Arundel – Andy Rouse seminar success!
Phew, what a busy few weeks it has been for everyone here at Warehouse Express; we’ve had seminars coming out of our ears! Last Sunday Andy Rouse took the Visions of Light seminar to the Arundel Wildlife and Wetland Trust for another of his lively and informative all-day seminars. Yet again the tickets for this event had sold out in a matter of hours, so it was a bustling and boisterous crowd that filled the lecture theatre, with many a laugh and a giggle to be heard throughout the day, as well as many “ooh” and “ahh” noises at Andy’s wonderful photographs.
Unlike at Slimbridge, where the weather was grim for the majority of the day, the Arundel seminar attendees were treated to a struggling but ultimately victorious sun that shone determinedly on them as they scoured the park for composition opportunities.
“If you can see the shot, you are halfway there.” – Andy Rouse
Our very own Damien and Paul were there on the day too, with a few examples of products that Andy recommends. In the seminar breaks they were inundated with friendly and enthusiatic Wex customers wanting to chat about our products and services and have a look at some of the gear, like the Kata HB-205 Hikers Backpack, the Gitzo GT3541LS Tripod and of course the WexPro CF cards.
Visions of Light Photo Competition
After lunch it was time for the much anticipated results of the Visions of Light – Arundel photo competition! Keep reading to see the seven shots that Andy selected as worth a mention, including the two that took joint first place!
First for a mention was this psychadelic creation by Rob Barron – well done Rob!
Next in line was Les Loverock’s bright and airy landscape of the South Downs – well done Les!
This tranquil and stunning shot of the River Arun by Adrian Barrett was highly commended by Andy – well done Adrian!
Next to receive praise was Philip Petrou’s photograph of this beautiful lion with it’s mane blowing in the wind. A great example of someone “seeing the shot” said Andy. Well done Philip! 
Dave Powell’s great shot of these four planes at Dunsfold Wings and Wheels was also highly praised – well done Dave!
Next to be announced was runner up and first place. In second place was Helen Brierley’s striking shot of two children in a shaft of light – truly stunning! Well done Helen! 
In first place, was Beverley Barker’s gorgeous image of light filtering through the trees in her local wood. Well done Bev!
Unfortunately Bev wasn’t able to make it on the day and hear the big cheer that her lovely photo received. Trust us Bev, it was a roar! 
In her absence, Andy deemed Helen’s second place shot worthy of the prize, and Bev and Helen have now been declared joint winners, both receiving a £100 Warehouse Express voucher for their tremendous efforts. Well done to you both!
Workflow and Software
The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to Workflow, and at the end of the day many of the attendees asked if they could have a list of some of the software that Andy uses, so here it is in his own words:
- Photo Mechanic from www.CameraBits.com – a really great browser, visual launcher and IPTC (captions/keywords) that I use as my central point of control
- Adobe Photoshop from Warehouse Express! I use the Camera Raw converter for my RAW files, which is supplied with Photoshop
- Velvia Vision – the best Photoshop plug-in the world in my opinion, get it from www.FredMiranda.com
- Photomatix – this is one that I did not demonstrate, but it is great for landscapes. Check out www.hdrsoft.com
- Microsoft Expression Media as a visual catalogue for my agency business
And then, after all the excitement, it was suddenly 4.30pm and the seminar was over. What a great day! Tired but happy, everyone made it back to their cars for the drive home, just in time for the rain to start.
The day was another fantastic success – as you can see from the great comments we’ve had in response!
“We both thoroughly enjoyed the seminar and thought it was great value for money – even though i succumbed to buying yet another book! Thanks for organising a great seminar and we look forward to more in that vein.” – Paul Barrow
“Thank you all very much for organising the Arundel Andy Rouse photography seminar, we had a brilliant day.” – Carolyn & Huw Lewis
“So lovely to hear an honest and up front account of photography. It is great that Andy is in this business for his love of wildlife before all else; fantastic to be able to travel the world doing what you love! What an entertaining day!” – Les Loverock
Finally, a few words from Andy:
“I just want to say thanks for making it such an entertaining day for me as well. It inspires me that you all seemed really pleased with what you learnt and the way that I presented it. During these seminars I try to be relaxed and present the information to you in a no nonsense, straight forward style, so that it is easy to understand and remember. The software that I used during the Workflow sessions are simply what I use and suit my workflow, but there may be other pieces of software which suit you better, so experiment a litte and work out what is the best for you. If demand is enough then I will run a seminar dedicated to Workflow with a lot more processing and editing tips, so watch this space for details…
Finally, I would like to encourage you all to get out with your cameras this weekend as the forecast is good, and start getting those moody images, or try a bi of my slow motion stuff. Remember to watch your shutter speeds, keep your autofocus exact and just remember what i told you about your histograms. Most of all just remember that photography is a fun hobby and do it always with a smile on your face! See you next time.”
If you attended the Visions of Light seminar at Arundel on 16th November 2008, thank you so much for coming, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! Please let us know what you thought by commenting on this article.
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A cracking day, high recommended, can’t wait for the next one. Thanks Andy & WEX
Philip PetrouPhilip
I thoroughly enjoyed the day and was totally inspired by both Andy’s presentation and his photographs. I would love to join one of his trips at some time and will stara saving ! I know that it would be a fabulous experience as well as great fun.
henry white-smithWhat a really good day of such informative topics and hints. Encouraging also to see what Andy has to endure to get the shot.
Having discussed it during lunch I would like to get some shots of squirrels swimming on their backs and show Andy they actually do that, other than trying to keep their nuts dry.
Have been inspired to do better …….
kind regards to AR and the team that helped put it together.
David BrownJust want to say that having attended this seminar dar, I can’t remember having enjoyed a day so much in a very long time. The entire day was superbly organised and professional and Andy Rouse was truly inspirational as well as informative.
I was gobsmacked that my picture was picked out for a mention by Andy so that just made an already superb day even more encouraging for me.
Thanks Andy for all your fantastic input and thanks Warehouse Express for organising it all. I am looking forward to the next occasion. If anyone lives within a couple of hours drive of Slimbridge, I thoroughly recommend you book for the date in December. I promise you will NOT be disappointed.
Cheers,
Rob BarronRob Barron
Hi, wonderfull day, very informative and entertaining. need to save money now to join a safari, now is it the photos or beer that is most attractive?
Bob
bobA fantastic day out. What amazed me was how you can make such improvements to an image by just doing a few simple twiddles in software. All the complex features available in products like Lightroom and Photoshop had me thinking that I should really be doing more than the fairly basic stuff I do to process my images. Andy’s demonstration of his workflow has made me much more confident in my own KISS philosophy. And to find that I’m not the only one who uses the ‘twiddle the slider until it looks good’ method makes me wonder why I spent all that money on books explaining the ins and outs of all the complicated bits.
Only downside was the weather. Still it gave us a good excuse to retire to The Black Rabbit for lunch.
Frank HollisThe day was excellent from start to finish. Entertaining as well as educational and structured just right with the stuff on camera settings, composition, etc. in the morning session so we could try some of the tips and techniques for ourselves in the lunch break. Then the afternoon concentrated on workflow and some post-processing techniques. Even though I don’t use the same software as Andy it was easy to see how what he was telling us could be applied to the tools that I do use.
If the planned seminar on fieldcraft goes ahead you bung me down for it straight away!
Thanks to the WEX folks for organising it and for the coffee and biscuits!
Dave PresslandI very much enjoyed the day. Andy is a master of his craft; his passion for photography and his ability to inspire and enthuse others is truly a gift.
Thank you to Andy and the WEX team.
Gunter
Gunter FonfaraExcellent day! I enjoyed the entertaining talk from Andy and the wonderful pictures. I also found the Workflow section very helpful and I have already experimented with some of the tips. More of the same would be great – perhaps with some handouts to take home to remind us of the techniques?
Thank you Andy and WEX!!
Vanessa ParkerI am glad to have the opportunity to say how much I enjoyed the day and the no nonsense way it was delivered. Many thanks to Andy and WEX for day.
Phil MuzzallThis was just one of those perfect days. Well organised, great location and wonderful speaker.
Andy has a really relaxed and friendly style which makes you want to come back for more. Roll on the next seminar. ‘WEX please send me the next Arundel notification first I don’t want to miss it’.
Dave PowellAndy’s images are stunning and his passion and enthusiasm really make you want to get out there and improve. The hints and tips with regards touch up and workflow have been really useful, and I thoroughly recommend the plug in.
If you get the opportunity don’t miss this seminar. All I have to do now is win the lottery, I fancy taking shots of b………s (on the nest of course!)
Thanks
Thank you Andy for a truly inspirational day. You managed to pack in such a huge amount of information and advice – I will try to remember it all !! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your previous books and am now immersed in Concepts of Nature which is equally enthralling. Your books , like your seminars are filled with so much practical and creative advice and you manage to convey all the excitement and joy that you find in both wildlife and photography. Many thanks.
Eunice MyersThank you also to the team at Warehouse Express for the smooth organisation of a super day .
Kind Regards
Eunice Myers
I did so enjoy this day, thank you Andy for the content and the humour, and all those involved with the excellent organisation. My only grouse was that it was over and done with too quickly by this I mean it was absorbing, informative and entertaining, and whoops there we were at the end of the day. Really worthwhile I loved it.
Best wishes to Andy and all concerned,
Jane Coward,
Jane CowardA most enjoyable day with Andy as a trully fun host and most of all a very inspiring one to.
I came away feeling good that I had attended and I think I learnt a few tricks as well. Its the second time I have been to a Rouse seminar and again there was no disapointment.
A full workflow seminar would be very welcome indeed and I would be first in the queue.
Thanks also to Warhouse Express and a chap who I didn’t get a name from. We had a great lunchtime discussion on Canon cameras whilst waiting for a swan to make to a feflection of a yellow flowered tree.
Adrian
Adrian HarrisA superb day, humorous, educational and inspirational. A very big thank you to AR for sharing his knowledge and expertise and to all who helped put together such a wonderful day.
Adrian BarrettA highly entertaining and informative day;I have already starting putting some of things that I picked up on the weekend into practice with great success.
Martin RowanA big thank you to Andy for his jovial,no-nonsense approach which I found both inspiring and exciting.Thank you to WeX as well for organising such a great day.
Many thanks to Andy for an entertaining and educational day. His passion for wild life and his photography is an inspiration to us all.
Kevin BarrettAlso thanks to the WEX team for organizing the event.
Many thanks Andy for a great day, and thanks WE for the voucher and organising a great day. Always a good laugh and very informative too. Well done on the BBC Wildlife cover too.
Mike Dinsdale