Wednesday 8 August 2012

The Nursery


Feeling refreshed and inspired this week. Rich and I had such a wonderful weekend away down to the south coast, it was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Attending Tim Coulson's photography workshop, aptly named 'The Nursery' on Saturday, completely exceeded my expectations. We were joined by a lovely small group of bloggers, crafters, designers, budding photographers and hobbyists in Tim's home. Tim's passion for people and photography just lights him up from the inside out. He shared his knowledge on the key technical elements of shooting but also how to connect with your subject and how important it is to be present, in order to see and capture those moments within moments (emotional shooting).

My tech-head husband, bless his stay-up socks, has tried many times over to teach me the technical stuff.  Some of it stuck but for the most part it was just a case of, waaaay too much information, too many options, where do you even begin?

What I've learned from Tim about shooting on manual is that I can keep it simple, stick to a couple of settings that work for most situations and train my mind to understand how the technical elements work together. It was a revelation! It's actually starting to make sense. After 'hundreds of days' of practice it will eventually become second nature and not get in the way of emotional shooting. I'm looking forward to that!

The thing about shooting on manual is the image is just so much better when you get it right. It's such a thrilling feeling too, I'm hooked!

These are some of my favorite images that Rich and I captured at the workshop's practical live shoot. We couldn't have asked for more, a breathtaking setting with magical afternoon light, beautiful subjects and expert guidance from Tim and his clever 'profesh photog' friends, Annette and Luisa.


On Sunday, we spent a gorgeous day in Berry. Keen to keep practicing what we had learnt, our cameras shot in manual all day. It was slow going, but I felt so empowered!



A huge thank you to the talented and generous Tim who is so willing to share his experience and knowledge with all of us. And to his (seriously) beautiful wife and son for having us in their home. The good news is, The Nursery may be coming to a town near you. I couldn't recommend it highly enough, I'm still smiling!

Thanks also to the group, it was so inspiring to spend a day learning and creating with lovely people. Rachel, GreerJodi, Roberta and Kelly have also blogged about their experience and shared their awesome photos. Check em out.

How clever are we! 

Proud as ;-)

Belinda x

16 comments:

  1. Lovely to meet you and Richard, thanks for a fun day on Saturday. Great to be able to follow your blog and see your fantastic photos! R

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    1. Thanks Rachel. Great to meet you and discover your lovely blog! x

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  2. You guys are the best! Beautiful shots in Berry. Love them. I hope you went to The Sourdough Bakery?

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    1. No?! Sounds like we should have...next time :-)

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  3. You two are like the supermodel photography couple! ;) Your Berry shots are gorgeous, as are the riverside pretties from our big day. Glad you had a lovely weekend. I truly hope you checked out the camellia show! xx

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    1. Not so sure about that Greer, ha! It was so lovely, however the camellia show never got a look in. Rich did well waiting out the front of countless stores while I ducked in for a 'quick look' ! At least he had the camera to keep him busy ;-) x

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  4. Totes profesh photog right there! hahaaaahaha :)
    Amazing photos!!! And review!! Such a pleasure to read and look at, my eyeballs are so happy right now :)
    SO good to meeet you! xxx

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    1. Thank you! Loved meeting you, and love the beautiful words and pictures on your blog. You are SO clever! x

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  5. Hi Belinda, Great post. I have really enjoyed reading the post from such an uber fabby day. Your pics from Berry are fantastic, especially the lantern one for me! I'm with Greer, hope you made it to the camellia show. Have an awesome time in Thailand. Happy picture taking.

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  6. I've arrived here via Rowantree Designs. I can see what an amazing time you all had learning more about photography, fab photos! My name is suzy from the UK and I'm now your latest follower. x

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  7. soooo great you did a course. you're so good already belinda! i did a course at ACP early this year and it was really really good too. not field work based but great for getting head around technical side + weekly assignments.let me know if you wanna know more.

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    1. I might just do that Kate, thanks! It's finally starting to make sense. If ever your planning to head out with the camera, let me know. I'm up for the practice. x

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  8. having been photographed by tim i understand how amazing the opportunity must be to learn from him, he is something special. can't wait to see how your "hundreds of days" progress. x

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Thanks for your comment, so nice to hear from you. Belinda x

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