May 2014 photographic workshop with Michelle Chaplow

This workshop will begin on the 7th of May. The month of May in Andalucia is spectacular for wild flowers and luscious light. This photography course will not only provide breathtaking landscapes, but also the chance a visit to the amazing Cordoba Patio Festival in an Andalucian provincial capital that is bursting with history and tradition. This is a highlight in Andalucia’s photographic calendar.

All levels and skills are catered for ranging from beginners to experts. Southern Spain is a perfect place to learn or improve your photography skills thanks to a culture that provides endless, enchanted themes, and lighting that is superb for those looking through a lens. Small groups with a maximum of six students ensure that there is time for everyone, to learn, practice, critique and improve.

Day One

Arrive in Estepona with time to meet and greet before diving into local imagery including fishing ports, quaint village scenes, unique travel photography angles, and an evening sunset across the Straits of Gibraltar to Africa.
Michelle Chaplow will provide a general introduction to travel photography.
Stay overnight in Estepona.

Day Two

Travel from Michelle’s photographic studio in Estepona overland to Cordoba, stopping at quaint, picturesque, white villages and capturing beautiful rural, spring Andalucian landscapes.

In the late afternoon we arrive at the historic town of Cordoba. Here we will be able to capture the annual Cordoba Patio Festival, where private homes open the doors to their traditional patios covered in flowers and vines often with Andalusian ceramics and mosaics in the backdrop.

In the evening many courtyards offer traditional tapas and refreshments among their jasmine-filled patios, with the occasional live guitarist, playing under the evening skies of this historic city.

Stay overnight in Cordoba in a centrally located four star hotel.

Day Three

We will spend the morning visiting and photographing unique patios, both the most traditionally Andalucian and other modern examples.

This unique opportunity allows photographers to capture a tradition that dates back to 1918, in which local residents compete annually with a wide array of colour and designs within the most quintessentially Cordoban context.

Free time from 2.30 p.m. until 6.30 p.m. This is an ideal time to practice your photography skills. You may also wish to see the sights and witness for yourself the influence of a moorish culture that dominated Cordoba for hundreds of years. This city was an important centre for government, learning, trade and culture under in Moorish Spain. You may also wish to buy souvenirs such as unique, handmade designs turned out by silversmiths who carry on the most ancient traditions of the region.

We will take night shots of the famous Cordoba mosque, the Roman bridge and the Gualadquivir river.

Stay overnight in Cordoba in a centrally located four star hotel.

Day Four

Enjoy one last chance to capture the stunning traditional courtyards, balconies and patios under the morning light.

Spend a leisurely afternoon travelling and photographing villages that are off the beaten track as well as some of the park lands of Andalucia. May is the best month of the year for capturing wild flowers so we will explore fields of wild poppies and olive groves awash with colour while learning the art of capturing nature’s palette on camera.

Return to Estepona via Ronda traversing what is considered to be one of the most beautiful roads in Europe.

Stay overnight in Estepona.

Day Five

Michelle Chaplow will provide a critique of each student’s images on a one to one basis.

Enjoy a unique opportunity to photograph a Spanish female flamenco model in a state of the art studio location.

Spend the day practicing with an evening round up and summary.

Return home with your own gorgeous photography of some of the most enchanting features of sun-filled southern Spain and a wide variety of new and improved travel photography skills to continue to build upon.