Four days of photo workshop in a picturesque Ticino village plus half a day each for arrival and departure. Away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in picturesque Centovalli, I offer two courses:
The beginner's course:
The simplicity of conscious photography
You want to know how your camera works and how you can use this knowledge to get the best possible out of a shooting situation. They say photography is getting easier and easier - but cameras are becoming more and more complicated. And then there is more frustration with technology than desire for photography. But it is still the case that for a perfect photo (without flash) you only have to choose four sizes correctly. In the course you will learn to determine these four parameters so that the camera implements what you see in your mind's eye. It is important to me to pass on basic rules that you can later apply individually in every situation. You can only master it if you know how your camera “ticks”. Once you have captured your image on the memory card, it goes into the digital darkroom of image editing software (Adobe Lightroom). Because if you really want to achieve optimal results, you also have to deal with the processing of the photos.
Course structure
Day 1 // Arrival
Arrival during the day, starting with dinner together. Then a round of introductions, getting to know each other, a brief introduction to camera technology.
Day 2 // Camera
How does a camera work? Which parameters are important for the image? What do the different parameters do? When can I trust the automatic system and when not? A day with lots of practical exercises. In the evening you will know how conscious photography works. After dinner we will acquire the knowledge to take photos in the dark - whenever possible using a sparkling starry sky.
Day 3 // Light
How can we best use existing light? How can we bring additional light into our images using the simplest means? How do you work with artificial light sources – continuous and flash light? After dinner we watch a film together about the life of a photographer.
Day 4 // Image processing
How do the images get onto the computer? How do I organize my photos on the hard drive? What is the best way to edit my images? To do this, we will work with Adobe Lightroom in the course, one of the most common and powerful programs for managing and editing images. In the evening there is time for a specific topic that interests the group.
Day 5 // Project day
Each participant works on a small photographic project in order to independently apply what they have learned in practice.
Day 6 // Departure
After a hearty breakfast we say goodbye to each other and to Rasa.
Next course
September 21st to 26th, 2025 // Detailed information and registration
The follow-up course:
The application of conscious photography
You have mastered your camera and want to learn more deeply how to apply your knowledge in different shooting situations. You also want to make progress in image editing with Adobe Photoshop. We focus each seminar day on a specific topic.
Course structure
Sports and action photography
Photographic focuses: Short shutter speeds / Longer shutter speeds and dragging / Different shooting positions / Flashing with fast shutter speeds
Focus in image processing: Color and contrast
Architecture and landscape
Photographic focus: Working with different lenses / playing with depth of field
Main focus in image editing: perspective correction / black and white conversion
Nature and macro
Photographic focal points: foreground/background / depth of field
Main focal points in image processing: increasing detail / “stretching” the focus area (optional, with special software)
People
Photographic focuses: Working with people / making the best possible use of available light / working in the studio with artificial light
Main focuses in image editing: editing skin with Photoshop / black and white conversion / efficient editing of portraits with special software (optional)
Next course
no date set at this time. via our newsletter as soon as the course is held again.
Small film with impressions
In 2020, Cristina Aires, one of the course participants, made a short film with impressions: