I, Simon Watkinson have very kindly been lent some fantastic equipment by Profoto to shoot outdoors. This equipment provides such prominent and direct light outdoors and can create stunning portraits such as these trampoline shots.

It's amazing the shots you can get with a little imagination... take a model named Libby, a blustery August evening in the heart of the Peak District and a 14 foot trampoline and see what develops!

The whole event was filmed for UTube, including all the fun of getting that rather large trampoline up and over a five foot dry stone wall. Worth the effort though when you see the results.

It feels pretty good when you see yourself in print- and in this month's Digital Pro magazine you can see my test-drive with one of the most talked about cameras in the industry: the Canon 1DS Mark III.
Here at the Peak District Photography Centre I get to work with lots of different cameras that our clients bring on to our courses.
Often clients ask what camera they should purchase next. It's vital that we keep up to date with just what's happening in the industry. So, me and Adam Scorey from the magazine set about testing the Canon versus a Leaf medium format digital back
Which camera won the test review? Two digital heavyweights, two pros, one day...
Read all about my post-shoot verdict and see some of the photos we took whilst out in the field, with our comments and thoughts, in August's Photo Pro Magazine.

We're really excited here at the centre about our upcoming trips to India, Nepal and Morocco. Last year's trips were a huge success with some of the most vibrant and evocative photography we've seen. Many of the images take pride of place on the walls here at the centre- just the thing to look at when the rain's falling here in the UK.

"And then on, back into a dazzling, rainbow kaleidoscope of oranges and greens and reds and yellows and blues framing faces that have been burnished, creased and charcoaled by the sun.... we turn a corner to come across a beautiful young girl, no more than nine or ten, performing impossible gymnastic feats on a tightrope while her family beat out frantic rhythms on drums and plates... Simon almost cannot believe the perfection of the imagery as he takes shot after shot..."


The Morocco trip runs from the 6-18 September, Nepal 15- 26 October and India 7-23 November.

Here at the Peak District Photography Centre we are always thinking of new ideas and new landscapes to photograph. The beautiful landscapes of the Peak District are pretty unbeatable, however never being satisfied to stand still we've decided to branch out to new places both overseas and here in the spectacular landscapes of the UK.
The opportunity to spend 3 days in the Lake District with our expert tutors Simon Watkinson and Karen Frenkel has proved incredibly popular. Based in the picture-perfect town of Keswick, we've found the combination of wonderful landscapes, the opportunity to photograph at both dusk and sunset for guaranteed fantastic shots and the chance to sample the ales of local pubs a winning one!

For the more adventurous amongst us we have 3 overseas courses running this year in India, Nepal and Morocco, The vibrant colours of the cities and bustling markets can be contrasted with the almost spiritual calm of the spectacular landscapes.

We're really working hard to find new and exciting places for the ultimate photographic portfolio. News will be coming soon about a proposed trip to the Yorkshire Dales in October. Watch this space.....

Upgrade in Computer Facilities at the Peak District Photography Centre

We are now proud to announce the upgrade in the new digital suite. We have replaced all of the previous computers with 10 brand new imac workstations, complete with Adobe CS3 and Lightroom on every one. We can be regarded now as one of the best equipped photographic training centres in the country without a doubt.

We feel that we can offer our guests the BEST in Digital Imaging training and always strive to make sure our customers leave us extremely happy with all that they have learnt.

We are now running our Absolute Beginners Course today on Saturday 3rd May 2008. We have had nine guests turn up today all with digital SLR cameras in tow. Watch this space..

Watch out for our courses soon in the Lake District. Simon Watkinson ABIPP, the Director of the business will be heading up to Keswick in the Lakes for 3 nights next week to cover the area and do a thorough reccie on hotels and areas to visit before launching our photo holiday there early November 2008. The main tutor who will be running that course will be Karen Frenkel. We have been running courses in the Peaks now for over 4 years and despite  having branched out overseas into Nepal, Morocco and India demand from our guests have led us to thinking about running courses in other parts of England. With Simon Watkinson, Fran Halsall, Karen Frenkel, Mark Wood, Alex Hyde and Mike Williams all having their own special place of interest in the UK, we will be building on this to venture further afield. We are aware that existing clients may not want to come back to the Peaks but would venture elsewhere as we always get fantastic feedback about all of our tutors.

Peak District Photography Centre

We are so busy keeping up with the demands of you photographers - technology is developing rapidly with new cameras, new software etc. This forces us photographers to invest in upgrades continuously. Not so good for the pocket maybe?

We here at the Peak District Photography Centre are in the process of upgrading all our emac computers with top of the range imac Intel 2 Ghz computers as well as investing in Lightroon software; a virtual one stop photography editing package primarily for Raw files. As raw file editing packages become easier to use more of us are turning to Raw as the 'new file format'. Understanding how Raw files work can be confusing but understanding how they can benefit you can be even more so!