Once Every Two Years...

The Foto Bienalle that is currently being held in Ballarat, Victoria, started out as something a little smaller in nearby Daylesford a few years ago. Now, it is a much larger event and the city of Ballarat has been asked to look after it...which they are doing very well.

This is an event that is all about the photography. There are exhibitions, camera markets and workshops. This is where I came in...last Sunday. Jeff Moorfoot, renowned Australian photographer and Festival Director asked me if would like to run a workshop and of course my answer was "Yes"! So I drove to Ballarat early on Sunday morning after the very wet wedding the day before, grabbed a quick Ham,cheese and pineapple toasted sandwich from a nearby cafe - and ran the Creative Flash Photography workshop for day. It went very smoothly actually! Considering that this is the most difficult workshop to run, I am surprised how well it went. And I received some lovely feedback from it too...

"Thanks so much for such a fantastic workshop yesterday & for being so generous in sharing all your knowledge, I learnt so much & had a great time. I'm really pleased with the photos I took and look forward to using all of what I learnt in the near future....It was certainly one of the best workshops I have ever attended..."

"Many thanks once again for yesterday's workshop - great insights with a bit of humour included..."

"I just wanted to drop you a quick message to thank you for such a wonderful day yesterday in Ballarat for the Creative Flash workshop. Many mysteries of flash were resolved for me yesterday but it has also provided with more questions on techniques etc that I will work through. The workshop was conducted in a fun and non-threatening way as some people may be intimidated but you encouraged participation from all not only in the theory but also the practical "hands on" exercises..."

"Wow! I am still on such a high after your workshop yesterday...Thank you so much for everything... I am so excited about getting stuck into things!"

References to the workshop went like this...

"Shelton was excellent: engaging, informative, generous (with both his time and knowledge) and fun!

He engaged each participant personally and structured his instruction to our needs (his commitment to knowing each participant's name after only a brief introduction was better than I have ever experienced and this set the scene for a very personal experience).

I came away from Shelton's workshop with a lot of practical and technical knowledge that I can apply to my photography with confidence. Equally, I learned some fantastic new creative techniques.

... Shelton extended the workshop to 5pm when we were held up at lunchtime due to very slow service at the cafe where most participants went. This was over and above his responsibility..."

"Just wanted to let yourself and the BIFB committee know that the workshop yesterday with Shelton Muller was fantastic.I had a great day and learnt heaps.

Shelton was an excellent tutor & his model Natasha was very obliging, modelling outside in the freezing cold.

Thank you for so much for organizing such a wonderful workshop..."

And there you have it...my reward. It is a wonderful thing to help people in such a profoundly creative way. Thank you to those who attended and made the workshop so much fun!