Sunshine Coast Weekend of Photography

Sunshine Coast Weekend of Photography

Hi Everyone,

I've just released new dates for the Mountain to Beach Experience and the Australia Zoo Experience, both on the Sunshine Coast, for 11 and 12 March 2017.

I'm also introducing a new combo-offer whereby you can attend both workshops on the same weekend for the same cost as a normal weekend workshop.

That's a significant saving of $129.80 over both workshops.

Saturday - Full day Mountains to Beach Experience Photography Workshop 

Where:  Buderim - Tanawha - Point Cartwright


Next workshop: Saturday 11 March 2017

During this workshop we will cover a number of photography genres. You'll learn how to achieve the feeling of movement when shooting waterfalls and seascapes.

We'll take a look at the techniques for shooting the hidden world of macro photography and you'll be introduced to the wonderful world of birds.

It's a big day commencing at Buderim Rainforest Park and finishing at sunset on the foreshore of Point Cartwright. For full details click the link below.

Full details

Sunday - Full Day Australia Zoo* Wildlife Photography Workshop

 
Where:  Beerwah


Next Workshop:  Sunday 12 March 2017

Today is all about wildlife photography.

You'll learn the best focusing techniques, composition, exposure methods and much, much more to help you achieve a greater success rate when shooting wildlife.

Planning a trip to Africa? This is great way to prepare for your amazing adventure.

For all the details click the link below.

Full details

Attend both workshops on the same weekend and only pay the normal weekend workshop rate.

The combined cost of doing both workshops is reduced to $473.00, a saving of $129.80 over the regular price.

Click -> HERE for details

* Does not include Australia Zoo entry fee.

New Lightroom 2015.8 release new feature

New Lightroom 2015.8 release new feature

Hi Everyone,

Adobe have just released another update to your Lightroom CC software.

This update includes a brand new 'Reference' feature.

It will be a handy addition for those circumstances where you have multiple images to edit that are slightly different and you wish to match them as close as possible. If the images are  too different to simply paste the previous image edits than this new feature will work for you.

To activate, in the Develop module, click on the new 'Reference View' button on the bottom left.



Now drag an image you wish to match from the filmstrip into the left hand space.

This now becomes the 'Reference' image.

Next click on an image you wish to edit and match the processing to your reference image.

It will appear in the right hand pane.

Now you can make adjustments to that image to more closely match the reference image.

In the example above, the reference image has already been adjusted to give a pleasing sky with lovely golden tones on the temple and reasonable shadow detail.

The right hand image has not been touched but now I could start making adjustments so that the features colours, brightness, contrast etc. more closely matched.

A great feature if you were putting together a photo album for instance and these two images were on the same page.

Enjoy :-)

Costa Rica - Brand new release for 2017

Costa Rica - Brand new release for 2017 - booking fast

It's the one you've been asking for and here it is. 

Costa Rica.

A land abounding in amazing birdlife, reptiles and frogs, landscape and some pretty special wildlife.

For a full run down of all the stunning locations we visit please check out the Trekabout website -> HERE

If you would like to down a special electronic PDF brochure please click -> HERE

This one trip not to be missed.

Hope to see you on board.

Early Christmas Present - 10 free Lightroom presets

Early Christmas Present - 10 free Lightroom presets

Hi Everyone,

To get you into the Christmas spirit I thought I'd share 10 of my Lightroom presets with you.

Click on the link and download the ZIP file.

Marks Lightroom Christmas Presets

Simply unzip the file and copy the folder containing the 10 presets into your Lightroom  'Develop Presets' folder.

The 'Develop Presets' folder is easy to find.

Whilst in Lightroom click open your 'Preferences' pane.

Goto the 'Presets' tab.

Then click on Show Lightroom Presets Folder.

You'll see something like this on a Mac and similar in Windows Explorer

Now copy the whole folder (unzipped) to 'Develop Presets'.

When you next open up Lightroom they will all be available in your Develop Presets.

Let me know what you think of the presets.

Happy Processing :-)

Cheers, Mark.

Costa Rica coming late 2017

Coming in November 2017 - Bird and Wildlife Paradise

COSTA RICA

New Post Processing Bootcamp date- 14-15 January 2017

Post Processing and Workflow Bootcamp - Lightroom and Photoshop NEW DATE - 14-15 January 2017 Hi Everyone, I'm pleased to announce new dates for my next Post Processing Bootcamp in Queensland. It will be held on the 14-15 January 2017 at the Caboolture HUB. It's a great facility with plenty of space for all our laptops and gear. This workshop is designed for the beginner to fast track entry into the world of Lightroom and Photoshop, but still caters for the more experienced user wanting to hone their skills and learn new tips and tricks. Some comments from past participants: Chris Holland wrote: This was such a useful weekend... I'm still in mental overload, but excited about putting into practice so many of the ideas that I absorbed. Thanks to Mark and the rest of the group for making it all so worthwhile. There wasn't one unanswered question!! Anne Reid wrote: Was a great weekend, yes it was a great venue. Easy parking, close to shops and beach for the lunch time breather. Must mention the great teacher and the surprises we all received with some of the things we learnt. Heather Streatfield wrote: Am feeling especially inspired after my photography Bootcamp this weekend. Alarm set for 3.45am, it's time to drag this butt out of bed for a summer sunrise! Here is a rundown of what to expect over the weekend. Phototrek - 8:30am Saturday We will all be photographing together in the surrounding area and this shoot will provide most of the imagery for the weekend's processing tuition. You will be working from scratch on images from your own camera, far preferable than working on supplied images which may have totally different characteristics than your own. Morning Tea Session 1 This session covers the basics of Adobe Bridge/Lightroom Library and Camera Raw/Lightroom Develop and de-mystifying the connections of both with Photoshop. Mark will show you how best to transfer your images to your computer and some convenient protocols for folder naming and storage. We will look at the benefits of utilising Lightroom 5, 6 or CC exclusively for this process. 1:00pm Lunch (BYO or purchase nearby) will split session 1 Session 2 This session will cover image adjustment and enhancement in Camera Raw / LR6, CC and look at a number of techniques to speed up the post-processing workflow. We will look at the various adjustment modules and tools which will become the backbone of your image processing. Session 3 - 8:30am Sunday We will start to get into some of the new user friendly aspects of Photoshop and really begin to make a difference to our RAW files to produce images with that "Wow" factor. We'll look at the best way to set up your tool panels and optimise your workspace to suit your style and needs. You will explore the different tools available in Photoshop and how and when to use them. 10:30am Morning Tea Session 4 To help speed up the workflow process we will begin to incorporate plug-ins, presets, actions and scripts. As well as providing you with many ready to use presets, Mark will guide you through the process of creating your own actions to speed up processes that you find yourself doing more often. You'll learn how to create stunning, unique and interesting backgrounds for your "studio" portraits and much more. 1:00pm Lunch (BYO or purchase nearby) will split session 4 Session 5 By this session you will have a new understanding of presets, actions, scripts, plug-ins, batch processing, curves, layers, masks, resolution, filters and many more terms.This session will put your new found knowledge and skills to work and consolidate what you have learned into a smooth and efficient workflow. We will also look at the basics of some of the hot topics of digital photography such as HDR (High Dynamic Range), Panorama stitching and more. If you have any special or problem files you wish to work on please bring them along (time permitting). All the details can be found on the website here -> Post Processing Bootcamp Price: $435.00 Hope you can make it along. Cheers, Mark Questions? Please give me a call on 0459 221678 or shoot me an email. Click here to Book Now!

Brand new Bali - Lombok Photography Workshop and Tour

Brand new Bali - Lombok Photography Workshop and Tour

In March 2017 a very special event happens on the beautiful island of Bali

Nyepi, or the day of silence is a time of celebration, and welcoming in the bad spirits to the island. On this special day the island effectively shuts down for 24 hours. However the days leading up to the silent day are full of drama, colour, and celebration, ceremonies at the temples and on the beach, parades and just plain fun.

AND YOU CAN BE A PART OF IT!

Dave Metcalf and Mark Rayner will be leading a group of photographers into the heart of this celebration with a very exciting photography workshop.

But that is not all, as the workshop will start in Lombok:
"We will be venturing across the water to another beautiful island with another unique and very different cultural experience.”

“On Lombok we will be staying at the beautiful Tugu hotel, a photographic experience in itself and one of the most beautiful hotels in Indonesia.”

Lombok is blessed with stunning landscapes:
Ranging from exquisite white sandy beaches, lush green rice fields with towering Gunung Rinjani (Indonesia’s second highest volcano) as a backdrop, massive striking headlands to turquoise coloured bays and waterfalls – it offers us everything we can wish for! Not to mention spectacular sunrises and sunsets!

We will photograph all of this and also venture into hidden villages to meet the Wetu Telu people who still practise age old beliefs.

These will be days of magic and wonder and don’t expect to see many if any other tourists. Dave has already explored these places and established very good contacts on the ground which will ensure we experience something very special.

 After three days of this we then experience the days leading up to Nyepi:

Those include Stunning landscapes at sunrise, Lake Batur and the fisherman out for their early morning catch, The salt farmers of Kusamba.
The ancient ceremony of Melasti down at the beach, when homage is paid to the spirits of the ocean.
Ending with the probably greatest highlight: The annual Ogah Ogah parade when huge effigies’ of the devil are paraded through the streets and then taken to the cemetery to be set alight!

For more details and to book please check out the full story HERE or call Mark on 0459 221 678