One-to-One PHOTOGRAPHY
_________ ON DENMAN ISLAND _________
L a n d s c a p e • S e a s c a p e • B l a c k & W h i t e • F i n e A r t
O N E - o n - O N E • PHOTOGRAPHY SESSIONS
2+ nights • $280 / hour
all photography © Mark Prior • location ~ Denman Island, British Columbia
Overview
The following principles are at the core of what will be taught and demonstrated during the retreat...
Consider the image file straight from the camera as merely the starting point for creating your picture. Selecting a viewpoint, framing and isolating a scene from it's surroundings is the first step, determining the composition, which with light and timing must combine in the "decisive moment" to capture the essence of the place and lift the image above the ordinary. This is not a concrete quality, but rather an interpretation that results from what you as the photographer see in and bestow upon the scene by the choices you make, and your success in that endeavor depends on if that interpretation is effectively communicated to an audience in the final image.
The term "the decisive moment" was coined by Henrie Cartier-Bresson, famed for his black and white street photography of Paris, to describe how the photographer must seize the moment when all the variables come together to form a composition that perfectly encapsulates the subject. The following quote explains what he meant:
"If a photograph is to communicate its subject in all its intensity, the relationship of form must be rigorously established. Photography implies the recognition of a rhythm in the world of real things. What the eye does is to find and focus on the particular subject within the mass of reality… In a photograph, composition is the result of a simultaneous coalition, the organic coordination of elements seen by the eye. One does not add composition as though it were an afterthought superimposed on the basic subject material, since it is impossible to separate content from form.
"Composition must have its own inevitability about it.
"But inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance. Photography must seize upon this moment and hold immobile the equilibrium of it." Henrie Cartier-Bresson, from the book "Images à la Sauvette" (“Images on the Run”)
With our modern digital cameras, we don't have the constraints imposed on analogue (film) photographers, and as a result there is a tendency to take many photos in the hope that one will stand-out. You'll be encouraged to take it slow, and really study the subject, before committing to taking photographs. In landscape photography you are looking for the perfect viewpoint to capture a three dimensional space in two dimensions, by the arrangement of the objects within that space, so you must explore many possible viewpoints thoroughly.
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Planning for the decisive moment can play a big part in landscape photography, because the light is determined by the time of year, the time of day, and the weather. This normally requires you, the photographer, to be familiar with the place, to be able to visualize the precise time(s) that these elements will come together for the optimum conditions in which to convey whatever it is about the place that inspires you. On this retreat you have a "local expert" to do the planning for you, so you get the excitement of seeing new places plus the local knowledge needed to see those new places in the best possible conditions that the week presents.
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Observe, anticipate, capture: Waiting for the fishing boat and the light on the water to coincide, whilst observing the shifting clouds and the gulls, three flew into frame on a trajectory that appeared to be following the boat, as if being pulled by invisible strings. The space between the ocean and the cloud base that they occupy is both animated and intensified by their presence and their precise positions within that space, as defined by the framing of the scene. ↕
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Then the magic happens in Photoshop, where the conversion to black and white (and possibly to a duo-tone) can be levered to describe and accentuate the rhythms and structures that give the image meaning. Precisely controlling the tones rendered by each colour can produce an expressive image that, no longer a slavish copy of what was seen, is by now so far removed from the pictorial source that it should be considered to be fine art.
Landscape Photography on Denman Island | 2+ nights • One-on-One
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On Denman Island, you will visit some gorgeous locations to indulge in your passion. Approximately a quarter of Denman Island is protected, by BC Parks, the Denman Conservancy Association, etc., giving us access to 'endless' trails. With 4 days of photography, you'll benefit from your tutor's local knowledge gained from 21+ years of living here. The season, the weather on the day, and the time of day, will all be considered in the choice of locations.
As you will see from the photographs on this page, "good" weather is not required. Cloudy skies make for drama, and the 'flat' light on an overcast day reveals the detail in every square inch of the frame, whilst allowing you the freedom to precisely manipulate the colours during the conversion to monochrome, rendering tonal values that achieve an interpretation of the scene that conveys your emotional response.
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A road can be a great subject in the right light, especially in black and white. Here, the top and bottom crop is important to emphasize the tunnel effect, this is primarily a 'portrait' of the space (which always thrills me as I round the bend at the top) and all tonal decisions are to emphasize that, and to keep the eye moving around the picture. By removing color, the relationship between the formal components is also emphasized, e.g. the parallel lines of the barrier and the road markings, both leading the eye to the focal point. ("Barreling Down the Big Hill") ↕
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During sessions we will examine the compositional quality of your work, and your use of light and timing to express something unique and personal about the subject. Developing your visualization skill is key to that success, and the feedback that you receive on this course will act as a valuable catalyst for what is a lifelong process.
SEASCAPES: Living on a small island, and especially living on an oceanfront acreage, the ocean is a dominant feature in our lives. We are forever looking out at it, sometimes we're on it (everyone has to at least take the ferry over here), and wildlife comes as part of the scenery. The Gulf Islands are unusual, being situated within an 'inland sea', the Salish Sea. In every direction, islands and mountains provide an astonishing variety of views, always with big skies reflected in wide stretches of water and the ever shifting lightshow that nature bestows upon us.
The photographic adventure begins on the ferry, pull out your cameras and (as long as it's not raining hard, it does happen), start tuning-in to the feel of the place and getting inspired! (You'll notice that most vehicle occupants will be glued to their screens inside their cars, visitors and locals alike. Those folks are probably not photographers...)
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COASTLINE: Our small island provides miles and miles of fascinating coastline. Layers of sandstone, slate and hard conglomerate result in unexpected and dramatic formations that characterize our beaches, with the ever-changing backdrop of other islands, distant coastlines and mountain views. From our own beach or from any public access point, we can explore it all, if it's physically accessible, as the beaches are 'Crown Land'.
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SHORELINE: By which I mean that ribbon of beach and foreshore where the ocean collides with the land; there is nothing more worked on and shaped by the elements. Continuously changing and evolving, every visit to the same spot reveals something new. Our waters are pristine and litter is not an issue, but some objects that once had a marine function are washed ashore and odd things get left in hidden corners. Most people will dismiss such things as junk, but to the photographer, being out of context and bringing different lines, forms and textures into play, these objects will often 'animate' a space, and learning to visualize in black and white enhances your ability to see and capture the underlying structures and patterns.
Whilst we strive as photographers to achieve the one perfect shot that fully encapsulates the scene or the place, we frequently find that such locations offer a multitude of possibilities and it is often only a set of images that can do justice to it. This was the case (in the slideshow below) when I discovered a creek tumbling onto McFarlane Beach in Spring, and when a floating dock washed up and lodged itself on our own waterfront. (In the latter, I was completely seduced by the muted colours, so that I've never tried to convert that set to black and white.)
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FORESTS & TREES: Denman and Hornby Islands were both cloaked with temperate rainforest, much of which remains. Over a quarter of Denman is protected land, including some mighty old growth remnants. I am still discovering new trails, which I reserve for dull and damp days when the soft light accentuates the textures and highlights the thick moss on the trees, giving them a silver lining, and it shines off the wet leaves and ferns, contrasting their jagged forms against the undergrowth around them. One enchanted space after another opens up on either side as I slowly progress into the forest, spending time with everything that interests me. I never seem to get far before I have a ton of material to work with!
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WETLANDS, MARSHES & LAKES: Denman has extensive wetlands and marshes, and 2 large lakes (suitable for swimming), lending further variety to the scenery and the wildlife.
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CLOSE-UPS: Rhythms, patterns, and structures in nature can be observed and photographed from the macro to the micro, and it is the latter in which the abstract qualities of composition come to the fore. Monochrome (and duo-tone) photographs use tonal values to describe the space within the frame without the distraction of colour, and "seeing in black and white" is a valuable skill for any photographer to have, even when working in colour.
When you are close to the subject framing a composition, the slightest movement in any direction alters the spatial relationship between the the objects occupying the space inside the frame, so the photographer must have complete concentration on or at least awareness of the shifting spatial relationships between them. (I would suggest that becoming absorbed in this process is a form of meditation.)
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Photoshop Tuition • Fine Art Quality Print Files • Black & White
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Group Retreat: We will do a full day as a group, so that everyone has the opportunity to learn from the tuition given to everyone else. This could fall on any day after the first day of photography because it is weather dependent, the idea being to spend the worst day inside. If the second day turns out to be bad weather, for example, we'll have enough material from the first day to use for the tutorials. If the weather for all of the first 4 days is consistent, we'll save the computer work until the last day.
One-on-One Retreat: We will aim work on your favorite file(s) from the day's shoot at the end of the day's photography session, possibly in the evening, for an hour or two.
Working with your image files, I will demonstrate processing Raw files with Adobe Camera Raw and the workflow using Photoshop, to achieve the finest image quality possible. I will also reveal the professional Up-Rez software that I use to achieve the stunning results you can see below.
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You'll be shown how to take complete control of your tones to produce stunning black and white images. Simply desaturating a color photo produces a dull and lifeless monochrome, tempting excessive editing to compensate, whereas the correct process gets you directly to an expressive interpretation.
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Detailed enlargements are possible from an iPhone photo up to 5'-6' wide with the correct processing (Triple Rock Marsh, captured with an iPhone 14 Pro Max)
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Techniques will include:
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Photoshop can do so much more, but our focus will be on the tools and techniques necessary to achieve the highest fine art quality image files, and other topics should be saved for private tuition periods. However, the controversial subject of what makes photography art, is something that we will discuss as a group.
Itinerary
Sharing some time with another individual with the same passion is inspiring and a lot of fun, and we all have something to teach and learn from each other. As the tuition in the field is on a one-to-one basis for 1-2 hours, most of the time you'll be left alone to take photographs. I can spend time with you twice a day, the later session for reviewing the day's images and teaching Photoshop.
Arrival: 3:30 pm (until 10:00 pm, on the last ferry)
When you arrive I will show you around the apartment and common area facilities, and then leave you to unwind after your journey. Your first few hours will be for settling in, perhaps explore the beach, fix and eat dinner, then have a soak in the hot tub.
When you arrive I will show you around the apartment and common area facilities, and then leave you to unwind after your journey. Your first few hours will be for settling in, perhaps explore the beach, fix and eat dinner, then have a soak in the hot tub.
Dawn • Sunrise is Optional :)
As every photographer knows, dawn is perhaps the best time of day for the light, most days. We face East and the sun will rise somewhere over Hornby Island. The beach is only a 2-minute walk from the units, and every day should provide an amazing light show. It is also the time of day when the wildlife is most active, and when you are most likely to see orcas!
As every photographer knows, dawn is perhaps the best time of day for the light, most days. We face East and the sun will rise somewhere over Hornby Island. The beach is only a 2-minute walk from the units, and every day should provide an amazing light show. It is also the time of day when the wildlife is most active, and when you are most likely to see orcas!
Flexible Daytime Schedule | Photography • Photoshop | Practice & Tuition
Every day can be dedicated to photography no matter what the weather. It's never bland and often dramatic. However, bad weather can make for great photographs as well, especially when it's over the sea! The forests can be successfully photographed on an overcast day and look gorgeous after rain, whilst the wetlands and lakes are fascinating whatever the conditions.
Every day can be dedicated to photography no matter what the weather. It's never bland and often dramatic. However, bad weather can make for great photographs as well, especially when it's over the sea! The forests can be successfully photographed on an overcast day and look gorgeous after rain, whilst the wetlands and lakes are fascinating whatever the conditions.
We'll meet at a pre-arranged time for me to take you to the chosen location for the morning or the day's photography, where I'll spend an hour or two with you, as needed, to give you photography tuition. I might stick around and take some photos myself if I have time, but if duty calls I'll leave you to 'get into the zone' and take some great photographs!
You can either take your own vehicle or I'll take you in our car and pick you up when you are ready. Cell phone reception is remarkably good across most of the island which helps in keeping the timing flexible.
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One of the Safest Places on Earth!
Denman Island has to be one of the safest places to roam on the planet! There's no crime, so we have no police (unless they pass through on their way to Hornby Island). There are no bears or cougars (at least, rarely, because it's a 2-mile swim, which is why we have so many deer), and there are no poisonous snakes. Para-medics are on call 24/7, as is the Volunteer Fire Department.
Denman Island has to be one of the safest places to roam on the planet! There's no crime, so we have no police (unless they pass through on their way to Hornby Island). There are no bears or cougars (at least, rarely, because it's a 2-mile swim, which is why we have so many deer), and there are no poisonous snakes. Para-medics are on call 24/7, as is the Volunteer Fire Department.
"The people on the island were super friendly, and we felt right at home when visiting a Saturday market and checking out a local band!" Angela T, Eagle View, Jun '24
"...The staff is friendly, considerate, and lovely to chat with. As a woman traveling alone, I felt incredibly safe and well-received at Manna House." Megan W, Eagle View, Aug '23
"The island village is charming. The islanders are so kind..." Machel S, Sunrise, Aug '24
"As a single female traveler I was a bit nervous but once I got there I realized the set up was incredibly private and safe because you're staying in a house that’s been converted to several units so you get the best of solitude and the safety of neighbours nearby." Olivia C, Ocean Spray, Aug '24
For Photoshop tuition, we'll be keeping an eye on the weather, and fitting in 1-2 hours per day to work on your images, usually at the end of the day's photography, and possibly in the evening. Any other commitments I have and your own schedule will also affect the timing.
Evenings
Unless we have arranged for some photoshop tuition, or even some night-photography, this will be your private time, to enjoy your dinner at your leisure and maybe indulge in the spa amenities, or sit by the beach firepit as the sun sets whilst reflecting on the day's work and (probably) poring over the best images in your camera (or phone).
Unless we have arranged for some photoshop tuition, or even some night-photography, this will be your private time, to enjoy your dinner at your leisure and maybe indulge in the spa amenities, or sit by the beach firepit as the sun sets whilst reflecting on the day's work and (probably) poring over the best images in your camera (or phone).
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11:00 am Check Out
Nothing is scheduled apart from getting you to the ferry on time! |
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Equipment
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Whether you are a keen amateur with a 'good eye' and a cell phone, or a seasoned pro with 'all the gear' looking to expand your skills, photographers at all levels will benefit from this course.
If a cell phone is all you have now, and you are considering investing in some camera equipment, this course would be a great way to figure out what to buy. Meanwhile, the image quality from a cell phone can be a good enough starting point to produce great quality prints up to six feet wide, using the processing techniques that you'll be taught on the Photoshop tuition day.
Many of my own editions were captured with my iPhone because that's all I had on me at the time.
Experienced photographers will also benefit from learning how to get professional and commercially usable images from their cell phone, which we usually have on us wherever we are, and you never know when a great photo will present itself.
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Wetlands on McFarlane Road, captured with an iPhone 14 Pro Max ↕
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If you are bringing a digital camera, all I ask is that you know how to use it, and if you've never read the instruction manual (which is common), please read it! The more comfortable with your gear you are, the better the experience and probably, better photos. Note that it doesn't matter what make or type of equipment it is, it's only as good as the photographer using it. I'll teach 'technique' on a one-to-one basis, but please don't expect me to figure out how to use your camera for you in the field. Our focus will be on the process of taking the photos, and applying your technical skill to that end result.
"Always Out There, Somewhere...", Orca, from the top of our track to the beach. The far shore of Hornby is about 2 miles away. (Canon 5Ds, 100-400mm zoom at 400mm, hand-held) ↕
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If you're fairly new to the camera and ready to come off "auto", the individual field sessions will allow me to teach you at the technical level you require to take control of all the variables, with the aim of these skills becoming so natural that the camera almost becomes an extension of you and using it becomes effortless, allowing you to pursue your visualization without hinderance.
'Sundry' equipment such as camera bag, filters, electronic shutter release, etc., are a matter of individual choice, but the one "should-have" is a tripod. Goes without saying really...
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Me? I use a Canon Eos 5Ds that I bought in 2016, with Canon lenses: 100-400mm; 24-70 mm; 17 mm tilt/shift. It was the first digital camera that went over 50 MB, and could deliver the quality that I was waiting for, big, flawless enlargements that compared to those I used to get from my 4x5" sheet film, which it easily surpassed. At the time Canon boasted that the 17mm was the best lens they'd ever made! The edge-to-edge sharpness and lack of distortion combined with the tilt/shift capability, make it a superb architecture and landscape lens. The 100-400 zoom I use mostly to photograph birds, another obsession, and the 24-70 zoom for portraiture and miscellaneous other stuff.
Not forgetting my trusty iPhone 16 Pro Max, which has recently replaced my 14 Pro Max, such is the march of technology...
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Tutor • Mark Prior, BA (Fine Art), Dip. Pro Photography
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The "Day Job"
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IMAGE EDITING & DIGITAL PRINTING SERVICES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS & ARTISTS
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Teaching Experience
1985-1987 • Part-time, Darlington Media Group, Darlington, UK
1988-1991 • Basic and Advanced Photography courses and workshops, Lilac Cottage Studios, Barnard Castle, UK
1991-? • Advanced Landscape Photography Group. Visiting different locations together, I would guide their practice and critique their work
2016-Present • One-on-one Consultation and Teaching Online, using screen-share technology
1988-1991 • Basic and Advanced Photography courses and workshops, Lilac Cottage Studios, Barnard Castle, UK
1991-? • Advanced Landscape Photography Group. Visiting different locations together, I would guide their practice and critique their work
2016-Present • One-on-one Consultation and Teaching Online, using screen-share technology
Biography
At the age of eleven two lifelong preoccupations, art and nature, took root. As teenager, if I wasn't in nature, hiking, mountain climbing, or caving, I was painting and drawing it. Later, at art college in the late seventies, I transferred from the painting department to sculpture where my imagination was captured by "Land Art", a movement started less than a decade earlier and at that time still little known or understood.
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Land Art is site-specific, using natural materials already on-site, and 'an artwork' is created that reshapes the site, which by default becomes part of the work. It's truly experiential, but the only way to show an audience what I'd created was to take and exhibit photographs.
After art college I took a job as 'The College Photographer' at Queen May College, part of London University. 5 years later I emerged a well rounded professional, with a diploma to prove it, and sure that my destiny didn't lie in a darkroom in the East End of London. The diploma course had required projects, so for the same period I documented the ground-breaking Northern Arts Sculpture Residency in Grizedale Forest, Cumbria, which lead to the book and traveling exhibition "A Sense of Place".
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"A Sense of Place" | front cover • "Forest Fugue" by David Kemp | back cover • "Seven Spires" by Andy Goldsworthy | photography by Mark Prior ↕
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The experience of making and photographing land art and studying the philosophy behind it, profoundly influenced my landscape photography. I developed an acute awareness of space as the subject, articulated by the objects within it, and it is the dynamic representation of 3-dimensional spaces that preoccupies me to this day.
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Teesdale, 1985-2002 ↕
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The pull of the wild places ‘Up North’ proved too hard to resist, so my first wife and I moved to the County Durham Dales in 1984, opening “Priors” the next year with my parents, a successful Vegetarian Restaurant and Art Gallery combination in the market town of Barnard Castle, representing on average 120 artists/artisans, for 17 years. Throughout, I managed to maintain a parallel career as a photographer, both selling and exhibiting my landscape photography through my own gallery and elsewhere, and taking on some commercial assignments.
In a cottage behind the main building, between 1988-1991, I ran Lilac Cottage Studios offering classes and workshops in Fine Arts, Photography, Crafts and Healing Arts, and I taught the photography. This lead to a long-standing Advanced Landscape Photography Group that I would take to different locations, guide their practice and critique their work.
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Recognizing the potential of the internet early on, Priors was one of the first commercial UK art galleries to have a website, which at the time was groundbreaking enough for the BBC to record an episode of "Working Lunch" from the gallery. In 1997, I was a ‘Co-Pilot’ of the “Elect Project” (partners: Visa, NatWest Bank, Hewlett Packard and Onyx Internet), an early Business-to-Business Secure Electronic Transaction System, as design consultant. It was launched in 1998 by the new Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who did so by purchasing a framed etching from the Priors’ website, with national media attention.
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I met the artist Mitra Ghaffari in 2002 and after a life-changing 6 month trip to India, we settled in British Columbia, Canada in 2003, when the 'digital revolution' was still in it's infancy. The relatively remote location meant investment in reliable fine art digital printing equipment, followed by a Better Light Digital Scanning Back for my 4x5 camera, for reproducing Mitra's paintings. After I’d been honing these new skills for a couple of years we co-founded Mima Fine Art Publishers & Gallery in 2005, to promote other artists' and photographers' work alongside our own by creating fine art giclee editions. By the time Mima became the art supplier for the Hudson Bay Company, “Mima @ the Bay”, (2008 - 2011) in downtown Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo (their 3 largest department stores in British Columbia), we represented over 50 artists with hundreds of editions.
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India, 2002-3
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Since then the art market has been changing rapidly with the rise of the Internet and as "Print Art Photography CA" we’ve evolved into providing printing and image editing services to photographers and artists. By now I’ve reproduced and printed many thousands of artworks and photographic editions. Coming from both the fine art and craft photography traditions has had important advantages, plus years as a fine art publisher and gallery owner brings professional and marketing expertise into the mix, all of which is available to my students and clients. (Find out more...)
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