Dúlra Photography Workshops 'Learning to see'

I believe that photography is very often over complicated so my aim, through my workshops, is that you leave with a solid understanding of the basics of photography. I like to keep my photography simple and I will be trying to pass on to you the way in which I work. I run both beginners and mixed ability workshops.

Dulra photography workshop - Group shot

Beginners workshops

The workshops, which take place in Dublin or Wicklow over 2 days, will include at least 2 of the following locations: Mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, beaches, rockpools and Mount Usher Gardens. I will provide homemade, tasty, healthy breakfast and lunch on both days all served from Wanda, my trusty campervan.

These workshops will focus mainly on the following topics and their relation to each other:

  • ISO
  • Aperture
  • Shutter Speed
  • Depth of Field
  • Form & Composition
  • Use of and understanding of Light

Digital or Analog SLR cameras with a fully manual setting will be required. Tripods are also necessary.

There will be no more than 4 people in the group so that you each receive plenty of personal attention and tuition. This also means places will be on a first come first served basis!

Cost €350 (Check homepage for details on Upcoming Events)

Residential (includes dinner and accomodation on the Saturday night) €450

Mixed ability workshops

These workshops are 2 day residential stays in quirky yet comfortable buildings around Ireland. The accomodation is provided by The Irish Landmark Trust. The Irish Landmark Trust is a wonderful organisation that has restored many listed builings around Ireland that we are now, luckily, able to experience staying in them. Lighthouses, Gatelodges, Townhouses to name but a few. One of my favourites is the Loop Head Lighthouse Keepers Cottage. See www.irishlandmark.com for more information.

You could not ask for a more perfect location for photography. Dramatic coastline with seascapes, rockpools, vast skies with the added charm of staying in the lighthouse keepers cottage and eating quality home cooked food for 2 nights and 2 days.

We recap on all topics in the beginners workshops but the mixed ability workshop has more emphasis on Form & Composition, Light and connection to your subject.

We will also deal with Filters (Neutral Density & Polarisers) and White Balance (Kelvin Scale)

The great advantage of a residential workshop is that it is continuous and intensive with photography from dawn to dusk and beyond with critique of the images shot that day.

Cost €600 (Check homepage for details on Upcoming Events)

Testamonials

"Your 'Learning to See' workshop really covered all the areas I needed to begin taking good photographs – many thanks"

"Just to thank you for a great course – I really learned a lot in a relatively short space of time."
Brian

"Hi Daragh, thanks for a brilliant week-end, enjoyed it greatly,learned a lot."
Margaret

"Having recently (6 months ago) invested a large amount in a Digital SLR I have spent a great deal of time trying to get the photos that I wanted to be able to take.

"The cameras automatic settings make it too easy to cop out and point and shoot. Only to be upset when I saw the results of the photos due to light conditions or poor focus on the areas I wanted to concentrate on. Having recently spent a day with Daragh working on the greater understanding of the basics of the camera and its functions I can honestly say that I had several Eureka moments during the training as to why my photos had previosuly been so poor."

"In plain English and an interesting way Daragh taught me about the relationships of appertures, iso speeds, exposure times, light metering and focus points. Which I thought I had understood before but obviously had not. After a great day in avoca valley I was able to understand these and with a little practice I will make some giant leaps forward in quality of my pictures. Having spent so much money on a camera the small investment of the course was well worth the time and effort."
Andrew

"Hi Daragh, Glad you enjoyed the workshop as much as the group did - you certainly put in the effort to make it a success. For me it literally was an eye-opener both in terms of skills learned and exposure to a new level of equipment (I'm finding it hard to avoid photography puns here!). Will be in touch and thanks again for a great weekend!"
Pauline

"Learned two very different things last weekend, the first about photography (and yes even the possibilities of abstract!), the second just reinforced our own opinions about good quality homemade home produced food, which is something I very nearly take for granted because we have our own beef, lamb, fruit, eggs, jams, bread etc. All the best and many thanks."
Christopher

"Just to thank you for all the teaching and trouble you took to make the weekend's photography course both instructive and enjoyable. I thought the two venues chosen were perfect. The meals you prepared were delicious and it was lovely to be able to picnic in the open air, with such perfect weather. I'm looking forward to putting it all into practice when I get to Alaska at the beginning of May, and will send you my best shot as promised."
Etain

"If you get a chance, go along to one of Daraghs residential courses, where you will benefit from his photographic expertise in a small group setting whatever your own skill level, and also be able to sample his wonderful cooking skills. Id recommend his courses if you want to master the manual setting on your camera and appreciate the intricacies of exposure in challenging light settings"
Ann