The following comments are from ‘friends’ who have attended one of our many workshops, courses, tutorials and lectures. We sincerely appreciate their feedback, and their generosity, kindness, and support.
“It’s a terrific thing you are doing with the Tutorials to complement the Workshop Program providing opportunities to connect with the content and delve a bit deeper (and) there are always wonderful tips for helping us to produce beautiful and meaningful photographic work. The depth you bring to any discussion is really inspiring (and) includes your love for photography and photographers (and) emphasis on a pedagogy that promotes collaboration with those in the ZOOM room …. in fact, anyone who has made us think and opened our hearts and minds to the world.” Paul
“As always when I learn from you, I appreciate the broad conceptualisations and the drilling down to detail of why and how that can be used to improve my work. As an academic, I marvel at your ability to present complex issues in an understandable way, complimented by your use of ZOOM screen sharing to illustrate. I will spread the word about your coming courses with increased vigour!” Les
“Just want to thank you for your Landscape Master Class over the last 2 days. It was incredibly inspiring and nothing like what I was expecting. Made me think about things I never knew were a thing and consider issues I never thought existed. I will never go out and photograph the same way again. I’m going to completely rework how I capture images. I’ll be watching the recordings again (and again).” Christopher
“I’d like to commend you on the Digital Printing workshop. The materials are of the highest quality and I’m very, very impressed with the video quality. I found the resolution, color grading and white balance on the video to be excellent and felt I could really appreciate the nuances in the different papers. (Also, thank you for the paper samples – that’s a super helpful addition!) … The depth and level of expertise you provide is something that I’ve just not found anywhere else. Your enthusiasm and passion for the subject is also quite palpable and infectious. What an amazing time to be alive – that we can share such experiences across both space and time and all from the comforts of home!” Pat
“Many thanks, Les, for the outstanding workshop. Your planning, delivery over the two days, and after-workshop service has been exceptional. I learned an enormous amount, not the least the science behind Photoshop, and a glimpse of the steps one can take to harness the capabilities of the program to serve one’s own aims and objectives. I have started working through the notes and videos you have provided, and am enjoying them very much.” Richard
“I can’t convey in words how much you have inspired me. With your help I feel confident I’ll be able to express the emotions that I feel when I am within the natural world. It’s been an absolute joy sharing and communicating all that you have created in this workshop. I’m truly grateful that I have been given this opportunity to create a new vision within my photography.” Saskia
“As for revisiting workshops, the workshop recordings are great to have as an aide memoire but I also find there is a lot of benefit in re-attending your workshops as different participants bring different perspectives and while you follow a general syllabus you really do tailor the workshops ‘in the moment based’ on comments/questions from those participating.” Jason
“I just wanted to thank you for all the valuable insights and perspectives you shared. Working with you was like finding a light in the dark swamp … After 20 years of practice and frustration with my limitations, your workshops have returned me to my love of photographs and given me new creative energy. The visual philosophy, historical perspectives and well-researched processes have helped me better understand how to think about and generate my photographic intentions.” Frank
“I am writing to thank you for the wonderful classes … what I appreciated the most was that this was not a “gear-head” program, rather it was about photography and the work we do and how to maximize the tools that are available to us … (and) I think The Famous Fives is an invaluable document in that it tells a story on a practical level AND a philosophical one. Brilliant.” John
“Thank you so much Les, it was a fantastic course. So well presented, a ridiculous amount of information and knowledge that would be impossible to gather elsewhere … Within 5 minutes I had already learnt new skills and appreciations that I had been blinded by in the past. I now see myself approaching my printmaking with a new vision that I can grow further.” Alex
“Thanks so much for the workshop. As a photographer, I enjoyed and learnt from your unique combination of academic depth and practical advice. As an educator, I enjoyed your masterful communication of complex issues and your ability to blend everyone’s interests and questions into a cohesive whole and draw out learnings for us all at a deeper level. As a participant, I deeply appreciated the care and concern for us all, so evident from your responses. Thank you!” Les I
“Thanks for a wonderful day full of inspiration. The additional workshop resources you provide after the workshop are immensely appreciated … this time everything just seemed to fall into place … It is quite amazing how well the online class presentations work. Certainly easier than travelling to Melbourne at the moment … Thanks again for continuing to share and pass on your immense knowledge and skills.” Bill
“Thank you very much for the opportunity to attend your exceptional 3DLUT Creator workshop on the weekend. It has provided me with a wealth of focused inroads into this otherwise complex but extremely powerful piece of software. I love it when a new gateway for research opens with so much potential…exciting times ahead … Also I’d like to reiterate how useful the ‘pre-study’ suggestions were prior to the workshop. They really gave me a solid foundation upon which I could then mentally model your case study examples during the day. Perfect practice makes perfect sense!” Warren
“It was a pleasure meeting you, and I can assure you we are privileged to have had you here … to share your specialist expertise. It is not very often I get staff writing to me thanking me for organising specialist training, talking about how the training has made a difference to their knowledge and skills and the way they will organise their work going forward, or leaders talking about the positive impact it has made to the culture. What was clear to me was that the staff valued the way you engaged them, what they learnt and how that made them feel. So with sincere thanks …” Janette
“Thank YOU for the online Digital Print workshop … which from my perspective … was most worthwhile … ZOOM worked well: the video and audio were stable and clear, the screen and video sharing perfect … making it easy to remain engaged and not distracted by the tech … The content was perfect for my learning needs … including real world lighting and monitor calibration. Fantastic. Thank you … The resources you have provided will really support my learning and application moving forward. I particularly like how you’ve broken them down in to bite size pieces, which makes them easy to find and digest … A great foundation to continue building.” Michael
“I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to you for a fantastic weekend course. Thank you on so many levels! I have been to courses and seminars in the past but nothing as polished and uplifting and enlightening as what you presented so professionally on the weekend. You are so amazingly generous with your knowledge … I sought out your course on Lightroom because I was increasingly annoyed with my inefficiency to deal with my digital images when I was called upon to pick up my camera … plus being in room with a great bunch of people, being energised by an amazing lecturer… wow, I wont need stimulation for about another month! Thank you, thank you, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Fantastic weekend!” Karen
“What can I say but WOW! … and maybe a little bit more … because of your professional holistic-approach: The way you teach and the time taken to understand my background photo requirements, Lightroom methodology and creativity therein, made it very personal to me, and I guess each of us in turn … your passion for the subject just oozes out of every pore as you speak, as an artist and as an educator and as a professional photographer … that made your course so ENGAGING, so EXCITING, and so ENJOYABLE … very INSPIRATIONAL and PASSIONATE … and with so many many jokes and real life examples, references etc., then learning became a joy not a chore for me, and homework a pleasure to pursue with vigour.” Paul
“Your teaching goes way beyond the superficial and delves deeply into the philosophy and poetry of visual art.” Malcolm
“Thank you also for facilitating a day of such wonderful, thought-provoking discussion on and about photography. It stimulated quite a bit inside my brain and has helped foster within me a greater desire to learn more and more and more about this art of ours.” Jim
“I am in awe of your knowledge and passion for art, and for your remarkable creative as well as technical skills. Thank you for taking the time to share these again so generously and provide a window into the art and science of pictorial design.” Michael
“Firstly let me say what an absolute pleasure it was to attend another one of your superb workshops. As always, I came away from it with a little more understanding and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Your generosity of spirit never ceases to amaze me … Thank you also so much for selecting two of my images to use to demonstrate your editing process. It really helped to connect the dots for me.” Tracy
“I thoroughly enjoyed the Digital Lightroom weekend course. I am hungry to learn new things since I am self taught and relatively new to photography and digital processing and all that goes with it. Your knowledge and passion with which you present your workshops are so infectious and invaluable. I have been to workshops where I lose concentration after half an hour, and don’t learn all that much, but this weekend I just could not get enough of everything you presented. I will be back for more for sure. And your generosity of adding extra notes is unbelievable. It was an absolute delight to be able to attend your workshop … I am soooo happy to discover your workshops.” Irena
“What can I say. Well I could start with what you would say: it was an absolute pleasure. That wouldn’t quite do justice though. The course surpassed all my expectations. Truly the best training event I have ever had the privilege to take part in. Your boundless energy, your amazing knowledge and experience, your sense of history, and your humour made the weekend fly past in a series of infinitely memorable moments, stories and laughter. You are inspiring and supporting and challenging, a wonderful guide and educator taking us on a magic carpet ride and shining a torch of reason to reveal simplicity in a complex world … By the way I so enjoyed the course I can’t wait for the next instalment!” David L
“What a terrific weekend. I found it fascinating, gripping, finding answers to a lot of my questions and doubts … And, what a great group … Everyone I managed to have a chat to was different, engaging, engaged and each had their stories … I think we’d all agree that your knowledge, enthusiasm and approach are indeed infectious. You know so much more but you spoke to us as equals, and that’s important and refreshing.” David
“I recently attended Les’ Beyond Basic Photography workshop and it exceeded all expectations. Les has forgotten more about photography and Photoshop than the rest of us mere mortals will ever know. I now understand why photographers like Peter Eastway and Christian Fletcher hold Les in such high esteem and I can’t recommend his lecture series highly enough.” Robert
“… I wanted to let you know how thoroughly I enjoyed the weekend course and how impressed I was with the way you put all that information together. It was an inspiring two days, absolutely brilliant! As a teacher myself it was so refreshing to see your passion and thoughtfulness in action. Thank you so much … I felt very privileged to participate and look forward to enrolling myself in more of your workshops in the near future. Thanks again.” Susan
“Thank you so much for a very inspiring weekend. When a seminar can take you from tears to laughter, and leave you with an energy to get back to work with new vision and confidence then it was very successful. For me it was an incredibly moving weekend …” Carmen
“I would like to personally recommend participating in as many of Les’ workshops as you can. Les’ understanding on both the technical and emotional level of image creation is surpassed only by his enthusiasm and dedication to share it. Les is a most generous, sensitive teacher from whom I have learned a great deal. By participating in Les’ courses, I have no hesitation whatsoever in saying that your image creation and expression through your images will develop immensely.” Julie
“Once again I can’t express strongly enough my appreciation for the generosity that you … have shown to those of us who have a passion for photography and artistic expression through that medium. … For me this weekend was one of those ‘aha’ moments that I know I will treasure throughout the rest of my photographic journey.” Tracey
“The last weekend photo workshop was one of the best things I’ve done in the last year … I was thrilled by your enthusiasm. I thoroughly enjoyed the lectures of a skilled educator, artist and scientist in one person. Even the philosopher appeared on stage from time to time, like Socrates on the “Agora”. I keep the momentum going and currently go through your lecture notes and practicing photoshop. You most likely receive praising letters from time to time – this message is one of those… Once again thanks for the workshop.” George
“… reflecting on what was the best ever photo weekend workshop … I was able to take in all your enthusiastic education and I leant so much and took away some real gems. For the first time the “Colour remains the same but the numbers have to change” – I now get it. Thank you and I have already found the elusive Colorlab sw and dumped it onto a stick to take back to Sydney. You are a great Ambassador for the skill that is Colour Management and long may you reign.” Walter
“I’ve spent the week since our course reflecting on the quality of the experience. I have a raft of new possibilities at my disposal and the resources (thanks to your notes) to follow up what we covered in the workshop. Importantly, I’ve been exposed to some valuable insights into the art of photography, not just the mechanics of exposure etc, and this only serves to deepen my appreciation of truly great photography. … I hadn’t really seen photography like that before. … Once again, I want to express my gratitude for the weekend. You did an inspiring job and I look forward to more. I will be back.” Dylan
“Just a quick note to thank you for a truly wonderful “journey of discovery” last week-end with your Photoshop course at the CCP!! You are undoubtedly one of the few great teachers of our time who can seamlessly combine artistic aspiration, necessary technical detail and outrageous humour…all in one sentence!!! Truly inspiring!!” Peter
“Just a quick note to say thankyou very much for your help in the course last weekend. I had been delaying my move into digital photography-not knowing where to begin and overawed by the rapid changes in digital technology. Your course has given me a safe base from which to jump in. Your notes are easy to read and will prove invaluable I know. Les you have a very student friendly method of teaching-no concern is irrelevant or unworthy of explanation, you are very approachable for help. I hope to attend the rest of your series of weekend courses.” Sam
” … I just wanted to say how fantastic the experience was at Orpheus. We learnt very valuable skills, and of course had a great time with a great bunch of people.” Julie and Paul
“I just wanted to say a few words of thanks for your amazing ‘Intro to Digital Photography’ course over the weekend. I was, and am, just so inspired by what you said and the passion with which you communicated it. Thanks to you, I feel like a kid in an enormous toy shop. Specifically, how I felt I benefitted from the course: • You showed me how to get so much more from my EXISTING gear, to make that, (and me), work much harder to create or represent the world the way I wish to at any given moment, in any given situation. • You answered all my damn fool questions – and sent me away empowered to ask many more exciting ones – but confident to try and find the answers myself! • To PLAY with my camera, to invest more in my relationship with it, to get the results I want. • On that last note – in asking “what kind of photographer are you?” you encourage me to find my own voice through photography. As a musician – original, creative self-expression is very important to me. Thanks for the keys to this new world. So many revelations…so many new questions…..wow! Hope we didn’t tire you out over the two days and that you’re getting some well-earned rest!” Tim
“I wanted to thank you for the inspirational lectures over the last two days. not only did I learn a great deal but I appreciated the subtlety of your approach and the preservation of the core values of each shot we looked at. And thank you very much for being so interested in and fond of the people in the room with you. It was heart-warming to meet someone who is as impassioned with his work as he is by the world around him.” Ben
“I just wanted to thank you so much for the Introduction to Digital Photography course on the weekend. It was so informative, and you covered so much more than I was expecting.” Sarah
” … You are the reference point – the place where knowledge is, where you have the understanding and the depth that goes beyond any other point I know of, and most importantly (or at least – equally importantly) you know how to communicate it. You have the great capacity to reduce the clutter to key facts. Without question I would be struggling in the dark without your workshops and now the one on one work we have done so far. These things need to be said … silent admiration and respect is also important – but declared positions create strength. I appreciate your generosity, and support. It is wonderful.” Richard
“I have been a Pro Photographer for 32 years and that was the best 2 days I have ever had in a course! Thank you.” Paul
“I just wanted to say Thankyou for the workshop on the weekend just gone at CCP. I learnt an enormous amount over the two days. It has demystified a huge chunk of the digital ‘madness’ which you described, and given me invaluable tools, direction and understanding to confidently deal with the digital processes. Your enthusiasm and generous sharing of the wealth of knowledge you have was a privilege to have received. I look forward to the next workshop.” Rachel
“Thanks again Les for another absorbing and most informative workshop. My head is swimming, but in a good way! I am feeling very inspired and much more confident about using my camera to do the work I most want to do. And not least, thank you for your generosity of spirit. Us Melbourne photographers are a fortunate lot to have access to the CCP and your extensive expertise.” Leisa
“I also wanted to mention how much I enjoyed the course. The conceptual and practical tools/tips you outlined provide a great foundation for a deeper appreciation of the creative process and it’s application to photography. I also valued the way you embed the discussion and teaching across disciplines – philosophy, sociology, psychology, music, film etc. … Finally Les, your enthusiasm and love of the subject is inspiring … and your respect and generosity of spirit with those of us in the class is very encouraging. I will certainly be back for more at some point – all the best.” Paul
“Just wanted to say thanks very much for the wonderful weekend workshop. Not only have you opened my mind to the challenges and amazing uses of Photoshop, but I have noticed a slight shift in my thinking about art and life over the past day towards a more lateral ‘outside the box’ ‘can-do’ kinda attitude. I’m telling all my friends about the workshop and hoping to get to more of them next year.” Michelle
“Thank you so much for this weekend, which I found endlessly fascinating and informative. The course greatly excelled my expectations; not only did I learn a lot, I got a sense of how very much more there is to learn.” Lisa
“Just a brief thank you for your inspiring workshop over the weekend … This is the second workshop I have attended … and like the first, gives me a much needed boost to keep working hard at a medium I love. Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment to the art, science and way of life that is photography.” Peter
“I just wanted to get in touch and say thanks for sharing so much knowledge with us. I learned a lot from your discussions in particular and have to say I find you a very intriguing fusion of art and science / technical understanding that is very inspiring to try to excel … Thanks again for sharing the insights and knowledge you did.” Louise
“Thank you so much for putting your heart and soul into the Beyond Photoshop weekend … I feel so privileged to have access to your skills and accumulated knowledge and your willingness to share it with others is exemplary … Till next time.” John