Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Nursery - a photography workshop by Tim Coulson

So I'll tell you a secret, my friend: I don't like famous people. I don't get excited when a movie star is going to be somewhere adjacent to me. I don't want to go to concerts with bands playing music I love. I'm more likely to roll my eyes than scream excitedly at a TV celebrity walking by. I could never understand why people did that. It's just another person, like you or me, with better skills than you. Now I finally get it.
On August 11, on a bright early Saturday morning, I drove on my own down the coast. And when I say drove, I'm pretty sure I could have turned my car off, taken off the handbrake, and the wind would have taken me the whole way there. Probably above the speed limit at that! As I was pushed through winding, roads past the beautiful coast to my left and gorgeous rolling countryside to my right, I couldn't get my thoughts straight. I had butterflies the size of elephants causing more chaos in my belly than what the wind was doing to the trees I was coasting past. I was about to meet a couple of the very few people I secretly thought were flipping amazing!
I arrived kinda early and pulled up behind someone that I was desperately hoping would be a fellow picture taker who was as nervous as I was. As soon as she hopped out of the car and I saw her cheery face, I relaxed (a little) because at least I wasn't alone. We wandered in together and met the others who all seemed a little nervous and really excited too.
My mind was ready to explode when I went in and sat down, because I had seen this room  before. It was like I was in the internet!

Despite how super excited I was to be at Tim and Kesh Coulson's actual home, I felt like my mind was completely opened to how to properly use my camera. I really focused on what Tim had to teach and for the first time, I actually felt empowered to take great photos.
All this time reading Tim's words (in his blog and on his instagram), and feeling the love that overflowed from his pictures of Kesh, I was floored as she told his story of how he became who he is today. It was beyond an honour to be in their home. And I think the reason it felt so amazing was because it was like we were welcomed into a part of their story, as they were in mine.
I have never really learned things well in a normal school environment which I think worked perfectly in my favour on this particular Saturday because Tim isn't your regular teacher. It was such a relaxed, fun environment with a bunch of people brought together for their passion for photography, no one competing for attention or reward. After all the learning, we set out to the windiest hilltop on earth and tried out our new found skills. We flicked our dials to manual and started clicking away at our lovely model Gaby.
It was one of my favourite days, and if you're keen to move from an "auto average" photographer to someone who can get the most out of their DSLR, I cannot recommend The Nursery high enough.

1 comment:

  1. This post makes me so excited!
    I have signed up for The Nursery in Canberra in January. Your great review has only built up the anticipation I was already feeling, about learning how to use my camera better :) And your photos look great!

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