Working with David Honl

Well Hello Blog! Its been a while. My sincere apologies, but I have been a little busy. More on that in the next few posts...ok? I am sure you are keen to hear about our American sojourn and you will. All in good time.

In the meantime, I have to tell you about the distinct pleasure it has been to run a flash workshop recently with David Honl, well known photographer and inventor of the Honl range of strobist equipment. Glynn and I met David and his wife, Claudia, when we were in Anaheim, California earlier this year. We then did a shoot with him in Los Angeles a few months later. Now, he and Claudia were in Melbourne. So we took the opportunity by the ears and asked him to do a flash workshop with us. And as you now know, he said 'Yes!'

So, we advertised it on our workshops website and it was very well received indeed! I know that for many who attended it was a chance for them to meet the man who was responsible for a lot of inspiration and for the flash modifiers that had enabled many of their strobist images. Our models Sarah Hardy and Joana Sibinoska arrived, and we were off and running!

It was interesting to see how David approached each image he was creating with us on the day. He knew the image from the outset, disassembled it in his head, and step by step, put it back together  for us all, explaining each step along the way. I always enjoy hearing that process from fellow photographers. It is inspiring, educational and encouraging all at the same time. Being able to create the most dynamic images from the most ordinary circumstances is at the heart of strobist imaging. I love it!

Having spent that day with David, it was difficult for me to keep things a little simpler for those who attended our Creative Flash Photography workshop at Abbottsford Convent yesterday. Our Creative Flash Photography workshop starts with on-camera flash lessons and finishes with some funky off camera stuff that really excites our customers. Little do they know that by the end of the day we have only just dug beneath the thin surface. So many options and opportunities present themselves when you have a working knowledge of your strobist lighting options. Tomorrow, Glynn, David Honl, David Oakley and myself spend a day together shooting...just for fun. Our model, Jasmina, is going to get some great images. And so are we!

We even get our customers to model for us sometimes!