The garden photography taster course with Andrea Jones was fascinating and worth the long journey there and back in foul weather (I wish I had thought to stay in their lovely B&B).
In the morning, warmed by the welcoming fire and some good strong coffee, we watched Andrea set up a shoot of a plant, explaining the pros and cons of various bits of equipment and giving us tips on manipulating both plant and light for the best results. We then set up a still life of our own from a selection of beautiful natural materials (mushrooms in baskets, seedheads, squashes and plants) and she helped us experiment using (and in my case getting to know the capabilities of) our own cameras.
After a delicious three course home cooked lunch, Graeme Cookson talked us through some of the wondrous things you can do with Photoshop. As an artist I was interested in colour theory using light, and how it differs from using pigments. Graeme stressed achieving natural balanced colour in our photographs, while also illustrating how other creative effects can be achieved.
I learned an awful lot in one day, but fully alive to all the new possibilities, I am also aware of how much I have to learn....
Maybe there will be another course.
Keep an eye on www.andreajones.co.uk