Well it’s been quite a weekend; most of which was spent in London for a 3 man Photo Walk, a Photography Workshop and finally a Wedding Shoot.
Thursday:
It all started on Thursday when I caught up with Scott Kelby (bringing over his Photoshop for Photographers Workshop from the US on the Friday) and UK NAPP Evangelist and Pearly King of Ole London Town, Dave Clayton.
With no real agenda other than to grab a bite to eat, chat and go out for an impromptu Photo Walk we headed out and hit the streets of London…
Walking across Millennium Bridge Scott and I became deeply engrossed in conversation about
World Politics, the Economy and the correct pronunciation of Gaussian
Needless to say there were plenty of laughs which was just as well as London had decided that grey was the new blue with the weather taking a turn for the worst and the London Underground taking on some emergency maintenance. Still we made an executive decision and all decided (well, Scott and I) that the weather and the hold ups were all Dave’s fault
Here’s a shot of Scott & Dave near the Houses of Parliament. If you’ve read Scott’s account of his time over in London you’ll have seen the same picture
except for the fact he’s Photoshopped it so that it looks like I took a crooked shot and Big Ben was leaning over; such a prankster
Just to prove that despite the weather and having an extended tour of the inside of an underground tunnel we did actually manage to take a few shots;
nothing to shout about and yes that’s Dave bottom right doing his best Harry Worth impression.
Neither Scott or I wanted to, but Dave was adamant it would make a good shot, so anything for a quiet life…
We then headed off to find a wall covered in graffiti for the ‘arty’ shot
Later in the day and having removed a good few millimetres of tread off our footwear we headed back over to Scott’s Hotel to thaw out and grab another much needed coffee where we were later joined by Photographer, NAPP Guru Award Winner & all round nice bloke Ed Davis for an evening meal.
I can honestly say hand on heart when it comes to Scott, ‘what you see is what you get‘; great company, extremely enthusiastic about what he does and speaking from experience, generosity that knows no limits…the real deal! Scott, thanks for your friendship and your time…you’re a ‘Top Geezer’!
As for Dave, this was the first time we’d actually met face to face as opposed to over t’internet. Without doubt Dave is one of life’s good guys that it was an absolute pleasure to spend quality time with and who’s someone I really do look forward to catching up with alot more in the future.
The combination made for a truly great day that despite the grey skies and hold ups on the underground was a total blast with each of us getting their fare share of abuse… but all in jest (at least I hope so)
Friday:
Friday it was back into London but this time to the Business Design Centre in Islington where Scott was delivering his Photoshop for Photographers Workshop to several hundred Photographers from all over. In a word it was a fantastic day but then I guess you’d expect me to say that so let me explain…
Hands down this was the best workshop I’ve been to outside of the US and yeah I know Scott’s American but you know what I mean.
To an extremely attentive and welcoming audience of several hundred photographers of mixed abilities, Scott delivered a Workshop that was entertaining, informative and packed full of tips and tricks that prompted many a response resulting in sounds of ‘ooohhhh’ and ‘aaahhhh’.
Without going into too much detail the day was broken down into the following segments:
- Scott’s 7 Point System for Camera Raw
- Portrait Retouching
- Killer Photoshop Tips for Photographers
- Printing Techniques and How to show your work
- Photoshop editing workflow from start to finish
Now before the Workshop I had my own workflow sorted…or so I thought. I had my own way of dealing with images editing mainly in Photoshop and using just a few favoured techniques in Lightroom but that has now changed…considerably. In short my workflow is now a heck of alot more streamlined that as a photographer is a real good thing meaning…more time behind the camera.
I think it’ okay to say that when it comes to using Photoshop and Lightroom I’m no slouch but sitting in on Scott’s workshop is proof yet again that you should never stop learning and refining your craft because there’s always something you don’t know…no matter who you are. Heck Scott and all the gang from NAPP and Kelby Training are always going on courses and the likes of Joe McNally are too as he did this past year when he attended a Jay Maisel workshop.
So would I recommend going along to Scott’s Photoshop for Photographer’s Workshop? … You bet! In fact next year we’re heading off to Photoshop World again and it would be great if you could join us for the most incredible learning, motivational and fun experience.
In the meantime if you haven’t already, head over to Scott’s blog (link) to read his account of the ‘London Experience’; it makes a great read.
Also, check out the superb “N.A.P.P. Member UK” website put together and maintained by Dave Clayton (Link) for heaps of information and also a great write up of Scott’s stay in Ole London Town.
Enjoy
Keep up with Glyn ‘Day to Day’ on Twitter
Get more ‘Behind the Scenes’ by becoming a ‘Fan on Facebook’
by Glyn
13 comments