More divers than ever before are entering the water with a camera, and more divers than ever before are climbing out of the water with a disappointing set of photographs. You can learn about photography from your own mistakes, and you can certainly get a lot of help from books and websites like mine, but you'll get better results more quickly if you get some personalised and professional help. That's why I now run
Underwater Photography courses!
Courses in the Red Sea
Why not join me on a specialist photo week in the Red Sea? Working with Tony Backhurst Scuba Travel and the superb liveaboard vessels of the Tornado Marine fleet we'll dive the very best wrecks and reefs in the are, looking for the best conditions for photography.
These trips are all about enjoying your diving and getting the very best pictures you can, not about expensive equipment or technical detail, and are tailored to suit photographers of all levels, digital or film.
For more information, see my Escorted Trips page.
Courses in the UK
Taken in Capernwray, this shot is about mood not detail
Your course will be tailored to suit whatever it is that you need in order to get better quality pictures.....and it won't cost you an arm and a leg!
My courses are a mix of theory and practical, they're very firmly hands-on, and it doesn't matter if you shoot film or digital, compact or SLR. All practical sessions are in open-water, usually at an inland site so the weather can't get in the way, because that's the environment where you'll be taking pictures in real life. If you don't have your own kit, or only ever dive in warm water drop me an email and we can make alternative arrangements.
Some of the things we could cover are the hardware (How cameras work, accessory lenses and strobes), the process of taking pictures (Visualising the end result, selecting appropriate camera settings, positioning and composition) and post-processing to get the best possible result from your shots - but it all depends on your requirements.
Here's what people who have been on one of my courses had to say:
http://www.yorkshire-divers.com/forums/trip-reports/80605-camera-course-mike-ward.html
For a tailored course outline just send me three of your photographs* you like and three you don't, with an explanation of why you like or dislike each one and I'll put together a day that will help you improve.
* Please resize the pics nice and small - I live waaay out in the country and even broadband here is pretty slow!
Courses cost just £85 per day at either Ellerton Park Lake (near Catterick in North Yorkshire) or the Blue Lagoon (Near Darrington in South Yorkshire).
I'm more than happy to travel to other sites, for which I'd charge the usual £85 per day plus travelling and entry fees - travelling cost depends on current fuel prices!!
Groups welcome - just contact me with what you'd like to do.
For more information, please email me on jmikeward@tiscali.co.uk