I’m going to Abruzzo, Italy for a photography course! (30th Sep – 4th Oct 2009)
I have some nice camera equipment and I love taking photographs, but I haven’t been on a course. So I have been looking at courses on the Internet and I stumbled upon this one by frui which is a 5 day course, based in Abruzzo, Italy.
2 bonuses of this course are:
- I haven’t been to Italy before and I have always wanted to go
- It also has a strong food bias. I like to learn about (and eat) good food and am the co-owner of the cooking site GetMeCooking.com
Before booking the course, I e-mailed the company to find out a bit more about it. Here is my e-mail and their reply:
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On 4 Sep 2009, at 14:57, Paul Richardson wrote:
Hello,
Please can you tell me roughly how much time per day is spent doing/talking photography on the ‘photography trip to Abruzzo, 30th of September – 4th of October 2009′ holiday? It isn’t clear from the Itinerary and it sounds like it is also somewhat biased towards food (which is not a bad thing!), I see that you also have culinary holidays.
Would taking photographs of food be demonstrated? It would be useful for me as I own a cooking website http://www.getmecooking.com 
How much storage (in terms of memory cards for the camera) would be good to bring? I assume the cards would get uploaded to a computer each night?
I have a Canon 40D camera, 2 image established lenses (18-85 and 70-300mm), x2 converter, flash, monopod, mini-tripod and a camera bag. Would it be beneficial if I have anything else?
I am 31, male. What is the average age of people on the groups? Will there be other single people on this group?
Thanks.
Paul Richardson
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From: Henry Carroll | Frui
Sent: 06 September 2009 11:04
To: Paul Richardson
Subject: Re: Photography trip to Abruzzo
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your email. I’d be happy to answer all your questions.
The way the holiday is set up is that after breakfast (9am ish) we have a 45 min talk of one particular aspect of photography by the pool. This will either be on composition, exposure or visual effects such as depth of field. Afterwards we will drive to a location to take photographs and practice what we spoke about in the morning (if it’s new to you). We will usually set you a theme to focus your shooting. In the afternoon, we sometimes go to another location or have one on one tutorials where you will be able to discuss your photographs with a tutor. It’s worth mentioning that we tend to concentrate on the more creative aspects of photography rather than the purely technical. We try to push people to see the world through more photographic eyes and notice things that one might normally ignore. In the evening, over dinner, we will have a presentation of the images taken that day.
We do like to eat a lot on these Italian holidays! The food out there is all local and we eat at argitourismos, where the food, wine and cheese are all made on site. It’s so fresh and really delicious. The holiday does offer more than purely photography as we get involved with the local community and meet some locals. We also go honey tasting, learn how to make pasta and go truffle hunting (which is a great photo opportunity).
Although we don’t have any specific classes on food photography, I’m sure you could spend time with a tutor, who would happily show you how to photograph food and also look at some contemporary techniques that are used in that genre.
We do upload the pictures every night, however, it’s a good idea to look after your own pictures. Depending on your file sizes, usually 2gb – 4gb is fine. We are also able to burn CDs on the holiday if you need to make more space.
Your equipment would be fine for this holiday. The mini tripod would be particularly useful for food photography.
We usually get a mix of ages on these italian holidays. For instance on our last holiday in July we had an age range of 25 – 58 ish. Most people tend to be in their mid to late 30s. Most people come on their own or with a friend. It does vary, but we usually get about 50/50 ratio of men to women.
Please do get in touch if you have any further questions or would like to book. We only have 7 places on this holiday and it’s filling up quite fast. I will be in the office tomorrow (monday) if you would like to call me directly on 020 7241 5006. I am in Italy from next Tuesday.
Great website by the way. Will be using some of those recipes myself!
All the best,
Henry
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So it sounds like an ideal course and holiday for me.
I have just booked the flights and the course, so I am all set!
September 11th, 2009 at 14:41
Hi Paul,
I’m Andrea 33 yo, from Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy
I work as a accountant, (I use SAP for my job), for a big company.
If you think your course will be boring drop me a line, I will take you to the best restaurants in Abruzzo and to the best places, mountain or beaches.
ciao
September 14th, 2009 at 14:53
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for the invitation but the course is all-inclusive and managed so I won’t have the opportunity to take any time out. I am looking forward to seeing (and taking photographs of) some of Abruzzo!
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