PHOTOGRAPHY HOLIDAY REVIEWS
Well we’ve been doing something right on our photography holidays here in Essaouira, Morocco. Without tempting fate we’ve been given 5 stars by recent graduates, due in part to the wonderful location, atmosphere and service of the staff Maison du Sud where all guests stay during their week here. June’s workshop’s are drawing to a close and it’s a good opportunity to reflect on some impressive photography but more of that later…It’s perhaps an opportune time to announce future tour and holiday dates. This October and the following February see us venture with small groups by 4×4 into the region of the Anti-Atlas in Morocco. We’ll be crossing the Tizi n’test pass which is rich in spectacular views, before descending down into Taroudant. The tour also takes in Tata on the edge of the Sahara and Tafraoute situated in the middle of the Anti-Atlas before finishing in Marrakesh. It’s a 6 day tour guarenteed to hit the spot for landscape photography enthusiasts and those wishing to find out what the great traditions of landscape photography are all about. The price is £695 or £625 is booked before the end of July. Read more about the workshop here. Xmas and the new year also offer great possibilities for a photography holiday here in Essaouira. The average temperature is 18 degrees and there are many other activities to do apart from a week learning photography. Essaouira’s beach and dunes of are perfect for horse riding and the Hammans are particularly inviting during the winter months. Prices start at £895 for 7 nights and start dates are flexible so get in touch. Photography Holidays in Morocco & Spain.
RECENT HOLIDAY PARTICIPANTS
This month Adrian came to Essaouira on holiday and took a one-day workshop with us here at Maison du Sud. His selection of final gallery images produced some lovely surprises particularly this one of my friend Ali, shop owner and entrepreneur. The one-day workshop here in Essaouira is divided into a morning and early evening session, the first session focusing on camera controls and technique. The evening session comprises of a tutor led tour of the Medina followed by an assessment of the photos taken and the selection for the online gallery, which is useful to have to shows friends and family back home. We also cover a little post-production work using Photoshop. Prices for the one-day photo-workshop are 750Dh which is about £60 so if you find yourself in Essaouira for just a short time then get in touch. Click on the link to read more about the workshops.
Abby and Andrew have just completed their respective weeks in the sun. Andrew arriving the day, before got into his stride quickly, shooting some decent first images at the quite extraordinary visual experience that is the Sunday souk at Had Draa. Both different in style and approach Abby and Andrew enjoyed their weeks and both now feel particularly confident photographing people. Abby rather excelled with her people gallery, Andrew preferring to find creative possibilities in shadows, a quite unique photography holidays gallery produced during my time here in Essaouira. 
A & A can be seen left, entirely unposed! just outside the souk Idagouard which course participants visit on Wednesdays. Increasingly I’m using image manipulation programs, such as Aperture and Photoshop during the week’s course, to demonstrate the possibilities of controlling highlights and what can actually be recovered from an over-exposed image. Understanding what software can achieve, can inform our use of histograms on location and encourage us to expose for the highlights and let the shadows areas fall away into darkness. It’s easier to “bring up’ the shadows than render detail in a “blown out” areas of white. Emma Simpson’s photo from last month, demonstrates what I mean. She exposed correctly for the bright central area which on her camera led to a surrounding solid black area. In post-production we brought up some of the foreground shadow detail offering more interest in the final image as seen right.
Abby’s & Andrew’s galleries can be viewed here.
You can book a photography holiday in Essaouira for £895 or visit our offers page for seasonal discounts. Alternatively check other news on recent course participants here.