What is it?
Choose either a two day photography training experience in Venice, full of inspiration and expert tuition from Damien Lovegrove & Chris Hanley.
OR
A two day photography training experience in Venice PLUS two days training in the rural environs around Rimini. This four day experience spread over five days will include wine tasting and a live 'at the stove' cooking demonstration by self-taught culinary artist Chris Hanley.

Price:
Venice only - £1,090
Venice and Rimini - £1,430
(£100 deposit required upon initial booking. The remaining balance is due 8 weeks before travel or can be paid prior to this in installments )

The price does not include flights, transfers and accommodation costs so please allow for other expenses. The price does however include training costs, lunch, refreshments and travel costs during the workshop hours.

Dates:
Venice - Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th October 2013
Rimini - Thursday 17th and Friday 18th October 2013

Availability:
10 (two groups of 5) The groups are small because the locations are small :)

No. of models
Two professionally represented girls from Italy or the UK

Tutors:
Damien Lovegrove and Chris Hanley

Recommended accommodation in Venice:
Hotel San Cassiano / Residenza d’Epoca
http://www.sancassiano.it/eng/index.html
Nearest train station: Venezia S. Lucia

Recommended accommodation in Rimini:
TBC - We are in the process of compiling these details so please bear with us for now. Ideally, we are looking for somewhere that we can all stay in which Chef Hanley will be able to do a live ‘at the stove’ cooking demo on one evening. We have a fixer in Rimini working hard for us to ensure our trip is a smooth one :)

Workshop Level?
As long as you can change the basic settings on your camera you will easily keep pace with the tuition on these workshops.

The Experience

Venice
Join Damien and Chris in the exquisitely beautiful backstreets of Venice this autumn. Venice is breathtaking. Nothing quite prepares you for the charm, texture, light and vibe that this ancient place exudes. This unique two day photography training event will show you how to maximize the shooting potential in extraordinary locations and how to make the most of both natural light and simple Speedlight sources to create stunning fashion portraiture.

This is a fun and creative two day training experience. The delegates will be split into two groups of 5 and will shoot one day with Damien and one day with Chris, swapping tutors each day to ensure that everyone has equal shooting opportunity to capture every frame. You will each shoot in turn with the Speedlight set ups on a 1-to-1 basis with the models.

Damien and Chris will meet you at the water bus stop in a convenient piazza on the main canal at the beginning of each day. Details will be released on the private Facebook page and by email to the delegates. Although Venice is a big labyrinth we will be concentrating in an area about 500m radius of our starting location. We will stay off the main tourist routes and dive into cafes or Pizzerias for breaks and refreshments as required. Our route has been extensively researched but expect a few tweaks as we will be led by the light. The light is constantly changing in Venice and good use will be made of it. Breaks will be scheduled on the hoof and lunch will be at one of the many pizza restaurants. It is not possible to arrange a rendezvoux with non delegates at breaks as we don't quite know where and when we'll be.

Photographs taken by Damien on a recent recce photo shoot can be found in our Venice Gallery.

Emilia-Romagna (The rural environs around Rimini)
Extend your two day experience in Venice into a five day Italian adventure. After a day to relax and unwind, whilst travelling to the next destination, you can attend a further two creative workshops in Rimini. Located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient Ariminus) and Ausa (ancient Aprusa), Rimini is one of the most famous seaside resorts in Europe.

We are planning to hold these training events in the more rural spots of this beautiful city. Expect vineyards, olive trees, wine-tasting and great times to be had by all. We will organise all travel requirements between the start and finish of these workshops and one day will end with a live 'at the stove' cooking demonstration by chef Hanley.

Timetable

Day 1 - Mon 14th
09:00 - Meet in the Piazza next to the bus stop at the first location. Split into two groups.
09:30 - Group 1 begin shooting on the streets with Chris Hanley and a gorgeous styled bride. Group 2 shoot with Damien and a styled fashion model.
13:00 - Stop for lunch at a convenient pizzeria
14:00 - Continue shooting in the same groups
17:30 - Finish shooting and travel back to the start location
19:00 - Optional: Join us for dinner at a local restaurant (at your own expense)

Day 2 - Tues 15th
09:30 - Meet at the same start location. The two groups swap tutors and models.
09.30 -19:00 -  As Day one
:: End of Venice experience ::

Day 3 - Wed 16th:
This is a day to relax and unwind from the two workshop days and we encourage you to spend it as you wish :) You may decide to spend the day in bed, or perhaps you’d like to spend the day as a tourist on the streets of Venice. At some point on this day, you will need to catch a train from Venice to Rimini ready for the workshops on the Thursday and Friday. Please allow just over 3 hours for this commute. There doesn’t appear to be a direct train, so there will be one or two stops along the way and all trains stop in Bologna. If you leave early enough you could, of course, take an hour or two to explore Bologna before hopping back on the train for the last leg to Rimini. Damien and Chris will probably opt to spend the day in Venice and then catch an early evening train at around 16:00. Once we have accommodation suggestions we will update this page.

Day 4 - Thurs 17th
Exact details have yet to be confirmed, however the workshop will likely take place between 09:00 and 17:30 as per the first two days. Starting location will be confirmed before the end of day 2. Lunch and refreshments throughout the Rimini workshop are included.

Day 5 - Fri 18th
Similar to day 4. The two groups swap tutors, locations and models. The workshop will take place between 09:00 and 17:30.
:: End of Venice/Rimini experience ::

Have any questions?
Email them to Laura at laura@lovegrovephotography.com.

Flights:
If you choose to attend just the Venice workshops then it will be best to fly in and out of Venice airport (Marco Polo - VCE).

If you are choosing to stay on for the Rimini workshops as well it will prove much easier to fly in and out from Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport (BLQ). Bologna is ideally situated inbetween Rimini and Venice. There is a bus from Bologna airport directly to the train station (Bologna Centrale) and trains leave regularly to Venice. If you choose to stay in the hotel we recommend (Hotel San Cassiano / Residenza d’Epoca) then the nearest train station is Venezia S. Lucia. Train times and prices can be found here: www.trenitalia.it (remember to spell Venice - Venezia)

For the return journey you will need to catch a train from Rimini back to Bologna Centrale (please allow 1-1.5 hrs). From here, you need to hop on the bus back to Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport.

Return flights to Bologna are available from London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester & Bristol.

At the time of writing here are a few suggested outbound flights to Bologna from the UK leaving on Sunday 13th October.

NB. The flight details above are only meant as a guide, so please do not feel you have to stick to these dates or times. As long as you turn up for the workshops on the specified days, you may choose to extend your stay by adding extra days at the start or at the end of the trip if you wish.

Recommended kit list:

It is essential that delegates travel light. No rucksacks* or bags on wheels. An SLR or mirrorless digital camera (any make) with a standard hot shoe connector and one or two zoom lenses and a fast prime like a 50mm f/1.8 will suffice. Whether you have the latest Hasselblad Phase One, Leica M9, Canon/Nikon/Pentax dSLR or Fuji Rangefinder you're all welcome to join.

* There is limited space to put camera bags down without blocking the narrow alleyways and a rucksack cannot be picked up quickly and moved. All lighting kit including Speedlights and a trigger for each delegate will be provided by Damien.

A Hoodman Loupe is a perfect tool to aid exposure in the high contrast environment.

For your information Damien will most likely have a Fuji X-Pro1 with 14mm f/2, 18mm f/2, 35mm f/1.4 and 60mm f/2.4 lenses (Equivalent 21mm, 28mm, 50mm and 90mm lenses on full frame cameras)

Chris will have a D3 with a 24-70mm and 70-200mm. Please do not bring Speedlights, triggers, monopods or tripods to the workshops. You may want to have them for other parts of your trip but please leave them in your hotel. The lighter we travel the less likely we are to be moved on or prevented from shooting in the best spots.

Sun cream is essential. June was 34 degrees and sunny. A bottle of water in your bag would be a good idea too. Please don't forget to organise your own travel insurance.

Feedback from previous delegates

Alison said: I’m still pinching myself because we were there! Fantastico, Damien. Grazia. x

Joseph said: Beautiful images Damien, they do effectively reflect the heat and passion we witnessed. To whomever wished to be there but wasn’t I can say that it was a unique experience which went well beyond the exceptional photography. The atmosphere, the wine, the picture opportunities, the sun and the location, made of these 4 days a MUST. It is definitively something you should jump in, if it ever happens again in the future.

Chris said: Without a doubt the best I’ve ever seen you shoot.

Tara said: I had a fabulous day in Siena with you. It really is a magical place and I will definitely go back.

Booking Your Place

Click the 'Book Your Place' button for the event you'd like to attend and follow the checkout process. To secure your place you only need to pay the initial deposit, which can be paid by debit card, credit card or with a PayPal balance. You do not need to have a PayPal account to pay using PayPal. Once signed up you will be given access to the Facebook group for the trip where you can 'meet' your fellow delegates and take part in discussions about genres, models and styling. The remainder of the balance will be requested closer to the actual date of the event.

Cancellation Policy

As our costs for each workshop remain the same no matter how many delegates attend, please note that just like any pre-booked tickets for the theatre, concert, flights etc, we are unable to give any refund in the event of non-attendance, regardless of the circumstances.   The exception to this is if we have prior notice and are able to put a cancellation place back online AND your place is resold.  In this event we will of course make a full refund or credit to you. We also reserve the right to cancel any workshop if there is insufficient demand, especially if it means that our costs would be higher than our income. Please therefore do not leave it until the last few weeks if you are interested in a particular date, as you may find that it has been removed! Please also bear this in mind when booking flights & hotels.
 

Private Facebook Group

Once you've booked/reserved your place you will be emailed details of an exclusive private Facebook group where you have the option to meet other attendees, ask further questions and discuss your trip prior to the event.