Food Photography and Styling Workshop-Crete 2017

Photo by Betty Liu

Photo by Betty Liu

Φίλοι μου, αγαπητοί μου φίλοι!

Mε πολύ μεγάλη χαρά σας ανακοινώνω το Food Photography Workshop που διοργανώνουμε με την αγαπημένη μου συνφουντμπλογκέρισσα Ελένη τον προσεχή Απρίλιο στα Χανιά της Κρήτης με εισηγήτρια την καταξιωμένη-υποψήφια του βραβείου food photography and styling του περιοδικού Saveur 2016, Betty Liu!

3 ημέρες γεμάτες με μαθήματα φωτογραφίας, styling, concepts, τεχνικές, μαγειρικές, γευσιγνωσίες, τοπικά tours σε παραγωγούς και όλα αυτά στον παραδοσιακό οικισμό του 17ου αιώνα Μηλιά!

Δεν ξέρω τι να πρωτοπώ γι’ αυτό το event που τόσο καιρό είχαμε στο μυαλουδάκι μας με την Ελένη -παλαβές κι οι δυό με αντίστοιχα workshops που γίνονται σ’ όλο τον κόσμο- κι είπαμε να διοργανώσουμε ένα αντίστοιχο κι εδώ, τονίζοντας χαρακτηριστικά στοιχεία της ελληνικής διατροφής σε έναν τόπο που φημίζεται παγκοσμίως κι έχει γίνει κι αντικείμενο μελέτης για τις διατροφικές του συνήθειες, προϊόντα και όχι μόνο.

Ακολουθεί το αγγλικό κείμενο για τους εκτός Ελλάδας φίλους μου καθώς και η αναλυτική περιγραφή του workshop, πληροφορίες κλπ!

xoirino-fakes

______________________

I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it, I know, I know, I know it 🙂

My dear friends,

I want to express myself with the most emphatic words to this english post but I think words will just won’t do. So, here it is, simple and clear:

Food Photography Retreat Workshop

I’m really happy to announce the Food Photography Retreat Workshop that my fellow food blogger Eleni and I co-organise at Chania, Crete in April 2017 with the exceptional Betty Liu!

Oh yes, we finally put in practice what we have been thinking for a long time now after being ourselves attendees to a couple of similar workshops abroad.

Photo by Betty Liu

Chania-Photo by Betty Liu

We believe that Crete is the ideal place just because:

The island: Crete

Crete is renowned for its ancient civilization and natural beauty. It is also famous for its gastronomy, with the traditional Cretan diet being the best model for the Mediterranean Diet, now known to be one of the healthiest in the world. In fact, Crete first attracted the interest of the scientific community back in 1947, when the Rockefeller Foundation started research on the island after finding that even during those times of extreme post war hardship and poverty, Cretans were extremely healthy and not malnourished as would be expected.

So what does the traditional Cretan diet consist of? It is based of course on olive oil (with per capita consumption reaching –according to some reports- 35 litres per year!), a large variety of vegetables and wild greens, legumes, fruit, nuts barley rusks, herbs and very moderate amounts of protein.

Many other elements of the island’s cuisine have also been found to be beneficial to our health, such as sheep and goat’s milk cheeses, honey, snails (escargot), wine and raki (a local spirit that can knock your socks off and is said to spur metabolism). All these are in fact locally produced, with Crete being an area of intense cultivation and high engagement in the primary sector.

Aside from nutrition however, let’s not forget that an essential part of Cretan gastronomy is its social, lifestyle aspect. Food and the enjoyment of it, is the best opportunity for large gatherings of family and friends – frequent occurrences for these islanders! Stress free and fun times usually involve a table laid with an abundance of delicious dishes, and glasses never quite emptying completely.

Chania-Photo by Betty Liu

Chania-Photo by Betty Liu

Milia: an authentic 17th century mountain settlement restored into an eco-friendly retreat.

Milia is a dream-come-true for two locals at Chania, who wanted to see the land of their ancestors come back to life after years of abandonment and neglect. Ignoring all those who called them crazy, they set to work and lovingly and respectfully restored the settlement, taking great care to keep its character and its surrounding natural beauty untouched. They used only local materials and local labour, and they pride themselves in the fact that they exclusively apply “clean” energy techniques and renewable energy.

The retreat is self-sustaining; they grow their own produce, press their own olive oil and wine, and raise chickens and goats in a small farm. No power lines or water pipes spoil the beauty of the area. Their philosophy? Be kind to nature.

Photo by Betty Liu

Photo by Betty Liu

Workshop highlights

Live Storytelling / We’ll put together beautifully styled food stories and demonstrate how we choose a shooting space, how we select props to fit the scene. We’ll talk through our thought process, including set up – examining natural light, crafting an environment, choosing props, managing time, and photographing from the ingredients to the process and finally, the finished plate. In addition to creating our own vignettes, we’ll be practicing our photojournalistic skills, documenting real action – we have a cooking lesson in our itinerary, so we’ll not only learn about Greek cuisine but also be able to put our skills to use.

Incorporating the Human Element / A huge part of our work is including the human element in our food stories. We’ll talk about how we accomplish this – what our setup looks like. We’ll have opportunities for you to capture those action shots that add so much life and movement to a photo.

Still Life / We’re going to take advantage of Crete’s amazing fresh seafood and produce and set up still lifes. It’ll be another opportunity to really examine our vignette – the set up, the light, and composition.

Lightroom demonstration & preset building / I cannot emphasize enough the importance of editing and therefore creating a consistent look – your personal style. Styling and light are important to building your style, but the editing is the last “stamp” you have to make that photo yours. We’ll sit down to a collective lightroom editing session, where we’ll talk about post-processing and how to develop your own preset to get the look you want consistently.

Photo lessons / Naturally, before we dive into styled scenes and shoots, we’ll cover the basics of photography to get you comfortable with manual mode (aperture, ISO, shutter speed). This is one of the very first lessons we’ll have so that you will feel prepared to continue the workshop and apply what you’ve learned in real time. The camera is but a tool, and once you master those techniques your attention can focus on styling, composition, light – making those decisions that make the photo truly yours.

Marketing / We’ll have discussions on blogging, blog sponsorship, and how to navigate the murky waters of Instagram and create a consistent feed to showcase yourself and your brand. We’ll talk about how to get into the rhythm of blogging and our own experiences navigating through this world.

Workflow / We’ll go over workflow, from taking photos, backing up, and processing, to the blog post stage and I’ll give tips and tricks on how to speed this process up!!!

Feasting / Crete is renowned for its ancient civilization and natural beauty – it’s famous for its gastronomy, with the traditional Cretan diet as the model for the now famous Mediterranean diet. A major element of Cretan gastronomy is its social, lifestyle aspect – food and the enjoyment of food is the best opportunity for large gatherings of family and friends, and that’s what we’re going to embrace at this workshop/retreat. Stress free and fun times with a table of abundant dishes, and glasses that are never empty.

Reflection / An important part of any design or artistic process is reflection and critique. We’ll showcase our work and encourage the camaraderie of collective critique, examining our personal preferences and what our eye is drawn towards. We’ll reflect on our work and by doing so, evolve our creative process and find inspiration from each other.

Workshop Details

Food Photography Retreat Crete, Greece

April 21-24

Chania, Greece

taught by betty – hosted by Eleni and Artemis

Ticket Options:

Double Bed in Private Room – 1599 EUR

Single Bed in Shared Room – 1469 EUR

Included:

all lessons and discussions

3 nights lodging, 3 dinners, 2 lunches, breakfasts

welcome gifts

other drinks and bites during the workshop

activities / excursions

Not Included:

transportation to and from workshop

flights to Greece

*bring your DSLR and laptop if you wish to participate in photo and editing sessions

Register by emailing Eleni at info [at] thefoodiecorner.gr to reserve your spot, or drop me a line if you have further questions! To book your place we require 50% initial payment, then the remainder by March 31st, 2017. Betty’s workshops have sold out extremely quickly in the past, and there are limited spots, so make sure to snag yours now!

 

Comments:

  • reply

    Γεια σας κορίτσια! Θα ήθελα να ρωτήσω για το workshop και αν υπάρχουν διαθέσιμες θέσεις. Many thanks
    Laura

    February 24, 2017
    • reply

      WonderFL

      Γειά σου Laura!
      Οι θέσεις έχουν όλες κλειστεί αλλά εάν υπάρξει κάποια ακύρωση θα σε ειδοποιήσουμε.
      Σ’ ευχαριστώ πολύ για το ενδιαφέρον κι εύχομαι κάποια στιγμή να γνωριστούμε κι από κοντά 🙂

      February 25, 2017
  • reply

    lenia

    hi girls good luck with the workshop! do you have any sponsors?

    March 28, 2017
    • reply

      WonderFL

      Hello! Thank you very much! We have a few sponsors. Is this something that you are interested in? If yes, please drop me an e-mail at: [email protected].

      April 4, 2017

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