As part of Edin’s prize for winning New Zealand Geographic Young Photographer of the Year 2014, she had the privilege of attending one of Kim’s workshops. There was a free place when she booked and I was lucky to go along as a participant too. Kim is a bit of a legend in the outdoor photography world, having won 5 first prizes in the BCC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, a feat that is unlikely to repeated by anyone in the future. He completed his PhD in marine research and then focussed on photography and writing and has had numerous books and articles published. His extensive Antarctic work in the Ross Sea region sees his images regularly used in any significant publication on that continent and it is likely that you would recognise some of his iconic images of Emperor Penguins and a trio spy-hopping Orca even if you don’t associate them with his name.
The workshop was titled the Great Photography Weekend and covers many of the modules that Kim covers as stand alone topics in shorter workshops. The morning and early afternoon were classroom sessions in Kim’s studio with delicious catering for teas and lunches by his wife Vivienne and daughter Anne (who is a successful artist in her own right). After lunch we headed into the field to practice some of the techniques discussed in the classroom. Day 1 was McLaren Falls and day 2 the shore at Mount Maunganui, both of which provide plenty of photo opportunities, including, at the Mount, the chance to grab a shot of a rare Wandering Tattler which caused some interest in the birding community when I posted it on a birding forum. After the workshop we had some “homework” topics to work on over the next 4 weeks before gathering again for an evening and having our homework images critiqued by Kim. For me this was the most valuable part of the workshop. Over the period of the workshop I really enjoyed talking with Kim and gaining an insight into his vision and passion as an artist with a training in science and a deep love of the natural world.
For me the outcome of the workshop was to reinvigorate my photography and a push to re-explore the wider end of the lens spectrum and forest environments that have previously challenged me. Interestingly when I first started with photography my lenses tended to get wider and wider going from a 50mm to a 28mm until the usual lens on my Olympus OM4 was a 24mm prime unless I was getting frustrated chasing tiny birds with a 350mm mirror lens. Lately I have more often lived at the long end of the lens range focussing on birds, so I have really enjoyed playing more with a fisheye on the Fuji XT1 and have got some forest images I am really pleased with. I have also followed a comment that Kim made about processing images to make them feel like it felt to be there. This has been interesting as I have pushed some images a bit further than I would have in processing previously and have been pleased with the results.
Coincidentally Pro Photographer magazine ran an article in their Dec/Jan 2015/2016 edition on photographers that run workshops and Kim was featured along with 2 of my photos of him and Edin and one of his photos and Edin and me taken on the weekend.
For more information about Kim and to see some of his work visit his website. Here is a link to his newsletters with information about upcoming workshops.
