Beginners’ Digital Photography Courses in Derbyshire – Getting off Auto Mode

Learn how to get off the auto mode and take control of your camera!

Sunday October 8th – 10.00am to 4.30pm

Saturday November 4th – 10.00am to 4.30pm

Saturday December 9th – 10.00am to 4.30pm

Places available.

A misty morning in the Derwent Valley, Derbyshire. Photo © Chris James

To allow for plenty of individual attention, and also to enable proper social distancing, there will be a maximum of only 6 people on each course. Places cost £99.00 each. Please contact us if you would like to be emailed a booking form to reserve a place.

These one day courses are being held in the village of Tansley, near Matlock in Derbyshire. They are run in a relaxed and informal atmosphere, and designed to bring together people with similar levels of ability. Group numbers are deliberately kept low so that the workshops are flexible and easily adapted to suit the specific needs and level of experience of the participants. Continue reading “Beginners’ Digital Photography Courses in Derbyshire – Getting off Auto Mode”

Peak District Waterfalls and Woodlands in Autumn

Saturday, October 21st from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm. £99.00 per person. Fully booked.

Saturday, November 18th from 9.00am to 4.30pm. £99.00 per person. Fully booked.

These intermediate level landscape photography courses have both been timed to take advantage of the wonderful colours of autumn, and will be held on the moors around Fox House (close to the border between Derbyshire and Sheffield). Both courses are accessible by public transport.

The October 21st course will run from 10.00 am to 6.00pm, so will include photography during “golden hour” right up to sunset time if the weather conditions are suitable.

The course on November 18th features a whole day’s photography, starting just after sunrise at 9.00am and finishing after sunset at 4.30pm. 

This part of the Peak District offers a wonderful range of subjects – including waterfalls, colourful oak and birch woodlands, old millstone quarries, and natural gritstone outcrops. If we are lucky, we might well get some mist in the morning – this is one of the best spots in the Peak District for temperature inversions! For those interested in close-up and macro subjects, there should be plenty of interesting fungi at this time of year as well.

Peak District autumn landscape photography course. Photo © Chris JamesTo allow all participants to get plenty of individual attention, each course will be limited to just four photographers, with places costing £99.00 each.

Please contact us if you would like to request a booking form to reserve a place on this course.

Continue reading “Peak District Waterfalls and Woodlands in Autumn”

Next One Day Photography Courses in the Sheffield and Peak District Areas

Here are the dates of the next digital photography courses we have planned in the Derbyshire Peak District and around Sheffield and South Yorkshire in the next few months. They are all one day courses, led by an experienced professional photographer with extensive local knowledge. You can read what some of our hundreds of clients have said about our courses here on Google.

You can request a booking form here for any of our training courses listed below. Just click on the links for more information about individual courses. 

We also continue to offer one to one training either face to face or via video link. See here  for further details.

Sunset and night photography course in the Derbyshire Peak District. Photo © Chris JamesSaturday September 23rd – Sunset and Night Photography.

An advanced level course from 4.00pm right up to midnight, with the moon rising 2 hours before sunset. The course will include photography during “golden hour”, sunset and dusk as well as at night. It is set in a very rural location with photogenic old buildings, twisted trees and other subjects for foreground interest. The course is limited to a maximum of only 6 photographers, and places cost £99.00 each. Only 1 place still available.

Beginners' photography courses in Matlock Derbyshire. Photo © Chris JamesSunday October 8th – Beginners’ Digital Photography in Derbyshire: Getting Off Auto Mode.

An entry level course which assumes no previous knowledge of photography. The course is a mixture of classroom-based teaching and practice outdoors (so it is less weather-dependant than many courses) and is based in a warm and comfortable Village Hall near Matlock. It is ideal for people who have just bought their first dedicated camera – as well as those who have only been using their camera in the “auto” modes and would like to learn how to use it to its full potential. The course is limited to a maximum of only 6 photographers, and places cost £99.00 each. Places available.

Autumn landscape photography courses near Sheffield. Photo © Chris JamesSaturday October 21st – Waterfalls and Woodlands in Autumn.

An intermediate level landscape photography course timed to catch the beautiful colours of autumn. It will run from 10.00 am to 6.00pm, so will include photography during “golden hour” right up to sunset time if the weather conditions are suitable. Held on the moors around Fox House (on the edge of Sheffield), the course is accessible by public transport. Subjects will include waterfalls, colourful oak and birch woodlands, old millstone quarries, and natural gritstone outcrops. The course is limited to a maximum of only 4 photographers, and places cost £99.00 each. Fully booked.

Beginners' photography courses in Matlock Derbyshire. Photo © Chris JamesSaturday November 4th – Beginners’ Digital Photography in Derbyshire: Getting Off Auto Mode.

An entry level course which assumes no previous knowledge of photography. The course is a mixture of classroom-based teaching and practice outdoors (so it is less weather-dependant than many courses) and is based in a warm and comfortable Village Hall near Matlock. It is ideal for people who have just bought their first dedicated camera – as well as those who have only been using their camera in the “auto” modes and would like to learn how to use it to its full potential. The course is limited to a maximum of only 6 photographers, and places cost £99.00 each. Places available.

Peak District autumn landscape photography course. Photo © Chris JamesSaturday November 18th – Peak District Autumn Landscapes.

A whole day’s photography, starting just after sunrise at 9.00am and finishing after sunset at 4.30pm. Held on the moors around Fox House, this area boasts some of the finest autumn colours in the whole of the Peak District. Subjects will include waterfalls, colourful oak and birch woodlands, abandoned millstones, natural gritstone edges – and possibly even some morning mist! To allow all participants to get plenty of individual attention, the course will be limited to just 4 photographers, with places costing £99.00 each. Fully booked.

Winter landscape photography course in the Peak District. Photo © Chris JamesSaturday December 2nd – Stanton Moor Winter Landscapes Course.

 A full winter day’s intermediate level landscape photography course with a stone circle and other natural subjects as well as photogenic industrial subjects right up to sunset time. Held on and around Stanton Moor in the Peak District between Bakewell and Matlock. Limited to just 4 photographers, with places costing £99.00 each. Only 2 places still available.

Beginners' photography courses in Matlock Derbyshire. Photo © Chris JamesSaturday December 9th – Beginners’ Digital Photography in Derbyshire: Getting Off Auto Mode.

An entry level course which assumes no previous knowledge of photography. The course is a mixture of classroom-based teaching and practice outdoors (so it is less weather-dependant than many courses) and is based in a warm and comfortable Village Hall near Matlock. It is ideal for people who have just bought their first dedicated camera – as well as those who have only been using their camera in the “auto” modes and would like to learn how to use it to its full potential. The course is limited to a maximum of only 6 photographers, and places cost £99.00 each. Places available.

More course dates for later in the year will added shortly, and if you would like to be kept informed of all the training courses we are running when they are announced, please sign up to our newsletter.

We are also able to offer one to one training either in person, or via video link.

Photographing the Industrial Heritage of South Yorkshire

This course has now taken place, but you can see details of all our other courses over the coming months here.

Sunday May 29th, 10.30am to 6.30pm. Places cost £99.00 each.

This course will be limited to just six photographers – so everyone will receive plenty of individual attention and have their questions answered. Please contact us to request a booking form.

The relics of our industrial past can be extremely photogenic, and this unique workshop in and around Elsecar (between Sheffield and Barnsley in South Yorkshire) will give you the chance to photograph some excellent examples. 

Most of the workshop will be spent at the former Hemingfield Colliery, where we will have exclusive access. This well preserved colliery was developed in the 1840s, and worked the Barnsley coal seam until 1920. From then until 1989, it worked as a pumping station to keep other local mines dry. The site was finally bought by the Friends of Hemingfield Colliery in 2014 – and apart from on open days – is not open to the public, so we are fortunate to be given exclusive access for this course. Part of the course fee will be going to help them conserve and protect the site. More details about the mine and its history can be seen here on their website. Continue reading “Photographing the Industrial Heritage of South Yorkshire”

Activities for Photographers During the Coronavirus Lockdown

Now that it’s been confirmed that the current coronavirus restrictions will be extended for at least another 3 weeks, many of us are going to have more time on our hands than we expected to. This is happening just at the time of year when we might normally be itching to get out walking and taking photos of spring – but with restrictions on our movements, that is not going to be possible for many of us.

We can still take photos in our own gardens of course (the snakeshead fritillaries in the photo above were taken in my garden only last week), and in the local countryside or parks, but here are a few ideas for other ways in which we photographers can use our time productively to improve our skills whilst staying indoors if the weather is bad or we are having to self-isolate. Best of all, for most of them, all you need is an internet connection! Continue reading “Activities for Photographers During the Coronavirus Lockdown”