It’s real, European summer is finally showing us her face and we are beyond excited.
Clear blue waters, beach beds and striped umbrellas come calling and being the slave to the beach I am off I run to what I consider a fabulous summer.
To celebrate this glorious time of the year and the run up to loads of joy and happiness over the coming months, for 4 short days you will receive 10% discount on ALL BEACH PRINTS with the code summerrocks (all lower case attached) on checkout.
Grab your goggles, cossies and sunscreen and swim on over to the shop and pick your favourite HERE.
We ship worldwide so even if you are in Alaska, Greenland or the Antartica, you, too can have the beach in your life all year around!
You know it’s your lucky day when a gal like this beauty walks in the door.
The beautiful Linda Karlsson and I share a common love for Puglia, the lifestyle, the architecture, the people and the scrumptious beautiful food. And not to mention that she lives in paradise, on the beautiful Ibiza.
Gosh, there is so much to talk about we almost forgot to shoot! Like her heavenly villa on Ibiza that she rents out as a sanctuary so folks can escape to enjoy island life for a while in the prettiest setting, she has created. The sanctuary also hosts regular yoga retreats so if you love yoga you might like to check out the schedule and get super excited about booking a ticket to Ibiza.
She was a dreamboat to photograph, all I had to do was frame and shoot!
Hugest thanks to the wonderful Linda for sharing her beauty with us and the generosity for allowing me to share this shoot.
PS: If you are in Paris in July and feel like starring in your own Paris Film Noir shoot you can check them out HERE, you can get in touch with me at carla@carlacoulson.com to book.
I know everyone wants to take better photos and capturing the architecture of a city or place we are travelling to is high on my list.
The architecture of certain places prod me out of bed early in the morning and the town of Martina Franca and surrounding villages left me breathless.
Here is a basic lesson in shooting different types of architecture of a town to tell it’s story.
Iconic Masterpieces
Every city (almost) has an iconic piece of architecture (or two) that defines it. Sydney has the Opera House, Paris the Tower Eiffel, Venice the Doges Palace and St Marks Church and Florence the incredible Duomo. Martina Franca has this beautiful baroque church of known as the Basilico di San Martino.
Try and include an iconic masterpiece in your travel story, you can bring your own slant to it by shooting it in the light you like, or a particular time of day or something quirky in the foreground.
Humble Exteriors
A well rounded travel story needs many different angles of the city which means showing different areas and architecture. Although Baroque can be majestic in Martina Franca it also can be humble. Every doorway is framed in a baroque masterpiece.
Keep your eyes peeled for architecture that tells a different story to the iconic masterpieces.
Get Up High
In most cities there is an important landmark (such as the cathedral in Milan below) where you can get a different vantage point on the city. Can be fun too if there is a lift!
This was taken from a beautiful balcony where I held my first travel photography workshop in Puglia.
Interiors
Interiors are another fabulous way to get in the architecture of a city. Getting inside adds depth to your story and tells a more intimate part of the cities life. The pic was taken in Palazzo Ducale in Martina Franca
Architectural Details
I am a huge fan of details in all their form from architectural details to simple striped curtains covering a doorway to a house, a carved face on a corner of a street, washing strung in front of a beautiful buildings.. Don’t overlook details, they often tell the best stories!
I hope you enjoyed this little post about telling the story of a town’s architecture.
Love and light
PS: if you thought these pics were beautiful standing in these streets is even better. One place available for my JUNE STORYTELLING WORKSHOP IN PUGLIA in this very town. Feel free to email me at carla@carlacoulson.com cause it’s going to be good!
Dear dreamers, intrepid travellers, lovers of life and adventurers and most of all those photographers who want to get out of their comfort zone and shake up their photography.
I have a new set of workshops to help you get where you are going including… wait for it…a travel photography workshop in Naples Italy.
Intrepid – Naples Un-edited
Naples was my first love. It was the place in Italy that first set my photographer’s heart on fire. Naples is raw, emotional, fast, voluptuous, confronting and generous.
I created my first photographic story in Naples that was published in Marie Claire at the beginning of my photography journey. It is the place I have always returned to, to feel alive, to feel wonderment, to be connected to life and people and to witness an Italy like no other.
Naples is authentic and emotional and this is the basis of what I want to teach in this 5-day workshop. My aim is to teach you how to create travel images that are full of life, that ‘tear at your heart strings’, make people stop and wonder, think and feel when they see your photography whether it be happiness, laughter, sadness or shock, any emotion that will make them remember your work long after they have seen it. Full details here
Mastering Manual Photography
Of all the questions I am asked, particularly by women, is to teach an intensive workshop so they can take the jump from automatic settings on a DSLR to using manual settings confidently and quickly.
So ladies, this workshop was created for you. I remember when I learnt photography I had big problems with the numbers, the f-stops, how depth of field worked whilst my male counterparts seemed to soak it all in. I took longer to figure it out and when I did it really stuck. I figured the teacher (male) wasn’t teaching for female brains. LOL! Full details including dates here
One-on-One Mentoring
This full day one-on-one mentoring is all about you and what you need to learn, unravel or solve to take you to the next level.
The day can be designed around your photography needs, whether you are stuck and want to learn specific photographic techniques or create a more effective time-efficient workflow. We can discuss where you are on your photographic journey and where you want to go.
If you have a portrait business and want to give it an overhaul, we can delve into your portfolio or fine-tune who is your dream client to give your business a clearer direction. It can be a drill down and fresh start for photographers who are already in business but have lost their way and need a fresh perspective.
If you are an amateur and want to fast track your photography skills or get some behind the scenes information about a career as a photographer, I am an open book. Full details here
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at carla@carlacoulson.com
“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Benjamin Franklin
Octopus Panino Polignano A Mare Copyright Carla Coulson
For those of you who love travel photography I started a Travel Photography series a while back. The series was in four parts and covers food, people, architecture and events and if you missed them the links are at the end of this post.
I have been meaning forever to add a chat about colour palettes as it is important when creating a travel story so I have added a fifth part to this series.
Colour is one of the most powerful tools we have to use in photography. And when you look around life just serves up the most extraordinary colour situations and is often repeated in the strangest of subjects. Love this!
The way we use colour in our images talks about what we want to say, what mood we want to create, what feelings we want to heighten and it can also speak of your style. Just the way painters choose a colour palette when creating a canvas we can do the same thing with photography.
Some photographers will go out of their way to avoid a certain colour or go in search of their favourite colours across a range of subjects.
The language of magazines and the way an art director will put together a story revolves around the way images sit harmoniously together and it all depends on the colour.
Here’s a quick look at some colour palettes:
Neutral Colours
Nordic photographers are famous for their simple colour palettes based around white and neutral tones of beige and grey which bring a sense of calm, serenity and cleanliness to their images.
Neutral Colours of blue, terracotta and green at Masseria Cimino Copyright Carla Coulson
Neutral colours of white beige and brown repeated in statues in a workshop and the baroque streets of Martina Franca
Shooting a spot colour can be loads of fun, like going on a treasure hunt. You can focus on one particular colour that appears in all sorts of different situations with a neutral background. It could be red repeated in a jumper, a sign, scarf, or a door or in the case below the green doors, curtains and shutters against the white backdrop of Puglia. It adds a pop of energy to your images.
Spot colour on the streets of Ceglie Messapica and Door Martina Franca Copyright Carla Coulson
Neutral colours of white and blue repeated in the streets, shirt and umbrella
with a spot colour of yellow repeated in the tie and doorway
Local boy and a street in Ceglie Messapica Copyright Carla Coulson
Bright Colours
Bright, strong saturated colours bring a sensation of energy to a photo if combined harmoniously. When I was shooting the pics below on different days in different locations I was surprised at the repetition of royal blue and orange..
Beach Polignano A Mare and San Vito Polignano A Mare Copyright Carla Coulson
There are loads of other colour palettes you can choose to photograph including beautiful pastels, serene blues, dark colours to add mood or quirky colour combinations.
Depending on your aesthetic as a photographer as to which colour palettes you will find pleasing.
If you would love to hone your travel photography skills and shoot colour palettes to your heart’s content you might like to join me and my ‘Caravan’ and travel to the yet to be discovered part of Puglia in Southern Italy (where my hubby’s from and in the pics above) with like-minded souls. It’s gonna be fun! All details here.
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