Recently we ran a Custom Photo Class in Ottawa for Sarah and two friends who were looking to learn the basics of digital photography.

We arranged the photo session and started dishing out the lessons from Creative Fundamentals, very gently at first and more challenging as the lessons were learned.

We started with the very basics, moved to exposure and then some advanced exposure:

Ottawa photo workshop - backlighting

Ottawa photo workshop - silhouettes

We played with depth of field – controlling blur with aperture:

Ottawa Photo Course - Blurring Backgrounds

And controlling blur using the shutter speed:

Ottawa Photo Course - Blurring Motion

We also learned the ideas of composition to tie it all together:

Ottawa Photo Class - composition

All in all these new photographers ended the photo class with some magnificent photos.

Not bad, eh?!

Creative Fundamentals usually runs three times a year – fall, winter and spring.

Our next group session starts next week.

Custom courses are available almost anytime…

What they said:

“We all had a great time on Friday. Thank you for a great course!

It was wonderful & exciting. I’ve always thought of myself as an impossible photographer. The course has left me with the confidence, patience & motivation to try and capture those photos I keep seeing. I appreciated your patience and the time you gave the three of us to ensure we understood.

We all raved about how lucky and grateful we were to have learnt from you, your knowledge & experience.”

from Sarah and friends, Aylmer + Wakefield. Custom Course – Creative Fundamentals

And thank-YOU, Sarah and friends, for the fun and for sharing your photos on our photo blog! Your comments make me blush!

We regularly get calls from people who cannot make it to our regularly scheduled photo workshops in the Ottawa area.

Soooo, we offer most of our photo classes as Custom Courses allowing people to learn the material offered on our workshops at a pace and schedule that suits them.

Recently we ran two sessions for individuals that wanted to learn about specific elements of photography.

Daniel is soon to be a new father and he missed an opportunity to learn about photographing children so his wife sent him on our Custom Course tailored to his soon-to-be new duties as baby photographer!

We put him through the paces of our Creative Fundamentals geared towards photographing babies, newborns and children and we brought in a special little cutie for the final part of his session:

Baby Photography Workshop

Baby Photography Workshop - silhouettes!

For the second session Bernadette asked us to cover Creative Fundamentals and an intro to macro photography. She is only in Canada for a month and contacted us to help her. We set her course based on her photo wishes – she wanted to learn about landscapes and close-ups:

Landscape Photo Class

Landscape Photo Workshop - Ottawa

Well done people. Please cheer for our students!!

I met Hagen Hohn almost two years ago when he signed up for his first photo classes based in Ottawa. He was keen. So keen that he enrolled in our ProProgram.

Hagen Hohn photography

He took to the program well – taking many classes, meeting regularly for sessions to discuss his advancement and pursuing some shadowing with others in the industry. Hagen quickly developed good skills and followed his passion towards cars and photography. He graduated from the program in 2010.

Hagen Hohn photography

We still connect regularly and I recently asked him to share what he is up to now. He answered, below:

“With the start of the summer ‘car’ season, I’ve been pretty busy trying to get as much face-time with as many people in the car enthusiast world as possible. That means hitting as many of the show-and-shines, car shows and events as possible. And there are a lot of them: 33 car clubs in the Ottawa valley and some special interest groups adds up to an average of 8 events each week. I’ve also made several presentations to local car clubs, on how to improve their own car photography.

Hagen Hohn photography

Building my portfolio and continuing to develop my style has also been a focus through the summer. In addition to the print portfolio, I am working at continuously evolving and changing the content and photos on the web page.

Finally, the printing business I have targeted towards photographers, has done fairly well, and from the feedback I’ve gotten, clients seem to be happy.

Hagen Hohn photography

Overall, the summer is tracking to my 5 year plan: two large weekend long jobs and a few individual clients have allowed me to ensure I am tracking to client and market expectations.”

Visit Hagen’s site and blog and join us in cheering for his passion and business!

Hagen Hohn photography

We had a busy weekend of photo classes at HarryNowell.com and our photography studio – OttawaStudioWorks.

Christine Denis led some parents through the practical session of Photographing Your Children. I saw one student as she finished and she was beaming – that’s a good thing!

Ottawa Photo Class

I taught the first half of Intro to Film and Darkroom photo workshop. Students were excited and challenged by cameras with no digital preview. Alex Leblanc showed them the light in the darkroom.

Film and Darkroom Photography Course

And J David Andrews braved the elements to bring photographers face to face with some furry challenges in our Landscape and Wildlife photo workshop. I heard from a few students with glowing photos.

Ottawa Photo Workshop - student success - Kevin Foisy

Ottawa Photography Class - student success - Hagen Hohn

Thanks to our instructors and students. Stay tuned for more photos…

Near the end of May we ran the Farm Photo Safari in central Ottawa at the Museum of Agriculture. Participants were treated to dog agility tests that tested their cameras, sheep shearing, cows, horses and contending with an event that won’t wait for slow photographers.

Farm Photo Safari - Ottawa

Our group smiled their way through the session, learning new tips and developing better skills.

Farm Photo Safari - Ottawa

One participant said: ”I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the Farm Safari.  I found the format very good, starting with less challenging shots and working up. You were very organized and eager to help everyone no matter their level of expertise.”

Farm Photo Safari - Ottawa

A big THANK-YOU to the staff at the Museum of Agriculture for making our safari work well!

Museum of Agriculture

Why take a safari with HarryNowell.com? We have good events and locations – but more importantly is the knowledge we share that will help you develop your photo skills better and faster than going to the farm by yourself!

Farm Photo Safari - Ottawa

Join us for the two photo safaris in July:

• Bike Race Photo Safari - July 12th, 2011

Join us test your cameras during some fast paced bike race action.

• Fire Breathing, Unicycle Riding, Flaming Juggler Photo Safari - July 29th, 2011

Capture the wild antics of leading street performers lined up for your cameras.