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Bambi Wows Them All! - part 1 of 1

by Mike McNamee Published 01/06/2005

TOP AMERICAN SPEAKER BAMBI CANTRELL HAS RECENTLY COMPLETED an extremely successful UK tour, with a series of highly intensive three-day residential courses, for the SWPP . All four courses were sold out straight away during Bambi's dynamic October 2004 UK lecture programme. Members realised that this was an opportunity not to be missed.

The first two residential courses were held in the splendour of Trefor Hall, near Llangollen, north Wales. The stately home, which was hired exclusively for the course, provided a wonderful backdrop for delegates. The property was filled with antiques, providing the scope to create stunning imagery. Bambi, in her masterful way, instructed delegates in the art of creative capture without the use of flash, just simply "looking for the light". Not even the inclement weather dampened the enthusiasm of the delegates. Every area within the property provided an opportunity for creativity.Bambi Canrell

The third course was held at Culcreuch Castle, Fintry, Stirlingshire, Scotland. This proved to be another exceptional location. Set amongst rolling hills, the castle was another superb setting for the course. The sun certainly shone, enabling delegates to work with the models outdoors. Just about anything and everything was used as props, from sports cars to speed bumps. The castle interior also gave many photographic opportunities and eager photographers were soon creating stunning images with the ever-patient models, who had been flown in from the USA especially for the SWPP

The fourth and final course was set in Northern Ireland's, Belle Isle Castle. Nestling close to the water's edge and set within a landscape of lakes and islands, of gently rolling hills and fragrant woods, it was yet another magnificent location for this fully attended course.

The courses offered intensive instruction from Bambi, who is without doubt one of the finest lecturers you can ever hope to hear. Her visionary approach to lighting techniques is an inspiration and those who experienced the course came away with a fresh outlook on their photography.Groom & Bride

The format for the three-day courses was extremely well designed. The first evening consisted of a general 'getting to know you session' with ample wine to ensure that the groups were soon relaxed and talkative. Day one got under way after an early breakfast with a presentation from the speaker, who discussed her approach to wedding photography and the benefits of natural light. After lunch the class was split into smaller groups and assigned a model each. Each group was given a specific assignment and after a short period the models were switched.

Early evening, the complete class was brought back together and each student was asked to put forward five of their best images. These images were discussed and Bambi made positive suggestions for improvement of each image. After dinner everyone got down to some serious Photoshop work with many attendees clustered around laptops assisting each other and discussing the day's shoot.

Day two followed a similar pattern, though with different assignments and models, a great deal of the comments from the first session had been taken on board and the boundaries were pushed even further.

The final day's session continued with a lecture by Bambi on capture, album design and marketing. Many of the marketing ideas put forward were dynamic to say the least and worth the investment of £1500 in the course alone.

The courses attracted attendees from just about every corner of the globe, with the final place in Northern Ireland being taken by a delegate who travelled all the way from Australia just to be there.

The course was further enhanced by the support of the trade. Fuji loaned an S3, Lastolite provided reflectors, Epson provided a 4000 printer, Permajet fuelled it with paper and Sigma loaned a selection of their excellent lenses.Groom & Bestman

So was the course a success? Yes, you bet!Will there be more residential courses arranged by the SWPP and BPPA? Definitely.

The last word goes to one of the delegates. "All I can say is, absolutely fabulous! The Bambi Workshop far exceeded my expectations. One week later and I have already incorporated the posing concepts and marketing ideas into my business. It was a great four days with a fantastic group of people! Well done!"

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1st Published 01/06/2005
last update 09/12/2022 14:51:30

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