The group at a recent portrait lighting workshopThe modern digital camera is crammed with a baffling array of ‘bells and whistles’, but how to get the best from all this wizardry and at the same time not lose sight of the basic principles of good photographic technique established in the days of the simple box camera?Convinced that this concern was not unique to me, I wrote a short article for the BA Newsletter in February 2009 seeking fellow ex-pats with an interest in learning more about digital photography.
So on a decidedly wet and unpromising day in May that year, about 10 of us met up at Café de la Tour in Les Arcs to progress matters. In the photographic sense, we turned out to be a ‘mixed ability’ group, ranging from highly competent amateurs to those for whom the digital camera smacked of the ‘dark arts’, to be treated with great reverence, if not suspicion.
The principle of sharing whatever expertise we had was soon established and when one of our members generously offered her house as a meeting venue, the rationale and modus operandi became clearer.
Over the past three years, we have broadened our activities to include regular meetings every two weeks, hands-on workshops by visiting speakers, tutorials from individual members and taking advantage of the unique Provencal environment, outings to places of interest. Also in 2011 we produced a very successful calendar, which through the BAV raised a considerable sum for its charitable work. We are now known as ‘The Azur Photographic Group’ and look forward to 2013 with confidence and ready to meet new challenges.
We welcome new members and if you would like further information please contact: Mike Harper at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
