This month's trip of a lifetime
Fancy improving your camera skills? A brand new tour operator - Eye Photographic Workshops - can help you do just that, in a choice of scenic destinations ranging from the Wiltshire countryside to the wilds of Africa.
Eye's courses are designed to enable everyone - from snap-happy novices to super-clued-up amateurs - to capture their surroundings on SLR digital cameras, then download and edit their pictures on laptops. All the key aspects of photography are addressed, such as evaluating the light, shutter speeds, lens choice and scene selection - plus how to develop your 'eye' in general.
Professional photographer and course leader Michael Potter explains: 'At an Eye workshop, we endeavour to impart not only our knowledge, but also our passion. We encourage participants to seek out a photographic opportunity like a professional - to not only look but really see through a lens.
'We often find people experience a significant "Eureka!" moment, when it's clear they've taken their photography skills to the next level. The courses are enormously rewarding and very good at relieving stress: if you're focusing on the extraordinary scenery that surrounds you in the wild and rugged Scottish Highlands, for example, your working world soon slips into insignificance!'
Some sample trips? A six-night residential workshop on the Kenyan island of Lamu costs £2,900 per person half-board, including local boat transfers to nearby remote islands and all photographic activities. Or you could join a five-night improver course in Pollenca, Mallorca, for £1,900 - or a five-night trip to Black Mountain Ranch in Colorado for £2,600. Alternatively, simply sign up for a non-residential two-day introductory workshop in West London for £585.
There's a maximum of eight participating guests on each trip - although special rates are available for friends and partners who want to come along without taking part in the photography course.
To find out more, go to www.eyephotographicworkshops.com.
