Looking at their wonderful images that both exude tranquility and transport you in an instant to a world of hammocks, Pad Thai and beach life it is difficult not to be drawn in (the image below is Lake Michigan not Koh Samed)

I have been musing over why images of piers provide such opportunity for compelling images.

Of course there is the overt even obvious compositional cues of leading lines, perspective, and contrast between the solid matter of the pier disappearing into the less structured world of the sea, lake or mist.

But for me I see it more as a metaphor. These strong visual elements are signpost that help transport us from the fixed even constrained viewpoint of our current world, to the end of pier where we see a world devoid of order, restriction or boundaries; a world where the mind can roam more freely: to dream to imagine and to explore. If you like the pier is a bridge or a short cut from reality to dream scape.

It is a metaphor that catalyzes our transition or change. Walking down the pier – both literally and metaphorically – transports us to a different destination. In the literal world moving to the end of the pier has a finite end where our perspective is different. In the metaphorical world, we move to a place without boundaries, without structure, where imagination, freedom and creativity are the most valued currencies.

In the real world, each pier tells a different story. The tranquility or roughness of the sea or lake encourages us to think towards harmony or conflict respectively. Towards peace or towards change.

Stretching this metaphor further – possibly beyond the limits of its natural elasticity- I was drawn to my own photographic journey. I am increasingly drawn to the end of the pier where imagination and opportunity are in abundance. The post and planks of the pier have been useful companions in guiding me through the early stage of my journey, giving me encouragement that I am heading to a more rewarding destination with purpose and efficiency, comfortable that at the end will be a different perspective, seemingly endless destinations and opportunities.

I saw the small pier and breakwater, on the shores of Lake Michigan with the surf breaking over its end as the tide came in and it made me think of the similarities and the differences of those images from Thailand.

It made me stop and think. I started to see it as a metaphor for how we view our photography. All too often our perspective is either constrained or led by strong leading lines. We get fixated on gear, or the next trip or securing a client. Often our images are constrained by where we stand or the angle we shoot at.

Wandering down the pier, to a world unconstrained by pillars, plank, lines or viewpoints and you see a very different landscape.

If we just “pier” (pun intended!) down our fixed perspective, chances are that our images will lack the freedom, openness and raw emotion that a more liberated viewpoint might allow us.

And sometimes, it doesn’t need a new lens, a new bag, a new camera or a new location to do that.

Sometimes it just requires us to stop, look and possibly move our feet a little to create something totally different.

The second image was one that John Batdorff encouraged me to explore as we wandered around Lincoln Park and I loved the uniformity of the structure and yet the abstractness of its form.

So to David, and Jeffrey – and over this last weekend when I am yet again in Chicago, to my friends Stuart Sipahigil and John Batdorff who helped me to explore angles, perspectives and subjects that I would normally walk past – thank you.

As many of you know, Matt Brandon and I have been scouting for potential workshop locations In Egypt this past week or so and at times we both wanted to take the same image from the same location at the same time. Indeed at a quick glance at some of the images that we have both posted on our respective blogs they might look identical. Look closely though at those images and the differences start to appear.

We had a laugh about it but we also discussed which images each of us would put up on our blog or Facebook so that we didn’t “steal each others thunder” – as they say in England. But it made me think back to some discussions and experiences I had had on a workshop recently with David duChemin and Jeffrey Chapman, where it felt at times that I was following David around letting him create the compelling image and then I would pole up, ask him what he was doing and think “ooh, I like that” and then set about creating a similar version.

Now I should say at this point that I was not DELIBERATELY following David around, nor was intent on copycatting, but in these tiny seaside towns (population:4 old ladies, 3 vespas and a black cat) it was difficult not to bump into each other. My approach was to try and learn from David what he had seen, what aesthetic he was considering, what setting he was thinking about etc as he composed his image.

Those of you that know David will realize that he is incredibly generous about sharing ideas and helping others to learn. He would show me his image on the back of his camera, discuss with me what lens he had selected, what f-stop he had chosen or what to look out for and then allow me to have a go. And Matt, Jeffrey, Gavin and many others that run these sorts of workshops all share this ethos.

And the result? Well once or twice I got close to a duChemin or Brandon “original”, but mostly they became my images that I had sweated over, albeit inspired by someone else. But mostly – and this recent trip with Matt Brandon was no exception – I just learned a whole lot.

I learned how to really look within the Frame: what was the background doing? What tonal range was I looking at and what options did I have? Was there any hot spot or distraction that would change the viewers [perception of the image? Was I telling a story? Was I using the right focal length to draw the eye or did I have enough visual mass or negative space to balance the image?

Now I wouldn’t have got all of that insight If I had just copied the image carte blanche and if I hadn’t asked – and those of you going on a workshop this year, never be afraid to ask. What you think is a dumb question is only dumb if you don’t ask it. I could have got some of that knowledge or inspiration by reading, but the impact was so much greater when it was a practical example, on the ground, camera in hand. And that was when I started to learn. To me each of these images became sketches that I want to adapt and to make my own, probably at a different time and in a different country.

So although Matt and I might have very similar images from our few days together, we interpreted the scenes we saw differently. Our angles were different, our light was different, our choice of lens was different (I always seem to be coveting Matt’s 85mm f1.2 lens. I am sure there is a commandment about that: “thou shalt not covet another man’s lens”!) and our post-processing is different.

So the morale of the post is what? Well if your intent is to learn, to be inspired by a great image and to use that as a vehicle to further your own vision, then go ahead, emulate, practice, ask copy whatever. If the person is there then for heaven sakes ask them to explain things to you. In my experience photographers are happy to help fellow enthusiasts.

If your intent is to copy without your own subjective vision, or to deliberately mislead, then good luck to you. I suspect you will still be doing that in a few years time – if you have not been caught and had the copyright law thrown at you – whilst the rest of us have moved on and developed our own individual style or vision.

So to Matt – thanks for sharing, for taking the time to explain and for continuing to inspire. I love the image of the camels walking down the hill with Cairo in the background – but I still prefer his! Check out his recent blog to see his (better) version and get inspired.

Then go out and take some fun pictures.

The 45 minute boat ride provides a transition from the hectic crowded streets and canals of Venice, to a small fishing island with brightly painted houses and walls. The wider streets and the riot of colors suggest a world apart from the more sober colors and grandeur of Venice, but on closer inspection you see the links – a couple of small canals here, a boatyard manufacturing gondolas there and shops selling beautiful lace. The island was probably settled by the Romans but only rose in importance in the 16th century, when women on the island began making lace with needles, a tradition introduced via Venetian-ruled Cyprus, but more specifically the small town of Lefkara where Leonardo da Vinci visited in 1481 and purchased a cloth for the main alter of the Duomo di Milano.

The lace was soon exported across Europe, but decline began in the 18th century and the industry did not revive until 1872, when a school of lacemaking was opened and lacemaking on the island boomed again. Few now make lace in the traditional manner as it is extremely time-consuming and therefore expensive, and the few tourist shops around the ferry station that sells the lace, hint at a glorious past and a more commercial future.

Burano is also known for its small, brightly-painted houses, popular with artists and designers – Philippe Starck owns three houses on the island. Some suggest that the colors originated so that the fishermen could see the town even when out at sea, but whatever the stimulus, the colours of the houses follow a specific system originating from the golden age of its development. If someone wishes to paint their home, one must send a request to the government, who will respond by making notice of the colours permitted for that lot. This practice has resulted in the myriad of warm, pastelly colours that characterises the island today, and creates a harlequin effect of contrasting windows ,doors, walls and alleys

On this, our last full day of Italy Within The Frame, we wandered the streets of this charming town, capturing the shapes, forms and contrast that this kaleidoscope of colors provided us. I was still trying to explore the idea of motion, and shot of couple of images I love – one of which is shown here on the left – as well as lot of windows, doors and shadows. I also spent time with Eli Reinholdtsen and Jeff Fielding chatting to some wonderful retired gondoliers who were sitting in their rowing club passing the time of day and regaled us with tales of their prowess.

On our return to Venice, David duChemin and I hired a gondola for an hour and a half, and went exploring the canals of the old historic quarter between the Rialto bridge and Piazza San Marco. Armed with tripods, flashes and some wide angles lens, we experimented in trying to get some atmospheric and moody shots of the gondolier and the canals.

Gondolas are not the most stable of objects as they rock side to side and at times even the tripod was in danger of tipping over. However by anchoring the camera on the tripod we were able to retain the gondola itself as perfectly sharp, allowing us to blur the motion of the gondolier as he pushed his way through the canals, or used his leg to kick of the walls.

As we went under bridges we experimented with firing a hand held off-camera flash with an orange gel fitted to provide some warm fill light. Some of David’s images are truly breathtaking – mine a little less accomplished, although a couple of my shots on the Grand Canal using a panning technique as the gondola turned which produced an ethereal image. Some of the shots taken pointing towards the front of the gondola are fun as the walls blur, whilst the gondolas remains tack sharp.

I don’t think they will win me any prizes, but it was huge fun, entirely experimental and if you don’t try something like this you just don’t know. I’ll post some more of these once I have completed the processing of them.

It was an appropriate way to end not just our time in Venice but our time on the Italy Within The Frame workshop. It has been an extraordinary journey both literally and figuratively. spent with a wonderful, entertaining and generous bunch of friends. We have cried with laughter, we have made fools of ourselves in large public piazzas running in circles while we panned or dragged the shutter with second curtain synch. We have become leading authorities on Negronis and Foccaccia al Formaggio; we have shared kit, experiences, stories, laughter and tears.

But above all we have all learned a huge amount. David duChemin and Jeffrey Chapman’s relaxed mentoring approach has helped each of us address and overcome our photographic barriers or frustrations. Through them we have become objective about our work, we have learned to understand what should be within the frame and what should be left out and we have enhanced our awareness of composition, form, contrast, color, mood or post processing.

I am looking forward to being at home, seeing the family, and reflecting on what I have learned, but I shall really miss the company of a group that have now become firm friends.

If David and Jeffrey decide to run this tour or a similar tour in Italy again, make sure you are following them on twitter, as I can guarantee the tour will sell out in minutes. You can follow them by clicking on these links:

David DuChemin

Jeffrey Chapman

and while we are about it, you can follow me to on twitter, by clicking here: Marco Ryan

Few of us will have failed to read over the years the stories that Venice is sinking. This once grand trading city state, that dominated merchant trading for centuries, and yet has manged to retain much of its medieval and renaissance character today, is fighting a losing battle against rising tides, crumbling buildings and the forces of nature. The authorities extensive work to repair, to restore and to underpin the cities foundations will ensure that Venice does not become the next Atlantis, but it is a different type of erosion that I believe is undermining Venice’s future.

Inevitably the concentration of container shipping, the centralization of logistic hubs around major cities and the increasing adaption of every city skyline to account for service based business leaves most cities changed and not normally for the better. Venice has escaped this harsh treatment by its very situation and construction, but has paid an even heavier price: Tourism.

The eponymous presence of a MacDonald’s, A Hard Rock Café, a Disney Store or any other bland vanilla high street chain marks a city’s final submission to the relentless march of consumerism and seems particularly incongruous in a city like Venice. Yet the reality is that this city’ lifeblood is tourism. The city has become greedy and corpulent on the tourist dollar with prices seemingly indefensively high: A glass of wine in St Marks Square is about 14 euros, a 30 minute ride on a gondola about 80 euros and our simple hotel is double what we were paying for a better place in Cinque Terre. Unfortunately the city has bent so much to the will of the tourist visitor that much of the city reminds me of an extended theme park. I wonder whether I might not get a more “authentic” experience in Las Vegas.

Finding things to shoot in Venice is however not such a problem. There are alleyways, little artisan shops making masks, small courtyards or the joy of turning a corner and seeing a small cobbled bridge, with a boat tethered nearby and an old lady sitting outside the house she has lived in for years, quietly reflecting on her life.

I mentioned in my blog yesterday the need to find a theme to direct my shooting. I steered away from the idea of the people and the water as, although a complex and potentially rich theme I think this needs more than 2 days in Venice to do it justice. I was tempted to address head on the conflict between the majesty and timelessness of Venice with the assault of tourism and modernity but others in the group are doing something similar. So instead I chose something more abstract – Motion.

Slightly masochistically, I chose a theme that required me to focus on making my pictures more dynamic and that, with the brighter light of the daytime, will challenge me to be able to get the shutter slow enough to blur people or gondolas, to provide the aesthetic I need. Of course I will take some panning shots, but I don’t want motion to just be about panning! It is a challenging theme, but I need to push myself to find things that will encourage me to take more risks and to experiment.

For the first time this trip the weather has turned against us. The rain started in the afternoon, just as David was sharing his amazing images from his two weeks here, explaining what creative decision he had made, why he had chosen certain angles and how he had worked the image. I was encouraged that he and I had selected so many of the same subjects often from very similar viewpoints, but there the similarity ended. His angle or selective use of motion or depth of field made his images both simple and complex. They were images that drew the eye, that encouraged you to explore the colors, the textures, the motion or the subject. It was truly inspiring to see how things have been envisaged, but incredibly helpful to then have the “behind the scenes” explanation.

The rain unfortunately claimed one casualty. David and I had planned to hire a gondola between us, and shoot some images with motion, some off-camera flash and some unusual angles of the city from the gondola, focusing on the gondolier and the canals as dusk fell and the city “dressed” itself for the evening. Instead, we headed back into the area around St Marks Square to capture some more moody images of Venice in the rain.

Tomorrow is the last day of this wonderful adventure. It seems like the time has flown but it is difficult to express in either words or pictures how much I have learned, how much fun I have had and how much I would recommend taking a similar workshop. Jeffrey Chapman and David duChemin make the most wonderful combination of host, mentor, teacher, comic and companion. You cannot fail to learn, you cannot fail to eat well and you cannot fail to have fun.

Speak with you more tomorrow!

It is odd to review a body of work taken over such a short period of time and to begin to see patterns emerging of what I have been experimenting with and to remember the decisions I took at the time.

You would think too that with so many images, I would have a wealth to chose from – it is not as if we have not been presented with great opportunities wherever we have gone. Yet interestingly I have found that there are very few images that really move me. There are lots of competent images that when processed will be a useful addition to my work

One of the most valuable opportunities for us is to have some one on one time with David or Jeffrey. I used the long train journey between Milano and Venezia to sit down with David and review some of those images, to analyze what I was lacking or missing in the images that I shot, and to provide a focus for the next few days in Venice.

David is always objective, honest and fair. His critiques bring that wealth of experience that has made his books and eBooks such international bestsellers, so although I feel I have got to know him well over this last week, I was still a little apprehensive.

Most of my images form last week fall into two themes – people in their environment or shapes, colors and patterns. So far so good. The former is my passion, the latter group was what I was trying to experiment with this last week.

However, David challenged me on whether I was taking enough risks. The images are too static or too safe. Initially he thought this might be because I was afraid to get in close, but I genuinely think that my ability to approach people and persuade them to allow me to shoot a series even to use a wide angle and almost be in their space is an area that I am comfortable with. Yet if my images are suggesting remoteness or too much structure, then of course I need to practice this all the more. I am not saying for one minute that I have mastered this but lets just say this is not one of my perceived barriers.

So if it is not about getting in close, is suggest that my images are too static, too structured and that I don’t take enough risks. This I think is spot on. I have been trying to put my finger on what it is that I find stimulating in other images, and are lacking in mine. I think I need to shoot more unusual compositions, more movement and different perspectives.

Secondly I need to have more of a purpose in my shooting. That is not to say that I need to stick rigidly to a theme, but for example over the next few days in Venice I need to have a story of a theme in mind that will help me direct my shooting and ensure that my body of work is more cohesive. It might be the relationship between the water and the people, or it might be the contrast of romantic environment yet solitary people, or perhaps it is something to do with the lack of transport other than by boat.

As we begin the first of our two full days in Venice I am still a little undecided as to what that theme is. However David’s insight into what is holding me back has helped ease a little bit of the frustration that was building, and will allow me to truly enjoy the opportunities that this extraordinary city can provide.

More on Venice in Tomorrow’s post!

Portofino is perhaps at the top of that glittering tree. The presence of Hermes, Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, alongside Rolex Phillipe Patek and Cartier in the small streets nestling the harbour provide even the most unobservant of visitors a clue as to the type of person this town thrives on.

Our own arrival was perhaps less ostentatious but more authentic. We took a five-minute train ride from Camogli to Santa Margarita and then the public bus into Portofino itself. The graffiti and dirt of a working train station provided an amusing comparison to the refinement of Portfolio. The anonymity of our arrival allowed us to blend into the town and observe – as much as any group of photographers laden with lenses can blend into any small ritzy port!

Portofino is one of those paces that at some time you should visit. A great place to sit and watch the wealthy at play, it still has a charm and an authenticity despite it current role in Riviera life. Perhaps as the season had not really started we saw Portofino at its best. I am not sure that I would have regarded wit with such compassion in high season full of – as one British boat owner was overheard to remark – champagne communists.

From a photographic perspective the colors, the light, the reflection in the water or the boutique windows were a wonderful surprise, and provided the canvas on which I could experiment with “painting” my images.

I seemed to have hit a bit of a creative slump these last few days though. My images just don’t have the punch I had been hoping for at this stage of the workshops. This might be that I am making the mistake of comparing myself to the others in the group, rather than looking at my own journey and my own style. But I think this is more about execution than visualization.

Strangely I am unworried about this. I know that the images will follow, perhaps not this trip but in the future. My aim for this week was to experiment with a different type of visual storytelling. To slow down, meander more and see more. I was keen to explore shape, form, shadows, reflections as sources for images.

Whilst it is of course frustrating to have conceived an image in my head – a priest with his cassock blowing in the wind, glancing up at a statue of St Mary in a town square, or the two old ladies on the bench laughing with pleasure at an illicit ice cream or a joke about former friends, perhaps in front of a terracotta wall or a bright modern shop, helping to show the contrast of age and time – and yet not to have captured it, I am content that I am beginning to visualize and to see more.
I have move passed the concern about what setting I am using or what I am metering , to concentrate on what I see and what story I want to tell or why I want to take the picture at all. Or at least in my mind I have.

Others of course captured these images. But they deserved to. They had waited patiently or they had worked the situation, returning at different times of day knowing in their mind the sketch they had see just needed the right combination of factors and actors to lift the image.

Of course luck sometimes joins in and plays our game with us, but what I have realized I this trip is that everywhere we look there are opportunities. Change the angle, change the perspective, perhaps change the lens or the time of day, but everything has the potential when crafted right to be interesting and sometimes compelling.

So although at the end of our time here in Liguria I may not have the 10 images or so that others will walk away with, I am really happy. I am genuinely pleased with what I am achieving in terms of observation. I have a much keener eye now for shadow, reflections, patterns and abstracts, I know now how much more I need to work an image and this week, as I renewed my desire to practice more and to experiment more, but this time I will do so with more purpose, more options and more confidence,

My journey is I realize is more about exploration and satisfaction – the exploration of new places, new ways of using light or shadow or the exploration of a concept or a theme. The satisfaction comes from trying. That is not the same as succeeding, but for me there is real satisfaction in knowing that I am learning, exploring and trying. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won’t. I think perhaps my biggest learning in this week has been about letting go – personally and creatively. If it doesn’t work on this trip, then that is okay too.

The journey today to Venice for the few of us going on there with David and Jeffrey is a useful reprieve from the self-imposed pressure of feeling I have to make a shot or an image today. I am fortunate that I will sit with David on the train to Venice and the few days ahead.

But if all I come away with is happy memories then I will be content with that too. This week we have been so fortunate to have been with such a great group. To them – to Claudio, Anna, Stuart, Natalie, Eli, Jeff, Kerry and of course to David and Jeffrey – my thanks for your patience, your advice, your conversation, your humour, your inspiration and your tolerance. I already have a mass of memories – as well as a mass of memory cards that are full! – and I can’t wait for the next few days in Venice to share this journey further.

A place approached by boat seems – at least from a far – to have a purity, an innocence, and a mystique as the colors and lines blend into soft gentle hints of what will await the traveler when they step ashore. As the boat draws closer and the details become more distinct so the place seems to mature, to grow up and to come to life.

San Fruttuoso is such a place. A tiny beachfront abbey set on a small shingle beach at the far end of a tiny cove just a short 45-minute boat ride around the headland from Camogli.

Originally a monastic community that provided shelter from both the weather and the distractions of secular life it is now a different sort of haven. Boatloads of tourists arrive every few hours, firing their requests for cappuccino or gelato in short staccato bursts that punctuate the solitude of the Abbey and its community.

We had caught the first boat out, and our only companions seemed to be a couple of people that worked at San Fruttuoso and the provisions that were needed to serve the insatiable appetites of that day’s visitors. As a result we had the beach and the abbey to ourselves for nearly 3 hours, allowing us to imagine more easily how life must have been for the monks in former years, but also providing us with unfettered access to the daily preparations that were going on.

Small rowing boats with vibrant colors or weathered wood provided ample opportunity for abstract composition based on form and color. Fishermen cleaning the first catch of the day, or the lady leaning out of an upstairs window hauling the provisions up in a basket into the kitchen a couple of floors above the beach, enabled us to capture more evocative images of this special place.

A couple of the people working there were, once engaged in conversation, happy to pose for some environmental portraits, although for the first time on this trip we also came across someone who language was as colorful as the paintwork on the boat, but whose manner and threats made it very evident that we were, in their opinion, unwelcome guests.

This was both strange and sad. As a group we have been incredibly respectful. Always engaging people in conversation or asking their permission before raising a camera and lens. It saddened me that for a tiny community whose very survival is built on tourism, one of their behaviour should verge on violence and threats and by its nature undermine the security of its future.

Our afternoon critique provided us all again with food for thought. David and Jeffrey‘s insightful comments again challenging us with how or why an image could be different. These sessions are always objective and always helpful. The “wisdom of the crowds” – in this case our group are so insightful and so helpful that little by little each of us is building a “muscle memory” of sketches, techniques and guidelines that can only help us to produce more compelling images.

The talent in the group is both prodigious and inspiring. Many like me have been shooting for just over 18 months or so, yet their awareness of their surroundings, their sense of composition, their own style, and their thirst for improvement have made me realize how much there is still for me to learn.

It is always invidious to single out people, especially in this group where there is so much talent. I am constantly impressed by what Claudio Bussandri sees differently from many of us and translates into powerful images or the lines, patterns and light that Anna Velkey-Solvberg uses in her images – especially as she is doing most of this on a Small Canon G-11, or Stuart Sipahgil’s abiity to catch a moment.

However since I am not a teacher and this is my blog, I am going to mention one person in particular! Remember the name Eli Reinholdtsen. I can guarantee you will be hearing a lot more from her in the coming months, not least of which I suspect will be a collaboration with David on an eBook. I won’t steal his thunder on this blog, but Eli is someone that we have all come to admire and love being around. Her enthusiasm, creative eye, passion for reflections and willingness to share, together with her warmth, humour and humanity mark her out as a special person. And her images are jaw droppingly – irritatingly! – good.

The evening was spent back working the small harbour of Camogli. I had wanted to go back with David duChemin and Jeffrey Fielding to work the fishermen landing their catch. Although I had some nice images from yesterday that I would normally be happy with, I am learning on this workshop the need to really stay and work an image more. I need to continue to experiment with the shutter speed – to drag or blur the motion in the image to create some dynamics or to use reflections or shadow to suggest more in the picture than a standard shot would imply. In this case I wanted to complete a mini story, so I needed a couple more portraits and a better set of three linked images that would allow me to create the complete set of images I require.

Unfortunately, although they expected their colleagues to arrive laden with sea bream for the local restaurants hotels and markets, clearly the fish weren’t biting today. No fish arrived and so we went off to explore some different angles, and compositions. An accordion player who seem to enjoy torturing us each evening, announced his arrival with a bizarre rendition of a cockney rhyming slang song straight out of My Fair Lady, but we punished him by swamping him with lenses, photographers and attention. He soon got the message. David has captured a magical image of him and posted this on his blog, here.

The sunset yielded a couple of good silhouettes and soon the sky settled down to a deep azure blue, which provided the perfect backdrop for some more creative images. As we sat sipping a Negroni or two overlooking Camogli, the ever entertaining Eli Reinholdtsen, resplendent in a orange blouse, danced around the chairs to create an ethereal impression of a yellow butterfly flapping its wings – images that are now ingrained in both local folklore and this blog!

Tomorrow is the last day for many. We will visit Portofino and Santa Margherita, before a lucky few of us join David and Jeffrey as we move onto Venice for a few days.

How wrong can you be – well about the color and opportunity at least!

As we stepped off the train and into a vibrant bustling market it was immediately apparent that Camogli offered a vitality and heartbeat that the other towns had sacrificed at the alter of tourism in order to maintain their independence and their protection from development.

Camogli is a working town that blends competently the often unpalatable mix of tourism and a working fishing town. Its seafront is a burst of colored buildings with traditional shutters that lazily reach upwards to the azure blue skies above. Its harbour is tightly packed with small tiny fishing boats, all seeming to jostle for position at the edge of the harbour wall, like carp waiting to be fed. Along the tiny esplanade the elegantly simple bars and restaurants the only real indication that this town has a touristic side too.

Our day followed the pattern of previous days: in the morning we would travel to a new destination, before stopping for a leisurely lunch to shelter from the stark light of the midday sun. After lunch we would go off individually to shoot some images before returning for a group image critique and then an evening shoot.

The only change to this comfortable routine was that our lunch was more rustic – the Foccaccia al Formaggio here is worthy of a post on its own and with only a few kilometers separating Camogli from the original birthplace of Foccaccia, there is no danger of eating poorly here.

The shorter break for lunch allowed us to wander around the town for longer, taking a mental inventory of the boats, the lights, the shapes and colors that we knew would be transformed by the gentler softer light of the evening. And allowing me to plan in more detail what it was that I wanted to work on or achieve.

The previous days critique of not just my own image but of others within the group had given me a number of ideas to explore. I wanted to try and create an image with stronger compositional lines that use the placement of the human form to help draw the eye and tell the story. In addition I wanted to explore further the use of reflection or shadow to create more compelling and diverting image and the better use of visual mass to really help draw the viewers eye.

I was pleased with my progress in some of these areas. The images in this post reflect well the variety of images that I was able to shoot. I decided to submit the picture of the man climbing the stairs for the afternoon critique session – there was something about it that was lacking. I knew it was a good image but wanted to hear from the others and David what they thought would made it a better image.

Their constructive feedback helped support some of the ideas I had originally conceived and attempted to translate within the frame but also confirmed my own idea that there needed to be more movement or dynamics in the image to really lift it that final bit. If the individual had turned left as I had originally hoped, or had placed a hand on the rail or maybe even if I had blurred their movement slightly, this might have just provided that final missing element,

However as its stands, the use of strong diagonal lines to lead the eye around the image, together with the use of color – I did consider turning it into black and white – all work well, particularly the yellow triangle that helps to pinpoint the figure. In addition I had balanced the image into diagonal thirds that lend it stability and structure. So all in all a good image – and an advanced sketch for an image that I hope to shoot over the next few days when the person will turn left or will have some more movement!

My evening session started with an unforeseen benefit – the local fishermen were unloading their catch, and David duChemin, Jeffrey Fielding and I all worked the opportunity hard, capturing a mass of images with strong back-light, some movement, some detail and some story telling. One of the many images that I shot is provided here.

It has been a great day, with a wonderful variety of opportunity. Some lovely portraits and reflections after lunch despite the harsh light, followed by an evening full of shadows, environmental portraits, landscape sunsets and some more creative work. The images are building up for me to review and edit, and there is scarcely enough time in the day to select a couple for the blog and get them posted before we are off to a new location and the happy routine begins again.

Tomorrow promises to be a full day. We rise early to catch a morning boat form the old harbour, around the nearest headland to a small cove and then up onto the cliffs above to visit an old abbey.

David duChemin and Jeffrey Chapman are organized a very gentle paced walk around the old streets of Genova, helping direct us through the narrow maze of dark dimly lit passages that burst unexpectedly onto a sunlit tiny piazza.

As to today, April 25th was Italian Independence Day – though none of us could work out Independence from what! – many of the shops and restaurants were closed. It left a slightly deserted air to the streets, but filled us with hope that in that next deserted twisting lane, with a shaft of sunlight breaking through would be the old man laboring home under the weight of his shopping or the old lady leaning out of her second floor window to see what all the noise was about. Sadly today I was to be somewhat disappointed. Although the odd person at a window did appear, the light was either too harsh or the composition not really appealing to make anything truly compelling. Which is another way of saying I missed a couple of potentially iconic shots!

My focus for this week is to try to move away from the street photography that I love and feel comfortable with, and focus more on creative photography. This might mean the use of a puddle to provide a reflection, the use of color to tell a story, the use of a technique to create a more abstract composition. Of course if the old man with the shopping bags, or a woman in a red dress in front of a green door presents itself, well then I may just have to shoot that too!

For many in the group it is about approaching people, street images and travel reportage – possibly because they have traveled across the Atlantic and are seeing things through different eyes, or perhaps because they have done much landscape or creative work before. Each of us has their own challenge, new area to learn or frustration to overcome, and David and Jeffrey are on hand, to provide tips and advice.

This is not a photography course in the sense of a formally structured day of lessons, but our own personal exploration within a group of similar minded people, with the benefit of Jeffrey or David on hand to help answer all manner of questions.

Their style is more of coach or mentor – a relaxed, open ever helping manner that encourages you to push your creativity, to ignore the frustrations of a missed shot or to have us in fits of laughter with the constant stream of witticisms and asides. Already the atmosphere in our group is relaxed, opening and trusting and it is testament to David and Jeffrey’s experience and relaxed manner that we have so quickly relaxed and are able to focus on why we are here – the images with in the frame.

It is difficult to be in Italy without talking of food and wine. Perhaps not so strangely, as a Group we all seem to have an equal passion for both of these as well as photography, which ensures a fairly comprehensive survey of each  town’s culinary expertise. Jeffrey is fast becoming the world’s leading authority on Foccaccia al Formaggio  – but more of that in a later post. I half thing that we should be paid by Zagat for this trip – there doesn’t seem to be a bar, restaurant, cafe or waitress that has not come under the scrutiny of one of the group!

We leave to tomorrow for Monterosso al Mare – the first of the Cinque Terre towns that we will visit. It promises some truly stunning landscape opportunities, but also a wealth of street photography, colors, reflections and wonderful light that should allow each of us to explore to the full our ideas and creativity.

I am not sure how the internet connectivity will be there or how much time we will have to post, but I will try and get something up a couple more times during the week.

All the images in the post are from today’s shoot.

This morning – before the main group arrived – I went out with Jeffrey Fielding to wander the streets and try and start to get into the groove. The images in this post are a couple from the few wonderful hours we spent navigating the alleys ways and narrow passages of historic Genova, camera in hand.

It is an unusual city – much rougher round the edges than many of the other Italian cities I have been to – and still bears a string legacy from its days of maritime greatness. The small alleyways and tightly backed buildings with their eponymous green shutters at times feel almost sinister, yet you turn a corner and suddenly you are faced with a wonderful small piazza, with elegant town houses, or a bustling street full of fruit vendors, fishmongers and grocers.

Our group is a diverse mix as is often the case on these types of trips from the retired CEO of a large multinational, to the San Jose Firefighter; from the NASA Journal Editor to the Project Manager. The volcanic Ash had sadly claimed one of the group who was unable to make new travel plans, and Stuart Sipaghil had overcome unbelievable challenges of endless canceled flights, lost luggage and frustration to make it onto the second week.

The first evening we all met for dinner and the usual awkwardness of a group meeting for the first time had largely been resolved by the months of correspondence, image sharing and discussions that had happened on twitter of facebook. As a result our group seemed to have already bonded, and dinner was more a bunch of old friends catching up than a new group meeting for the first time.

Though diverse we share the same passion and the same desire to use the week ahead of us to explore our own photographic journey and to overcome our (self-imposed) barriers that we believe are holding us back. Some I know are very experienced, others much earlier in their journey, but I am sure I am going to learn a huge amount form all of them, especially in terms of composition, creativity and seeing the world through different perspectives.

So as we meet for our first day’s real “work” – if wandering the streets of beautiful Italian cities, drinking wine and nattering can be described as work – I am excited abut the week ahead and with whom I am going to spend it. I know I will not be able to post daily, as the internet connection in some of the places we go to is patchy, but I will try and do a couple of posts to give an insight in the week.

A prestissimo!