Would you like to win a photography course gift voucher?

That’s an easy question, isn’t it?

We are supporting our local community of Birtle and the Birtle Village Fete which takes place on Saturday 6th June this year. We are running a photography competition with three prizes of photography course gift voucher, each one worth £75.00

All you have to do to be in a with a chance of winning is to email your photograph (which must be taken in Birtle) to us at admin AT northwestphotographycourses.com and it will go into judging. Just ensure that you send it to us by 31 May. One entry per person, judges decision is final and no cash alternative will be offered.

There is no cost to enter the competition and we will choose a short list which we will display at the fete and announce the winner and two runners up then.

The gift voucher can be used on any of our group courses or can be used towards a one to one photography course. Unfortunately they cannot be used on our courses run in partnership with the East Lancashire Railway.

We may email you occasionally with information about our courses but we will not share your data with anyone.

The Fete will be a date to remember with all proceeds going  Rochdale Riding for Special Needs.

The fete gets off to a flying start at 10am with a 3k, 5k and 10k Fun Run from the Church Inn on Castle Hill Road. You do need to enter in advance but if you do you may be in with winning a prize kindly donated by Foot Asylum.

Then at 11am the fete starts on Elbut Lane with lots of fun attractions including fair rides, plus lots more – a Tug of War, Duck Race, Falconry Show, Craft stalls, Hog Roast, Homemade Cake tent, Scarecrow Competition and Dog Agility to name just a few.

One of the main events will be the Scarecrow competition. Everyone is welcome to have a go at making a scarecrow – just bring it along on the day. Don’t forget, there’s a first prize of Newbank Garden Centre vouchers to be won!

Also there Is Birtle’s very own Bake Off at the PackHorse. Bring your entry along on the day and let’s see who’s the best baker in the area especially as Slatterys are providing first prize. Don’t forget the photography competition and of course a Treasure Hunt for all the family to take part in with clues scattered round the lovely countryside of Birtle.

Details of the fete are available at www.birtle.co.uk

Photographing steam trains isn’t a bad way to make a living and working with the great team at the East Lancashire Railway is a pleasure. They really know how to put on a show for the photographers on one of our photography courses.

We have been running photography courses with the ELR team for about eight months now and we thought it was about time we posted a few examples of our work photographing steam trains.

Candid photos like this would be a fantastic addition to your portfolio

This image is a good example of how up close and personal we get with the teams working on the steam locos in the engine sheds. Getting real “stand out” images for your photography portfolio are we aim to help you achieve.

If your main experience of photographing trains to date is at platform height, being able to go trackside away from the crowds to set up your shot in the perfect position with plenty of time to compose and adjust is a revelation.

It’s not all about photographing steam trains from the trackside, images like this which capture the essence of the East Lancs Railway and its team of dedicated volunteers give a more reportage feel. The eye is drawn to the tea jugs and the questions they provoke about their owners but then your eye wanders to take in the detail in a photograph that is a lot more technically dmanding than at first glance.

You will recognise this image from the home page of our website and although it shows off the engine beautifully, especially the polished paintwork which is reflecting the colour of the brickwork of the platform buildings to give it a bronze look, it is the concentration of the driver and his features that tell the story. And that driver’s cap is the crowning glory!

Another shot that captures the work and dedication that goes on behind the scenes at the ELR. Remember on our photography courses, you get to go where the public can’t and spend time crafting the image that you want.

Hang on, that loco looks strangely familiar….

One of the highlights of our steam train photography courses has no trains. It is the UK’s largest mechanical signal box. The levers, gauges and the huge hand painted display panel showing the full ELR network is genuinely unique. Being able to photograph in here is a real treat.

Train photography needn’t feature trains all that heavily. Here the tracks and pillars of the engine shed dominate and only then does the eye pick up the detail that tells the story about hard, grimy work.

Our final train photography image captures the pleasure and pride the ELR volunteers have in their work and the special camaraderie of the railway.

We hope that this selction of images gives you a flavour of what we find on our steam train photography courses and that we will see on one soon. Here are the dates of upcoming courses in the category Photographing Steam Trains 

A steam train photography course that lasts just half a day at the forthcoming East Lancashire Steam Gala is a new addition to our range of photography courses. But be quick as places are quite limited and are selling very fast!

The East Lancashire Railway steam galas are when guest engines make trip up to Bury for heritage train enthusiasts to get up close with some rare engines or ones that are generally found in other parts of the country.

The next steam gala takes place on 17^th and 18^th January and the line up of engines includes:

Guest Locomotive: BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 92212

45407
44871
61994
13065
80080
12322
1370 ‘May’

A freight train will also be out on the line between Bury and Ramsbottom with various engines taking their turns on this throughout the event and for a supplement you will be able to brave the weather and ride in either the ‘Toad’ or ‘Queen Mary’ brake vans.

Our steam train photography course runs on the 17^th January (starting at 10.00) and like our full day vintage train photography courses, gives you the chance to go to areas of the railway which are not open to the public and get close up the engines and the work that goes on by the volunteer crews – this will make a magnificent addition to the portfolio of any steam train photography enthusiast and should not be missed.

The price is £50 per person which includes a £5 lunch voucher for the buffet and a Bury Station platform pass (this does not include train travel) as well as the all the photography tuition.

These are quite small groups so early booking is advisable, as some places have already gone via people hearing about it at other East Lancs events.

You can book via this link to the steam train gala page on the East Lancashire Railway website.

We will be running similar half day photography courses at the diesel train galas in March – look out for booking details.

We are delighted to announce new steam train photography course dates for the first half of 2015.

We began running steam train photography courses in partnership with the East Lancashire Railway in the summer of 2014 and they have been a great success.

The dates for the courses in the first half of next year are:

Saturday 24^th January

Saturday 28^th February

Saturday 28^th March

Wednesday 8^th April

Saturday 11^th April

Wednesday 22^nd April

Saturday 25^th April 

Wednesday 6^th May

Saturday 9^th May

Wednesday 20^th May

Saturday 23^rd May

Wednesday 10^th June

Saturday 13^th June

Wednesday 24^th June

Saturday 27^th June

What’s Included in the Steam Train Photography Courses?

Each of the steam train photography courses begins at 9.15 at Bolton Street Station in the centre of Bury which is easily accessible by car (there is free car parking for delegates) or by public transport at Bury Transport interchange which is about five minutes walk away.

We begin the day with a cup of tea and talk about what level of photographic technique each delegate has and this enables us to spend the right amount of time with each person. The courses have a maximum number of five people on them so you are assured of getting a lot of one to one advice appropriate to your level of experience.

We get out on to the platform and have a quick sandwich (included in the price) before we board a train, stopping off at historic Irwell Vale which is particularly picturesque and has great vantage points for photographing trains as they make their way up and down the line.

After boarding a following train we travel on to Rawtenstall and then return to Bury where go behind the scenes to areas which are not open to the public to tour the engineering sheds and marshalling yards where there are great opportunities to photograph steam engines up close from unusual vantage points and also candid photography of the maintenance crews at work restoring and working on engines and carriages.

Candid photos like this would be a fantastic addition to your portfolio

We return to the platform for a final cup of tea and a review of the day’s work, ending at around 5.00pm.

Booking for these courses is direct with East Lancs Railway.

Our photography workshops in Lancashire at Martin Mere Wetlands Centre at the weekend have been very popular.

We held two photography workshops on Saturday and Sunday as part of the Northwest Birdwatching Festival and all four of the sessions were sold out.

The Birdwatching Festival attracts enthusiasts from Lancashire and much further afield and we were delighted to be working with Martin Mere which has an international reputation for the facilities it offers and the range of species which are at their best at this time of year.

Barrie Kelly led all four photography workshops and described how he approaches getting the perfect shot of a bird both in flight and at rest.

Keen photographers were able to quiz Barrie on the kind of equipment he uses and how he prepares for a photography assignment. He described trips he has made to wildlife photography hotspots as varied as Northern Norway and his most recent trip to Kenya where big cats were his prey.

The importance of preparation was underlined as well as techniques for getting photographs of birds pin sharp on the eye, which Barrie feels is crucial in an award winning image. Barrie also gave his opinion on the kind of lenses he prefers and looked forward to some exciting developments in lens and sensors which are planned by the major camera and lens manufacturers.

As well as providing the workshops, an exhibition of Barrie’s wildlife photography is on display at Martin Mere until early December and all of the mounted prints are available for sale.

We are proud to be working with WWT which does some very important work:

WWT saves wetlands worldwide – a critical habitat which is disappearing at an alarming rate. WWT acts to identify and save severely threatened wildlife.

WWT researchers have been monitoring wildlife in the UK for more than 60 years, observing changes and finding solutions and it manages over 2,600 hectares of wetlands across the UK which between them support over 200,000 waterbirds and other wildlife.

WWT members enjoy free access to all nine visitor centres and are kept up to date with developments through an award-winning quarterly magazine, Waterlife.

We are very pleased to announce the dates of our new beginners Photoshop courses in the Manchester area.

We have created a four week course which begins on Saturday 31 January and then carries on over the following three Saturdays.

Each course starts at 10am and finishes around 2pm.

The courses are aimed at beginners who want to get to grips with Photoshop, the leading photo image editing software.

If you have a copy of Photoshop, you will know that it is very powerful but a little daunting at first and this course aims to cut through to what’s important and of most use to the beginner,so that people on the course can build their confidence and skills with the software.

We have a new venue for the course the Bury Transport Museum, which offers us a dedicated classroom setting and the facilities are easily accessible from all over Mannchester Cheshire and Lancashire with free parking at the venue and for public transport it is less than half a mile from the transport interchange.

The venue is fully wheelchair accessible.

If you are interested in attending these beginners photoshop courses, you can book directly via the site using our secure payment facility. The course costs £160.00 for all four sessions in total.

The course is taught by professional photographers using a variety of methods and materials. There will be practical experience and workshop activities. These will be supported by tutor demonstrations, handouts and materials.

The course will begin by explaining the basic commands and types of effect achievable including photo manipulation and restoring.

You will be asked to bring one or two images with you on a USB stick that you would like to work on and we will work as a group taking the images from originals to desired effect.

It would be helpful if you brought your own laptop with charger cable with you to work on.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask www.northwestphotographycourses.com/ask-us-question  or call us on 01706 452840.