe, Asia, Australia and North/South America.

Harry has covered World Cup Nordic and Biathlon events, alpine events, bike races. His work has been featured in magazines around North America. Clients include the NCC, Canadian Geographic, Canoe& Kayak Magazine, Explore, etc. Harry teaches photo workshops throughout the year. He runs HarryNowell.com from Chelsea, Quebec.

Workshop Details:

June 2, 9, 16, 23, 2009 – evenings

$250 + GST

More workshop info. See photos from last year’s workshop. More photos!

Designed to help you take better race photos the course will make you shine!

People ask: “Why should I take a workshop at HarryNowell.com and not the one being offered by my

1. local community college
2. small art school
3. friend’s mother’s cousin?“

Good question. I want to say “Take my courses because they’re the best.” But, really, not all workshops are right for all people. The good news is that with a little legwork, you can find the photo workshop that best suits your needs.

Some people believe better equipment will help them create better photos – weigh in on the “instruction vs equipment” debate.

Below are some tips to help you find a photo workshop that’s right for you:

Working the Night Light Photo Workshop

1. Decide what you want to learn – Are you just looking for the basics
or are you more interested in a specific area of photography (landscapes, portraits, sports, post-processing etc)?

2. What format works for you? – Often a short, intense workshop over
a few days helps kick start your experience. A course that offers many sessions over several weeks may better help you progress to your goals.

Working the Urban Landscapes Photo Workshop

3. Choose a workshop that has a large practical component with the photographer present. Would you fly an airplane based purely on classroom teaching? Hands on workshops with the instructor will help you learn more, faster. Is there a critique session? These are valuable!

4. How long are the sessions? Learning is intense! After six hours of learning your brain will not process new material very well. For most effective learning, look for a workshop with reasonably short sessions.

5. How big are the workshops? Personal attention will help you get further ahead. And ten students is a lot for an instructor to assist! For best success choose a course with a low maximum enrollment. You are paying for the instructor’s expertise – you should receive the attention you’re paying for.

Harry Nowell, self portrait

6. Find the right photographer – There are many, many people with cameras who offer photo services after their regular job finishes. Look for an experienced photographer with many years behind them.

7. Find the right teacher – Many skilled photographers have never been taught to teach. Not every talented person can teach the skills they possess. I would not want Mike Tyson, heavyweight boxing champion, to teach me boxing! Teaching, like photography, is a technical skill. It is important to find someone who understands effective teaching principles.

8. Contact the photography instructor – How is their service? Do they respond quickly? Are they courteous and professional? Do they seem enthusiastic about the subject matter?

9. Look for student testimonials or ask for referrals. The more opinions you can find the better.

Harry Nowell

10. Have fun and take care of yourself - Remember, you can’t be expected to learn everything over night. Becoming a better photographer is a process that takes time. Finding the right photo workshop and photographer is a good first step.

We finished the second Creative Fundamentals practical session on Saturday. Good weather and a good weekend. We often share our photo location with the annual Level Six Whitewater Rodeo competition at this time of the year. Adds some extra fun to the photography.

And… coming up tonight is the Algonquin College Annual Photography Exhibition where students show off their work today and tomorrow:

April 27th: 3-9pm, awards at 7pm

April 28th: 9-3pm

Adobe Tower, Klondike Room, 343 Preston St., Ottawa

See you there,

Harry

Natural Light Portraits is coming up next week.

Cross processed portrait

Students find it challenging partly because of the portrait scenarios set up in the afternoon – past students have been introduced to normal people looking for portraits for different reasons:

• actor headshots
• baby and mom
• newly engaged couples
• business headshots

The course may be full – pending receiving deposits. Interested? Please let us know – we can put you on the waiting list – there may be a second section if demand warrants.

Harry