Landscape Photography Workshop Tuscany, April 27 – May 4 · Landscape Photography Workshop...

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1 Landscape Photography Workshop Tuscany, April 27 – May 4 Val d’Orcia March 2011 Candy Store in Kotka, Finland in collaboration with Borgo San Fedele http://www.borgosanfedele.com/, is organizing a Landscape photography workshop at the end of April and the beginning of May in Tuscany. The workshop’s instructor will be Italian photographer Martino Balestreri http:// www.lmphotoart.com. The workshop will be conducted in English. Martino Balestreri was born in 1963 in Cremona in northern Italy and began photography as a hobby when he was young. At the age of 40 he and his wife Laura moved to Tuscany and founded the LM PhotoArt studio in medieval Radda in Chianti, in the heart of vineyard country. All the locations photographed during our workshop are in an area that Martino knows inside out. His photographs are perfectly finished and emotionally evocative. His camera seems to become a bundle of brushes with which he artfully captures landscapes and the play of light, bringing the brilliant colors of Tuscany to life. Various photographic techniques enhance the composition of his landscapes. Balestreri’s landscapes convey his personal vision of renaissance Tuscany, reflecting the mystique of paintings by old Italian masters. His still life compositions emphasize detail, elegance and the use of light, bringing inanimate objects to life. A characteristic of Martino’s photos is a certain impatience reflected in his black and white works, often silhouettes, as if he were trying to reconcile nature and humans, a style familiar from Ansel Adams’s work. ”The first time I saw Martino Balestreri’s landscapes in Borgo San Fedele on the walls the workshop we’ll be using, at first sight I thought of them as masterful paintings. Only after becoming familiar with his studio did I recognize him as a unique photographic artist. While preparing our spring workshop with him in February I could see that Martino knew the locations to be photographed and their environments inside out.” - Leo Skogström

Transcript of Landscape Photography Workshop Tuscany, April 27 – May 4 · Landscape Photography Workshop...

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Landscape Photography Workshop Tuscany, April 27 – May 4

Val d’Orcia March 2011

Candy Store in Kotka, Finland in collaboration with Borgo San Fedelehttp://www.borgosanfedele.com/, is organizing a Landscape photography workshop at the end of April and the beginning of May in Tuscany. The workshop’s instructor will be Italian photographer Martino Balestreri http://

www.lmphotoart.com. The workshop will be conducted in English.

Martino Balestreri was born in 1963 in Cremona in northern Italy and began photography as a hobby when he was young. At the age of 40 he and his wife Laura moved to Tuscany and founded the LM PhotoArt studio in medieval Radda in Chianti, in the heart of vineyard country. All the locations photographed during our workshop are in an area that Martino knows inside out.

His photographs are perfectly finished and emotionally evocative. His camera seems to become a bundle of brushes with which he artfully captures landscapes and the play of light, bringing the brilliant colors of Tuscany to life. Various photographic techniques enhance the composition of his landscapes.

Balestreri’s landscapes convey his personal vision of renaissance Tuscany, reflecting the mystique of paintings by old Italian masters. His still life compositions emphasize detail, elegance and the use of light, bringing inanimate objects to life.

A characteristic of Martino’s photos is a certain impatience reflected in his black and white works, often silhouettes, as if he were trying to reconcile nature and humans, a style familiar from Ansel Adams’s work.

”The first time I saw Martino Balestreri’s landscapes in Borgo San Fedele on the walls the workshop we’ll be using, at first sight I thought of them as masterful paintings. Only after becoming familiar with his studio did I recognize him as a unique photographic artist. While preparing our spring workshop with him in FebruaryI could see that Martino knew the locations to be photographed and their environments inside out.” - Leo Skogström

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ProgramWednesday April 27

Arrival at the Pisa airport on a direct Ryanair flight from Tampere around midnight. Transportation to San Fedele (SF). Light snack and lodging.

ThursdayApril 28 11:00 Brunch

12:00 Workshop program and goals by LeoLandscape photography in nearby villages in the afternoon20:00 Dinner in Vopaia and dusk shots SF - In the evening, three photos to be prepared for the morning presentation and critique

Friday April 29 8:00 Breakfast, slideshow, critique

10:00 Departure to Chianti Fiorentino and Passignano 20:00 Dinner/SF IT instruction if needed

SaturdayApril 30

4:00 Light breakfast and fruit in the breakfast roomDeparture to Val d'Orcia and Crete Senesi 19:00 dinner/SF IT instruction

SundayMay 1 9:00 Breakfast

10:00 Morning meeting and photo presentations at SF 13:00 BBQ lunch/SF

14:30 Departure to Val d'OrciaDinner in the area being photographed at participants’ own expense Street Photography in Siena on return

MondayMay 2 9:00 Breakfast

10:00 Departure to the Volterra-Certaldo-San Gimignano area 20:00 Dinner/SF

Tuesday May 3 9:00 Breakfast

10:00 Departure either to Firenze or Pitigliano (to be decided the night before) 19:00 Dinner/SF

Final presentation of photographs, presentation of awards and diplomasWednesdayMay 4 8:00 Breakfast

9:30 Return transportation to Pisa Lunch at participants’ own expense and street photography in Pisa 14:00 Transportation to the airport16:00 Return flight from Pisa to Tampere, scheduled arrival time 20:25

Participation fee and registrationBorgo San Fedele’s http://www.borgosanfedele.com/ fee for the photographic workshop package is 1500€. The price includes lodging in a double room (extra charge for single room), breakfast and dinner or lunch with beverages, guidance and instruction, transportation from and to the airport in Pisa and daily ground transportation to photography locations. A reservation fee of 300€ must be paid by March 31 to Lebak Charters/Candy Store’s account Nordea FI32 2024 1800 0666 11.

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Participants will not be registered until the reservation fee is paid. Additional information and a bill for the workshop will be sent to you as soon as the necessary number of workshop participants is confirmed.

CancellationFor reservations cancelled 30 days or less prior to the beginning of the course the reservation fee will not be refunded. The organizer is not responsible for cancellation of the workshop due to illness or cancellation of flights. Travel insurance is recommended in case of illness. If the workshop is for some reason cancelled, the entire amount of the reservation and workshop fee will be refunded.

The organizer is not responsible for airline tickets already purchased even if the course must be cancelled by the organizer. Verify the status of the workshop before purchasing airline tickets.

TravelThe participation fee does not include insurance or flights. We recommend Ryanair’s direct flight from Tampere to Pisa, after which the organizer of the workshop will be responsible for transportation. Round-trip flights are affordable, but prices rise quickly when discount seats are sold out. There will be an additional charge for checked baggage. Information about the low-cost airline’s tariffs and procedures can be found at websites (in Finnish) includinghttp://saituri.org/matkailu/mita-ryanairin-halpalento-oikeasti-maksaa/

Our fantastic home base of Borgo San Fedele is located between Firenze and Siena, about 15 kilometers north of Siena and five kilometers north of the nearest small city, Vagliagli (pronounced “valiali”). You can find the location using Google Earth, coordinates:43° 26, 3’ N; 11° 21’E. Have a look at our Tuscany gallery at www.candystore.fi

Equipment and gearLate April is definitely the best time of the year for photography in Tuscany. Long term temperatures average 14 Celsius with daily highs of 20C. You will need sturdy shoes for walking off the beaten road to make snaps in locations. In southern Tuscany, zoom and telephoto lenses are useful to shoot the open views. A tripod is needed for photography at dusk and dawn. Photo presentations are prepared on laptops and presented using a flash drive. Organizer’s Super Nerd Jukka will provide professional IT help on site.

Remember to bring both sunscreen and folding umbrellas. San Fedele will charge for Wi-Fi.

À presto

[email protected]: +358 500 552 725