Isle of Skye, Scotland September 16-22, 2017

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A 7 day (6 nights) photo workshop September 16-22, 2017 for 6-10 participants on the beautiful Isle of Skye island in Scotland. Isle of Skye is known for the dramatic landscapes enhanced by dramatic light and weather. There are wonderful seascapes and mountains. Notice that there is no optional day before the workshop and the reason being the need for fixed bookings with paid deposits at reservation. Please read the entire workshop description which include the schedule, pictures, pricing and recommendations for the participant in the workshop.

In addition to the morning and late afternoon shoots there are class room sessions with photo critiques, presentations on optimal image quality, efficient shooting techniques and composition considerations. Post processing is really important and mandatory in order to get the potential from the images captured by the digital cameras. The classroom sessions will now focus even more on this area than in past workshops with sessions on image editing from RAW capture to final edits. Also HDR techniques without the HDR look will be presented.

The workshop is aimed at giving the workshop participant the opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful areas of Europe and get some great pictures. You can find examples of pictures taken at the locations and the time of year for the workshop. Scroll down to see the pictures. The instructor is Hans Kruse, owner of HansKrusePhotography. He is very experienced in landscape photography and in post processing techniques. More of Hans Kruse's landscape photography work can be found here or click here to see the pictures. To see photos shot in September on Isle of Skye scroll down on this page and see the gallery of photos following the workshop description.

Schedule

The schedule will be adapted to the weather conditions. The detailed schedule for the 7 days is

September 16: Arrival and afternoon shoot at 16:00.
September 17: Morning shoot. Breakfast. Class room 12-16: Presentation on how to achieve technically good pictrures, composition and how to select interesting view points and pictures from the areas with comments. Light lunch. Afternoon shoot.
September 18: Morning shoot. Breakfast. Class room 12-16: Post processing in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop with editing examples from RAW capture to final edit. Light lunch. Afternoon shoot.
September 19: Morning shoot. Breakfast. Class room 12-16: Editing pictures. Light lunch. Afternoon shoot.
September 20: Morning shoot. Breakfast. Meeting room 12-16: Critique session. Light lunch. Afternoon shoot.
September 21: Morning shoot. Breakfast. Meeting room 12-16: Critique session. Light lunch. Afternoon shoot.
September 22: Morning shoot. Breakfast. End of workshop at 10:00.

On location conditions

The temperature can fall to around the freezing point at this time of year in the early morning, so please bring warm clothes and good, comfortable footwear for the time we will spend outdoors. It rains a lot on Isle of Skye so waterproof and warm boots are highly recommended as grass is often wet in the morning and it is good to be able to walk into the landscape to find the best spots. Also headwear and gloves are essential as well as wind and rain proof clothing. On most shoots we will not have much walking to get to the shooting locations from the cars, however there are a couple of locations that require up to 45 minutes of walking at low altitudes. In these cases it is possible to stay behind and still get good shots, if your ability to walk is limited. It is always discussed with the workshop group participants about what compromise will work for the group in case many will not be able to make the walks.

Pricing, accommodation and travel

The cost of the workshop is 2195 Euro which include hotel, meals and excluding beverages. A single room for each participant. For a shared double room the price is 1920 Euro per participant.

The price does not include transport to and from the hotel (air fare, rental cars, etc.) and transport in the area. It is planned that the 6-10 participants and the instructor will drive in 2-3 cars for the shooting (the instructor in his car and 1-2 cars from the participants). We will stay in Portree on Isle of Skye in the Royal Hotel. The airports in Scotland for arrival are Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness. The driving time is about 3 hours from Inverness and from Edinburg or Glasgow airports about 5 hours.

To share a car e-mail addresses will be exchanged among the participants such that sharing of rental cars can be planned in advance. A booking sheet including arrival and departure dates are sent to the participants of the workshop to help finding a match in sharing a rental car. A rental car no smaller than a Vauxhall Astra is assumed for 3-4 photographers per car including their equipment (please do not choose a small car not suitable for 3-4 photographers). The plan is that every day it is changed who is driving together in order to get the most value of discussions among the participants. The reason for not including transportation is that it would add substantial extra cost to the workshop to include this and most participants would likely combine a workshop with a stay in the area. If you would like to bring a spouse or friend to the workshop, then please indicate this in the registration e-mail. A spouse or friend cannot participate in any of the workshop activities, but are welcome to breakfasts and dinners. The lunch is a working lunch so it is only for workshop participants. A GPS unit or navigation app on a smart phone is highly recommended and mobile phones to get reconnected, if getting lost. Some smartphone GPS appls like TomTom and Navigon do not require a data plan (maps are downloaded on the phone). The instructor will have a mobile phone operational at all times and walkie talkies in the cars.

Prerequisites

There are no specific expectations for the skill level of the participants to get full value from the workshop. You will likely have been interested in photography for some years and have acquired a digital SLR or equivalent mirrorless camera and a few lenses. However less experienced photographers are equally welcome. The workshop will be adapted for the individuals attending such that individuals who need more guidance in certain areas will have the attention of the instructor to get help with the settings of the camera. For landscape photography in this area the focal lengths from 24mm to 200mm in 35mm full frame terms will be adequate (approx. 15mm to 135mm on crop DSLR cameras). A wider lens can be useful and a longer lens also (14mm and 400mm in 35mm full frame terms). It is expected that you are familiar with your camera including the most typical functions, however any question about camera operation and features are welcomed. Bring a manual for your camera too. A solid and stable tripod is essential and a cable/remote release for your camera. It is advised that you have practiced using your camera on a tripod so that you quickly can setup the camera as sometimes the lighting conditions change rapidly. The language of the workshop is English.

The instructor uses Canon 5DSR and Nikon D810 cameras and have detailed knowledge of these cameras, however photographers with any camera are welcome. It is expected that you are familiar with the camera and menues since it is not possible for the instructor to know every variant of even Canon or Nikon cameras. For post processing the instructor will use and show Adobe Lightroom and with additional processing in Adobe Photoshop. For HDR Lightroom will be used to show this as well as a blending method in Photoshop when needed. It is highly recommended that the participants bring their own laptop for post processing. For critique sessions you will need a laptop to process your own images.

Booking

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Please book space on the workshop by sending an e-mail to Hans Kruse at hans@hanskruse.com or if you would like to ask additional questions about the workshop. If you are not able to join this workshop or it is sold out, then please consult the workshop schedule or contact Hans Kruse. As the time of the workshop approaches (4 weeks in advance) you will get updates on the detailed schedule and meeting times and additional relevant information. You are welcome to divide the payment of the 2195 Euro into a deposit of 445 Euro at sign-up and payment of the 1750 Euro July 1st, 2017. In a shared double room the price is 1920 Euro per participant and the final payment is 1475 Euro. If the workshop need to be cancelled a full refund will be paid. If you need to cancel participation the 445 Euros will not be refunded unless a replacement is found. In case of cancelation after July 1st, 2017 a refund is only paid if a replacement is found.

Please see feedback from previous workshop participants.