Mountain Landscape Photography Workshop - O COUREL

PLACE: The Mountains of O Courel, Galicia, Spain.

DATES: Various weekends throughout the year. Send me an email for up to date information.

PRICE: 350 euros per person with transport, accomodation and all meals included.

MAXIMUM NUMBERS: 4 persons (send me an email for other arrangements).

LEVEL: Medium-advanced.

ACCOMODATION: www.casachaos.com

Suitable for traditional or digital camera. I have both.

LANDSCAPE: Mountain and valley in every direction. Possibility of snow, mist and unstable conditions during winter. The mountains of O Courel are made for photographers. A web of off-road tracks exists right through the mountains that was constructed centuries ago for the mines and slate quarries that date as far back as Roman occupation. We can make use of these tracks to drive right up to the highest points.

TOPICS TO BE COVERED:

1. Format of the photograph. The landscape is grand, the camera is small. What can we do? Where is the photograph and how does it fit into our camera format?

2. Traditional or digital? Film, slides (chromes) or digital. We cover the advantages of each and, of course, the limits of each one with respect to landscape photography.

3. How to read the landscape that is in front of us. 

4. How to read the weather conditions. What is the light doing? Can we prepare or only react? They say that a good landscape photographer can predict the light. True or false?

5. Composition.

6. Trigger-happy photography and how to cure this fatal affliction.

7. How to spot measure the landscape light with a hand-held meter. Is it necessary?

8. How many stops of light are there in front of us? Is it important?

9. Graduated neutral density filters and how to use them in the field.

10. Photography in extreme conditions. How to keep going in a storm. The tricks of the trade.

11. Any topic that crops up. Any questions? The group is small and we have time...

TYPICAL PROGRAM:

FRIDAY
16:00 Departure from A Coruņa in my transport. You can take your car if you prefer.
19:00 Reception in Casa Chaos, O Courel mountains.
20:00 Presentation. 
21:00 Dinner in restaurant.
22:00 Photographic projection of the 4 participants. Each person can present 3 photographs and explain to us something of the background. Group discussion in an informal and positive atmosphere. What do you want from the weekend? 

SATURDAY
06:30  Early morning drive in Land Rover to the peaks of the Courel mountains. We are in the mountains for the rest of the day until sunset. We have food and hot drinks in the vehicle and we eat when we want to. With such a small group we can move with ease through the mountains looking for the best locations according to the light and weather conditions of the day. I have been in the mountains of O Courel more than 30 visits and I know the locations well. 
21:00 Dinner in restaurant. (Note that in the summer months we might still be in the mountains at this time).

SUNDAY
07:30 Photographic excursion to the Devesa de Rogueira. Breakfast and tapas in thel Land Rover.
14:00 Lunch in restaurant.
16:00 Return to A Coruņa. 

Note: We use the time available to make full use of the light of day. The majority of time we are in the mountains. The days can be long and often tiring. We are not returning during the day to our accomodation to make projections because we are up in the mountains with the mists and the wild boars. If we have luck with the weather conditions and the light we can make photographs with atmosphere. If we do not have luck we do what we can. Failure is a normal part of the life of a landscape photographer. Ansel Adams said he managed a good photograph once every 6 weeks. And you?