Join award winning photographer and mentor Mike Browne for this Photography Weekend Workshop.
Day 1 is at a beautiful lake side in Pfäffikon (ZH) with mountains, boats and wooden docks.
Day 2 is an all day photo-walk and mentoring session in Zurich which coincides with the Sechseläuten Children's parade, making it a great opportunity for street / people photography.
The Zurich, Switzerland Photo Weekend Workshop is about creative thinking as a photographer and is for all levels of experience.
Beginners will need a basic knowledge of their camera and it's controls before the workshop because we won't be spending time explaining camera controls and menus. I have some free video tutorials for you to learn this before you come.
More advanced photographers will find the creative exercises challenging, group discussions enlightening and the locations interesting to shoot.
Accommodation is not included because everyone will have their own needs so it's better for you to choose whatever works best for you. Some bring their family for a holiday whist they do photography with me, so they might want an apartment. Others prefer a nice hotel, others just want somewhere clean to wash and sleep.
Here's a list of Places to Stay in both Pfäffikon and Zurich. If you are leaving by public transport immediately after the workshop on Sunday evening, I recommend you stay in Zurich which is nearer the airport and has a main station. Pfäffikon is only 20 minutes by train from that station and is how I travel between the two locations. Details are in the Itinerary.
Zurich has a major international airport and excellent road and rail links from all over Europe. If travelling from outside the EU you may need a visa so please check.
Day 1:
Pfäffikon (ZH) is just outside Zurich where we have a classroom next to the lake (Pfäffikersee), which we will be using for creative exercises, sunset and low light shooting in the evening. There are picturesque views with reed beds, old wooden docks and snow capped mountains in the distance. See gallery below. Pfäffikon (ZH) is 20 minutes by train from Zurich city centre.
Day 2:
Zurich city centre. Zurich has a history dating back to Roman times and with it's old churches, squares and colourful Guild Houses.
The weather can change fast and be misty in the morning with opportunities to photograph boatmen gliding over the water with hints of the far shore as a backdrop, an hour later it could be clear and calm with reflections of snow capped mountains and blue skies beyond - the second image on the right was from an exercise about shooting panoramics with longer lenses.
Old wooden docks make great foreground when we shoot sunset and low light on Saturday evening.
See more in the gallery below...
The architecture and backstreets are rich in photo opportunities and I'll be concentrating on helping you 'see' and execute images all around you, including 'up'!
Street performers are often on the wide pedestrian Rathausbrücke bridge over the river Limmat prior to the afternoon parade.
The bubble image on the right was from an exercise to shoot fast moving street life and find best light to make the giant bubbles stand out.
The afternoon Sechseläuten Children's parade is an opportunity for colour, characters and shooting pan-blur movement shots.
You'll learn what really makes a good or bad photo. Practical exercises will grow your creativity and help you find more photos, even when you think you're somewhere there aren't any!
After shooting sunset over the lake, you'll learn to find new opportunities by mixing different light sources. These observation skills are as essential as the techniques we'll be practising throughout the weekend.
You'll learn new ways to consider a location and grow your composition skills. Your confidence will grow as you discover you're better at photography than you initially thought and therefore be inspired to try new un-thought of ways to shoot.
Planning and learning the thought process of photography is vital for any genre of photography. I call it the 7 Building Blocks of Photography and they are common to all cameras and photographic situations. You may have heard of this course and we'll be using techniques and processes from it throughout the weekend.
I've been riding bikes as my go-to transport since I was 14. It's my happy place, meditation and fun space. There's nothing I love more than trying to get lost in some beautiful scenery for a day or two. Sometimes more... I currently have x2 Triumph Thunderbirds, a cosmetically un-restored 1950 BSA B31 and my favourite bike of all time - a 900 Triumph Legend I've had from new. It's on its 2nd time round the odometer now!
I'm flattered to have been called the UK's friendliest Photography Expert (Thanks 500px!). I'm proud to have made hundreds of videos and spent thousands of hours teaching people like you to see more beauty in the world every day (and to capture that beauty), by thinking like a photographer.
My YouTube channel has served more than 26 Million views and has more than 260,000 subscribers. I've appeared on TV shows and been asked to speak at some of the best photography events on earth, such as:
I've enjoyed a wonderful career as a photographer, presenter and teacher. I even trained as a teacher so that I could reach my full potential and enable others to reach theirs.
As a photographer, I'm proud to have won multiple awards:
And I've been lucky to have had exhibitions at prestigious venues such as:
When not teaching photography I also have a role as a brand ambassador for ClickASnap.com and I have written for publications such as:
Trumping all of this, my proudest achievement to date is the huge number of wonderful 5* reviews on Trustpilot and Google - written by people like you after completing my courses. This is what inspires me to continue creating courses to help more people fall in love with photography.
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Valid for 60 days from date of purchase