Develop Your Creative Vision
Fish nets. Abstract expressionist
A one-week intensive photographic workshop
with
Chris Harris & Dennis Ducklow
at the
Tallheo Cannery Inn
Join professional photographers Chris Harris and Dennis Ducklow for one week in an extraordinary location. Your photography will grow to new levels as you learn new techniques, practice with inspiration, receive individual feedback, and challenge yourself in new ways.
Where photographer and light meet. Tallheo Cannery
About the Workshop: The Tallheo Cannery Inn will provide a rich and stimulating backdrop for photographers to work with the ideas presented and the coaching provided, encouraging you to work in a contemplative way, resulting in images that take your photography to a new level. Participants will experience a very full agenda that also includes flexibility for individual areas of learning.
Who is the workshop for?
This course is designed for any photographer with a passion to develop their photographic vision, increase their knowledge of effective image design, enlarge their creative toolkit, and willingness to work hard at improving their craft. Beginners and advanced photographers are welcome although basic camera operation is assumed. Participants should know their camera’s menu options, the relationship between iso, shutter speed, and aperture, and the difference between aperture and shutter priority. This workshop is designed to take you beyond these basics. Our schedule will allow for considerable one-on-one instruction.
This intensive, one-week course will:
- push you to express yourself by means of the subject matter on hand. Emphasis will be placed on both documentary and artistic abstract photography with a connection to your uniqueness.
- review, strengthen and solidify your understanding of visual design and creative techniques.
- provide direct instruction in a group setting as well as in-the-field guidance. Together, we will strengthen our ability to see with ‘photographic eyes’.
- offer inspiration and techniques to help you create story-telling images, as a single image and as a series.
The 7-day workshop will be full and intense, and features:
- a series of instructional lectures, illustrated by the work and experiences of Chris and Dennis.
- daily assignments and evaluation sessions, where leaders and participants freely discuss images so that we all learn.
- opportunities for individual shooting, processing and reflection balanced by time in our photographic community, with common meals and activities.
- a final assignment provided to each participant, with time to work on it and present on our final day.
- We will take full advantage of the incredibly rich photographic opportunities at Tallheo, and venture out to our surroundings and explore an old growth rain forest, waterfalls, and the Bella Coola harbour.
Location:
Tallheo Cannery
The Tallheo Cannery Inn is a private, rustic retreat two km across the coastal inlet from Bella Coola Harbour, offering visitors a chance to taste and feel British Columbia history by exploring an authentic, coastal fish cannery. Canneries once dotted the BC coast, until the introduction of modern refrigeration in the 1940s caused them to fade from use, leaving Tallheo as one of the very few canneries still standing.The cannery itself has the look of an operation that closed only recently, with nets still hanging in the lofts, tools in the shop, employment records in the office and merchandise in the company store. All of this is available for visitors to view, touch and photograph in a setting filled with texture, colour and shape.
With a private boat at our disposal, we will have access to the pristine beauty of a coastal rainforest, the Bella Coola Harbour, and historical beach locations along the mountain fjords.
Accommodations:
Tallheo Cannery is an historic collection of wooden buildings. The rooms are located in a restored 1920’s guesthouse, which once functioned as the Ladies bunkhouse during the cannery’s operation. There are ten cozy rooms that are intended for singles or couples. Most have one double bed, one room has a single bed. The large common bathroom on the main floor is complete with a custom cedar shower and laundry facilities. Or, soak in the original claw foot bathtub in the upstairs bathroom. The furnishings are comfortable and reminiscent of the period.
Travel:
Bella Coola is set in the interior reaches of the legendary fjords of BC’s pristine mid-coast. To reach the edge of this Great Bear Rainforest, you can travel by car and add ‘the Hill’ to your achievements. Plan on 2 days of travel from Vancouver; north on highway 97 to Williams Lake; then west on highway 20. For a breathtaking aerial visual over the snow-capped Coast Mountains, and a much faster, easier trip; Pacific Coastal Airlines has daily flights to Bella Coola from Vancouver’s South Terminal. We will provide the connection between the airport and the Bella Coola Harbour. There is also a BC Ferries option from Port Hardy.
Instructors:
Chris Harris
Now well on in a career that has spanned more than 50 years of image making, on a path of both high-adrenaline and soft adventure, Chris Harris uses creative vision and narrative imagery to teach from experience.
Arguably the country’s most successful self-publisher, especially in his chosen passion for outdoor exploration and photography, Chris has just released his 13th book. Widely respected in his field by photographers all over North America, he has presented to such organizations as the Canadian Association of Photographic Art and the North American Nature Photographers Association, and is widely published in photography, travel, and outdoor and adventure publications. His work in photojournalism has been recognized with two Northern Lights Awards, and his book “Spirit in the Grass” was a 2008 BC Book Prizes finalist.
The beauty and wonderment of his home region, the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast region of BC has been the inspiration and motivation of 30 years comprehensively chronicling the region through photography.
It is this passion, the search for beauty, visual narratives, and sense of place, that Chris brings to his inspirational teaching style.
Dennis Ducklow
After a successful career as a public school teacher and administrator, Dennis retired five years ago, allowing him to devote much more time to photography, the passion that connects every aspect of his life. He now combines his love of photography with his teaching experience by offering photography courses in Langley, BC, where he lives.
Dennis is drawn to, and works in, every genre of photography. Professionally, he chronicles family events, commercial projects, and public settings. Artistically, Dennis is inspired by, and drawn to, the natural world, particularly the coastal rainforest where he makes his home. The places that he travels to and explores, people in their home environments, and the unfamiliar encounters of travel, prove rich subject matter to feed Dennis’ passion for artistic expression.
Dennis is active in the community of photographers, currently serving as the Director of the Pacific Zone of the Canadian Association of Photographic Arts.
The cannery ‘loft’. Abstract expressionist.
Dates: May 28 – June 4, 2017 (Sold Out)
August 27 – September 3, 2017 (Sold Out)
Registration: The Opening date for registration is October 15th, 2016
To Register for a “Develop Your Creative Vision” Workshop
Please contact Dennis Ducklow by phone or email. Dennis will connect you with the registration form and reserve your place on the workshop of your choice, for the stated number of people, for 14 days until the deposit and registration form have been received. You may pay by electronic-file-transfer, credit card over the phone, or by cheque through the post.
Price: $2,495. CDN plus taxes (12%)
* To ensure a quality experience, enrollment is limited to ten participants. Highly personalized, highly informative, and highly inspirational.
* More images from the Tallheo Cannery can be found in my November, 2015 Newsletter.
To Register: contact Dennis Ducklow at:
Email: dennis@doubleexposure.ca
Tel: 604-418-6689
For general information you may contact either Chris at 250-791-6631 or Dennis at the above number.
Testimonials:
“One week of photographic immersion is extremely valuable. This is a 5-star course with so much inspiration every day”. BC
“…it changed my life”. GB
“An unforgettable experience to transform you into the artistic photographer you always wanted to be”. TJ
“It was the best, most instructive, most fun, most enriching, most enjoyable week of photography I have ever had”. JL
“This was my first workshop. I was completely inspired by your work and introductory presentation, and I took your ideas into the field…my photography has been kick-started, and I look forward to using your suggestions again and again. Thank you.” KN
“We have had numerous judging critiques and guest speakers at the Langley Camera Club talking about the importance of line and form in photographs. I never really understood why they were important – in fact I often found their comments irrelevant. However, you were the first speaker I’ve ever heard who actually explained why they are important. Now I ‘get it’ and I thank you for that.” GD