Six Day ‘North Queensland Experience’ Photography Workshop and Tour

When: Sunday 28 April - Saturday 4 May 2013
Where: Tropical North Queensland (based in Palm Cove)

For full details please click here

North Queensland is a wonderland for any photographer. 

Trekabout Photography Workshops have put together a 'best of' NQ for an amazing week of tuition and photographic opportunity.
 

During this workshop, we will visit the Atherton Tablelands, Mossman Gorge, hidden mossy forests and streams and much more.
 

You'll experience the ever popular Skyrail as it passes through the treetops of the rainforest canopy. You'll step back in time as you hop aboard the old timber carriages of the Kuranda Scenic Railway.

The base for this workshop is the Reef House Boutique Resort and Spa right on the beach front at Palm Cove. You can check out more details here. We have a very special accommodation package deal available (details at bottom of page) but you are by no means restricted to staying there.
 

Local participants can travel from home each day and others may have a favourite place at which they like to stay. No problem, but please be mindful that all the critique, processing and theory sessions will take place at the Melaleuca Conference Room at the Reef House.

 

Here is a run-down of what to expect.

Sunday
5.30pm – ‘Meet and Greet’ with Michael, Mark and the other photography workshop participants

Session 1
After dinner – Introductions and overview of the week’s program - Palms Conference Room

Monday:

Session 2
After breakfast - Palms Conference Room. Getting to know your photographic equipment. This is extremely important as you need to know what gear and settings are needed for specific situations and subjects.

Session 3
After morning tea – Macro photography session. Learn how to photograph the little things in life. This session will lay the ground work for more close-up/macro photography opportunities throughout the week.

Session 4
After lunch – photograph the magnificent palms along the beach front of Palm Cove, in preparation for our first sunset shoot.

Session 5
Sunset photography looking out to Double Island and capture the gorgeous pinks and mauves of a NQ sunset.

After dinner – Audio visual presentation by Michael - Nature

Tuesday:

Session 6
After breakfast - join us for a full day out and hop aboard the Trekabout bus as we head off to Mossman Gorge for a combination of bird and landscape photography, where we will photograph the rainforest, crystal clear cascades as well as the local birds.

Session 7
After lunch we'll head over to the NQ Wildlife Park for an afternoon of wildlife and bird photography.


Session 8
After dinner – Photo critique (8pm – 9pm). Michael and Mark will critique some of the photos you have taken so far, giving hints and advice along the way. Make sure to bring your memory cards along.


Wednesday:

Session 9
An early start for sunrise at Palm Cove.

Session 10
After breakfast we visit Stony Creek where you get to put your new found cascade photography techniques to good use. We'll also be shooting macro along the creek bank and surrounding areas.

Session 11
After lunch – Post-processing your digital photos. How to make your digital photos look good on your computer or as printed photos.


Free afternoon (chill out or recover from the early start :-)

Thursday

Session 12
Hop aboard the Trekabout bus again as we head to the Atherton Tablelands. A full day out awaits, visiting Curtain Fig, Milla Milla Falls, Barron Gorge and much more.

Session 13
After dinner - Audio visual presentation by Mark on nature photography, followed by a follow-up post processing session.

Friday
Session 14
Today we put on our tourist hats and hop aboard the Skyrail and Kuranda Scenic Railway to do the round trip to Kuranda. We'll travel through the tree tops of magnificent rainforest and take in majestic scenery. There will be plenty of time to chill out in Kuranda and enjoy a healthy lunch.

Session 15
After dinner - photo review and critique.

SaturdaySession 16 Join us on the beach in front of the rest for a last sunrise shoot framed by the magnificent palms.

Session 17
Up to Kuranda again to visit the amazing Butterfly Encounter. You'll get up close and personal with an incredible array of colorful butterflies including the stunning Ulysses.

Farewell - lunchtime wrap-up

Tuition subjects will include:

• Composition
• Landscape
• Wildlife
• Lighting
• Macro

• Aperture
• Shutter speed
• ISO
• Focusing methods

• Metering
• Post-processing
• Image critique
• Depth-of-field

And much more…

For more information click here.

Bali Galungan Photography Workshop and Tour just released for March 2013

NEW - Seven Day “Galungan Bali Experience Photography Tour and Workshop”
When: 26 March - 1 April 2013
Full details here.

Please come and join Australian professional photographer Mark Rayner and local Bali resident photographer Dave Metcalf on a spectacular photography tour of the beautiful island of Bali during the very special Galungan celebration.

This is a wonderful opportunity to explore the wonder and magic of the beautiful island of Bali over the time of Galungan a very special time on the Balinese calandar.

The seven nights, six -day photo tour will cover some of the most spectacular and interesting places in Bali including rice colourful ceremonies, magnificent volcanoes, rice paddies, ancient temples, village life, market scenes and a great opportunity to learn about the fascinating Balinese culture. One of the highlights of this workshop will be the opportunity to photograph the Galungan Festival on March 27.

Galungan is a celebration to honour the creator of the universe and the spirits of the honoured ancestors.
The festival symbolizes the victory of good over evil and encourages the Balinese to show their gratitude to the creator and ancestors.

This wonderfully colourful festival occurs only once a year on the 210 day Balinese calendar and there are many rituals performed to welcome and entertain these returning spirits.

This a very special time to be in Bali and a wonderful opportunity to capture the vibrancy, spirit and happiness that surrounds the island as the Balinese celebrate in the form of offerings to the temples, dance and music.

The photography tour has been organized so that the participants can photograph this amazing event in places that the normal tourist is not aware of and seen through the eyes of the local Balinese.

But Galungan is not all you will experience

You will be escorted to many of Bali’s wonders at the best time of the day to capture the rich tropical light, and share these wonders with fellow photographers, sharing your passion; photography.

The workshop will be based in Ubud, the cultural heart of Bali, under the guidance of Kiwi and local resident Dave Metcalf who has travelled all over Bali
Searching out the best times and places to photograph and capture the true essence of this tropical paradise.
In fact, Bali must surely be one of the most fascinating places in the world to photograph.

It has it all, from stunning scenery, beautiful light, tropical vegetation, colourful ceremonies and people that love having their photo taken. The local people are extremely friendly and respectful. Bali offers beautiful coastal landscapes, colourful markets and traditional village life. The food is a culinary delight and the accommodation is luxurious and affordable. Bali has more than 20,000 temples and the Balinese culture is considered one of the most interesting in the world.

Itinerary and Program of Events

Day 1 Tuesday March 26th (3 days before Good Friday).

Please plan to arrive in Bali no later than 12 noon on this day, and preferably plan to arrive a day or two before, however 3 pm March 26 is when the Photo Tour officially kicks off.

Upon arrival at Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar, Bali you will be met by a Balinese who will escort you personally through Immigration and help you attain your 25 day Visa. There is no waiting in line and this special V.I.P service is a great way to arrive in Bali. You will then be driven to your accommodation in Ubud the cultural heart of Bali and the perfect place to be based for the duration of the photography tour.

As an option, you may extend your stay if you wish and stay a few more days in Bali).

The workshop will begin that afternoon at 3 pm with an introduction to Balinese culture and an overview from Mark on what to expect re photo opportunities.

Our welcome dinner on the first night will be a lavish feast of fine traditional Balinese food and opportunity to meet with the rest of the group and become acquainted.

Day 2 Wednesday March 27 th – Galungan day

This entire day will be devoted to photographing the wonder and excitement of this very special day.
Dana and his team will escort us to various places around Ubud to take in all the colour and excitement.




Day Three March 28 Th Thursday

This morning will begin with a visit to the ancient temple of Gunung Kawi. This is a very peaceful place with magnificent views over terraced rice fields and a opportunity to photograph the ten shrines carved into the mountain and capture the clear flowing river that cuts through the valley. Lonely Planet describes this place as follows: “As you wander between monuments, temples, offerings, streams and fountains, you can’t help but feel a certain ancient majesty here.” Of course, the challenge will be to capture the beauty and the richness of the contrast of colours and textures through the viewfinder.

We will then return to the Hotel mid morning and a chance to edit photos from this morning and the previous day and a review session in the afternoon. Dinner that evening will be up each participant.

Day Four Friday March 29th

Sunrise is around 6 am in Bali and this will greet us at Tampaksiring, as we overlook Mount Agung and the Pakerisan Valley, the ancient heart of Bali and the place where in Balinese culture, the Gods reside.

There will be wonderful photo opportunities at this time and the expression “Morning of the World” will start to unravel.
In fact, you will see a lot of Gunung Agung (3,100 metres), the sacred Balinese Mountain during your stay in Bali, as it towers over the lush landscapes from the coast to the centre of the island.

We will also visit the beautiful and timeless Tirta Empul temple and you will have an opportunity to wander around the beautiful grounds capturing the many angles of this old stone, moss covered sacred place whose holy spring waters are thought to have magical powers. This temple dates back to its origins of prayer and ceremony and is over 1,000 years old.

We will then return to the sanctuary of our resort as the day heats up and enjoy lunch and a review session including some tips on landscape photography and post production techniques.

The evening will be an opportunity to head into Ubud village on your own time or relax at the resort, after the early start.

Day Five Saturday March 30


Another early start and today we venture up the slopes of Gunung Batur (1700 metres). We will be photographing the sunrise and exploring the less travelled North East route. This is an extraordinary experience and an opportunity to capture the sunrise over two volcanoes, with views out to the Island of Lombok.

This morning we will have breakfast on the move as we explore the unusual landscape of a recently erupted volcano. The last eruption was 1994. This is a great opportunity to engage your creativity, which is sure to run wild in this unique environment.

We will then have lunch in one of the most spectacular settings on the island as you gaze over the rice fields below and towering Volcanoes in the distance.
There will be opportunities to venture down into the fields to capture the farmers working in the rice fields and the famous duck farmers of Bali.

The afternoon will be another review session at the Hotel and dinner that night together in Ubud.

Day 6 Sunday March 31st

Another early start as we travel to the beautiful province of Tabanan and the World Heritage listed area of Jatiluwih. In fact, the word Jatiluwih means truly marvellous. We will have a couple of hours to photograph this area, watching the Balinese farmers tend to their fields and capture angles, shapes and the light over the verdant, rich-green rice paddies.

After breakfast enroute we will take a beautiful drive along rural back roads to one of the six most revered temples in Bali, Puri Luhur, high up on the slopes of Mount Batukau.



This is a very quiet place and as you observe and watch the local people making offerings to the Gods, it may not surprise you, that you can almost feel and sense an energy and spiritual calm. It is very misty here and with the very old and ancient statues, a great moment for black and white photography awaits you.

We will allow some opportunity on this day for Mark to go over Macro techniques and discover and learn about another aspect of photography.

We will return to the hotel early afternoon and time to rest up before one of the highlights of the tour.
A visit to the ancient village of Pejeng where we will be entertained by the wonderful dancers and musicians of the Village.
This is a very special event and will be performed especially for our group in a very private setting in front of an ancient temple.
After the performance we will dine under the stars on beautiful traditional Balinese food cooked by the ladies from Pejeng Village.
Also expect to witness a Kecak dance performed in the firelight and ancient sounds from the many men who participate.
Another fantastic photo opportunity.

Day 7 April 1st Monday.

The last day of the workshop and another amazing experience as we venture to the coast and the fishing village of Kusumba where we will photograph the salt farmers hard at work as the sun rises over the straits of Lombok and the colourful fishing boats as they prepare them for their journey across the straits.

Late morning we will return to the resort and an opportunity to relax and put together the best photos for review and a great opportunity to see all the many special shots that everyone has taken over the previous few days and to answer any questions that people may have.



That night we will have a farewell dinner in Ubud , exchange contact details and feast over the great friendships formed during the best 7 days of your life!

For more information and details please visit the full web page here.