Landscape photography course with Paul Gallagher

Later this month I am hoping to go to The Lake District for a short course in black and white landscape photography with Paul Gallagher. The plan is to spend a couple of days in the field taking images and then have a further day back at Paul's studio post processing and printing some of the shots taken. Although Paul is principally a 5x4 large format photographer he also has intimate knowledge of digital photography and runs courses for the Epson Print Academy. Details of all his workshops are available through Aspect2i, a company he co-founded.

I have already spoken to Paul on the telephone a couple of times and his enthusiasm for his subject is very evident. I am looking forward to meeting him and I am sure I will learn a huge amount both with the camera but also in front of a computer.

Its impossible to say what the weather will be doing but I can at least confidently predict where and when the sun will rise and set on any given day. There are many 'apps' which provide this information but the most comprehensive is The Photographers Ephemeris which can be downloaded for use on a Mac or PC, iPad, iPhone or Android device. I am the first to admit that I have not mastered everything it can do, but very simply you can search for any location throughout the world, then drop a pin on the desired position using a variety of map styles. You then select a date and it will give you sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset times as well as their position in the sky at these times. This is all too important and critical information for any land, sea or cityscape photographer. It's a great way to plan ahead to make sure the light is going to be in the right place at the right time. It doesn't guarantee a successful image but at least it improves your chances. There are some excellent tutorials on the TPE website which I must spend some time looking at, so that I can make the best use of this invaluable application.

Wast Water in The Lake District courtesy of The Photographers Ephemeris

I shall report back on the course at some time in the future and it goes without saying that I shall look forward to posting some of my images taken in The Lake District. Hopefully I will get to Wast Water and Wasdale Head, one of my favourite places in this beautiful and at times dramatic part of the world. I can't wait!

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