Wanna explore The Rocks and learn all about photography & YOUR camera?

Do you have a BRAND NEW camera and aren’t sure what to do with it?
Do you want to take FANTASTIC PHOTOS?

Then come on a click walk learn photography tour and learn all about photography and YOUR camera

***click.walk.learn photography tour – The Rocks – Sat 26th July***

1pm to 5.30pm $99 – 3 SPOTS LEFT

For bookings and more info visit click here.

This popular tour will take you on a photographic journey around Sydney’s Rocks area. You will discover lots of hidden alleyways, terrace houses and beautiful old buildings to photograph. You will love it

You will be given personal, easy to understand photography tuition and information relevant to YOUR camera (yes, I study the workings of YOUR camera before the tour.)

Aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus, composition, depth of field and many more aspects of photography will be explained to you ‘as we go’. You will take photos using each new technique before moving onto the next level.

We stop for coffee and cake halfway through the afternoon to recharge and get to know each other a little better.

By the end of the afternoon, you will be ‘out of auto’ mode, feel more confident about lots of photography techniques in general and have a much better understanding of your camera.

Please note: A moderate fitness level is required for this tour.

DSLR and compact cameras welcome.

Whats included in the price?

4 1/2 hours of photography tuition.

Coffee and cake – yes, thats on me:)

Detailed photography ebook – this is emailed to you 5-7 days before the tour along with tour times and details of our meeting point etc.

Critique of your images on this page.

For bookings and more info click here.

happy clicking,

Chris

New dates for click walk learn photography tours…BOOK NOW!!

Click walk learn has just released it’s tour dates for the 3rd quarter of this year 🙂

Do you want to learn all about your camera? Or improve your photography skills?

Maybe you just want to spend some time with a professional photographer and refine some of the finer points of photography…?

Read on for all the details on the latest tours.

SPRINGTIME IN THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR – SAT 27TH SEPT 2014

Join me on the click walk learn bus on a photography tour to the Southern Highlands!

Photograph the ‘Tulip Festival‘ in Bowral, the historic old buildings in Berrima, have lunch at the Bendooley Winery & Grill, PLUS photograph over 20 garden rooms at the magnificent gardens at Red Cow Farm. This tour will take you from ‘I have a new camera’ to ‘I’m a photographer’ in next to no time!!

The Autumn Southern Highlands tour sold out within 3 days, BOOK NOW for this fantastic opportunity to increase your photography skills…

For more information and bookings click here.

‘BEGINNERS’ PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR TARONGA ZOO –SAT 2ND AUG 2014 ***BRAND NEW ‘ALL DAY’ TOUR***

Come and learn all about YOUR camera & photography whilst enjoying the animals and fantastic harbour views at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo.

For more information and bookings click here.

‘ADVANCED’ ANIMAL PORTRAITURE PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR TARONGA ZOO –SAT 23RD AUG 2014

This ALL DAY tour is also held at Sydney’s fantastic Taronga Zoo & is for anyone that has a general understanding of photography.

Do you want to photograph your pets? Are you interested in photographing wild animals or birds? Do you struggle with focusing on fast moving animals?

This tour explores ‘animal portraiture‘, ‘continuous focus‘ and the use of a ‘polarising filter.’

Come along and refine YOUR photography skills.

For more information and bookings click here.

THE ROCKS SYDNEY ‘BEGINNERS’ PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR – SAT 19TH JULY & SAT 30TH AUG 2014

Come with me and explore the alleyways, lanes and back streets of Sydney’s Rocks area…

This popular tour will have you out of auto on your camera in no time!

For more information and bookings click here….

COCKATOO ISLAND ‘BEGINNERS’ PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR – SAT 9TH AUG & SAT 6TH SEPT 2014

Cockatoo Island really is a photographers paradise 🙂 Historic buildings, cranes, tunnels and fantastic harbour views make this tour super popular!

For more information and bookings click here.

SYDNEY BY NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR – TUES 29TH JULY, TUES 26TH AUG & TUES 30TH SEPT 2014

Have you always wanted to learn more about night photography but thought it was far too difficult? Well, it’s really not as complicated as you think!!

Our beautiful city of Sydney is stunning at night. Learn all the techniques & tips that will make YOU a better ‘NIGHT’ photographer.

For more information and bookings click here.

ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL, HYDE PARK & DARLING HARBOUR ‘BEGINNERS’ PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR – SAT 26TH JULY 2014

THIS IS NOW AN ‘ALL DAY’ TOUR!!

Learn all about photography and your camera whilst photographing St. Mary’s Cathedral, Hyde Park & Sydney’s fantastic Darling Harbour.

For more information and bookings click here.

CANBERRA BY NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR – FRIDAY 19TH SEPT 2014

click walk learn is coming back to Canberra for another series of photography tours!

Do you live in Canberra and want to learn all about night photography? Learn all the techniques whilst photographing Parliament House, The Carillon, The War Memorial and many more of the city icons.

For more information and bookings click here.

CANBERRA ‘BEGINNERS’ PHOTOGRAPHY TOUR – SATURDAY 20TH SEPT 2014

Do you live in Canberra and want to learn all about photography and YOUR camera?

This ALL DAY ‘beginners’ photography tour will take in all the magnificent sights of our Nation’s Capital including The War Memorial, The Carillon, Parliament House, The National Museum of Australia, Commonwealth Place, the shores of Lake Burley Griffin and more!

For more information and bookings click here.

SNEAK PEEK OF NEW TOURS COMING IN OCTOBER….

Sunrise, Ocean Pools & breakfast photography tour…

Parramatta Park late afternoon photography tour….

Historic homes of Camden & surrounds photography tour….

Canberra ADVANCED photography tour….

Canberra CHILDRENS PORTRAITURE photography tour…..

I absolutely guarantee you will be a BETTER photographer after spending some time on a click walk learn photography tour 🙂

see you on a tour soon 🙂

happy clicking

Chris

How to create an AWESOME panorama using PHOTOMERGE in photoshop

I have travelled to some amazing places.

I have recently had some time to go through some images from my trip to Italy….to be more specific….Lake Como…

Beautiful. Stunning. Inspiring…

I took a series of images from the ferry on the way to Gravedona – a beautiful town on the northern shores of Lake Como.

How do you shoot for a stitched image?

Use a tripod. In this case I was in holiday mode – so no tripod 🙂

Always shoot in PORTRAIT orientation – This will give you a taller panorama and allow more room for cropping.

My BEST tip? Take a pic of your hand BEFORE AND AFTER your series of images. This makes it so much easier when editing in Lightroom, I clearly know which images I want to use for my stitched panorama.

Shooting from the left, overlap your images by approximately 40% – {this didn’t happen in this case, the ferry was moving too fast!}

Keep your APERTURE constant for the entire series of images. This will ensure the DEPTH OF FIELD is consistent in the final panorama. Also make sure your FOCAL LENGTH is the same for each image – {All the images were shot at f13 at 105mm focal length.}

I like to shoot a stitch in MANUALmode. Take a few test shots to determine correct exposure. Here are my 5 images.

How did I edit this image?

I loaded all the raw images into LIGHTROOM.

HIGHLIGHT all the images for your panorama in Lightroom – click on the first image, hold down the SHIFT key, and click on the last image.

Click ‘CONTROL E’ which will open all the images up in photoshop {I’m using CS5.}

In Photoshop, click on ‘FILE’ then ‘AUTOMATE’ then ‘PHOTOMERGE.’

This screen will open up.

Click on ‘ADD OPEN FILES.’

‘AUTO‘ is the default button selected on the left. I use this function most of the time. You can experiment with the others for optimum results. Click ‘OKAY’ and watch your panorama stitch together before your eyes.

You’ll end up seeing a version of your panorama that looks something like this.

When Photomerge finishes,, you will have a single panorama with each image on a separate layer.

Zoom into 100% and check the seams between the images. If everything looks OK, FLATTEN the image by going into the LAYERS menu and clicking ‘FLATTEN IMAGE.’

Crop a rectangular composition of your stitched panorama. This is where shooting ‘VERTICALLY’ really makes a difference. You have a lot more room to ‘CROP.’

And there you have it, a FANTASTIC large panorama of your series of images.

Make any adjustments you like to your final image. I always add some contrast and some vibrance.

In this case I also had to muck around with the ‘lake’…and the different tones.

Please be aware these files are usually HUGE…and may take up a bit more storage room than usual.

So, next time you’re out shooting and can’t fit everything in the frame, consider shooting a SERIES of images to create an awesome panorama 🙂

happy clicking

Chris

click walk learn photography tours – this week’s news….

WOW, it’s been another crazy, busy week for click walk learn.

What a wonderful day we had last Saturday exploring St. Mary’s Cathedral, Hyde Park and Darling Harbour!

The group were SUPER enthusiastic and keen to learn all about photography and their cameras. We LOVED admiring and photographing all the details of Sydney’s beautiful St. Mary’s Cathedral.
Hyde Park was full of beautiful flowers, soft late afternoon light and lots of colourful characters – more than enough to keep everyone ‘clicking away.’

We explored water and movement at the Archibald Fountain and then continued down a VERY busy Market Street {some of the stars from ‘Twilight’ were in town} and finished up at Darling Harbour.

Thanks to the ‘all girl team’…I’m really looking forward to seeing your pics 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Up and coming tours…

HURRY, ONLY 1 SPOT LEFT!!

My next tour is Saturday 21st June on Cockatoo Island!! This is a photographers paradise with lots of industrial landscapes and GORGEOUS views of the Harbour.

Come along and learn all about photography and your camera..Coffee and cake is included on the island plus you will receive a detailed photography ebook before the tour 🙂 Cost $99. For bookings and more information click here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What’s new….

I am very busy at my desk planning all the new tours for the third quarter of the year….If you haven’t already followed this blog you can do this over on the right hand side of this post…

If you want to see some of the students pics from click walk learn, click the link below and head over to click walk learns facebook page. ‘Like’ the page to stay ‘in the know’ and say hi!! I’d love to see you there!!

until next week,

happy clicking

Chris 🙂

click walk learn photography tours – news from my desk

It’s been another super busy week at click walk learn.

I’ve met a whole new bunch of super enthusiastic photographers, who were all keen to learn more about photography and their camera.

Last weekend the rain held off for both of my tours 🙂

Saturday afternoon was spent photographing The Rocks. We all enjoyed the beautiful, soft light and the fantastic hidden places and spaces The Rocks has to offer. Thanks guys, it was a pleasure to meet all of you 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Sundays tour of Sydney’s Taronga Zoo was fantastic. We took lots of portraits of the gorgeous animals, explored the use of polarising filter {yes, even on a cloudy day} and everyone enjoyed using ‘continuous focusing mode’ on their camera 🙂

The rain held off all day and started pouring just after we left! Perfect!

I will be releasing another Taronga Zoo tour soon! Watch this space 🙂

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Up and coming tours….

There are still spots available for this Saturday 7th June, St. Mary’s, Hyde Park and Darling Harbour photography tour. You will explore these wonderful areas of our city whilst learning all about your camera. Cost $110. For bookings and more information, click here.

Sat 21st June is your chance to photography Sydney’s Cockatoo Island! This fantastic industrial landscape is a photographers delight!! Cost $99. For bookings and more information, click here.

Do you want to explore the old lanes and alleyways of Sydney’s Rocks district? Join me for an afternoon of photography and exploration whilst you learn all about photography and YOUR camera. Saturday 28th June. Cost $99. For bookings and more information, click here.

I will be releasing all of my new tours for July, August & September in the coming weeks – watch this space!!

Happy clicking…

p.s. Off on another night photography workshop at Vivid tonight, I’ve just had one cancellation, so if anyone wants to grab the spot, click here…

Sydney VIVID LIGHT FESTIVAL photography – Tues 3rd June – Book now!

Last night click walk learn conducted its first Sydney VIVID LIGHT FESTIVAL photography tour and it was a huge success!!

Our beautiful city was awash with colour. The atmosphere was fantastic and we all loved the various light shows we viewed and photographed.

Many people teach night photography differently. I believe it shoudn’t be complicated and is a step by step process, depending on your skill level and your camera. The ‘click walk learn way’ had the students shooting super sharp, STUNNING images within a very short time..

I have one more tour running during the VIVID festival – it’s a very small group of only five people and there are two spots left. The date is Tuesday 3rd June from 5.45pm to 9.30pm. At $99 it’s a super easy way to learn all about night photography whilst enjoying gorgeous lights of Sydney’s VIVID LIGHT FESTIVAL.

For bookings click here…

Happy clicking

Chris

click walk learn tour – The Southern Highlands – what a wonderful day…..

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

What a fantastic weekend I’ve had….

Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting 10 enthusiastic photographers and taking them to some AWESOME photography locations in the Southern Highlands.

The weather was fantastic {thank you weather God again.} It was such a beautiful autumn day and everyone enjoyed being out in the warm sunshine.

We had so many laughs and so much fun. Everyone enjoyed learning all about THEIR camera and lots of NEW photography skills.

Our first stop was the gorgeous Berrima. We all enjoyed photographing the old stone buildings and architecture in this quaint town.

Our next stop was lunch at the Bendooley Estate Winery. We sat outside in the glorious sunshine and enjoyed a wonderful meal and a couple of bottles of Pinot Gris 🙂 A big thanks to Mark who made organising our lunch an easy, straight forward process.

Our next stop was one of the most beautiful gardens I have EVER seen. By the time we arrived, the light at Red Cow Farm was FANTASTIC. There were lots of garden rooms complete with beautiful statues. There was a lake {with the best reflections ever} and the colour of the autumn leaves throughout the whole garden were breathtaking.

We concluded the tour photographing Bradman Oval in Bowral….

Thanks to everyone who participated. I will be releasing another tour to this area VERY soon…

Thank you also to Ray {aka my gorgeous hubby} for driving the bus… 🙂

happy clicking

chris

click walk learn photography tours – news from my desk

Phew!! What a SUPER busy few weeks I’ve had again!!

click walk learn has been picked up by a couple of travel tour agencies – so I’m busy SUPER busy designing new tours to inspire you and make YOU want to get out and about with YOUR camera.

I’m just back from my second series of click walk learn tours in Canberra….Both tours were booked out and we had a ball…it really is a wonderful city for photography..

The weather stayed kind of warm 🙂 for the ‘night tour’ and beautiful for the ‘beginners tour’…thank you good weather God 🙂

I met some awesome people who were so enthusiastic about photography and learning all about their camera. New tours for Canberra will be released soon… A ‘how to take great portraits of kids tour’ an ‘advanced’ photography tour and another ‘beginners’ day tour.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Up and coming tours….

Spots are selling fast for the second VIVID SPECTACULAR photography tour – Tues 3rd June 2014.

If you’d like to photograph this awesome light show in a small group with me….click here to book now!!

Do you want to up your skills as a photographer? Join me at on Sunday 1st June at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo for a day of intense learning. We will explore ‘animal portraiture’, ‘continuous focusing’ and the use of a ‘polarising’ filter. For bookings click here.

Wanna explore another part of Sydney? click walk learns tour of St. Mary’s Cathedral, Hyde Park and Darling Harbour will teach you SO MUCH MORE about photography and your camera. This tour is on the Sat 7th June...for bookings click here.

On Sat 21st June click walk learn is going back to Cockatoo Island. This incredibly popular tour will have you shooting old style buildings and industrial architecture. For bookings click here.

Finally, the last tour for this half of the year will be held in The Rocks…this SUPER POPULAR TOUR will take you to places you never even knew existed…The date is set for Sat 28th June, for bookings click here.

Tours for the third quarter of 2014 will be released soon….

Thanks for all your support, its so much appreciated…

happy clicking

Chris xx

Sydney Vivid Light Festival Photography Tours

For just over 2 weeks every May, Sydney hosts the largest light spectacular in the southern hemisphere.

My first ‘Sydney by night VIVID SPECTACULAR photography tour’ sold out super quickly, so I’ve released a second tour on Tuesday 3rd June, 2014.

For bookings and more info click here.

This tour will take a maximum of 5 people so YOU get my full attention on the night…

Have you always wanted to photograph this spectacular event but thought it was far too difficult? Well, it’s really not as complicated as you think!!

Night photography is SO much fun and really easy once you’ve mastered the basics 🙂

Sydney is such a beautiful city and looks absolutely stunning by night. This ‘Sydney by night VIVID SPECTACULAR photography tour’ will have you snapping away at many of Sydney’s icons including the Opera House and our world famous Sydney Harbour Bridge – all whilst enjoying the VIVID spectacular 🙂

You will be given personal, easy to understand photography tuition and information relevant to YOUR camera (yes, I study the workings of YOUR camera before the tour.)

Aperture, shutter speed, ISO, focus, composition and many more aspects of night photography will be explained to you ‘as we go’. You will take photos using each new technique before moving onto the next level.

I will guide you every step of the way which will have you shooting like a pro in no time!!

A tripod is required for this tour – (tripods are available for hire $10)

Please note: A moderate fitness level is required for this tour.

DSLR and compact cameras welcome.

Whats included in the price?

3 1/2 hours of photography tuition.

Detailed night photography ebook – this is emailed to you 5-7 days before the tour along with tour times and details of our meeting point etc.

Critique of your images on the click walk learn facebook page

For bookings and more info click here.

happy clicking

Chris

A Photography Tour at Taronga Zoo…Wanna join me?

I just LOOOOOVE the zoo..It’s always great to wander around and check out the animals.

Would you like to come with me on a photography tour of the zoo? You’ll bring home stunning photos of the animals and learn all about some of the finer points of photography – continuous focusing and the use of a polarizing filter..

I have 3 spots left for this awesome tour – Sunday 1st June – 9.30am to 2.30pm….

For bookings click here.

All the details are below..

Please note. Entry to Taronga Zoo is NOT inlcuded in the tour price. Adult entry is $44 (as at March 2014)

This tour is for anyone that has a general understanding of photography OR has participated in either ‘The Rocks’ or ‘Cockatoo Island’ photography tours.

Do you want to photograph your pets? Are you interested in photographing wild animals or birds? Do you struggle with focusing on fast moving animals?

Then this tour held at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is for you 🙂

Come and photograph the animals and enjoy the stunning harbour views Taronga Zoo has to offer 🙂 You will learn all about ‘continuous focusing’ and how to photograph animals in the best light. We will also explore the use of a polarizing filter. I will show you how easy it is to remove glare, deepen the ‘blue’ in the sky and saturate the colours in your photographs.

Please note you will need a zoom lens and a *circular polarizing filter for this tour.

You will be given personal, easy to understand photography tuition and information relevant to YOUR camera (yes, I study the workings of YOUR camera before the tour.)

Aperture, ISO, composition, depth of field and particularly animal portraiture, focusing techniques and the use of a polarizing filter will be explored in depth on this tour.

We stop for lunch halfway through the day to recharge and get to know each other a little better. Please bring your own lunch or you can purchase it from any of the zoo’s food outlets.

Please note: The zoo is a big place! A moderate fitness level is required for this tour.

DSLR cameras only on this tour.

Whats included in the price?

5 hours of photography tuition.

Coffee and cake for morning tea – yes, thats on me:)

Detailed photography ebook – this is emailed to you 5-7 days before the tour along with tour times and details of our meeting point etc.

Critique of your images on the click walk learn facebook page

*circular polarizing filter – this filter is used to cut out the glare in a scene – whether it be on the leaf of a plant or a lake in the midday sun. It also saturates the colours in your scene and will deepen a blue sky.

A circular polarizing filter screws onto the front of your lens and is adjustable.

Before purchasing a circular polarizing filter, you need to determine the filter size (in mm.) You will find the measurement of either the front rim or the side of your lens barrel. Standard sizes range from 27mm to 86mm.

These filters vary greatly in price from $40 to approx $110 (depending on your thread size) and can be purchased from any good camera store or ebay.

Please phone Chris on 0430 511 566 if you need to discuss this further 🙂

For bookings click here.