After months of planning, weeks of busy preparation, and days of travel and jet lag, the moment of truth had arrived. Saturday, 29 September was the first Kat Eye Studio on-location workshop: A Sense of Place in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, England.
My impression: I couldn’t have asked for a better day!
A lovely group of five class participants gathered on a partly-cloudy Saturday morning at my friend and PR consultant Fiona Pattison‘s flat in Hebden Bridge. Some participants were local, some had driven for a couple of hours, and one had come all the way from Holland via Scotland to be there. Some I had met before, some I knew from my courses online, and one participant was completely new to me and my photography. I was honored and excited that they all chose to join me on this day.
We started our morning with the classroom discussion. We talked about my philosophy of the Photography of Place, and how we all have our own unique “sense of place.” We talked about how we each develop that sense of place, and how to better express it in our photographs. We learned a little bit more about each person as we discussed what inspires us and draws our eye in the Photography of Place. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we were so busy and engaged with the workshop discussion that I have no photographs of the morning workshop portion of the day!
After a hearty lunch of soup, bread and jacket potatoes (aka “baked potatoes,” for those of us from the US), courtesy of Fiona’s wonderful cooking, we headed out to explore the countryside of Hebden Bridge. We lucked out on the weather! After torrential rains across Yorkshire earlier in the week, we had a partly cloudy day with some sun and minimal showers.
The participants: Amanda, Maki, Bernice, Carolyn and Rhiannon
We had a lovely walk along the stream, capturing the natural beauty of the area as we practiced the concepts discussed in the morning session. The great thing about being with a group of photographers is that you understand there is no hurry. The group spread out as each one of us stopped to capture what caught our eye. We mixed and mingled and chatted with each other along the way.
Maki finding something interesting across the stream.
Here is a sampling of the the details, textures, lines and moments that were captured by the participants on this day.
Photos by Rhiannon
Photo by Bernice
Photo by Maki
Photo by Carolyn
Our walk upstream was rewarded with a visit to Gibson’s Mill. The reflections in the mill pond were stunning! The different perspectives of these wonderful reflections and buildings serves to show how we will each have a different interpretation of the same place.
Photo by Maki
Photo by Bernice
Photo by Rhiannon
Photo by Carolyn
Photo by Kat
Our day together was warm and wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to help me launch my on location workshops. I enjoyed every minute of the day, and appreciated the understanding the participants had for the little glitches that came up along the way. Sharing my love of photography and my belief that we all have a unique and worthy vision of the world with like-minded people was fantastic. I want to do more of these!
You can read more about the experiences of the Hebden Bridge workshop participants in their own words in these blog posts:
a sense of place by Maki
A Sense of Hardcastle Crags by Carolyn
Sense of Place with Kat Sloma from Kat Eye Studio by Fiona
Stay tuned tomorrow for The Workshop Report: Hampstead.
