There’s something about a panoramic view, maybe because we don’t shoot them often, mainly because they can be a challenge for editors and for layout. The lone drummer was an early arrival for a high school band practice.

Golfer in the rain at the Victoria Golf Club.

The beautiful thing about the weather here on the southern tip on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island is that this photo could have been taken this week as I saw lots of golfers on the links while driving around. The unfortunate thing about the weather here is that this image was actually taken last June.

Yesterday a few members of the New York based percussion dance troupe STOMP made an appearance inside the Atrium building in downtown Victoria to promote their upcoming shows here in August. I wanted a view that would show the dancers, the crowd and the unique architectural shape of the buildings interior. I picked a spot near the back of the stage that I thought would work, my only worry being that I wouldn’t be able to show the performers’ faces. I figured I’d be able to try the position and them move to the front of the stage for a head on view. The only problem with that plan was the crowd which jammed the space leaving me fenced in at the back. Luckily  as the photo above shows, my original plan for an image worked out. The preview shows was certainly energetic although I found that the performance pieces that included drumming on garbage cans and other such items, which they are most famously photographed with was not as impressive as the dance/drumming performances with brooms and sticks.

Courses are:

Documentary Photography: Creating the Personal Project

In this course you will learn how to use the techniques of documentary work to create a personal photo project. Participants will examine the work of other documentary photographers and see how and why certain ways of seeing and photographing can be applied to their work. You will learn how to organize your own projects, budget time, find out how to edit a project and discover different ways to bring that project to a larger audience.

Students will work on a project throughout the duration of the class; this can be an existing project or something new and initiated by the class experience. This work will serve as a catalyst for class discussions and critiques. This is a course about creativity, not equipment. Participants can use whatever equipment they own, digital or film.

Editing Your Photographs—Developing a Critical Eye

Do you have a jumble of images stored away on your hard drive or boxes of prints tucked away in the closet? Learn how to look critically at your photographs and find the treasures hidden among the less successful images. We’ll also learn how we can have a higher success rate while shooting by learning to edit as we photograph. Students should bring a selection (20–40) of 4 x 6 machine (cheap) prints to the class from a project, trip or just that box in the closet, as well as a camera and a notebook.

Find the Photo Spark

Have you lost your photographer’s creative urge? Do all the images you take seem to look like the last one? Rekindle your photo creativity with a day of exercises designed to make you and your camera best friends again. Bring your camera and a notebook and prepare to exercise your mind and eye and have some fun in the process.