Whatever type of camera you use, investing your time in a photography event, where you can learn from top photographers and network with fellow enthusiasts, makes a lot of sense.
From May 30th to June 1st, Amateur Photographer organised its first-ever Festival of Outdoor Photography, dedicated to the ever-popular genres of landscape, wildlife, street and travel.
The three-day event, held in the august surroundings of the Royal Geographical Society in South Kensington’s museum district, attracted a wide variety of photographers keen to hear talks and attend workshops from some of the biggest names in the business: Charlie Waite, Tim Flach, Quintin Lake, Nick Turpin, Tesni Ward, Emily Endean and Nori Jemil – just to name a few.
We’ve now got feedback from the large number of visitors, and it’s very gratifying to see that the festival met, and indeed went beyond, people’s expectations. As one would expect, the ‘big name’ speakers didn’t disappoint. ‘I went because I know Charlie Waite from years ago… the whole event was stimulating and informative,’ said one respondent. ‘I got much more out of it than I expected.’
As well as talks and workshops, participants also had the chance to go on photo walks with such documentary and street-photography luminaries as Nick Turpin, Damien Demolder and the always-entertaining Peter Dench. ‘I liked the walks with Nick Turpin and his review of my photos as we walked,’ said another respondent. ‘Peter Dench was also great in a different sort of way – I absolutely loved both walks and what I learned.’
Further education
Attendees didn’t just benefit from hearing and meeting ‘established’ names either – as one commented, ‘it was great to be introduced to the work of inspirational young photographers such as Harry Skeggs, Josh Dury and Rachel Bigsby. Their refreshing presentation style and enthusiasm for their photography shone through.’
Other attendees are continuing their photographic education with some of the speakers. ‘Tesni Ward and Andrew Fusek Peters were exceptional speakers. I gained so much from their talks and their seminars… In fact, I hope to do a one-to-one workshop with Tesni and have since been in touch with Andrew to order his latest book.’
Don’t miss our August photojournalism festival
A big thanks to everyone who attended and shared their feedback and suggestions for future events, not to mention the speakers, who were so generous with their time, insights and advice.
Our next event, The Festival of Photography: Documentary, is dedicated to documentary photography and photojournalism, and also takes place at the Royal Geographical Society on Saturday August 9th.
Speakers include Zed Nelson, the winner of the Professional category in this year’s Sony World Photography Awards, along with such eminent names as Laura Pannack, John Bulmer, Paul Hill MBE and Krishna Sheth, recently appointed chief picture editor of The Economist. Discounted early bird tickets are available here, along with full details of the event. See you there!
