Catching up on the end of springtime
So, springtime came and went and suddenly we’ve been here at Kingsdown for a whole year already. It’s been a wonderfully creative and exploratory year for us both.
Image & Word
When I last wrote, we were in the lead-up to an experimental workshop with Paul Sanders – Image and Word. We were all full of nervous but excited anticipation, not entirely sure how it would work out but convinced that it was something worth pursuing. Getting to know the group who joined us for 4 days at the end of April and working with them to help them to achieve creative outcomes from our time together was a real pleasure. We were blessed with beautiful weather and everyone enjoyed having the time to explore our chosen location and then develop their own creative project. Paul, Adrian and I were all thrilled to see the quality of images, words, hand-made books and a creative collage that our group achieved by the end of the workshop.
It was great to see how people bounced ideas between one another and how individuals came together to support everybody’s creative development.
Our next ‘Image and Word – part 1’ is already fully booked for the autumn but we will be adding a new Part 1 later this year so keep your eyes peeled if you are interested. I’m also excited to report that plans are well underway to develop ‘Image and Word - part 2’ as well as working on some new ideas for creative collaborations between the three of us.
Newcastle in B&W - Capture to Print
The start of May found Adrian and I on the road to Newcastle for a recce. Adrian was at Sunderland Poly back in the 1980s and spent some time in Newcastle over the weekends. He has had it in mind for quite some time that the city would provide a rich source of subjects for a black and white capture to print workshop. It also provides another opportunity for creative collaboration, this time working with friend and artist, Wendy Gibson-Carroll, who we met through Adrian’s ‘other life’ in the world of electronic music, and who lives nearby in Sunderland. The February 2023 workshop is full but as I write, there is one place remaining for October 2022. Visit the link to find out more. https://www.abeasley.org/newcastle-bw-capture2print-details
E-Day
Music making followed swiftly on the heels of our trip north as Adrian prepared for his first live concert since Covid hit in 2020. Adrian and John, two thirds of AirSculpture performed at E-Day in Eindhoven. Post-Brexit, travelling to the continent is now really difficult for small bands. Not so bad if all you have is a guitar, but for electronic bands such as AirSculpture, it’s an expensive and admin laden nightmare. However, they made it, shared some beers with old friends and got back alive!
Land's End Astro Photography - Capture to Print
May continued to be busy with a successful Astro workshop in Cornwall, at Lands End. Great weather and a wonderful location.
B&W and IR Capture to Print (Dawn to Dusk)
Adrian spent the final few days of May in Wiltshire working alongside the talented duo of Mark Bauer and Jeremy Walker for Dawn to Dusk. The Infrared and B&W workshop covers three days and Adrian provides the final printing day. Adrian really enjoys this format as he can spend two days shooting before he has to perform.
Tech Notes from Adrian
Nik Collection Version 5
Just a week before I ran my Nik Collection workshop, Nik decided to release Version 5. That put me in a spin as I knew the demo version would be updated and some of the clients booked would inevitably update too. So grudgingly, I ran the workshop using Version 5. I think it was good to use the update as there are some big changes to the way the selections work. Unfortunately, there are quite a few bugs and my system crashed three times, on one occasion taking down Zoom. It is good to see that updates are coming quickly so fingers crossed they squash the worst bugs quickly. So, is it worth updating? On balance yes, the changes to selections are a big step forward, as is the way filters are added but I’m not a fan of the dark and difficult to read interface.
Just one place left on my workshop that looks at all the 8 modules Nik Collection workshop