Workshops | Ben Maze Fine Art

Blue Mountains workshop

Instructor: Benjamin Maze
Dates: April 4th - 8th 2022
Location: Blue Mountains National Park
Participants: 5 (1 place remaining)

Join me on a 5-day workshop exploring the many amazing facets of our Blue Mountains National Park!

We’ll be basing ourselves in the beautiful yet central town of Katoomba, with plenty of opportunities for exploring and photographing both local icons and more adventurous locations. Located just 90 minutes from Sydney, the Blue Mountains are home to clifftop vistas, captivating rock structures, atmospheric weather and amazingly diverse rainforests teeming with greenery, waterfalls and wildlife. On top of this, we’ll be there during the peak of the region’s autumnal colour display, which thousands flock to see each year. My goal in teaching a workshop is always to have my participants leave as a better photographer than when they started. Whether it’s technique, creative vision, more effective compositions, storytelling or post processing, I’ll be working hard to ensure you’re developing your skills and having a good time while doing so. You as the participant are my priority, not my own photography, so you can be confident in knowing that I’ll be there answering any of your questions and needs.

Overview

You’ll learn how to capture dramatic, refined and unique images with personal instruction from myself every step of the way, as we explore creating engaging wide-angle compositions alongside the fascinating smaller scenes that can be found in nature. We’ll be keeping a flexible itinerary, with a wide range of possible locations to suit any weather situation in order to maximise our opportunities. I’ll be there to instruct you on capturing unique perspectives and what makes a compelling composition, full manual settings for maximum quality and creative control, what shutter speed looks best when capturing moving water, techniques for front-to-back sharpness, maximising dynamic range, and much more.

Back at our accommodation, we’ll be going through post-processing in Lightroom and Photoshop, covering the basics all the way to advanced editing techniques in order to bring the most out of your captured files. You’ll learn the proper editing application of the in-field processes you were taught, from focus stacking to exposure blending, as well as creative techniques and workflow tips that will result in clean, natural yet striking looking images that stand out amongst the crowd.

Most of all, you’ll get to enjoy 5 days of intensive nature photography instruction by a passionate photographer who has created internationally awarded imagery in the area and loves to guide people along in their creative journey!

Activity Levels

Some locations (such as Hanging Rock) require a return hike of up to 10km. Undulations in the trails and inclines/declines will be encountered in reaching several locations. Photographing some compositions may require scrambling, traversing slippery rocks or standing in moving water. Though it’s possible to stay back at the accommodation during an outing that you may not feel confident in, I recommend a moderate fitness level to ensure your enjoyment and proper participation in the workshop.

Details

What’s included:

• 4 night’s twin-share accommodation via home full of character in Katoomba, minutes from town centre

• 5 days of experienced guidance to wide range of locations in the Blue Mountains NP

• Personal in-field photography instruction to develop vision and technique, including:

- Exploring a scene first to find images that you connect with

- Going beyond the trophy shot; exploring intimate and abstract nature images

- Exploring the use of every kind of light without relying on golden hour

- Top-to-bottom technical instruction to ensure you're capturing high quality files

• Personal editing instruction to achieve the best result possible, taking control over each step for maximum creative output

• Analysis of my Blue Mountains portfolio images to show how they work and how this can be applied to other scenes

What’s not included:

• Meals, snacks & drinks

• Flights/transportation (though we’ll be carpooling to locations when necessary)

• Travel insurance

Group size

6 participants

When and where?

April 4th-8th 2022, Blue Mountains NP*

*accommodation address will be provided to participants closer to the workshop's commencement

What about COVID-19?

In the event that coronavirus restrictions cause the workshop to be postponed, you can rest assured that all participants who can no longer attend the workshop will receive a full refund. To see the full terms and conditions, please follow the link below under the 'Bookings / Enquiries' button.

Price

From $1500 AUD ($150 deposit)

An additional $150 can be paid to secure a non twin-share room (1 availability), or $200 for a master bedroom with ensuite (no longer available)

Testimonials

"A huge thanks to Ben for his hospitality over the weekend. He has a genuine interest in helping others improve on their photography journey and I’d recommend his workshops thoroughly. Ben, you did a great job ... I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and I learnt so much. THANK YOU!!"

- Oliver

"Fantastic experience. Getting tips and tricks from such a talented photographer like Ben is priceless and in such a relaxed and comfortable environment. No matter your level of experience Ben doesn't make you feel like you are being a hinderance and is willing to help with even the most basic of questions/problems and explains in a way that is easy to understand without getting lost in technical names/words/terms. The advice given on how to improve your steps, technique and/or style in capturing an image doesn't second guess anything that you currently do but expands on your current knowledge without trying to reteach and change. Any skill level will feel 100% comfortable on a workshop with Ben."

- Evan