Photography Holidays in Menorca dates

We've just sorted the dates and prices for the Menorca photography holidays next year and put them on the Photoactive website.
We now get so many people wanting to come back for a second - and sometimes a third time, that we now do two different itineraries - Menorca One and Menorca Two. 

MENORCA ONE

1st - 8th May 2009

MENORCA TWO

18th - 25th Sept 2009 

The cost for both holidays is £1030

It includes:

• 7 nights at four star S'Algar Hotel inclusive of breakfast and dinner.
  
• Airport transfers in Menorca.
  
• Transport to locations in Menorca.
  
• Entrance fees where necessary 
  
• Welcome and farewell drinks.
  
• NO single room supplement.

I really love doing these holidays and it would be great to see you.

Find out more..

The picture shows Jan, one of the Menorca photographers, getting a little help from one of the locals.

Photographing horses in Menorca

One of the great photo opportunities we often enjoy on our photography holidays in Menorca is the chance to photograph horses – very special horses. We spend some time at the trotting races, where we are welcomed to visit the stables and photograph the race preparations. We use the races themselves as exercises in panning technique and I teach everyone the art of ‘following through’ with the camera as the subjects race past – very much like the ‘follow though’ in a golf swing. This has produced some fantastic shots… you may remember Maria Falconer’s action-packed picture I posted some time ago. Click here.

Now most photographers need a fair bit of help and practice to perfect the panning technique, but on our latest holiday we had one snapper, George Greenhill, who amazed us all with his panning accuracy. Even when the horses were racing past us a top speed, the horses and riders were always perfectly framed in every picture he took. It was uncanny just how easy he found it to get great panned action pictures.

I expected that George had done this before, so I asked him where he had learned the technique.

“In the army,” said George, “I was a machine gunner”.

I would hate to be on the receiving end of Georges sure-fire technique.

Menorca is famous for, among other thing, its dancing horses. These jet black beauties are taught the most extraordinary dressage routines and to rear up on their hind legs. The horses are a great attraction at fiestas and weddings. Our photography group was lucky enough to witness a wedding party at our hotel at which the rearing horses were to be a great attraction.

The party was held at night in the street outside the Hotel, so the light was just about as difficult as it could possibly be. But just look at these two photographs produced by Ken Terry – fantastic pictures that have captured the wonderful atmosphere of the event. Ken used his new Canon EOS-1D Mk111. He pushed the ISO right up to 3200 and was able to shoot at 1/30sec at f3.2

There are more pictures and stories from Menorca to come.

These holidays have proved a great success and if you’d like to join us next year please let me know as soon as possible. I’ll be putting the dates and costs up on the photoactive website very soon.

Pictures by Ken Terry and George Greenwell

Photography holiday in Menorca

Photographs by Jeanette Suddard

Well, we came to the end of another photography holiday in Menorca the other day, and I think I can say that everyone had a wonderful time. There was just one new student in the group this time – Jeanette. She came with partner Phil, who has been to me for tuition in Scotland. Of course, Jeanette was naturally nervous to begin with because she is a beginner, but she quickly realised that the way I run these photography holidays is anything but formal.

And what fantastic progress Jeanette made over the week. At the start she had no understanding at all about shutter speeds or apertures; knew nothing about colour temperature, the direction of light or depth of field. However, Jeanette possessed the most vital ingredients for successful photography – she had a natural eye for a picture, she was mad keen to learn, and she just loved taking photographs.

I would like to think that after just one week working with me and with the help of all the others in the group – these holidays really are a sharing experience – Jeanette is now well along the way to becoming not only a competent photographer, but a photographer who can capture something special.

I’ll be showing you some of the pictures taken by the group in forthcoming posts – I think you will agree that some of the shots are really outstanding. But that is to be expected when among the team were regular Photoactive snappers Ken Terry and Maria Falconer. Some of their photographs are just superb. Among the subjects tackled and the places visited were underground chambers, a winery at Binifadet, and a horse trotting event. We worked in a whole variety of light including flash and mixed temperature light - just wait till you see some of the pictures that were produced.

The top photograph shows just how well Jeanette’s eye was working. She spotted this dramatic shot as we were waiting for the daylight to fade and the street lights to come on so that we could photograph ‘mixed light’.

The bottom photograph demonstrates a keen eye for pattern and colour… very well done Jeanette

Colour and light

This well-hidden corner in the old town of Cuitedella in Menorca must have been photographed countless times by different groups of my students during the photography holidays I run on the island. I just can't see how a photographer could possibly walk past this place without raising a camera. It positively demands your attention because of those wonderful colours.

 

However, it is never easy to photograph. The first problem is lack of space; you just cannot get back far enough. This tiny little square is very small indeed, and even with a wide angle lens equivalent to 24mm, it is difficult to include as much in the composition as you would like. Use a lens any wider and the distortions completely ruin the atmosphere of the scene. The answer to this, of course, is to decide which particular elements of the scene you find most interesting, and concentrate on those. In other words, careful cropping in the viewfinder.

 

Then there is the difficulty of parked motor scooters and bicycles. On occasions these can add to the interest, but this very much depends on the type and visual appeal of the bikes that are parked there some are more interesting to look at than others.

 

The last problem is the light this photograph was taken around midday with the sun very high so that it shines down into the narrow square, which is surrounded by houses in a narrow back street. The downside of this type of light is the strong shadows and high contrast. But it does have the advantage of bringing texture to the wall, and addng shadow patterns across the cobles.

 

I like this subject best of all on a sunny day when the sun does not shine directly down on it in the morning or afternoon. Then it is very bright, but soft, emphasising the reds in the wall, and the green of the leaves and the wooden bench. You need to adjust you White Balance (WB) in these conditions using Cloudy, Shade or Custom settings.

 

Blue, red and green is a powerful colour combination at the best of times, and when those colours are combined with simple outline shapes the tree, archway and the bench. An interesting image should result.

Photography holiday video

Below is a short video I have put together of some of the photographers on my latest photography holiday in Menorca. It includes several of their photographs and also some of mine. La Mola is an extraordinary place. The old fortifications guarding the entrance to Mahon harbour. The whole place is just bursting with photo opportunities.
So enjoy the video and the photographs - The next holiday will be in September and there are still a few places available.

Menorca Photography Holiday

Our photography group has just had a walk to a small fishing village along the coast where they spotted a great photo opportunity when a local artist arrived and set up his easel under the trees at the back of the beach.

My group was on him like a rash.

He was delightfully helpful and welcomed the attention. Quite a surprise for photographers more used to the attitudes that attitudes that prevail in UK at the moment. One thing for sure here in Menorca is that photographers are made welcome by people who are pleased to be photographed.

The biggest problem with this shot was where the artist had positioned himself under the trees in the shade - careful exposure was needed in order not to 'burn-out' the highlight. I always prefer to under expose a little then bring up the shadows in Photoshop's levels and with the 'dodge' tool.

Anyway here's a snap of some of the group - some of whom seem to be more laid-back than others - and a picture of Pedro, the artist himself.

How to add colourful foregrounds

It's tough job, but someone has to do it - I have a group of photographers with me in Menorca at the moment and what a lively bunch they are. All levels of experience, but all dead keen.

Today we’ve been out on the island visiting a farm – not a tourist in sight – before taking a walk around the interesting little town of Mercadel. There’s a white-painted church there and I have often photographed it before. But in front of the church used to be some cactus which could be used as a really dramatic foreground. Someone has ‘improved’ things by cutting down these cactus and replacing them with a hideous concrete path with lights that look like small dustbins. Without a good foreground the church appears very plain and uninteresting from the outside.

Not to be beaten, I simple found a bunch of wild poppies – they are weeds here – cut a few off and held them in front of the camera. The idea being to give great splodges of red colour with the white church in the background. I thought the combination of bright red, white and blue might make a colourful shot. It did, and I was quite pleased with the results.

A travel photographer might not always find a perfect foreground for a photograph of a well-known building or scene - sometime there may be no foreground at all. So this is a really old and well-proven trick to bring vitality to your pictures on these occasions.

My group of snappers saw the results of this simple technique and, of course, they all wanted to try for themselves.

The top picture shows my original photograph. You really don’t need to bother about depth of field with this type of shot. Just splash the colour across your picture in the same way a painter would use a large brush. The flowers do not need to be sharp or in focus.

The centre photograph shows Ande and Cathy helping each other achieve a similar result.

The lower photograph shows Peter going solo with the same technique.

Photoactive Photographer's group

Photograph by Paul Lipman



I am proud of the fact that some of my former students started a discussion group through which they share pictures and information. The group's first photo project has been completed and yesterday I had the job of commenting and 'critting' the pictures and of choosing my favourite picture. This was not a competition, just a project aimed at getting everyone out there taking more photographs. It is open to all levels.

I have to say the results were fantastic, and I have posted my personal favourite here. This doesn't mean it is the best photograph, just the one I connect to most of all. It was taken by Paul Lipman, who has been to me here in Scotland for tuition and also been on one of my holidays in Menorca. Paul has a natural talent and all I can say about this picture is - I wish I had taken it myself. It's a cracker.

This morning Paul emailed me to say:

"I was thinking of you when I took the man and dog picture!
You mentioned in one of your blogs(hate that term!) how you saw a man walking down the road and arranged to be at the point where he came upto a green door. I did the same thing with the entrance to the rear of the old building."

Well that does my heart good, Paul. It's always great to know when the teaching pays off.

Well done Paul and all the rest of the group. Great stuff. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the next project - but it will now be Paul's job to decide what that will be.


If you would like to join in with the group, you'll find it at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/photoactive_photographers/

You will be given a very warm welcome.