Vernon Photography Class Walk at BX Dog Park

It’s hard to believe we’re already in week 5 of photography lessons. We’ve been all over Vernon, and we’ve got a few stops left. This is round 9, and we’re halfway through the 8 classes. The space at Caetani House has been incredible. The room where I’ve been teaching has been nice and large. I have a huge wall for the projector, and we’ve got plenty of room to run around. Even better yet, in the Okanagan, it’s lightened up. It’s now between 1 and 2 degrees. It’s still icy around here, so we’re careful. Photography lessons means that the winter doesn’t have to be so boring though!

We’ve been messing around with portraits in the last class. We’re talking about depth, and how to use it efficiently in photos. This is a huge turning point for many students. In the level 1, I see a lot of work improve substantially after this class. This is the only class in the Okanagan that teaches depth to the extent that we do. Although some wouldn’t find it necessary, I believe the results speak for themselves.

Here we are learning how to use dynamic colour ranges. The walks are extremely important. This is the only time I get a few hours to shoot alongside the students. Often, there’s a small problem or two in the technique. I can make a few adjustments, and it makes a world of difference. I find the more hands-on time I have, the most frustration is avoided. The easier it is to take a picture, the more comfortable you are, the more photos you’ll take. This class is all about kindling your passion for photography.

Although we’re going to go into this more in the post class on Wednesday, here we talk about over exposure vs under exposure. It’s a stylistic choice. A little dip in the shutter speed can change the image dramatically!

After, we took some long exposures of the river. The students got some really creative images with some good angles. This exercise teaches you to get close to your subject. Especially in situations where you’re taking nature photos, it pays to be a few inches away from your subject.

As we walked back, the sun had begun to set. It peeked through the trees.

There were a few people there at four, so we went to get some good colour theory portraits.

All in all, for a January photo walk, I think we did well. It was a little slippery, but we covered everything I wanted to cover. If you’re interested in signing up for round 10, I will be announcing it in mid-February, and taking registrations by the 20th.

That’s all for now. If you’d like to stay updated about future classes or class times, feel free to follow me on Instagram, facebook, twitter, or Tumblr for frequent updates. Talk to you all in a few days!