Courses in south wales?

[shoot_me]

hi people, can anyone suggest a course for me to do in the south wales area i live in Gwent (blackwood).
i looking how to get the most out of my dSLR
i did see that park cameras do a 7 hr course for £99.99

Cheers

Chris

[jools-elliott]

Hi there

I'm not doing south wales but Dorset on fri 7th and sat 8th oct.

My price fits your budget.

OR. I can do you a one to one for a little more than the Dorset fee up where you are.

Let me know.

Jools

[thefonz78]

What do you want to learn?

I'm also in South Wales i just joined a Camera Club. You have monthly competitions with guest judges that critique your work. Lots of other quest speakers on a weekly bases talking about photoshop techniques and composition etc... Great value and you will learn a lot and get to compete with other clubs in Wales.

Gwent photographic club there not taking any members at the moment.
http://gwentphotographic.co.uk/index...nity-centre-2/

Caerphilly Camera Club. Mike Stuart
Mel O’Brien 029 2089 1624
Tel: 029 2085 0405

ponty camera club
http://www.pontypriddcameraclub.org/

[jimmyosram]

Camera clubs are the way to go Chris and thefonz's info looks great.

[thefonz78]

There is loads more around. There is one in Merthyr too but you probably wouldn't want to leave your car in the car park for 2 hours up there!

[jools-elliott]

Originally Posted by jimmyosram

Camera clubs are the way to go Chris and thefonz's info looks great.

Clubs are not for everyone. Each person has their own needs and way of learning.

Some learn from books/ magazines/ forums.
Some at clubs.
Trial and error.
Some go on courses.

There will never be a hard fast rule.

[silversnapper1]

Originally Posted by thefonz78

There is loads more around. There is one in Merthyr too but you probably wouldn't want to leave your car in the car park for 2 hours up there!

There is also a club in Bargoed that is even closer to Blackwood.

[thefonz78]

I will learn from wherever i can get it. Not sure how much you would take in on a one day course. Much better to learn slowly from reading and getting feedback from your peers either via forums like this or camera clubs.

[jools-elliott]

It all depends on the following things:

1) The student
2) The teacher
3) what the student already knows

You can actually learn quite a lot from a one day course if it is structured right. I went out with Charlie Waite a couple of years ago on a one day course. There were about 8 of us and he spent about 40 minutes or so with me during the day. He filled in quite a lot of detail that I needed.

A few months ago, I took out a lady near to me over here in France. We spent about 4 hours out in the field. She was like a sponge and just wanted knowledge.

In the time we were out, I had her understanding the zone system quickly. Thoughts out about composition. Looking at how the weather is interacting with the landscape and focussing to get pin sharp images.

It's all different strokes for different folks.

Something that works for one person will not work for another.

[Markulous]

Originally Posted by shoot_me

hi people, can anyone suggest a course for me to do in the south wales area i live in Gwent (blackwood).
i looking how to get the most out of my dSLR
i did see that park cameras do a 7 hr course for £99.99

Looking at the shots in your Gallery, I'd guess you're interested in shooting MTB with other stuff (like wildlife, landscapes, etc) thrown in. It would certainly be useful to learn the generalist side of shooting and I'd guess that camera clubs could certainly be the answer - then taking that knowledge into the slightly more specialist side of MTB.

Personally, I learned through online forums, going out with other like-minded 'togs and benefitting from the knowledge of a couple of individuals (again, online). My going out and taking some shots and then having someone jump up and down on my technique and results didn't help my ego but did wonders for my photography!

Courses can be useful but have a tendency to flood you with info which can be difficult to assimilate if you've not got an existing structure on which to hang what you hear/see/learn

And no I've never been a member of a camera club and never been on a course (nor do I look at magazines or books - unless it's for a technique in which case I usually get it online). So feel free to ignore all I've said!