The Learn Photography blog has a new home, please visit BrisbanePhotographyCourses.com.au

Gold Coast SLR Beach workshop

We are very excite to launch a brand new SLR workshop which will take place on the gorgeous Kira beach on the Gold Coast.

This workshop will address many of the issues faced when shooting under bright light light, coping with the changing light as the sun sets as well as having fun with slower shutter speeds. Just 20 minutes drive from Surfers Paradise, Coolangatta/Kira is a popular destination for surfers and sun worshipers alike.

For bookings and more information visit the Learn Photography website.

Must see video of a photographer at work

Check out this seriously amazing behind-the-scenes video of black & white landscape photographer Michael Levin at work. The entire video was shot on a Canon 5DMkII and I recommend watching in HD full screen - incredible!

Photo Social returns

Photo Social returns to the Ship Inn at Southbank (Brisbane) on Friday July 1st.  The last event was great fun and we hope part 2 will be even better.

So if your an enthusiastic Brisbane photographer then why not join us for a beer and a chat about all things photographic!

For more details and to RSVP visit the Facebook event page

Hope to see you there!

State library in Monochrome

The State Library of Queensland must be one my favourite buildings of all time. Not only is it a wonderful library with first class facilities, but it is an amazing building to walk around with great views of the Brisbane river and five levels that feature some incredible architecture and spaces to discover every time you make a visit. The library was voted Australia’s ‘Building of the Year’ at the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Awards ceremony in 2007 a year after opening and is a marvel of concrete, wood and glass that anyone visiting the South Bank Cultural Centre should pay a visit.

During the weekend I spent a few moments capturing some views of the SLQ.

Visit the State Library of Queensland website > www.slq.qld.gov.au

Link of the week

As a photography fan I'm inspired and intrigued by the work of other photographers and never tire of looking at photography either online, in books, photography magazines and of course exhibitions. So a new feature of this blog is to share a link to a particular photography related website, gallery or video that I've stumbled across and hope you will also find inspiring, educational, interesting and fun!

So to kick things off I would like to showcase 'Framed' which is website that features a series of in-depth, behind the scene videos of photographers at work.

www.framedshow.com

Paul Farris (Learn Photography)

Studio lighting course

Here's a couple of shots from this weekends Studio Lighting Course. Many thanks to Dwarek, Thomas, Shane and Tina plus extra thanks to Mel for being an excellent model.

Our nest studio workshop is on Saturday 30th April - for more details visit the Learn Photography website.

Photo Social

What is Photo Social?

Held at the Ship Inn (Southbank, Brisbane) on Friday April 1st, this FREE event welcomes anyone with an interest in photography who want to meet, learn more about their cameras and swap tips and ideas from like-minded photographers

Why not join our event on Facebook

Head On Photo Festival 2011

Head On Photo Festival (5 MAY – 11 JUNE 2011) is Sydney’s major innovative showcase for Australian and international photography, reflecting a vibrant, diverse cross-section of new and traditional photographic practices covering all genres. Head On aims to present good photography regardless of the celebrity of either the subject or photographer.

Events for 2011 will include indoor and outdoor exhibitions, screenings, workshops, a seminar as well as some special events. Venues include public and commercial galleries, cafes, parklands and the streets of Sydney itself.

With the launch of the inaugural Head On Photo Festival in May 2010, the vibrant and cosmopolitan global city of Sydney finally gained a photography festival. Sydney is now firmly placed on the global photography scene alongside Perth, Brisbane, Canberra and Ballarat who all have established festivals.

www.headon.com.au

Vivian Maier

Little is know about Vivian Maier (1926-2009), a private person who lived and worked as a nanny and during her lifetime took over 100,000 photographs on the streets of Chicago. These photos had never been seen by anyone until author John Maloof acquired a dusty box of negatives from an auction whilst researching a history book on Chicago's NW Side.

Many now say she may rank among the greatest street photographers of the 20th century.

Nikon-Walkley Press Photo Exhibition

The Nikon-Walkley Press Photo Exhibition opened this week at the Brisbane Powerhouse and will continue to travel around the country with Newcastle being the next stop in May.

Featuring the finest in Australian journalism, the Walkley Awards showcases more than 100 photographs from the finalists in the areas of sport, portraiture, photographic essay and daily life in the city and regionally.

The 2010 Nikon-Walkley Award finalists will run from the 1st to the 27th February (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and Sat-Sun 10am-4pm) and is one not to be missed.

www.brisbanepowerhouse.org.

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Canon announce new DSLR's, lenses and flash units.

A feast on goodies have been announced from Canon today following the last weeks sales conference in Sydney. First to be unveiled where two new DSLR's, the entry-level EOS 1100D and the eagerly anticipated EOS 600D.

The EOS 1100D is built around the latest Digic 4 processor and features a 12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor, extended ISO range, 9-point Auto Focus, a 2.7" TFT LCD display as well as the ability to shoot HD (1280x720p) movies. Designed as the perfect stepping stone for users of compact cameras, the 1100D will be the camera of choice for first-time DSLR users.

The EOS 600D sits in the upper levels of the Canon DSLR range and boasts some interesting new features including Scene Intelligent Auto plus a selection of five creative filters including a 'Fish eye lens effect'. A tilt and swivel 3" LCD is also included as well as an 18 Megapixel CMOS sensor (as seen in the 550D), Full HD (1920x1080p) movie recording and the ability to remotely control flash units using the built in flash (very nice!)

As well as adding some more Compact cameras to their extensive range, Canon also announced the production of its 60 millionth EF lens (first introduced in 1987) along with the launch of updated versions of both its 500mm and 600mm f4L IS USM pro lenses and the news that an EF200-400mm f4L IS pro lens will be available later in the year featuring a built in 1.4x teleconverter. 

And finally Canon also announced the 320EX and 270EXII speedlite flash units. The 320EX will feature a video light as well as the option of being controlled wirelessly by the EOS 600D or similar controllers. The 270EXII will replace the 270EX with the addition of a wireless slave mode.

For more info visit the Canon website

Abstracts

Whilst looking through some archived images today I came across two I would like to share. The first was taken four years ago as a test shot for a commission from Nokia who had given me the brief to supply some 'abstract' style images of unusual and distinctive flowers, plants and suchlike. The picture was actually taken in the garden section of my local Bunnings who had a great selection of plants and they were only too happy to let me snap away at my leisure.

The second image is more recent and is a warped and distorted view of the Iconic Brisbane Story Bridge. The original shot was a panoramic taken whilst I was giving some one-to-one photography tuition and has since been the subject of some major tweeking via Photoshop CS5.

The original image is featured on the home page of the Learn Photography website.

Brisbane flood and how it affects our courses and workshops.

Please be advised that flooding and inaccessible roads in the South Bank area of Brisbane has affected some of our courses and workshops

What courses are affected?

Practical SLR course
All day Workshops

What courses are not affected?

SLR course
Studio lighting course
One-to-One tuition

What happens next?

If your booking is affected then we will be in touch with details on the new location for the course/workshop.

If you cannot make the booking or would prefer to postpone or re-schedule then please let us know at the earliest convenience.

If you have any questions please email using the link below or contact us on 0430 99 12 10
(Please note that since the flood we have been experiencing network problems in our area - if you cannot get through to us please send us an SMS text message so we can call you back.)

Contact LearnPhotography

UPDATE 17th January

The majority of Southbank parklands remains closed - workshops and practical courses will be held at Wynnum and Manly until further notice.

UPDATE 18th January
Last weekends all day workshop on the bayside was a lot of fun - here's a handful of shots . . .

UPDATE Thursday 27th January
I have been informed today that much of Southbank Parklands (as well as our study rooms) is still inaccessible after the recent floods. We will monitor the situation daily but expect our Workshops and Practical courses to continue in the Wynnum / Manly area for at least another 2 weeks.
UPDATE Wednesday 16th February
All our courses and workshops are now running as normal. Most of the Southbank area is now open to the public and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding during the past few weeks.