Do you have a passion for photography, and a desire to learn more? You may be a keen amateur wanting some assistance and some fresh input, or a newly established professional desiring to take your skills one step further – in any case, read on – we can cater to your needs.

If one of the following questions hits you at the heart, then this course is probably for you: Does the world of digital imaging seem daunting? Do you yearn to feel in control of your digital SLR? Do you long for the days of yore, when Fuji Velvia was all the rage, while realizing that digital technology is here to stay? Do you want to step into the light of the digital darkroom? Have you really understood the vital differences between files formats such as JPEG and RAW? Are you sure that you are preserving and not slowly destroying your hard-won digital captures? Do you feel intimidated by jargon such as color spaces and ICC-profiles?

And how are you tackling the basic challenges out in the field? Taking photographs in the great outdoors, in the constantly changing natural light, is something altogether different than working in a studio. Are you having trouble capturing those wonderful moods as a digital image? Do the truly successful compositions keep eluding you?

Well, we are here to help. And if you are one the few that feel proficient in most or all of the subjects mentioned above, then we can offer you a Level 2 course which will likely prove useful and exciting even if you have several years of experience in the field of digital imaging. At Level 2, we will fearlessly plunge into the depths of art theory, philosophy, RAW conversion and advanced use of Adobe Photoshop – no less! This is the level for those who want to perfect their digital workflow – and who want every single pixel in their images to stay safe and healthy.

And remember – our photography workshops are also about having fun and enjoying the trills of photography together with other, likeminded people. Photography can indeed be a lonesome activity at times. Many find it incredibly refreshing to come together with other photographers and exchange opinions and experiences. Additionally, we always set aside time to subject selected images from our participants to a final assessment. Yes, we do sometimes delight in exploring novel programs and hair-raisingly expensive equipment, but in the end, it is still the image that counts, just like in the days of film and chemicals and Ansel Adams.

The leader of the workshop is Edmund Schilvold (b. 1979), a Norwegian-American photographer and author of several books who is blessed (or beset, depending on your point of view) by a rare enthusiasm for photography and writing alike.

Schilvold has been taking photographs most every week (and often every day) since he studied art and design at the College of Fine Arts in Australia in 2002 and 2003, and since saying good-bye to Sydney and returning to southern Norway, he has left three worn-out tripods and the same number of cameras behind him in the trail dust.

His experience with Photoshop and other industry-standard Adobe programs (such as Illustrator) goes back the late 1990s, however, when he as a web editor was firmly enmeshed in the dotcom-bubble, and lived to tell the tale.

In 2006, he published his first book, one heavy slab of literature containing some 200 photographs and kilometers of prose related to the island Jeløy in the Oslofjord, where Schilvold spent much of his childhood. The book soon turned into that year’s local Christmas gift, and thus made some important investments possible. In 2007, Schilvold did his first gallery exhibition of photographs – 16 large prints produced at his then new fine art print studio in Moss – the local town. Presently, he has just published another book, this time of a more poetic kind, and more books are rumored to be in the making.

With regards to photography workshops, Schilvold had at the time of writing conducted eleven long-weekend workshops – seven in 2008 and three in 2009. He is now running workshops on a regular basis in southern Norway, and he also making plans for expanding this part of his endeavor to other parts of Norway, as well as to countries such as Ireland.

Schilvold is committed to high quality, and promises to do his utmost to provide you with a satisfying and unforgettable experience.

For details on this year’s workshops, please check out the constantly updated information below. If you do not find what you are looking for, or have questions, please feel free to send an email to edmund@schilvold.com. You may also use that email address if you want to sign up for a course.

Level 1

August 21 (Friday) – August 23 (Sunday). 4 out of 5 seats available.

September 18 (Friday) – August 20 (Sunday). 5 out of five seats available.

Other dates will be considered upon request. Groups can be received year-round.

Duration: Friday – Sunday

Hours: 3 pm to 9 pm on Friday, 9 am to 3 pm on Saturday, 8 am to 3 pm on Sunday (if spring or fall, slightly different hours in winter). Much of Friday and a part of Sunday will be spent outdoors, in the beautiful coastal nature on Jeløy island.

Number of participants: Small groups of maximum six people.

Cost: NOK 2.579,- (1 US$ equals about 7 NOK) *

* Cost does include accommodation. We can arrange accommodation on your behalf, though, should you wish for us to do so.

Beverages (coffee, tea or mineral water) are included.

Necessary equipment: Digital SLR camera, laptop with Adobe Photoshop CS 4 (or CS 2 or 3) installed, mouse, card reader.

Meeting place: Usually the parking lot at Alby farm (and Gallery F 15) on Jeløy island. Directions will be given in the program, which will be distributed by email to the participants about three weeks prior to the start date.

Registration: We ask that you register by email (using the address edmund@schilvold.com), using your full name and postal address, since this makes it easy for us to record your name and your contact details correctly.

Once you have registered, we will send you an invoice for the registration fee. This has to be paid before the deadline if you want to make sure that you remain registered.

Cancellation policy:

If you for any reason need to cancel the workshop, then we will give you a 50 percent refund if you do so a week or more before the start date of the course. If you cancel less than a week before, then you will not receive a refund.

Should the workshop be cancelled by us, then you will of course receive a full refund. We will not, however, reimburse you for costs related to preparations you may have for participation, such as bookings for flights and accommodation.

Liability limitation

As there is always a slight danger associated with events taking place in more or less rugged terrain outdoors, we want to emphasize that we accept no responsibility for unfortunate events which may occur during the course, including but not limited to accidents involving the participants themselves or their equipment. In other words, participation is done at your own risk. We strongly recommend that you purchase the appropriate insurances (health, travel and valuables).

“I had big expectations for this course. Some of the content was familiar to me, but I still learned a lot. The course was laid out nicely, with a good combination of tuition indoors and photography outdoors. It was also very advantageous that we were only five people. Because of that, everyone got the help that they needed. The course fulfilled my expectations, and I can recommend it to anyone with an interest in photography.”

Erik Solberg
Porsgrunn, Norway
Participant on the course from September 26–28, 2008

"I learned a lot from the course. It featured a fine combination of theory and practical photography both indoors and out in the beautiful landscape, and everything was explained in a way that ensures that it will not be forgotten. And since there was only five participants, we all got individual attention."

Arild Pettersen
Rygge, Norway
Participant on the course from April 11–13, 2008

You may also want to have a look at:

• Examples of images exhibited at Gallery Henrik Gerner in December 2007
• Selected images from my trip to Ireland in April and May 2007