#1116 Free Online Photo Program

Posted on September 12, 2015 by admin

A while ago I started our Online Photo Program. Every month we offered a new challenge with support and critique. Members loved it…
We’re looking for more members for the new, free format!

Portraits
© Sara Hendrix

With some changes in direction over the last couple of years, (read past blog posts ) I’ve turned the program into a small, community managed, friendly, free, monthly photo challenge based on a private group on Facebook’s platform.

Online Photo Program
Portrait and Photojournalism Challenges – “Cooling off on a hot day behind the arena…”

Senior members of the group take turns developing the monthly challenge and posting links and information pertaining to the month’s photo adventure. Members offer real critique and questions that guide the discussions. I offer support, critique and tips to the group.

The group wants more members! We’re looking to attract supportive photo people of all levels willing to participate, contribute and support the community as we all try to interpret the month’s challenges. It’s not a competition. And members are looking for genuine feedback rather than praise.

Night Time Shooting
© Christine Payant

What members have said:
• ” I really enjoy the positive and constructive feedback. I know when posting that those who participate are likely just like me, wanting to learn and grow. The group has typically been diverse, with people of varying levels of experience which has been great to push me to try different things. I realize that I have some ¨Harryisms¨ that come to mind: ¨get closer¨, ¨what are you exposing for?¨, ¨triangles¨, etc.”

Motion in Landscapes
© Al Garner

• “The program challenges me to get out there and photograph improving my skills as a photographer. It provides some focus. Without it, I would probably not photograph as much and I would not learn and grow as a photographer. It has helped me tremendously and gets me out there shooting and enjoying life!”

Landscapes and Sunsets © Maisie Ismail

• “… having the close group to help out and provide critique in a “safe” environment really makes a difference. It helps get over the shyness of… ‘maybe this is not good enough to post.’ What a great group to belong to and get great feedback! Thanks Harry and everyone!”

To join the group you need to request to join the group and befriend me on Facebook so I can add you to the Facebook group.

Hope to see you on the other side!

#1114 Summer Photo Adventures

Posted on July 24, 2015 by admin

Summer started well for groups of photo students who recently enjoyed Custom Photo Courses. We’ve been taking people out to extend their photo limits using their existing equipment.

We’re also preparing a Laurentians Photo Adventure for early summer 2016, below, for people wishing to challenge and explore their skills behind the camera.

Custom Photo Courses
Join us for individual attention or as a small group for our custom courses. We’ve been offering custom courses for many years. Read a recent review.

Custom Photo Course
Chelsea, Gatineau Park

Locations include central Ottawa, Gatineau Park. We use other locations, too.

Our most common course is a four hour, individual session for $350.
A two person, four hour session is $550 (or $275 each).

Material covered depends on your needs.
We’ve covered:
• beginner basics
• portraits
• advanced creativity

2016 Laurentians Photo Adventure
Join us on a relaxing but immersive photography learning session next summer.

We combine a tranquil and comfortable base in the Laurentians bordered by a bike / walking path and the Rouge River.

Date:
Early July, 2106

Night time Teepee Photography Laurentians Photo Adventure

We’ll be choosing from locations to best suit the weather and the group. Shooting locations and subjects could include:
• Tremblant Village
• Horses
• Gardens
• Rivers and Waterfalls
• Night time Teepee shooting
• Parc national du Mont Tremblant

Throughout the day you can expect:
• early morning shoots
• evening photography
• critique sessions
• time for relaxing & meals

Laurentians Photo Adventure

More important than the locations will be the support and creative stimulation you’ll receive on the adventure.

Accommodations
We are teaming up with a quiet Bed & Breakfast close to the action of Tremblant but a universe away. Our hosts provide a limited number of gorgeous B& B accommodations and attractive camping. You may choose your own accommodation when registering for the Laurentian Photo Adventure.

My family has stayed with them many times and explored the area for years.

Our hosts’ patio for post shooting relaxation and editing!

Meals
Breakfast is available at our base B&B. We will take care advantage of local restaurants and available eateries for lunches, snacks and dinners. Mid-day meals may include packed picnic lunches.

Transportation
We will be traveling short distances – up to 30km to different photo sites. Most people will travel by personal vehicle or share driving with other participants. No transportation is included in the cost of the Laurentians Photo Adventure

Our hosts’ gardens in the Laurentians

Costs
Costs include:
• photography instruction fee – early bird rate of $500 for 2 days on the adventure.
plus
• accommodation for two nights. 2015 rates range from camping @ $14/person/night or lovely B&B rooms from $99/night (single occ. Lover’s Loft) to $154/night (double occ. Garden Retreat); Other rates exist for different rooms.
• meals
• transportation
•extras that you wish to undertake

Booking
Photo Adventure spots and accommodation are limited as this is our hosts busiest time of year. Please contact us for more information and booking your adventure.

#1084 Student Success…

Posted on June 26, 2014 by admin

I’ve been teaching photography for 14 years.
It’s always rewarding to see people develop and grow photographically and otherwise over the years.

Recently Jeffrey Furry offered a selection of work he shot over a year in one of our programs – we offered a new challenge every month with support and critique.

For the whole year Jeffrey worked hard to include an Inukshuk for every challenge. See his photos and comments below!

Jeffrey says:
“I’ve been a member of the Harry Nowell on-line program since its inception. Without intending to, I used an Inukshuk for 12 consecutive challenges. With the exception of two, all were a 20cm tall high Inuksuk I received as a free gift from a landscaping company that made a handy prop for the various challenges. The 12 photos below give a good overview of the variety of challenges we are given in the on-line program.

Exposed for the Inushuk which was in full shade. This was the first shot using the Inukshuk. Saw the perfect light for the monthly challenge in my backyard so grabbed the first subject that was handy…

© Jeffrey Furry Challenge - Backlighting - "overexpose the background to help bring attention to the foreground."

Similar conditions as the backlit photo but exposed for the Inushuk which was in full shade.

A bit of a stretch to include the Inushuk for a festive theme! Shot at F22 to maximize the star burst effect.

Our challenge was to photograph something white (and get a correct exposure!) I decided to photograph the shadow of the Inukshuk against the snow!

© Jeffrey Furry Challenge - Simple Studio Lighting - "creating lighting scenarios using lights you already have at home."

Used two Ikea LED reading lights, one behind and below, the other immediately behind the Inukshuk “head” Blue light on front is from my smartphone.

Shot from the hip, no viewfinder.

Brought the Inukshuk to a small stream behind my house. Awkward location for my tripod, so forced to shoot at 1/sec braced as best as possible.

Dragged the Inukshuk to a rushing section of the Gatineau River. Would have preferred a slightly faster shutter speed to freeze the water even more.

Used a different Inukshuk this month, my neighbour’s cat on a large Inukshuk on their front lawn.

For this month, I spent the morning shooting the staff at a local bike shop. Just to keep with the Inukshuk theme, I grabbed this quick shot of the Inukshuk in front of the store.

Spent an evening shooting the Inukshuk from various angles with different focal lengths. Took about 70 different shots, this was my favourite, the second shot of the evening.

Shot a few dozens identical shots during different times of day. This shot was early evening with the sun setting behind the Inukshuk. All shot from my deck with the Inushuk placed on a small step ladder to try and get a cleaner background.”

Nice work Jeffrey!
Thanks for sharing a year of your photo learning with HarryNowell.com!

#1068 How to Boost your Creativity

Posted on April 29, 2014 by admin

This month’s Exposed! photo newsletter launches today.

“His photos were beautiful but he was stuck. Our workshop student was frustrated that he had hit a plateau and couldn’t get beyond it…

The workshop student’s photos made beginners jealous – they were classic compositions – beautifully framed and well exposed. He had come on the workshop to get out of a rut.

In this edition of Exposed! we look at ways to:
• boost your creativity
• fuel new adventures in your artwork
• get out of your rut….”

Learn how to ignite your imagination’s fire!

Boost your creativity – try new formats and techniques…

#1061 Finding Creativity – Exposed! Photo Newsletter

Posted on March 27, 2014 by admin

“Where do your creative ideas come from?”

Good question! Creativity is an intangible seed that grows under varied and unusual ways. What works for a creative scientist may not work for an artist but there are common, underlying elements that help unleash creativity.

This month we explore one of the ideas – unstructured daydreaming and aimless wandering.

Read more to fuel your creativity.

Learning to harness creativity.

#1060 Online Photo Program – Student Success!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by admin

We offered a “simple” challenge to our members in the online program – photographing sunrises or sunsets.

But sometimes the simple things can be the toughest!

Sunset Challenge – © Marcel M.

That’s right, sunsets can be really tough.

Why?:
• it’s an advanced lighting challenge with often two or three very distinct light levels to choose from.
• The sun will not wait for your schedule! Finding the time to be in the right place and right time can be tough!
• Weather can thwart best intentions. March is usually quite mild but many of our members live close to Ottawa. And Ottawa is enjoying an unusually lonnnng winter which makesit tough to get out and shoot!

Sunrise Challenge – Maisie I.

Our members braved the cold and embraced the challenges to produce some amazing work. Yep, I am proud!

Students also learned a lot!:
“This was a great challenge Harry and you pushed me to get out there and take photographs regardless of the weather. This is what I love to do!
I am really enjoying this and I am hoping that your on-line program stays around for a long, long time.”

“Your program provided really great information… I’m totally hooked!”

“I will definitely want to continue until September. Its a great program… Definitely great value in my view.”

We’re offering a limited time offer on 6 months of the online photo program – $30 off until Saturday, March 29th. That’s just $165 (plus tax) for 6 months of online photo fun.
(Ahem, the registration button was broken last week – it’s been fixed!)
Register Online.

#1058 – Online Photo Program – Special Offer (for a limited time!)

Posted on March 17, 2014 by admin

Our online photo program has been going almost two years.
We’re offering a special offer for a 6 month membership for a limited time…

Members are talking:

“There is zero chance that I would have taken these shots without the online photography program. I think I get the biggest bang for my buck from the online program. Keep it coming!”

“This course has accomplished two things for me. First, it has renewed my love of photography and second it has made me a better photographer.”

“Yes, I am totally hooked…”

“Thanks Harry – I have signed up for another 6 month session. I like the challenges. It stretches my creativity.”

The Online Photo Program
• A new photo challenge every month
• New content 4 times per challenge
• Ongoing feedback via a private Facebook group
• Member critique video at the end of each month

Special Offer!
For 12 days only we’re offering $30 off the regular price of $195 for a six month membership. That’s a 15% savings.

But only until March 29th…

More Online Program Details
Register now and save!

Simple Studio Lighting Challenge – Members learned to take photos like this with simple household tools!

#1055 Online Program – White Challenge Success!

Posted on March 6, 2014 by admin

Our Online Photo Program members worked hard last month on a tough technical challenge.

I asked them to only shoot colour scenes that were offered only black or white elements. The hard part was the photos had to be exposed perfectly straight from the camera.

Background
One of my pet peeves in photography are photographs that are poorly exposed or photographers who rely on post processing to correct exposure mistakes made when shooting.

If you aim you camera at something predominantly white or black the camera will get the wrong exposure – EVEN in Manual Exposure Mode if you don’t know how to over-ride the camera’s brain.

Our most popular course is Creative Fundamentals. We teach people how to get correct exposures all the time without relying on the computer. Better still, we use simple steps to help people understand exposure.

For many people exposure is scary! We make understanding exposure accessible.

Member’s Photos
There were some growing pains this month. But people did well!! Help me congratulate our members for another successful challenge!

Join us to challenge yourself!

Leah E – good exposure with a slight colour cast – that’s ok for this assignment! The histogram shows bright whites and dark blacks!! Good work.

#1054 Exposed! Photo Newsletter – The Low Down on High ISO

Posted on March 3, 2014 by admin

At the end of February we sent out our latest photography newsletter based on a question from one of our Online Program Members:

“… shouldn’t I keep the ISO low whenever shooting?”

My answer has steadily changed as the world of photography has re-invented itself.
Get the latest ISO details to know when to use what ISO:

“The Low Down on High ISO”

Until fairly recently I would never have dreamed of shooting at 1600 ISO for a client shoot. (Many years ago) when I first started shooting stock I did not dare shoot above 100 ISO!