Some of my workshop guests have been kind enough to share their thoughts on how their workshop went…
The comments below are from past guests at events I have done on my own, with photographer Christian Fletcher or with Leica Akademie Australia.
Peter Bourne
Nothing much to say except that this was the best photography workshop I have ever been to…by miles!! I am very keen to attend any future workshops run by Nick so please keep me informed!
Thank you for all the terrific work organising this event. It was really wonderful.
Scott Cranston
Best weekend ever. I had a blast. It’s the first time I’ve ever been pumped to get up at dawn. I learn’t so much in such a short time and have been sitting on my laptop every night since. You guys are fantastic teachers and really compliment each other. Never again will I post-process an image with freaky details or underlay filter.
Toby Nichols
I really blown away by the course. I was gobbed-smacked within the first hour of the workshop by Nick’s in-depth knowledge. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to obtain an insight into how it is possible to extend one’s own ability as a photographer. As a result of the course, I have began to think of my interest in photography in a whole new light. Can’t wait to get out there and try some new ideas!
Cameron Edmonds
I would like to thank Nick for the generous way in which they passed on his knowledge. He demonstrated great passion and patience in helping those who attended. Would do it again in a heart beat.
Linsi Walter
A huge thank you to Nick for the wonderful workshop. Being a beginner and never having used Photoshop and the Mac laptops before, I found the information provided to me was put forward in such a way that I felt that I caught on reasonably well. I finally managed (after all these years) to get my camera. Off auto and onto manual. (Yay). I am now totally inspired. Have already picked out my new camera and lens as well as a Mac laptop and Photoshop.
Kris Holmes
I just wanted to say thanks again for a great weekend. I learnt so much from you and also confirmed a few things that I had learnt already. I cant wait to go back through my catalogue of photos and see what i can do with them now that I can visualise the potential of the photoshop techniques you taught.
I was expecting lots out of the workshop based on the feedback I saw on the previous ones and you delivered. You are both very likeable characters and there is no sense of ego from either of you, just a willingness to share what you know, which is very refreshing for people in your position. Perhaps what is not mentioned too often in the feedback is that the environment created in the course is very personal and relaxing; its was really fun to be able to ‘nerd it up’ with a bunch if like-minded people and make some new mates.
So, when I head off on my trip to Canada in the middle of the year I will be armed with some renewed vision and enthusiasm. If you happen to plan a trip to the US or Canada late this year or in 2012, drop me a line cos I will be looking for some good places to shoot and probably some good company too!
Adora Xavier
Just echoing what everyone else has said…..Great workshopAwesome teaching styleGood group of people, had a fab time….even with the early starts! Learnt a lot and now just got to keep at it! Will def be recommending this workshop!
Darren Devenish
What can I say……thank you…..thank you for sharing your passion…thank you for sharing your knowledge…..and thank you for inspiring me to be a better photographer…
I had a fantastic weekend in Bunker Bay at your workshop. Despite being an “absolute amatuer”, your knowledge and passion for photography was contagious…
You’ll both be happy to know, the first thing I did was retire my wobbly old tripod and buy a new one !!!
Murray Spittles
I’ve finally arrived home from a week with the family after the workshop so I’m itching to get in and start processing some new images and then have a crack at some of my older stuff, but not before dropping you a note to thank you for the excellent course you ran.
I was only half joking when I replied when asked what I wanted from the course that I was looking for salvation from the monotony of failure! Unbeknownst to you guys, I had marked this course as a kind of make-or-break point in my photographic journey. To say that my passion for photography had become stale was an understatement but nevertheless I wanted to be better at it, both in terms of capturing the image in-camera as well as post-processing, something that I had done in only the most basic fashion previously.
Within the first few minutes of arriving at the first shoot (after I had found my glasses) I had a whole new approach to setting up the tripod and camera ready for the stitched panos I had been looking forward to trying. I could tell already that my photography was about to improve significantly! Those few minutes spent guiding me through the setup process and the rationale behind it were invaluable.
As far as the classroom component went, I couldn’t have been happier. There was a great dynamic between you two, both bringing your own styles and qualities to the educational process that while distinctly different, complemented each other very successfully. As a result we ended up with the benefits of two lifetimes worth of knowledge on tap, shared generously and enthusiastically and with a healthy dose of humour. It must have been very difficult to balance the delivery of the information to a group with such varied levels of skill and knowledge, yet there always seemed time to share some one-to-one tutoring as necessary. Your enthusiasm and passion for photography was infectious and made it an extremely enjoyable weekend while at the same time presenting new challenges in approach and technique that will take some time to absorb and integrate.
While the workshop filled a large void in my knowledge, it has whetted my appetite for more – maybe one day there will be an “advanced” workshop, not that this one was in any way basic, but just because I’d love to come on another one! I’d certainly recommend it to anyone interested in photography, especially those thinking of improving their post-processing understanding and skills.
I’m already looking forward to more – somewhere, sometime.
Thanks again to both of you for a great weekend, and for the enjoyment I’m about to get from my new improved skill level and recharged enthusiasm.
Stuart Westmore
Firstly, thanks very much to Christian and yourself for last weekend’s workshop at Bunker Bay. I think if you’d tried to tell me I’d come away having learned so much – and so much practical stuff that I could use right away – then I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Hard to pick a highlight, as I learned something from every session, but I guess what worked best for me in general was how generous you and Christian are with your knowledge and how your styles complement each other. I particularly enjoyed the final session, which was a chance to follow Christian in the logic (obviously i use the term loosely!) of sweetening a file, with your reminders on short-cuts and links to the “theory” elements from the sidelines. If you need any evidence of how inspiring we found the workshop, then perhaps its the fact that four of us were out at Sugarloaf at 4.45am the day after.
Thanks again for a great couple of days, and I hope you had a great time on your week down south.
Peter Smith
After an amazing two days down at Bunker Bay (near Dunsborough, Western Australia) I have mentally recovered enough to “try” and express what a fantastic experience I had.
PODAS’s goal is to be the best Photographic Workshops in the world, well Christian and Nick with the sharing and personal one 2 one sessions just went to #1 in my book.
I was blown away by their generosity to give you REAL information that will make you capture, process and create better images.
They covered the entire work flow it amazing detail, explaining the ‘Whys’ not just the ‘Hows’.
They showed us how they really “put their hands on the photo” to make it the image they saw when they took it.
I don’t get headaches, but after an incredible two days of practicals and information in the ‘classroom’ my brain was full. Now to practice it.
All the presentations were given to us in pdf format and a small work flow book.
Will I attend another Christian and Nick Workshop – you bet.
Christopher Burton
I would like to thank you both very much for your fantastic workshop on the weekend. You guys must be knackered because I sure was!! I really appreciated your patience while I was fumbling a bit there, and felt bad about alerting you. Thanks so much for that.
I look forward to seeing you guys again sometime and I wish you well with this great work you do.
Rob McDonald
I just wanted to drop you both a quick note to say thanks for the grouse Bunker Bay workshop last weekend.
You successfully provided a high and entertaining level of theoretical learning in the seminar room and practical learning out and about shooting in 3 sessions around Cape Naturaliste. Having such landscape experts right alongside you giving “one on one” instructions and tips was invaluable. Adding to the value for we participants was the number of quirky camera and Photoshop techniques detailed which will enable us to significantly raise the quality of our end products, be they print, web or screen. The informal atmosphere throughout only added to the overall experience.
I can strongly recommend the workshops to any photographer – be they beginner, intermediate or expert – who wants to take their skills to the next level, or even two. Of course to get the best venue in Australia for shooting, they will need to come to the Bunker Bay ones……..
Merv French.
Just a note to thank you both for the recent Bunker Bay workshop weekend. This would have to be the best photographic workshop of any kind that I have attended. The presentation was delivered in an easy to understand format and the small class size made it easy to ask questions as we went along. The two of you are undoubtably experts and leaders in your craft and it must be frustrating at times for you to teach mere novices. The friendly manner in which you delivered the content and the time spent by you both as you helped us all as group and on a one to one basis all weekend is a quality that is very rare these days and one to be admired. We learned many things out of the course but if nothing else then I’m sure we all came away with a large dose of enthusiasm.
This is a course that I can highly recommend to anyone.
Jim Harold
Just a short note to let you know what a fantastic time Jenny & I had at the workshop. This is the first workshop (of the photographic kind) I have attended, and I must say it was awesome. I really didn’t know what to expect but I left with masses of new information, heaps of new photoshop tricks to play with and a few new friends as well. It is going to take a while to review all my notes and info you have supplied, I have been absorbed in it almost every night since the workshop. I can’t tell you enough what a great time we had.
Thanks again for the most wonderful weekend.
Irena Prikryl
I would like to say a HUGE thank you for another great workshop. This has been my second workshop with NIck and Christian and they just get better every time. So much information was passed on in a very understandable and easy to follow format. The venue was great, the catering even better! I have met some very interesting people, which I hope to keep in touch with. I feel very privileged to be learning from such legends like Nick and Christian – Thank you Nick, Christian, Janelle – keep them coming!
Julie Stephenson
What a fabulous week-end! I would sincerely like to thank you both, Janelle and all the other attendees for such a wonderful opportunity for me to re-connect with my own photography again. You both were so very generous with sharing information and helping us all to develop our skills to take photographs and process our images. Although I realised at the workshop I was more competent than I initially thought with regard to processing images, there were a few ‘light bulb moments’ which have now enabled me to address some issues which were hindering me from creating the images I want. I now have the tools and understanding to overcome these hurdles and am very excited about diving into my photography again. Instruction was exemplary and the venue absolutely perfect in relation to accommodation, tuition space and taking photographs. The food was amazing. Pity I’ll have to swim a few extra kilometers to burn all that extra off!!! There was such a wonderful sense of fun and camaraderie within the group. I would wholeheartedly recommend this workshop for not only those starting out in photography but those who want to push the development of their images further. Thank you both so much.
Bob Simpson
As one of the lucky participants in this workshop, I just want to say a great big thank you to Nick, Christian, Janelle and the people at Eumarella Shores – and of course to the other workshop attendees – for making this such a great event. Everyone took away bucketloads of information and inspiration from the two days – I have pages and pages of notes and a memory card full of photos that I’ll be going through for some time to come. Unfortunately some of us also took away a few extra kilos around the midriff – the food was spot-on.
It’s one thing for experts like Nick and Christian to simply impart some of their knowledge, but to do it in such a friendly, open and encouraging way is what makes workshops like this far more than worth the price of admission.
To anyone considering attending one of Nick and Christian’s workshops, all I can say is DO IT!
Trish McNeil
To have the wonderfully different dynamics of Nick and Christian working together in the one room for two whole days was always going to lead to great stuff!!
Coming from a very new photographic perspective this workshop covered many aspects of the photography spectrum and catered to all, both beginner and more advanced.
I wouldn’t hesitate to book again. Generous people with both their time and knowledge.
David Jones
The workshop was excellent. The location at Eumarella Shores on the banks of Lake Weyba was ideal for a photography workshop with superb accommodation and surrounds. Presentations from Nick & Christian were excellent with information from many years of experience and knowledge passed on to us. Nick & Christian just bounced off each other during the workshop with information.
Mark and Rosie Hopgood
Nick, Christian and Janelle made everyone feel welcome relaxed during the weekend. Janelle did a fantastic job keeping the workshop schedule on track during the weekend. Catering for the workshop was excellent with fresh healthy meals and snacks with coffee breaks. I’ll start saving again so I can attend another workshop with Nick & Christian.
The major factor in making this workshop a success was the interaction between Nick and Christian and the way they were able to deliver information from a different perspective. I feel this enhanced the learning experience. They are both personable and more than willing to impart their expertise. A few workshops we have attended continued the hard sell to attend additional events. There was none of that here and that was a pleasant surprise and much appreciated.
The bottom line is, was this value for money, the answer, YES. Whether you are an experienced photographer and PS user or relatively inexperienced, your photography and image making will improve attending one of their workshops. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Grant Higgins
A huge thank-you to Nick and Christian for putting on such a great workshop. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience, particularly meeting such passionate and knowledgable people who were so willing to share their experiences and expertise.
David Steele
Having got the frantic Christmas and New Year out of the way I now find myself with sufficient time to offer my gratitude for the excellent Freycinet workshop.
This was my first venture into the world of photography workshops and I was extremely impressed with the professionalism, patience, dedication and humour shown by you all. It was very clear that both Nick and Christian are passionate about what they do and in my opinion this comes through in the quality of their art – indeed this passion is what made the weekend such an enjoyable experience – one that afforded me the opportunity to learn a great deal and not just about photography.
In closing I hope to continue to practice what I learnt in Freycinet.
James Douglas
Nick and Christian, what can I say? I have been a seminar/workshop junkie for far too many years as continuing education is a necessary part of my work. I have listened to speakers from all parts of the world but have not enjoyed myself, or learnt as much as I did with the two of you at the Freycinet workshop. You presented the information in a way that managed to satisfy the novices, like myself,and those more proficient at photography. I was left me with the encouragement , enthusiasm and desire to further explore this wonderful world of photography and photoshopping. The level of planning and preparation was obvious in the seamless presentation each day. The quality of the handouts and information on the dvd is further testament to that. The setting was fabulous regardless of the weather. I am looking forward to more of your workshops and photographic journeys.
Kalan Robb
Fantastic workshop, Nick and Christian are clearly on top of their games, so it was great having them there to share their knowledge and bounce a few questions off. Really learned a lot (considering I hadn’t ever opened Photoshop before Saturday!). Look forward to hearing about future events, and hopefully getting along to a few more.
Ian Taylor
Just a quick note to thank you again for the weekend it was well run and well organised and for me at least very relevant. I know we pay for the privilege of being there but it was more than well worth it and both Nick and Fletch are very approachable and willing to help and share their experience.
Phillipa Alexander
Many thanks Nick and Christian (and Janelle for organising) a really great workshop with information that is just not covered in the books! You were both really generous in sharing your knowledge and I think both my photography and post-processing skills will show the benefits. I would highly recommend your workshop and hope to do another one in the future.
Kath Salier
I think I’m still in shock! This was undoubtedly the best thing I have ever done. The workshop was run extremely well, just the right balance of hands on photography with class time to back it up. The photoshop instruction was exactly what I’ve been looking for and I look forward to trying them out on my Tassie images. I was also blown away by both Christian’s and Nick’s generosity with their skills – you told us everything we wanted to know and more! – skills that come with decades of dedication and practise for this I am VERY grateful. I feel I am better equipped to make the images in my head a reality. Thanks guys, I look forward to doing this again!
Annette Pendelbury
Fabulous course. We both appreciated the time & effort put in by you all. There was no hesitation to answer any questions anyone had, & both Nick & Christian were very willing to pass on their knowledge of both PS & photography in general that was asked.
The course was conducted in a very professional manner yet very friendly & informal.
We have come away firm converts of focus stacking … look forward to the next technique in photographics 🙂
Thanks heaps guys catch you again soon.
Stephen Pope
Thanks again for the workshop. I learned so many techniques and tips that it is still percolating down through my brain. Christian and Nick are fantastic instructors and more importantly wonderfully encouraging to all of us, no matter how talented or not we are.
Matthew Nolan
Just a quick comment to say again how much I enjoyed the workshop. I have already put some of the techniques I learned to use in some of the photos I took at the workshop and later on at Cradle Mountain and have seen a marked improvement in my results. Your enthusiasm was genuine and inspiring. BTW, I think I’ve finally got a firmer hold on using a tilt shift thanks to your advice, Nick.
Susan Mace
Really enjoyed the workshop and learning all the tips and tricks from the experts! My brain is overloaded with information, and it will take me a while to work through the different ways of manipulating a photograph on Photoshop.
Tim Wrate
Many thanks for the fantastic weekend down in Tasmania. You and Christian are certainly a great team… in the vein of ‘dumb and dumber’ you and Christian are ‘awesome and awesome-er’… Thanks again.
Adam Brand
Nick & Christian, a big thank you from me. To be honest I had high expectations of the workshop, and you guys delivered. The great tips and advice started from the first morning shoot and kept coming throughout the entire workshop. The level of knowledge you have and share with the group to improve our photography is genuinely impressive.
Nikki Burke
I just attended Christian and Nick’s workshop in the Blue Mountains. What can I say………Wow it was just awesome! Both are amazing at what they do and the knowledge they share is mind blowing.
I would highly recommend the workshop to others as you’ll learn a phenomenal amount of tips and tricks and come away with a strong desire to take you’re photography to that next level. Thx so much guys, I loved it.
Neil Burton
I just attended Nick & Christian’s workshop in the Blue Mountains.
If you are thinking of attending one – then do it. Their depth of knowledge is substantial and they can offer an insight into their thought processes as accomplished photographers.
Nick and Christian have a wonderful dynamic with each other that works well for a workshop.
One of the great things about the workshop is the camaraderie with other participants. We came as strangers and left as friends. It was great to mix with others passionate about learning more about photography and exercising their creative and technical sides.
Even my wife enjoyed the workshop as a non-participating guest and is suggesting we go to another one (how good is that).
David Stowe
Thanks so much again for an awesome weekend Nick. Great fun, learnt heaps and got some nice images. Can’t speak highly enough about you guys.