"To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It's a way of life" Bresson

Do you want to improve your photography skills? Whether you're an absolute beginner with no experience, or you've been photographing for years, we at Extreme Ireland are going to bring to you years of experience from some of the finest photographers in Ireland. From understanding how to use your camera effectively to seeing and capturing beautiful light, these weekend and longer tours will leave you exhilarated and wanting more and more time out and about.

"Most things in life are moments of pleasure and a lifetime of embarrassment; photography is a moment of embarrassment and a lifetime of pleasure"

~Our weekend workshops in Wicklow are geared towards two levels: Beginners and Mixed Ability~

Our philosophy about these weekends is very simple:

• This is an opportunity for you to get away from the city or where you live, feel and breath the fresh air and open your mind.
• We believe that you can optimise your potential with exposure to the outdoors.
• The hills are so good for your body, mind and soul.
• We know for a fact that when you go for a walk on the hills, you feel better for days after.
• You are in a better mood, your body feels good.
• We need to learn new things all the time or our mind will become dormant.
• We as humans love learning new things and our brains get stimulated leading us to a natural more happier outlook.
• With these weekends away, we believe that we have the perfect mix of learning and the outdoors, that you will leave radiating and full of energy

"I think a photography class should be a requirement in all educational programs because it makes you see the world rather than just look at it"

We think the best way of learning is having a controlled structure to your weekend with us. There will be a beginning, a middle and end to the process of the weekend and we will take you through this at your own pace, getting lots of opportunities to apply what you learn on the theory side into practice in the outdoors. You will have some indoor theory on the first and second day as well as exhibiting your work to the class in the evening. We will be using a projector and laptop to highlight peoples work and techniques to use.

"Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man"

'Learning to See' - Beginners Weekend

The basis of these weekends away is to have fun, connect with nature and of course learn the basics of photography.

Weekend programme:

We will meet everyone at 8:00 a.m. in Laragh on Saturday, for a briefing and a run down of what will happen over the next 2 days. The first exercise will involve no camera as we feel the most important part of being a nature photographer is to connect directly with nature without a camera so that you are really seeing! Try to just enjoy your surroundings and to let the beauty flow through you. Now, you will have a couple of 'L' shape 'framers' to help you compose directly what you see. So if you see something you'd like to capture, hold up the 'framers' and see if you like it. Make a mental note or jot it down in your notebook.

We will discuss this exercise over some breakfast and then we will go through the basics of photography and how they all inter-relate

After this we will be heading outside again where you will practice what you learnt this morning. We will be going for a short walk around the Laragh region where there is unlimited opportunities for landscape and abstract photography.

That evening we will come back to our workshop where your guide will run through with you all what you did today and take some examples and put them on the laptop

On Sunday morning you will be rising early, to see if we can take a dawn shoot before breakfast.

Following on from the second day's morning shoot, we will once again have an indoor session to review any outstanding issues you would like clarification on, as well as further practice in basic post-processing techniques.

"One photo out of focus is a mistake, ten photo out of focus are an experimentation, one hundred photo out of focus are a style"

Synopsis of subjects that will be covered

Outdoors:

• Good Exposure
• ISO, Shutter Speed
• Understandin g lens aperture and depth of field
• Basics of good composition
• Photographing panoramas
• Shooting technique and how to eliminate camera shake and vibration
• How to use RAW mode to maximise your image's potential

Indoors:

• Optimising your image in Photoshop and Lightroom
• Understanding RAW capture and how to convert your images
• Other software packages that are available to use, free and paid

"Everyone has a photographic memory, but not everyone has film"

'Seeing the Results' - Improvers Weekend

The aim of the improvers workshop is to expand on the fundamentals that you learnt in the beginners workshop or you have already. We will go more into detail on the more esoteric and technically challenging aspects of photography. This is run on the same timeline as the beginners and you can all meet up in the evening time to talk about what you have covered.

Neutral Density Filters

Technical optimization of exposure

Abstract Composition

Advanced use of depth-of-field

HDR shooting and processing

Advanced use of filters

Using perspective creatively

Composing images more effectively

Kelvin Scale or White Balance

This course is aimed at people who have already completed the beginners course, has some experience under their belt and now want to take it to the next level. Any questions you have will be answered by your instructors.

Accommodation and Food for Weekend

Accommodation will be single room or double/twin if asked in Failte Ireland guesthouse or Hotel in the Laragh region.

Transport can be provided from Dublin if required, otherwise we will be meeting in Laragh village at 8 a.m. on first day

This if a full board package. You will receive one breakfast, two lunches and a 3 course dinner.

Equipment Needed for Weekend:

• Your camera
• Spare batteries
• Raingear and Walking Boots
• Hat and Gloves
• Willingness to 'let it go' and leave the city behind

Cost and What you get:

• The total cost is €350.00 for the whole weekend
• Includes all food, accommodation, transport
• CD with all your photos on it at end of weekend
• Framed photo of one of your pictures of the weekend to be delivered to you within 10 days of completion of course
• Trial version of Photoshop

A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety

Your Guides/Instructors/Photographers for the Weekend:

These talented guys are the face of Extreme Ireland for your weekend. They have all excelled in the field of photography and have a passion for the outdoors. You will be happy to spend time with these guys

Daragh	Peter	Aoife
Daragh started exhibiting his photography on Stephens Green in Dublin and within a short space of time was hailed as "an up and coming artist" Irish Independent, and within a year as "a leading fine art photographer" Art Ireland. Daragh keeps his photography simple, capturing the elements as they present themselves naturally, without the use of artificial light or filters. It's the smaller detail in nature, which we too readily overlook, that he's presenting to us in still image to entice us back to appreciate and respect our beautiful planet. "I use photography as my medium to convey some of my experiences within Nature. I believe that an energy is created when we connect on a very real level with the Elements. This is a healing energy and it is accessible to us all if we take the time to make this connection. His interest in photography came about as a result of a Scuba Diving course that he completed in 1992. "I was blown away by the experience. I felt like I was flying on a new planet. I wanted to capture this somehow." Shortly after this he bought a Canon AE-1 program camera, a model he still uses today, and began to learn about photography. His love for nature broadened during his overseas travels and he began to focus entirely on Nature. He likes to exhibit his images to a large scale as this maximises the impact of the image. His private collections include Ireland, UK, France, Holland, Belgium, South Africa, Hong Kong, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand. Publicly twelve 6' x 4' images can be seen at the Dundrum Town Centre and four 30" x 20" images can be seen in the Department of Rural Affairs(part of the State Art Collection), both in Dublin.	Peter Evers does not need an introduction if you know anything about landscape photography in Ireland. Over the course of a year renowned landscape photographer Peter Evers captured some of the most enthralling and arresting photographs of County Wicklow. Rooted in romanticism these images reject photographic clichés and instead reflect the natural beauty and spirituality of the landscape. Peter is the author the book 'Wicklow Photographs' which as got much acclaim nationwide. The Garden of Ireland has rarely looked as beautiful as it does here. You'll find none of the clichéd scenes often forced upon weary hotel guests. Evers shares his love, patience and respect of nature in this book which is a perfect accompaniment to any nature adoring Wordsworth poem. Writer Selina Guinness summed up Evers investment in her introduction: "Only when a photographer has sufficiently mastered the techniques of his craft to surrender quietly to the image, can a landscape emerge as gloriously sublime as Wicklow appears here." The scenery encapsulates the length and breadth of the county from Bray to Glendalough to Lough Tay and Dan to lesser travelled spots such as Coronation Plantation to Lugalla to Cloghoge and Nunn's Cross. His subjects include a variety of locals; wild goats, swans, donkeys, deer, horses plus their less lively ancestors. We are glad to have the experience of Peter onboard with us and you will appreciate his experience when you are on the hill with him	For the last twelve years I have been exploring my surroundings through photography. The new worlds that I experienced on my travels were a constant inspiration for the visual study of people and places. It was in New Zealand, where I lived for the last seven years that I studied photography and learnt how to focus my ideas more and create a visual narrative. In my photography I try and create aesthetic atmospheric pictures using the key elements of light and composition. I am also interested in the idea of creating a story within the picture. I love the outdoors and have spent weeks walking in the hills being inspired by the natural beauty of landscapes both here and abroad. Here in Ireland we have such beautiful soft ever-changing light to play with, that it makes it a great landscape to photograph. I have years of experience running photography workshops and working towards a resolved image or series of images both technically and creatively. Most of all it's a fun medium that offers each person their own individual cropping and framing tool to explore the outdoors with. Aoife has spent numerous years perfecting her art on the Southern Island of New Zealand where she lived happily until she got the calling of Ireland and the green grass of home where she lives now in the town of Dun Laoghaire. With Aoife's outdoor experience and attitude to life you will be in great hands here. She will take you to some of the hidden pockets in the Garden of Ireland and also to some hidden pockets in your mind.

Samples of their work:

"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst" - Henri Bresson

"Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I'm going to take tomorrow." – Imogen Cunningham

"You don't take a photograph, you make it." - Ansel Adams

"To the complaint, 'There are no people in these photographs,' I respond, 'There are always two people: the photographer and the viewer" - Ansel Adams

"No matter how advanced your camera you still need to be responsible for getting it to the right place at the right time and pointing it in the right direction to get the photo you want" - Ken Rockwell

"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera." - Dorthea Lange

You too can be taking pictures just like these in no time. Feel free to contact us to organise your weekend away of learning and fun. You can email our Office Staff and we will get back to you straight away.