photoPoland 2014

A week in July in Gdansk did not initially fill me with the idea that we would have a charming, exciting and dynamic time.  I, like some of the others, imagined a trip amongst drab eastern-block housing and the remnants of the dockyards that featured so widely at the beginning of the collapse of communism across the region.

Dont get me wrong – that is all still evident – but it has been preserved in an enchanting and fascinating way.  The museum to Solidarity is a must, and very well done, but the rest of the city of Gdansk is beautiful!  Old cobbled streets with tall and elegant buildings from a by-gone era well in advance of the huge troubles that Poland suffered after WWII.

We are looking to increase access to some of our courses.  Nepal and Sri Lanka are a long way away and so, we wanted something adventurous yet cheap and easy to get to.  We flew from Luton, and the cost of the flight and apartment were less than £200 each.  Combine that with the excellent but cheap restaurants, and the whole thing comes in very reasonably.

As this was the first run, we were unsure about the state of photography and fashion; but we were not disappointed.  Our model and her make-up and wardrobe were of a very high standard, and we had the chance to use many different techniques with ambient and studio flash; indoors and outside.

Next year, we will enhance this aspect of the course.  Combining that with the obvious abilities to get out and photograph some really beautiful locations will make for an excellent all-round course!