Blog, News & Announcements from photographer Bryon Paul McCartney

Workshop at the Braunschweigerschule

2009-08-19T07:29:44Z

This past weekend I traveled to Braunschweig, Germany to teach a workshop with Thorsten Jankowski at the Braunschweigerschule. It was a great day, featuring two talented and capable models. Thorsten focused his discussions on working with single light techniques, while I focused on sharing my knowledge of side-lighting techniques. With ten students it was a long and intensive day, but the results and feedback were well worth the effort. Below are some of my test shots and some behind the scenes images.

Test shot of model Mila.

Model Nera poses in the water basin.

Model Nera poses for a test shot with an unusual object.

Model Mila strikes a pose for one of the students.

Students Mario and Klaus work on sidelighting techniques with model Nera.

Student Hagan works on lighting techniques with model Mila.

Madame Bink

2009-08-13T19:41:20Z

Slow summer

2009-08-06T07:57:41Z

Since my workshop in Tuscany, I have been taking a break. I had a shooting in Budapest, and then taught a two-day workshop here in Switzerland. Next week I will travel to the Braunschweiger Schule in northern Germany to teach a workshop with Thorsten Jankowski (Two spaces still available as of this writing).

Other than that, I am working on a portfolio update and will be moving to a new office/living space soon. Many changes are afoot.

All the best,

Bryon

What makes me an artist?

2009-06-27T22:40:34Z

Yesterday, I met up with some old work colleagues. They were asking me about my photography and what I am doing. My former assistant asked me very directly “What make you an artist?”

At first, I was a bit puzzled by the question, it was very direct and took me by surprise. I honestly don’t remember anyone ever asking me that before. So, I gave it a bit of thought, and this is what I remember saying…

There are many people who can take beautiful photos. Some people do it for fun, some for money, some do it for other reasons. I take beautiful photos, because I have to. Somewhere inside me is a motivation, a burning need to capture beauty. I don’t do it for other people, I only do it for myself. I feel somehow that I have to do it. What makes me an artist, is the fact that I take the risk that, perhaps, nobody likes my images, and still, I will keep doing creating them. If I did it only to make money or to please other people, then it wouldn’t mean anything, it would just be a nice photo.

I don’t ever want to be someone who creates for the sake of creating. I take joy and pleasure in capturing my own memories and my own understanding of what I see. It is up to the viewer to decide if they enjoy what I show them or not. But whether someone buys my work or not, I still will keep doing it. I have to. That’s what makes me an artist.

Tuscany fine art nudes workshop, June 2009

2009-06-26T08:23:31Z

Herb shooting Giorgia on the beach at Marina del Albarese, Tuscany, Italy

Everyone enjoyed the warm water and sun at the Bagni San Filippo, a unique shooting location in Tuscany, Italy.

Yola takes control of the ‘class photo’ on the final evening at il Poggiolo, San Quirco d’Orcia, Tuscany, Italy.

Jon and Jadiz, reviewing their shots at the beach at Marina del Albarese, Tuscany, Italy.

Last week, from June 14-20, 2009, I offered my first on-location, fine art nude photography workshop. I have long dreamed of offering a class like this, and the Val d’Orcia, in Tuscany, Italy, offers amazing opportunities for shooting fine art nudes in natural light.

As this was our first on-location workshop, I wanted to ensure that we chose a place that I was familiar with and that we had reliable and talented models. On both of these points, I could not have been more pleased. Our models, Carole, Giorgia, Jadiz and Nia, were absolutely superb, and always insisted on shooting. These ladies worked hard and they even cooked for us. And what can I say about Tuscany, if you have never been there, then you will never know. It is a beautiful, mysterious and magical place. It’s the perfect setting for fine art nudes, in my humble opinion.

Our week started with a group meal on Sunday evening. Monday morning was occupied by portfolio reviews and discussions about how to work with models. Monday afternoon, I took the class through shooting exercises. During the bulk of the week, we organized several trips to local shooting locations in Tuscany, including: Marina Del Albarese on the Mediterranean Coast, Bagni San Filippo a natural hot spring, an abandoned brick factory near Pienza, local Tuscan landscapes naturally, and our home in Tuscany, il Poggiolo, with it’s authentic old word charm and rustic decor.

On Friday, I walked the students through some of my post-processing techniques and answered questions. Students then put together their final selections, and I assembled the slideshows. Later that night, after dinner, we all sat down to watch the final slideshows under the stars, it was really impressive to see everyone’s progress and development from the beginning of the week to the final shows, I was quite proud, in fact.

While I can’t speak for the students, their feedback has been more than generous. I try very hard to teach in an organic way, observing students and stepping in when appropriate to offer my suggestions and answering questions as they come up. By the end of the workshop, I was absolutely exhausted, but in a very good way, or was that the grappa?

We will certainly return to Tuscany for future workshops. I am hoping to organize the next one in late August or September. Stay tuned for details. Oh, and more photos are coming soon.

From Tuscany

2009-06-14T11:50:39Z

Jadiz in the Sun

Jadiz in White

Nia Waiting for the Waves

Nia Here to Eternity

These images were taken at my first on-location fine art nudes workshop I am currently teaching in Tuscany, 14-20 June 2009. I plan to do this workshop several times per year as the location changes dramatically thorough the spring/summer/fall seasons. It’s a great location for outdoor and indoor nudes with the sea, thermal baths, rustic Italian accommodations and landscapes all within close range. Contact me directly if you would like further information.

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If you wish to use this or any of my images for any purpose, email me at info@bryonpaulmccartney.com.

DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Mila

2009-06-07T09:48:08Z

New model Mila, Images are unretouched. Interested in knowing what people think of her.

Workshop with Thorsten Jankowski 15. August at the Braunschweiger-schule

2009-06-04T14:16:59Z

Collaborative studio nude workshop with guest teacher Bryon Paul McCartney from Switzerland and Thorsten Jankowski with the models Flora P. from Vienna and Sara from Moscow.

How I became a photographer

2009-06-03T12:07:50Z

I have been interested in photography and images since I discovered my grandparent’s collection of National Geographic and LIFE magazines when I was a little kid. My mother bought me an instant camera on my 12th birthday and that set me off on a strange and complicated odyssey. I literally carried that thing everywhere, carefully selecting each subject so as not to exceed my weekly filmallowance. Life is never a straight line and eventually I discovered computer graphics, spending many late, adolescent nights programming my Commodore 64, when I should have been studying my high school trigonometry. At one point, I got it in my head that I wanted to work with lasers - yes lasers - doing research for the US Navy (imagine dolphins with fricking laser beams, yikes!!!). Actually, it was quite a grand plan leading to a PhD and an eventual Nobel Prize in Physics.

Fortunately, life had different plans for me, and once I got to university, it dawned on me that computer science classes were full of nerds. I was much more interested in classes that had actual living, breathing, young women, go figure. Anyway, long story short, I ended up in Fine Arts studying Graphic Design. Ironically, at that time, computers were starting to become popular in the design world, and my love life started improving as well.

I was also fortunate to find my dear mentor and professor, Karen Nulf. I met Karen for the first time when I took her Graphic Design 101 class. She has a wonderful gift for communication and after a few weeks in her class, she pulled me aside and asked if I had declared my major yet. I hadn’t, so she took that opportunity to convince me to focus on design and fine art. I am really happy she did, because it got me back to re-discovering my passion for making images.

Thanks to Karen, I had a great career in graphic design. I worked in Chicago for twelve years and my computer skills got me a lot of retouching and compositing work, which put me in touch with some great photographers. I would often get to participate in shoots and learn about lighting and how to work with models, it was absolutely inspiring.

I left Chicago in August of 2000 to take a job as a creative director for an online design agency based in Switzerland. Moving to Switzerland was a daunting task, it is a very different culture here, compared to the U.S., but it was the opportunity of a lifetime, so I took it.

Before I left, I also bought my first digital camera and what a revelation that was. Living in the heart of Europe allowed me to travel a lot, and I took my camera every time. More importantly, I came to realize that I was a pretty good photographer.

After a couple of years, I started to become aware that I was turning into more of a manager in my work and less of a creative. This revelation sent chills up my spine. I realized that I needed a change. Fortunately, around that same time, someone I knew approached me about helping out with a new magazine project, after seeing some of my travel photography. I decided to take a chance and became the lead photographer and photography editor for the magazine.

Though I was never paid for my work and the magazine eventually went out of business, it gave me some confidence to take photography more seriously. I took some workshops, did a lot of self-study and I started getting paid assignments. In 2003, I setup my own studio to focus on photography full-time.

Photography has let me bring my ideas to life in a direct and real way. It’s funny that I did something very similar all those years as a designer, but I never had half the passion as I do for photography. If I can offer one piece of advice, if you ever discover that you really love doing something, then do it, the rest will work itself out

Please visit my about page for more details about what I do, my awards, exhibitions and features.

Thanks for reading,

Bryon

Stockings and Heels

2009-06-02T16:51:24Z

Naemie, originally uploaded by Bryon Paul McCartney.

From the archives.

Links for 2009-02-09 [del.icio.us]

2009-02-10T00:00:00-08:00

Fine Art Nude Photography Network - art of nude photography

Links for 2009-01-01 [del.icio.us]

2009-01-02T00:00:00-08:00

ViewFinder Workshops, Classes, Seminars - Home
The ViewFinder Center for Photography offers digital photography classes, workshops and events, in English, near Zürich, Switzerland. Improve your photography skills. Learn how to use a digital camera. Learn how to take better pictures. Learn from experienced, working photographers. Sign-up for a photography class, workshop or event, today.
ViewFinder - On Location Workshop: Lake Como, Italy
ViewFinder Photography Center offers workshops, classes and seminars for photographers of all levels. Located in Winterthur, Switzerland

Links for 2008-08-22 [del.icio.us]

2008-08-23T00:00:00-07:00