Yorkshire Coast (South) photography workshop

The aim of this brand new workshop is to leave behind the popularly photographed areas of Whitby and Robin Hoods Bay to the north, and concentrate instead on the white chalk cliffs, bays, towns and peninsulas to the south. Although the weather and time of year will dictate our exact choice of location, just a few of the areas we will possibly visit include;

Flamborough, Thornwick Bay, Selwick Bay, Bridlington, Scarborough, Filey Bay, Filey Brigg and also one or two very dramatic locations with fantastic views up and down the Yorkshire Coast.

In many cases, workshops will be timed to take advantage of seasonal highlights such as the numerous wildflowers on the clifftops in spring, to the fantastic sunrises and sunsets that can be encountered throughout the winter months.

Suitable for any level of photographer, including complete beginner, the kind of techniques we will focus on (Depending on your experience) can include

1. Best practice camera set-up
2. Exposure (ISO, aperture, shutter speeds, histograms etc)
3. Depth of field
4. Bracketing exposures for blending
5. Lens choice
6. Using filters to create long exposure, and water motion.
7. Using neutral density graduated filters
8. Shooting and processing panoramic images
9. Shooting images for focus stacking

As always though, tuition is tailored exactly to individual requirement by way of a short questionnaire, so you can let me know anything that you have maybe struggled to get to grips with in the past, and we’ll incorporate this into the day.

People tend to pick up the technical aspects very quickly, and this leaves a large proportion of the day free to look at composition in much more depth and detail. Throughout the day there will be an emphasis towards helping you to see what makes a successful image. We’ll explore different camera formats and how to capture them ‘in the field’ rather than cropping. Well look at a number of ways to make your subjects’ standout, either using available light, framing or simple lens choice. As well as using close foreground elements to give a skewed, near-far perspective, we can also use longer lenses to isolate distant elements or graphic pattern in the landscape.

Finally, there are no very long or strenuous walks. We will venture on to the beaches and rocks at times, so these areas can be slippery.

A typical day last around ten hours with a break for breakfast/lunch, and includes a sunrise/sunset or both depending on time of year. Over the winter months, the workshop will begin before sunrise and conclude at or just after sunset.