PHOTO / VIDEO WORKSHOP

23-30 MAY, 2009 - BELIZE

This workshop will be held on the Peter Hughes Sun Dancer II as a week-long charter from 23-30 May, 2009.  This is meant to be a learning experience that’s also going to be the vacation of your life!  While the Sun Dancer’s crew is busy pampering you, I’ll be teaching you everything I know about this art, and helping you reach your photographic goals.  For those of you who knew me back in my days as a liveaboard PhotoPro, you remember my workshops as lecture sessions interspersed with captaining responsibilities, cleaning and engineering chores, dive deck duty, and a plethora of other things that took my attention away from you.  Now I’m on board not as a crew member, but as your full-time photo coach.  You’ll get all the perks of an awesome liveaboard vacation, mixed with my undivided attention, helping you meet your photographic goals and make some works of art that you’ll be proud of.


The Sun Dancer II is a stunning 20 passenger, 138’ liveaboard dive yacht that cruises the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world!  On my last trip to Belize in 2007, I landed some great shots of tarpon, hawksbills, “pregnant” male yellow-headed jawfish, four species of eel, three species of juvenile angelfish, all stages of drum, huge deep-water gorgonians (at very shallow depths), the endemic spotted toadfish, and of course, the world famous Blue Hole.  And there’s plenty more!  The photos on this page are some of my images from last time in Belize. 


Joining me on this workshop will be Suzanne Bushnell.  Suzanne is a liveaboard crew veteran, having worked aboard the Wind Dancer and other liveaboards for many years.  Nowadays, she runs SunSplash Photo, an underwater portrait company.  As an experienced u/w photographer and videographer, she will act as photo assistant during the workshop, helping you along the way with technical issues and technique.  Equally as important, Suzanne is a widely published u/w model, having worked with myself on many assignments, as well as several other professional photographers.


Here’s what’s included:

  1. •   5 1/2 days of diving (including great night dives)

  2. •  All meals (and these are GOOD meals!), snacks, and drinks (but f-stops make less sense after a few beers!)

  3. •  Daily classroom session in the salon (see below for outline) which are jam-packed with info, wrapped into a easy-to-understand multimedia presentation with tons of visual examples.

  4. •  In-water assistance - I do many dives without a camera so I can watch your technique and offer suggestions both during the dive, and back on the boat

  5. •  One-on-one help - I’m there all week!  Any time is the right time to ask for help regarding anything, to look at your images from that day, or to just chat about the latest camera gear.  This is what this week is really all about - catering to YOUR photographic needs.

  6. •  Group critique - on several nights, I’ll ask for 7-10 images (or short video clips) from everyone and project it for a group critique.  I encourage both shots you are proud of, and shots that didn’t work out so others can learn from your efforts.  Seeing what others are shooting will go a long way in your learning experience, and has the side effect of seeing what other folk’s equipment is capable of.

  7. •  Entrance to Half Moon Cay Preserve mid-week (land tour) - great topside photo-ops!

  8. •  An underwater model - this is a rare opportunity, so take advantage of it!!!


During the first night at dinnertime, I’ll give a briefing on the week’s schedule.  I’ll also present a photo and video slideshow of the stuff we shot previously in Belize to give you an idea of what we’ll be seeing.  The tentative schedule for the rest of the week is as follows.  For some sessions, the concepts will be the same for photographers and videographers, so the classes will be merged - for others, the videographers will have a separate lesson plan, given later in the afternoon.


Sunday: U/W Photography (and Video) 101

After breakfast, take the first dive to just relax, enjoy, and get used to your equipment and the environment.  If its been a while since your last dive, this is a great chance to get reacquainted with the water.  After the first dive, the photo chaos begins with Underwater Photography 101.  This session deals with many of the basic techniques that you may already be familiar with - but it never hurts to go over it again!  We’ll talk about the settings such as ISO, WB, EV, and the rest of those damn buttons.  We’ll also cover adapting your diving technique to photography, how to position yourself, and how to approach subjects.  Before it happens to anybody (fingers crossed!) we’ll establish protocols for housing floods, and talk about basic preventative maintenance.  And finally, a very basic intro to exposure modes, including f-stops and shutter speeds.


Monday:  Exposure

Exposure is probably the most confusing and frustrating (but necessary) subject in photography, and to fully grasp these concepts, it takes many folks several days of practice, so we will dedicate this day completely on how to make the colors look like you want them.  For those that have cameras with the ability to shoot in Manual mode, you’ll never go back to Auto settings again!  For those whose hardware requires they stay in Auto mode, I’ll teach some techniques that will let you take control over your images while still getting the benefits of “point & shoot” simplicity.  Monday night, we’ll do a group critique to learn from everyone else’s style.


Tuesday:  Composition and Lighting

Compositional techniques, and lighting via the sun and your strobes.  While some folks will bring a camera in a tiny acrylic housing with a tiny flash, others will have a gi-normous DSLR with two 300-watt strobes.  The techniques learned here will teach creative use of whatever system you’re using, be it a built in flash, single or dual strobes, slaves, constant lights, and using the all-important sun.  For the composition portion, we’ll cover the “rules” of underwater photography (and when to break them!) and how to bring a bit of artsy-fartsy-ness into your art.


Wednesday:  Hardware

With so many cameras, lenses, and strobes out there nowadays, the variety of gear can be mind-boggling.  I’ll introduce you to a wide range of photographic toys, and demonstrate now much of it can be used both underwater and around town topside.  We’ll talk about maintenance & care, floods, and how to protect your investment.  Additionally, I’ll discuss computer hardware, and some tips on making your photography addiction easier.


Thursday:  Post-Processing and Computers

This subject could easily occupy several week-long charters, but we’ll at least scratch the surface, and ease some of your digital pains.  Topics include (but often stray far from) Adobe Photoshop (including Elements, and Camera RAW), Apple Aperture and iPhoto, Window Photo Gallery and other PC imaging tools, backups, printing, technobabble (bits & bytes, pixels, etc.) and all the other jazz that techno-geeks like me love!


Friday:

Final presentation comprised of each student’s 10 best images (or video clips).


Saturday:

Check-out.  One of the best thing about Belize, is that nowhere else in the Caribbean is there more to do on land after the charter.  The Peter Hughes office can give you info on extending your stay by exploring Mayan ruins, river-cave rafting, jungle trekking, an tons of other really awesome stuff.  Belize is just as great above the water as below!


WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

  1. •    You must be a certified diver, and nitrox is highly recommended because photographers often spend more time underwater than the average diver.  While rental gear may be available (check with the PHD office in advance), having your own gear will make you a more comfortable diver and ultimately, a better photographer.

  2. •    A laptop computer is highly recommended for your images/video

  3. •    You should always bring the instruction manual for your camera, housing, and strobes.  And you should be familiar with the equipment’s basic workings BEFORE you leave home.

  4. •    A sense of adventure and a sense of humor!  You’re going to another country to spend a week on a boat!  Strange things can and will happen.  But with a top notch crew, a top rated boat, awesome food, and cool people, you’re in for the trip of a lifetime!!!

  5. •    You’ll want your camera system tried & tested before you leave home.  We’ll always have issues if you’ve never had it in the water before!  I have several rental camera systems available at very reasonable rates (just covering my insurance and excess luggage costs!), and all rental systems are available for purchase at the end of the charter.  I have both DSLR systems and “point & shoot” systems available, but you must contact me well in advance to reserve a system.  The Sun Dancer II may also have systems for rent - please call the office to ask in advance.

  6. •  You need at least a basic-level understanding of computers.  Unfortunately, if you don’t understand the absolute basics (I mean reeeeeealy basic stuff like how to make a folder, how to copy & paste, and when to click vs. right click, etc...) then digital photography is going to be very challenging for you.  You don’t need to be a whiz by any means, but you must at least have a very basic understanding of the general computer use concepts before we meet.  I can teach you how to work with digital images on your computer, but I cannot teach you how to turn the computer on during this week.  Don’t let this scare you away - you can learn the basic stuff I’m talking about from your kids in less than an hour!  Come prepared, and your learning experience will be dramatically enhanced!

  7. •   Ideally, your camera will have both wide-angle and macro capabilities.  If not, its okay - don’t worry about it!  Don’t know what I’m talking about, or don’t know where to get the gear?  Call or email me!

  8. •   DAN insurance is highly recommended (www.diversalertnetwork.org)


Charter price is $2195/$2295/$2395 (depending on your choice of rooms).  There are a few other costs like a port charge and fuel surcharge.  Prices are as per Peter Hughes website as of Aug 08.  Please contact Peter Hughes Diving (1-800-9-DANCER) for more up-to-date pricing and availability.  THERE IS NO CHARGE TO YOU FOR THE WORKSHOP - IT IS INCLUDED IN THE STANDARD CHARTER PRICE!!!


You can expect a packet in the mail from me around the beginning of May, 2009.  Make sure you contact me with your mailing address.  This will include some easy pre-charter photo exercises, a checklist, and other materials.  The Peter Hughes website is quite thorough and answers most questions.  Make sure you read all the info on the Sun Dancer from their website before departing!


ANY QUESTIONS?  Call me at 813-368-1826 or email me at AquaExposure@yahoo.com or contact the Peter Hughes office at 1-800-DANCER.