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The beaches around Hossegor see the World’s best surfers tear the waves to pieces, whilst the Quiky Pro is in town every October. This makes for great photos, which take-over the surf media for the remainder of Autumn and when the waves are on can shoot an aspiring surf photographer to industry stardom!
Therefore, it seemed appropriate to team up with internationally recognised, award-winning photographer Lucia Griggi, to host a seven-day surf photography workshop from the Wavelength House Hossegor this October 9th-16th.
The course is designed for aspiring photographers at any level, who have a passion for documenting waves, surfing, the ocean, travel and perhaps action sports in general and want to learn from one of the industries’ finest.
Date: October 9th-16th
Group Size: Maximum of 8
Price: £795 per person
For more information or to book onto the course, book via our surf travel partner Ticket to Ride.
Itinerary
Saturday 9th Oct – Arrival
We’ll pick you up in a private transfer from Biarritz airport at any time on Saturday 9th and bring you to the Wavelength House for a welcome beer and BBQ, or a coffee and a croissant depending on your flight time or personal taste. After settling in, students and Lucia will get to know each other, talk about what equipment they have, what they don’t have. Lucia has gathered a lot of stories in ten years on the road and those stories start here.
Sunday 10th – Introduction
The day begins in the classroom with an instructive talk. Lucia will present a short biography on the perils and pleasures of her own experience as a traveling photographer. That leads to a discussion of work ethic, where the industry is going, pros and cons of professional photography and the steps to becoming a full-time working pro.
If that doesn’t scare everyone away, it will be down to the best local beach for shooting photographs of the ocean and waves and hopefully surfers doing good things on waves. Following Lucia’s lead, students will demonstrate their knowledge of the wind, surf, and light conditions, how to adjust their cameras and lenses and tripods accordingly: Where to shoot from land in relation to the break, the sun and all the elements. Lucia stresses varying positions, lenses, looks. Don’t just stand in one spot and shoot the same thing. Be creative. If conditions at sea aren’t cooperating, Lucia will direct lifestyle photography on the beach. The day ends with an edit-and-critique session.
Monday 11th – Surf & Sea
Day Two will be spent getting really stuck into the surf and the ocean. We will start with an early breakfast, then a quick check of the Quiksilver Pro competition, which should be in full swing by now and will dictate how we spend the day, either shooting from the land or getting wet somewhere suitable.
Tuesday 12th – Project Day
Day Three will be a day for personal projects, Lucia will set students a brief which they have the whole day to complete, as per Lucia’s direction. The Quiksilver Pro will be well underway so inspiration will be plentiful! At the end of the day, students will return to the Wavelength House for image editing, reviews, and dinner. Staff will be available to make sure you and your equipment get to where you want to shoot. There’s the option of working with some tame pro surfers who will be able to recommend times, tides and places to shoot. Get out there and get creative!
Wednesday 13th – Sharp Shooting
Day Four will be split, a morning in the classroom focussing on technique, image editing and manipulation and a look at everyone’s personal projects from the day before. In the afternoon it’s back amongst the action with another guided shoot with Lucia. Again there’s the opportunity to shoot from the water or land depending on conditions. There will also be a chance to hook up with local and international pro surfers to get a taste of working with professional athletes in a real world scenario. In the evening it’s back to The Wavelength House for image editing, review, and food.
Thursday 14th – Industry Introductions
Wavelength Editor Lewis Harrison-Pinder and other professional photographers will join guests for informal chats on whatever subject you wish. Pick their Industry brains!
Friday 15th – Wavelength Overview
On your last full day in France, you have to eat and drink anything you haven’t tried yet and indulge in just one more pain au chocolat. If there’s something you haven’t shot yet, maybe the old WW2 Bunkers at Capbreton, or even a certain competitor, this is the day to focus and fire. In the evening Lewis and Luke will anonymously review shots taken through the week and give “blind” Editor’s feedback. Lucia will also oversee a presentation of the best in everyone’s portfolio.
Saturday 16th – Departure
We’re afraid you have to leave. You won’t want to but Lucia and the Wavelength Team will gently remind you that Hossegor isn’t going anywhere and will be producing pristine, photogenic perfect barrels for plenty more years.
Lucia Griggi
Lucia has been published widely around the World, from Surfer Magazine to National Geographic Traveler where she also won the 2012 National Geographic Traveler photographic competition. She is one of the few women to swim out at Pipeline and shoot from the water and she has spent more than a few hours diving under giant, barreling waves from Cloudbreak in Fiji to the Maldives. Lucia is one of the best in the business and shares her knowledge and experience with others in her popular workshops all over the Globe.
Lucia will be joined by Lewis Harrison-Pinder and the Wavelength Magazine editorial team, who will be hosting chats on various subjects throughout the week. There will also be guest appearances from a number of published photographers and experienced professional surfers.
Your Photos
Any selected photos taken on the course may get run on the WL Instagram with links back to photographer and any photos featured in the mag will be paid for at the going rate. There will also be a Facebook gallery post-course on the Wavelength page, with links to the featured photographer(‘s).
The Wavelength House
Our fully catered house will be occupied solely by the Wavelength editorial team and photography workshop students. It’s situated bang in the middle of Hossegor with a huge garden, perfect for balmy French evenings and great British barbecues.
For more information or to book onto the course, book via our surf travel partner Ticket to Ride.
What do I need to bring?
Students must bring:
- Their own Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, or modern mirrorless alternative.
- A water housing if you have one. (Lucia has a selection of waterproof cameras she lets students use if they don’t have their own).
- A laptop with photo software installed. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, Bridge or camera raw software installed on your computer (you can download the 30-day trial version before the workshop if you don’t already have the software).
- Storage media and other equipment, USB drive, card reader etc for transferring images from camera to computer.
- External hard drive to store and backup images daily.
- Swimsuits, wetsuits, fins, goggles, towels and other equipment for shooting from the water.
- Warm clothing and waterproof attire for outside conditions.
- Tripods and accessories for assisting shooting.
- Batteries and charger for rechargeable batteries.
- Camera manual.
- Power adapters and cables for laptop and digital camera.
How good do I need to be?
Assuming that you satisfy all of the “what do I need to bring” criteria, then you’re obviously pretty into your photography, and that’s enough. As a general overview, it is expected that you know how to download images from your camera to the laptop, know basic editing techniques using your software, and are able to organise the edited images for critique.
What will I Learn?
- An unvarnished overview of the perils, pleasures, challenges and rewards of professional surf action photography and fine art ocean photography.
- An overview of the myriad cameras, lenses, housings, tripods, computers and photo manipulation software. Their advantages and disadvantages.
- Setup, breakdown and maintenance of all equipment.
- Adjusting camera and lens settings to adapt to sun, wind, water and light.
- Proper, safe use of water housings: before, during and after shooting from the water.
- Ocean knowledge needed when shooting from the water.
- Tips on shooting from the water safely, to get optimum results.
- Surf zone safety.
- Returning to shore safely, safely pulling camera from the housing and images from the camera.
- Proper care, storage, and transportation of camera equipment whilst in transit.
- Storing, manipulating and preserving digital images.
- Manipulating raw images for better results.
- Marketing and selling images.
Sign me up!
Book Now
For more information or to book onto the course, book via our surf travel partner Ticket to Ride.