Brisbane and Gold Coast Workshops

 

Well, I am back from Queensland. Phew! What a week that was! Glynn and I are tired, but excited. It was a wonderful week of workshops, photography, friends and frustrations. The problem with returning from a week of workshops is having to catch up with everything you would have been doing while you were away, plus the work you have to do, and a strong desire to update your blog. And if you don't update your blog relatively soon, then the whole exercise of updating it is moot. The very news you want to write about gets stale. So, dear readers, forgive me for not having updated sooner.

But, yes, I am back from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, having run Creative Photo Workshops events with Glynn in both those places. Ah, Queensland. Beautiful one day, raining the next. At least that's what it was for us. I suppose you have to give it some credit. It is winter after all. What was funny (if that's what you want to call it) is that when we wanted sun for our workshops, we got clouds. When we wanted clouds, we got sunshine. Oh well....that's ok. We make it work. After all, photographers need to adapt to the prevailing conditions. It doesn't work the other way round. 

Glynn and I went north to run our Natural Light People Photography workshops, our Creative Flash Photography workshops and our Emerging Nymph evening sessions, complete with fire spinners, models in swimsuits, a lawyer in a tuxedo playing a cello in the ocean and a very handsome male model standing in the incoming tide complete with his guitar. Yeah, you had to be there. 

Our week was fraught with one recurring problem - models who believe that its ok to leave a business in the lurch. With rare exception each model who had agreed to be a part of our workshops cancelled - one by one, day by day. Having to locate a model for a workshop one half hour before you begin is not something you plan for. The lack of professional behaviour on the part of some of these young men and women was incredibly frustrating. We are very grateful to those models whose word was good. Rob, Kristina and Emily - thank you. Thank you to Anthony, Karleigh, Pirate, Rebecca, Jenaye, and FireTrybe Nation for making our events possible with your presence and your performances. To all the rest of you who think its ok to leave a business in the lurch - No thank you. Not ever again. If I were a lesser person there would be comments on your Model Mayhem pages that would not be complimentary. 

On the other hand, our customers (aka Friends of CPW!) were wonderful! Not only did they make our entire adventure possible, they made it fun and friendly. When our models failed to show, they knew people who knew people, and models were rounded up. They helped us out with lighting stands and helped carry gear. They learned and participated with eagerness and open minds and made our time there simply wonderful. We thank you so much for your kindness and support. And, we look forward to returning for more madness before the year is out.

Every workshop we run is different. It may have a recurring theme and its educational principles will remain unchanged, but the locations, models, lighting, images and atmosphere change every time. When we tour with workshops, we are compelled to pull rabbits out of hats sometimes, utilising unfamiliar locations, looking for light, coming up with ideas for images so that the techniques we teach can be created and shown. This was certainly the case with our workshops in Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Me? I don't mind a bit. What is comforting is knowing that the principles we endeavour to sound down - that great images can be seen and created everywhere - are true. Our workshops are proof of that. From Los Angeles parking lots to Convents, motel courtyards and average homes, our workshops prove that with the right understanding of light, composition and exposure, wonderful images are everywhere to be seen and created. If you are not sure of what I mean, well, ....looks like you need to come along sometime....