FINE ART WORKSHOPS 2025
A nostalgic analog journey with the Shutterstop Mobile Darkroom.
with Andy Zakeli and Katie Rivers Shutterstop
- Genre: Film
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 3hr
- Skill Level: All
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Short walk (>500m)
- Group size: 20
Photographers Andy Zakeli and Katie Rivers will take you on a nostalgic journey of black and white photography using SLR cameras, creating dramatic photos that you can develop and print in our unique Mobile Darkroom Van.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- Shooting on analog SLR cameras
- Use traditional methods to process black and white film
- Select and print one of your images in the Mobile Darkroom.
How, What & Really?
with Bruce Moyle
- Genre: Fine Art
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 1.5hr
- Skill Level: Beginners
- Specialist Equipment: TBA
- Fitness Level: Short walk (>500m)
- Group size: 20
A lot of people pick up a camera as a hobby, for a challenge, even a creative pursuit but don’t go past the literal of what is exactly in front of them. Sometimes you need to just use the camera subjectively “wrong” to discover something different.
This workshop is very casual and is my go to type of photography for mental health, relaxation and sometimes less importantly beautiful abstract images. The best thing is that it’s super simple and really fun and you might just see the world slightly slightly differently afterwards.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- Looking at your space with different eyes
- Minimising distractions in a busy space
- Creative workflow for any camera
The Crazy Studio Abstract Portraits Workshop V2.0 - Let Go BIG!
with Bruce Moyle
- Genre: Fine Art
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 1.5hr
- Skill Level: Beginner/intermediate
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Mostly seated/stationary
- Group size: 20
Let’s Mix Constant Lights, Strobe and People… but can we go bigger than previous years? Let make some art and be bold and whacky at the same time. 1.5 hours of trying not to burn out a strobe. Mix it with fun, music and one (or maybe more) models not knowing what they have stepped into. It’s going to big, it’s going to be chaotic and it’s going to be weird. You will learn that working together we can absolutely make a bigger mess than individually. You might even love the result. NOTE: Anyone with photo sensitive seizures, this probably isn’t the workshop for you sorry.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- How to mixing strobes and constant light
- How to make a mess
- How to have fun and not take everything so seriously.
Develop your work for competitions (and other opportunities)!
with Harriet Tarbuck
- Genre: Fine Art
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 1.5hr
- Skill Level: All
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Mostly seated/stationary
- Group size: 20
Ever had an image that you thought would win but didn’t?! This is your opportunity to show your images in a safe group setting and ask why.
In this workshop you will have the opportunity to show your photography and discuss in depth what is working and what could be improved upon. In education we call this Work in Progress. It is an integral part of learning and developing as photographers, getting feedback from others. We will begin to learn how to critique our own work, give feedback to others and select the best images to put forward into the world.
Photography critique can open our eyes to seeing our work in new ways and take us down a whole new road in image making. We will bravely show our work to our peers and receive positive critique. Come with an open mind to learn from feedback. This is a safe environment, with the sole purpose to uplift each other’s photography.
Bring digital Images to show on a screen.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- Learning to talk about photography beyond 'liking' an image.
- Learning to receive constructive feedback.
- Learn which images of yours stand out and why.
Equine Projections
with Louise Sedgman
- Genre: Fine Art
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 1.5hr
- Skill Level: All
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Short walk (>500m)
- Group size: 20
Join me for an extraordinary creative photography workshop where we’ll explore the magic of projected patterns on a white equine canvas. With my projector and carefully crafted designs, we’ll transform this beautiful horse into a living, breathing work of art — creating stunning, surreal portraits that blend photography, fine art, and imagination. Perfect for photographers seeking something truly unique, this session will challenge your creativity and leave you with an unforgettable portfolio piece. It’s not about the light or portraiture, it’s about experimentation and creativity.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- Working with Horses
- Controlling Light and Creative Production
- Letting go of the rules and allowing exploration, experimentation and creativity to flow.
- Editing to tidy up the background and remove lead
FlashDance: Painting with Light & Motion
with Michael Marlborough
- Genre: Fine Art
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 1.5hr
- Skill Level: All
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Mostly seated/stationary
- Group size: 20
Ready to break the rules of traditional portraiture? In this hands-on studio workshop, we’ll blend the crisp punch of flash with the dreamy trails of coloured LED light to create portraits that are equal parts sharp, surreal, and seriously cool. You’ll start by photographing our model silhouetted against a stark white backdrop. As the flash fires, the model will move—creating a perfectly focused base image with ghostly, motion-blurred trails captured by continuous LED light. It’s photography meets performance art, and you’re holding the remote. No experience with flash or LED? No worries—we’ll guide you every step of the way. Every participant will get time behind the camera and leave with stunning, unique images. Plus, you’ll receive detailed Photoshop notes to refine and finish your shots at home. Come for the flash. Stay for the blur. Leave with images that dance off the screen.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- Getting Started with Studio Lighting: Learn the basics of working with flash and continuous LED lights—what they do, how to set them up, and how to use them together for creative results.
- Creating Sharp and Blurred Effects in One Shot: Understand how to control your camera’s settings (like shutter speed and flash timing) to capture both clear and motion-blurred parts in a single image.
- Simple Editing Skills in Photoshop: Follow easy, step-by-step instructions to enhance your workshop images at home—adjust brightness, boost colours, and make your portraits stand out.
Flipping Studio Lighting on Its Head: The Lighting Strikes Back
with Michael Marlborough
- Genre: Fine Art
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 1.5hr
- Skill Level: Intermediate
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Mostly seated/stationary
- Group size: 20
Why settle for one background when you can have two (without moving a single light stand)? In this creative workshop, we’ll first shoot a model on a glowing, pure white background—then kill the lights and drop them into pitch black for round two. Same pose? Great. Different pose? Even better! The fun begins when we blend those exposures into wild, surreal portraits that feel like two worlds colliding.\r\nNo Photoshop headaches here—we’ll give you step-by-step notes so you can work your magic later. Just bring your camera, your imagination, and a willingness to break the “rules” of studio lighting (in the best possible way).
Workshop Key Learnings:
- How to create dramatically different looks with one setup
- How to capture and plan for creative composite images
- How to prepare images for seamless post-processing
“Less is More… More or Less”
with Vicki bell
- Genre: Fine Art
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 1.5hr
- Skill Level: Beginners
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Short walk (>500m)
- Group size: 20
A playful workshop exploring abstraction through the lens of design elements. We’ll the streets of Bright seeking lines, shapes, textures and colour to strip scenes back—or layer them up—to create images that intrigue and surprise. You’ll experiment with simple DIY filters, vignettes, and in-camera distortions that bend reality into art, learning how to make ordinary spaces look wowza. Whether you’re drawn to minimal compositions or wild, messy impressions, this walkabout will expand how you see, shoot, and tell visual stories. Perfect for photographers ready to loosen up, break rules, and discover that sometimes less truly is more… or maybe it’s more.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- Creative gymnastics- seeing outside the box
- Practical camera craft skills
- Create a narrative
Light Painting Portraiture
with Denis Smith
- Genre: Light Painting/Astro
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 2hr
- Skill Level: All
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Mostly seated/stationary
- Group size: 20
Seeing a light painting portrait come to life is universally mind blowing, for the subject and the creator. Denis will guide you through various techniques used to wrap your subject in light then it’s hands on, you get to create and sit through the experience. These workshops are always ultra fun! 3 WOAH’s! 2 WTF’s! And 4 OMFG’s! guaranteed!
Workshop Key Learnings:
- How to find balance between ambient and added light.
- How to pose for compelling portraits.
- How to create budget light painting tools to make your own portraits.
A Most Splendid and Illuminating Gathering in the Woods
with Denis Smith
- Genre: Light Painting/Astro
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 4hr
- Skill Level: All
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Medium walk (>1km)
- Group size: 20
Hark! Gather thy lanterns and curious contraptions, for thou art cordially summoned to a nocturnal congregation of uncommon spectacle and mirth. In yon enchanted forest, under cover of moon and mischief, noble seekers of light shall embark upon a merry romp of photographic wizardry. We shall conjure glowing orbs, weave ethereal trails through the glade, and scribble upon the darkness itself, all with naught but sticks of light and devilish devices. Lo, even portraits shall be captured—likenesses of thy noble visage rendered with strokes of purest brilliance. Whether thou be a learned scholar of the shutter or a wayward knave fumbling with thine exposure, all shall be welcome in this mixed bag of merry-making. Pray, dress warmly, bring stout shoes, and prepare thyself for laughter, learning, and a most bewildering night in the company of luminous fools.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- Capturing light painting and astro in one shot, the holy grail.
- How to approach your photography in a mindful way.
- How to create light painting portraits.
Illuminated Nudes - The Sealed Edition
with Kym Vulling
- Genre: Portrait / Nude
- Transport: TBA
- Location: TBA
- Length: 2hr
- Skill Level: All
- Specialist Equipment: N/A
- Fitness Level: Mostly Seated / Stationary
- Group size: 20
Taking the concept of capturing the creative nude a step further this year, this exciting workshop blends Kym’s love of evoking genuine intimacy and connection when working with a couple, with the art and fun of playing with light and projection techniques on the nude form. This workshop will take you through the do’s and don’t’s of of working with nude models, how colour and light and projections can tell a story, and finally how to build trust and move past any nerves ( yours or the models) to capture beautiful intimate moments with our real life couple. This workshop uses both a male and female nude model.
Workshop Key Learnings:
- Best Practice methods when working with models, especially when working with nude bodies.
- Fun creative projection and lighting techniques
- How to encourage , capture and respect genuine intimacy and emotion.
BFOP 2025 is officially married to...
Dating...
and in a polyamorous relationship with...
