Travel with Fotocourses

“Best of British” Competition Entries

A big thank you to all of you who have submitted entries for this months competition. The submissions are in no particular order and I have chosen my top 3 which will be announced when we have had the votes in from the public vote.

To vote for your favourites send me an email to forestside@btinternet.com with your 1st, 2nd and third for the public vote. Make a note of your favourites – each thumbnail has a number. Make sure you click on the images below to see them full frame as some of the thumbnails below are cropped. Closing Date for votes 24th May.

‘Best Of British’ Photography Competition

I will be running a new competition this month. The theme is “Best of British” which is pretty broad but gives scope for some nice variety from landscapes or wildlife to people or anything else you think fits the theme. Prizes of £25 off a future course will be given to the public vote winner and my choice. Anyone can enter up to 5 entries.

Send your entries to my email forestside@btinternet.com

Closing Date for Entries 15th May 2020

Competition Rules
Maximum 5 entries per person.
Judges decision is final.
There will be 2 prizes.
Entires will be posted on the travelwithfotocourses blog at a maximum resolution of 800 pixels wide. The pictures will not be used for any other purpose without your express permission.

Virtual Photography Courses

Check out our new virtual training sessions using Zoom.

As you can imagine since coming back from the USA in March the business has been very quiet. Things seem to be moving slowly towards a return to normal but training courses still seem some way off. I have therefore been looking at ways I can undertake courses remotely and I will be running 1-2-1 sessions online using Zoom from £15 per session. The sessions can cover anything from camera settings to Photo critique to photoshop / lightroom techniques – You decide. Please check out the link below to go to the website page for more information.

https://www.fotocourses.co.uk/1_day_1-2-1_Courses/Virtual.html

PhotoBooks – Saal-Digital

I have been asked by Saal to order one of their books and do a review on the quality. Here are my thoughts:

When you go onto the website there are a number of different options you can consider from photobooks to calendars. In order to complete a book you need to download their free software which give the templates and design function for the book. I was asked to complete a Professional Line book on this occasion but I have completed many other books with them -my preferred size is the A4 landscape with the extra thick pages.

The software is well designed and allows you to have a great deal of control over the design process. You can use the templates or create your own pages and choose hundreds of background colours and patterns. Once you have designed your book you upload it and around a week later the book hits your doormat.

The quality of the books is very impressive and you can choose different cover options and thickness and quality of finish. Back in the day when we used a company called Graphistudio for our wedding albums they were considered the best in quality. Saal Digital comes very close at a fraction of the cost. I particularly like the lay flat pages which allow images to go across the fold.

I would have no hesitation in recommending them for your photobooks. I have been using them for a few years now and have always been impressed.

Here is their website https://www.saal-digital.co.uk

Cuba

Here are some pictures taken on a trip to Cuba a few years ago. I have re-edited in Lightroom to freshen them up. Stayed in Havana for around a week and a week in Guardalavaca to the east.

My Selection from the Competition Entries

I chose this selection before the public vote took place. I was very impressed with the following entries which all get Highly Commended.

Now to my personal favourites – In third Place Mary-Ann Blackmore

In Second Place – Ian Pinion

But in first place this stunning Image by Damian Garcia (This came 4th in the vote)

Thanks to everyone who entered. I will think about another competition in May with a theme.

Competition Results – Peoples Vote

We have had all the votes in for your favourite images. The results were spread across a large number of the entries and there were 3 votes separating the top three so it was as close as it could get. Here are the results for the peoples vote.

In third place Damian Garcia

In Second Place Steve Purdy

In first place with 2 images getting exactly the same number of votes Ian Pinion. Both Excellent images and worthy winner of our first photography competition and the fabulous prize of a £25 voucher.

Tomorrow I will be announcing my favourite images so check back.

Competition Entries

Thank you for sending in your entries – we have had 113 in total. The submissions are in no particular order and I have chosen my top 3 which will be announced when we have had the votes in from the public vote.

Times Article Plan now, go later. 30 great breaks in Devon and Dorset.

We feature in an article by Chris Haslam in The Times Travel section this Saturday. Featuring the best West Country breaks for when we’re travelling again.

We feature at no 24. You can read the full article here: https://www.fotocourses.co.uk/Times.pdf

To visit our Dorset pages and book a course for later in the year click on this link: https://www.fotocourses.co.uk/Dorset/Dorset.html

New Photo Competition

Send in a picture of your best landscape. It can be anywhere and you can send up to 5 entries. Closing date 15th April. I will then put the entries on the travelwithfotocourses blog in low res for people to see and will give a 1st, 2nd and 3rd based on my opinion. People will also be able to vote by sending an email stating what they think is the best entry from the selection. The 1st place based on the peoples vote will get a voucher for £25 to spend on one of our courses when things get back to normal. Its a token prize but the real prize is showcasing your work.

Competition Rules

Maximum 5 entries per person.
Judges decision is final.
There will be 1 prize.
Entires will be posted on the travelwithfotocourses blog at a maximum resolution of 800 pixels wide. The pictures will not be used for any other purpose without your express permission.

Send your entries to my email forestside@btinternet.com