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URBAN ADVENTURE PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES:
Vancouver, B.C.
- When: August 2-4, 2013
- Where: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Price: $695
Workshop Capacity: Minimum of 5 students, maximum of 10 students
~ Irene Graham
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Links to Vancouver Planning & Information Resources:
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VanStart Vancouver BC
Imagine having access to over 12 miles of a spectacular – and barrier free – waterfront promenade that winds past internationally acclaimed urban environments and is adjacent to a world-famous, grand waterfront urban park like no other: the immeasurable Stanley Park.
The city of Vancouver, British Columbia – with a downtown core that is a 1,000-acre peninsula surrounded by a waterfront promenade – is rich with photographic opportunities.
Few cities in the world can compete with the diverse and modern urban scale of Vancouver. Expect dynamic opportunities in a city with grand parks and distinct “neighborhoods” that carry their own character, look and personality
CHINATOWN & GASTOWN:
Vancouver’s historic Chinatown is North America’s second largest, and home to a vibrant Chinese culture with roots in Vancouver’s history. The Gastown district is the oldest part of downtown, with cobble-paved boulevards surrounded by pioneer, historic buildings rich in charm and character.
STANLEY PARK:
With 1,000 acres of mostly forested land at the western tip of downtown, Stanley Park is a retreat of true wilderness in the middle of the city. Surrounded on three sides by water, the park bounded by a seawall paved path, manicured gardens and numerous totem poles integral to Vancouver’s first settlers.
WEST END:
Sandwiched between Stanley Park and downtown Vancouver, the West End district is a compact residential district with countless shops and eateries on its three main streets: Robson, Denman and Davie Streets.
EAST VAN:
The counterculture and artistic “East Van” is home to a vibrant activist community along Commercial Drive (known locally as The Drive, east of the downtown core.
GRANVILLE ISLAND:
Located beneath the Granville Street Bridge on False Creek, Granville Island is an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, theaters, art galleries, a Public Market, Kids Market and Maritime Market, frequented by locals.
URBAN CORE:
Contemporary shooting locations will offer acclaimed works of architecture along with two of the world’s largest comprehensively planned and designed private urban, mixed use residential developments.
This will be a fairly intensive 3 day workshop starting at 10AM on a Friday morning and concluding at 3PM on a Sunday afternoon. In between, we will take advantage of Dawn to Dusk photographic opportunities within walking distance of a core urban location. From 10AM until 3PM each day we will have lectures and Constructive Image reviews complete with a look at how the latest software can assist in re-visualizing your images.
We begin at 10am with a workshop orientation, detailing the workshop goals, schedule and shooting locations, and a brief overview of the urban and architectural aspects of Vancouver. Rick’s initial presentation will focus on “Urban and Architectural Photography: Learning the Rules and Why,” followed by an overview of “Urban Travel Photography” and a presentation on “Breaking the Rules” along with Why, When, and How. Following a lunch break, Rick will talk about the “Joy’s and Challenges of Street Photography” addressing his methodology, approach, and challenges that are unique to this photographic genre.
The late afternoon and evening is earmarked for more shooting sessions dedicated to “golden hour” and “sunset” photography that are planned to integrate the lecture topics into practical, hands-on exercises.
Picking up from the previous evening, workshop participants again take advantage of the striking Vancouver skyline and architecture for sunrise photo opportunities. Rick’s Day 2 presentation is on the topic of “Buildings Are LIke People.” This topic is part of Rick’s discussion on Photographic Compositions. This will be followed by an initial constructive critique of selected participant images.
Following the presentation, discussions, and some additional image reviews, workshop participants will be able to take advantage of the final golden hour and sunset experience. Following this, there will be an opportunity to capture some urban nightlife if desired.
The day begins with early morning light photography before returning back to the venue for additional constructive critiques of your images along with final questions, answers, and wrap up.
The structure of the overall workshop is designed to give you greater insight into the vast number of photographic subjects inherent in Urban Photography while at the same time challenging you to enhance your own personal photographic skills.
The City of Vancouver is the perfect “target rich” environment in which to host this learning experience.
A more detailed agenda will be sent out to each participant prior to the Workshop.
As with all High Sierra Workshops, this workshop focuses not only on the ‘where’ to take the pictures, but also on the ‘how’ to take pictures, incorporating photographic education throughout the workshop at each location.
Learn about photographing Architecture and the Urban Environment from an International award winning Architect, Urban Designer, and Photographer. We will also cover Travel Photography, Street Photography, and you will learn how to better portray Buildings as either the subject or the background of your photos.
COMPOSITION:
Techniques, methods and approaches used with Pre-Visualization.
HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE (HDR):
An introduction to HDR, using multiple exposures to capture the dynamic range of the scene that exceeds that of the camera.
URBAN PHOTOGRAPHY:
Few cities in the world can compete with the diverse and modern urban scale of Vancouver. Expect dynamic opportunities in a city with distinct “neighborhoods” that carry their own character, look and personality.
ARCHITECTURAL PHOTOGRAPHY:
From the planned, mixed-use residential developments to the towering skyscrapers downtown, Vancouver is defined by its unique and stunning architecture.
TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY:Not only is Vancouver a tourist-destination, it is also the cultural home to multiple ethnicities and cultures from around the world – a true melting pot. From North America’s second-largest “Chinatown” to the counter-culter and artistic “East Van” to the local charm of Granville Island, Vancouver provides us with a travel photography palate.
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY:
With an urban core as diverse and large as Vancouver, coupled with dynamic micro-neighborhoods each with their own character, you won’t have to walk far to immerse yourself into the “slice of life” opportunities that Vancouver affords.
SHOOTING REVIEW:
Daily classroom critiques of the footage you have shot each day.
ENHANCED LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY:
Vancouver is perhaps best know for its scenic beauty, and there is no shortage of landscape opportunities mixed into the urban setting, from classic landscape to enhanced opportunities through HDR.
The recommended airport for arrival and departure is the Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
Travel time from Vancouver International Airport to Downtown Vancouver is 25 minutes via the SkyTrain for less than $10. Taxis are available, with rates to Downtown between $25-30.
Transportation during the workshop will be at each participant’s discretion. The locations of our photo shoots will all be within, or directly adjacent to, Vancouver’s downtown core. Local buses, taxis and SkyTrain service is available for optional shooting locations, or in lieu of walking.
For the “Urban Photoraphy: Vancouver” workshop, it is recommended workshop participants make their lodging reservations at one of the countless hotels in the downtown core region of Vancouver.
If you stay in the central area of the downtown core, you will be within a mile or two of all the optional venues. Local buses and axi’s are available if you want curbside service, as well as the option of utilizing the SkyTrain. Of course, walking is the most economical and healthiest way to get around.
In order to balance the various individual meal and budget preferences, time is allocated for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day at one of the various dining establishments in Vancouver or surrounding towns.
While we will eat as a group, meals are the individual responsibility of each workshop participant. Each dining establishment is chosen to provide a wide variety of meal options to satisfy multiple dietary preferences.
Rick Hulbert
Over the past 35 years the group has planned over 25,000 acres of land, has designed over 50,000 units of accommodation globally and has completed assignments on five continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. They have completed and built master plans as large as 7,500 acres in scope and their architectural expertise ranges from whole ownership condominiums through interval ownership and hotel projects.
Off-shore work includes the internationally acclaimed Sanctuary Cove Resort, a $600 million mixed-use waterfront development in Queensland, Australia which features a Hyatt Regency International Hotel a golf and country club, a recreation club, a yacht club as well as residential and other recreational facilities. This resort was recognized by the Australian Tourism Industry as Australia’s Best Resort. As well, the Sanctuary Cove Country Club clubhouse received the Golfing Professional Award for the Best Golf Clubhouse in Australia.
Rick was the lead architect for the master planning of Pacific Place, a 2 billion dollar mixed-use waterfront development on the former 200 acre Expo site in Vancouver. This project was judged the Pacific Rim’s finest new community development at the annual international building design and planning awards competition held by the Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco.
Rick’s contributions have been consistently recognized by the architectural profession in the US and Canada, the public sector and the development industry. He has won design awards or had his works published each and every year for the past 35 years. National and International business, trade, professional and consumer publications look to Rick as a regular source of news and feature stories, and his authoritative building profiles and discussions of innovative design are respected and read by consumers, developers, architects and government decision makers.
Rick has participated in numerous major resort and accommodation conferences in the past two decades. He has lectured on the subject of Fractional Interest Planning and Design, Timeshare Housing, Resort and Hotel Dssign; on sustainable master planning and building design; and on housing livability. Rick has been elected to the College of Fellows of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. The award is the highest honour the Institute can bestow upon a member.
Rick Hulbert’s Website: The Hulbert Group
Q: How big is the group? How many students are there in the workshop?
Q: Is there a deadline to sign-up for this workshop? Does it sell out? Will you add more room if it does?
Q: What type of clothing will I need?
Q: Is there any special camera gear I need to bring?
While specific camera gear is not required, we will assume that you are familiar with all the controls of your camera and understand how to technically use your camera and lenses. At the very least, you need to have read and understood the manual that came with your camera.
• As for lenses, I am not one to recommend a specific lens or set of lens for the workshop, as that is always dictated by one’s own personal preferences and budget. If you have multiple lenses, bring them along. The shooting opportunities will allow you to employ every focal length from wide angle to telephoto lenses including macro lenses for close up work.
I will say that you will need a wide angle to medium to long lens for the workshop. How you choose to fulfill that is at your discretion. Would an 18-200 work? Absolutely. Would all prime lenses work? Absolutely. Do I need a 400/2.8 with a 2x tele-convertor? Not really, unless you like carrying that hunk of glass around AND have an idea for a shot you want to accomplish.
• Bring your flash as well for possible fill light during the daytime and for possible night use.
• In regards to carrying your camera equipment, a small photo backpack, waistbelt and/or chest harness (such as those from ThinkTank) is recommended as it will be much easier to carry your gear in this manner than with a bulky camera bag. When packing and choosing your gear to bring, remember one thing: keep it simple and light! You will find that there is a big advantage to having less gear to lug around, but we won’t stop you from bringing the kitchen sink!
For minimalists, bring at least one lens that is considered a “normal” focal length equivalent to 35mm to 50mm on a “full frame” 35mm sized camera.
• While binging your laptop computer is optional, you will at least need a download device/hard drive to download your images. Please also bring a small USB thumb drive to hand in each day with your selected RAW or JPEG images for critical review. All reviews will be respectful and designed to recommend how you can improve your image or take it to the “next level.”
• Vancouver is a coastal Pacific Northwest City. While the temperatures will be relatively mild, come prepared for rain.
Camera and lens protection can be as simple as a clear plastic bag with a hole cut out for the lens and some “gaffer” tape to hold it in place around the lens hood.
Q: What time does the workshop start…and where?
The workshop meeting location will be emailed to all workshop participants as the workshop start date nears.
Q: What are the meal plans? How much should we expect to spend on food?
While we will be in an urban setting, so food and drink will not be all that far from any of the optional shooting venues, you should bring a water bottle along.
Cancellation Policy:
In order to ensure availability for those on our waiting list, all workshop cancellations will have the following fees applied:
Cancellation up to and within 60 calendar days prior to workshop start date:
Full refund of workshop tuition; no cancellation fee (Refund applied within 3 business days of cancellation notice)
Cancellation up to and within 30 calendar days of workshop start date:
Refund of workshop tuition minus $100 cancellation fee (Refund/fees applied at conclusion of scheduled workshop; waived if workshop seat booked prior to workshop start date)
Cancellation up to and within 7 calendar days of workshop start date:
No refund of workshop tuition (Waived if workshop seat booked prior to workshop start date with applicable refund applied at conclusion of scheduled workshop)