#418 Portraits follow-up

In January it was Portrait workshop month and we ran two sections of Natural Light Portraits. By the end of the practical shooting session students had tired but satisfied smiles on their faces!

Natural Light Portraits Photo Workshop OttawaNatural Light Portraits Photo Workshop Ottawa

The practical day involved technical exercises followed by portrait sessions with real live humans looking for portraits. Student’s needed to meet, greet and interpret their subject’s desires into an appropriate portrait true to their own style. That’s a challenge. I was impressed with the results!

Natural Light Portraits Photo Workshop Ottawa

Natural Light Portraits Photo Workshop Ottawa

There are some student photos from the session (among others) on the Facebook page set up by past student Prasad for “Harry Nowell’s Alumni Photo club.” You may need to log on to Facebook to see the photos.

Natural Light Portraits Photo Workshop Ottawa

Natural Light Portraits Photo Workshop Ottawa

#417 Ottawa 67s hockey workshop

This weekend we shoot the Ottawa 67s at the Urbandale Centre. This is some of the finest hockey available in the city – players are drafted into the NHL from this league.

Ottawa 67s hockey photo workshop

Ottawa 67s hockey photo workshop

Our workshop is full and the lucky students will shoot from rinkside locations.We will also visit Vistek who will give students a good rate on available rentals.

It’s a fast paced workshop. Time flies and students generally end the day with a tired but happy look on their faces.

Big thanks to Ottawa 67s and Vistek for their support!

Ottawa 67s hockey

Ottawa 67s hockey

Vistek camera store

Vistek camera store

#416 Printing Workshop Announced

Have you ever yelled at your home printer?

You know, the photo that’s on the screen looks beautiful because of the pre dawn wake-up to hike seven miles to capture and three hours in post to perfect every dew drop?

All that time and effort and your printer only took 90 seconds to turn into a muddy, drab mess.

This kind of yelling:

  • Clenched fists.
  • Steam exploding from ears.
  • Dog quietly leaves the room

… You know the frustration

Home based printers are the root of much frustration. The technology can be very good, if somewhat unfriendly. The problem usually lies with the human operator. Colour is complicated business and that is only one aspect of a good print.

We have help!

Join Dave Andrews on this exploration of photo printing basics geared towards the home based beginner or the intermediate printer with no previous training.

Dave Andrews has worked on high profile printing projects for prominent artists and clients. His work hangs around North America. You likely see his work every day.

Dave Andrews - Ottawa Printing WorkshopDave Andrews – Ottawa Printing Workshop

Dave is humble!

He only wants me to say: “Dave has been making prints for almost 40 years starting in his Dad’s basement. Coming from a photography family – his father was a career photographer and his father’s father was an avid amateur” – Dave says his printing work comes from “a place in me that gives me great joy in what I am doing, how it is being done and who I am doing it with.”

His printing skills and knowledge are unmatched in the Ottawa area.

Join us for this exclusive printing workshop with Dave Andrews:

Saturday, March 27, 2010 (1-4pm)
central Ottawa, Ontario
$100 + applicable taxes

#415 Intro Studio Sessions

In January we ran two separate introductory studio lighting sessions. They are fairly intense sessions held for one or two people looking for a flexible, comfortable session where they can learn the base elements of  studio lighting.

Studio Session

Students learn:

  • hot lights
  • studio strobes
  • evaluating and shaping the light
  • creative possibilities
  • working with models
Studio Session

Studio Session Agenda

Whilw we have an arranged agenda, one of the beauties of the small course is the customize-ability of the session.

The morning is spent learning technical details. The afternoon is spent with models – we seek out people who are appropriate for your style of work. Our models have included newly engaged couples, parents and children, athletes, business people, individuals… all who offer photo challenges for students.

Studio session

The session is limited to two people and is held in studio. This session can be held in student’s new home studios as they learn to use their new lighting systems.

Studio Session

To see student’s recent work check Prasad’s Facebook page: “Harry Nowell Alumni Photo Club.” The photos shown here are shot behind the scenes with available light.

Studio Session

Student Feedback

We run these fairly regularly now and students leave with smiles. One student wrote:

I approached Harry Nowell with a request for a specific lighting course. We discussed what I wanted to cover and he developed for me; an excellent custom course.

The course took six+ hours.  We had time to meet my goals and cover all necessary information, in detail.  I enjoyed Harry’s comprehensive
teaching style, his attention to detail, flexibility and commitment to
excellence.  My custom lighting course exceeded my expectations.

I would recommend this experience to others.

-JC of Ottawa, Canada-

Contact us if you are looking to learn!

#414 Coming Clean

Ok, I’ve been absent from the blog-bligations for most of the week and it’s time to come clean.

“Official Story”

Officially I said I was taking some rest after three weeks of fun work. By ‘rest’ I would like to infer:

  • sleeping in late
  • a long ski in the afternoon
  • dinners out

“Real Story”

… but in reality I got smacked with something that has knocked me off my feet. This is unusual for me! I am slowly recovering and will be getting the blog up to full speed over the next week.

Coming soon:

  • Workshop sneak peeks
  • Assignment Spotlight
  • Student Successes
  • Art show announcement
  • Tips and ideas from the world of photography according to Harry

I thought of doing a self portrait from the infirmary but decided to do an artistic impression instead:

Photo Portrait

Artist's Impression Portrait

#413 Rest…

We just finished three very fun weeks of work (proposals, teaching, shooting) and are taking a couple of days to rewind – We’ll be back on the blog soon with adventures.

H

#412 Facebook

We have had a fun filled few weeks teaching Fundamentals, Natural Light Portraits and Studio Lighting sessions as well as regular photo work.

Over the weekend I was asked to join the Facebook page  for “Harry Nowell’s Alumni Photo Club” set up by Prasad, one of our regular students. I feel honoured!

Join the group or search Facebook for “Harry Nowell’s Alumni Photo club”and stay tuned to see what others are doing with their photography.

Thanks Prasad!

Teaching about use of flash - Ottawa

Teaching about use of flash - Ottawa

#411 Quiz Winner!!

The winner to our quiz was Hagen who correctly answered:

… in reverse order (that’s the key to figuring it out)
#3 little tripod mount attached to the rear wheel hub, a panier frame and perhaps the seat post (or another spot on the panier frame).
#2 f16 based on star burst, distance from focal point and depth of field
#1 either 1/30 or 1/15s for bike motion and exposure with the sun directly in the frame.

Nice work!

#410 Photo Quiz – Banff Film Fest Ticket Prize!

Coming up Monday, January 25th is the annual Ottawa showing of the “Best of Banff Film Fest” at the Bytowne Theatre. It’s a fun event with some wild films on outdoor sports.

We have one spare ticket and will give it away to a clever photo detective. All you have to do is answer the questions based on the photo below.

The winner will be drawn from people with reasonably correct answers. Please email your answers to Harry@HarryNowell.com including contact info – name and phone or email address – by midnight January 21st. Name will be drawn January 22nd. If we cannot find you (quickly and easily) we will draw another name! Winner will be announced on the blog.

The questions:

  1. What was the shutter speed used? Explain rationale.
  2. What was the aperture used? Explain rationale.
  3. Describe the placement of the camera.

Reasonably correct answers will qualify for the draw. All decisions are final!!

The Photo:

A self portrait taken taken in Gatineau Park near Black Lake.

Ottawa bike photo contest

Ottawa bike photo contest

Good luck!

Harry