Recap: Destination Dubai 2017 - The Experience

It really has been quite some time since I did a proper recap of a photography workshop here. Not due to the fact that there weren’t any last year but more due to the fact that things were on a constant move in 2017. I was chasing and realizing goals, dreams and basically reassessing many things in my life. Not to say that my photography and styling workshops and retreats aren’t part of my goals. They most certainly are. Nowhere else am I challenged to think out of the box and to be creative while planning such a workshop or retreat. Nowhere else do I meet incredibly talented and creative people who strive to go after their own goals and find inspiration when they sign up for these events. Nowhere else do I get to work and partner with brilliant and extraordinary people who fall in step with me to provide the best possible experience for all who take part.

Rome Workshop 2016 | The Serenity of the Sabina Hills

Earlier this year in May, I flew south towards Rome for my first workshop this year. Together with one of my most cherished friends and workshop partners Jeanne Horak-Druiff we were going to host and instruct a signature food photography and styling retreat just a stone’s throw away from Rome in the serenity of the Sabina Hills. Sabina's landscape is a tapestry of olive groves, vineyards and ancient hilltop villages, rich in medieval architecture and tradition. The images in this post will envelop you and capture you in the charm this region offers.

Dubai Workshop 2015: Buzzing with Energy!

Dubai this time had a very different aura to it, compared to the past years. For the first time I felt as if the city had a flow, it seemed to groove to a distinct vibe – almost as if after years of searching Dubai had found its character. The city proudly projected a balance it has seemed to have found and this balance and groove was also characterized in the workshop I recently held in Dubai.

Riverside: London Photography and Styling Workshop 2015

London, always such a bustling and hip place, was the location for my second workshop this year. I always love coming here for short visits – perfect to soak up the energy of the city. While London is very much about urban dynamism, I also love the open-wide spaces, leafy escapes and the riverside hideouts this city offers. The perfect place to give just the right beat to one of my workshops.

Imperial: Vienna Photography & Styling Workshop 2015

What a few months these have been! It seems I have hardly sat still long enough to really feel … still. I’ve been loving the movement of the past several weeks especially as I have just completed two workshops. First up in April was wonderful Vienna, a city that in all its poise and ease has something vibrant and full of life to it. The impulse the city gives is imperial and baroque yet there is a touch of simplicity and an uncomplicated aura that one is impressed by surroundings and feels relaxed by the atmosphere.

Dubai Workshop 2014: Modern Classics

Dubai is forever changing! Evolving, progressing, growing – if it’s always for the better is debatable but often there are changes and concepts emerging that really excel. In a city where superlatives are found at almost every corner finding something that really carries that WOW-effect can be hard. Often, for me it is not the mega glitzy or glamorous that stuns in Dubai – it is the passion, the professionalism and the honesty of the people involved in projects and ideas that carries a valuable seal.

Workshop: Helsinki 2014 - The Heat is On!

No two workshops are ever the same. Each one seems to come with its own set of rules, dynamics and chaos. Each one has different challenges and other highlights. When one thing works for one workshop by no means does it mean it will work for the next one. One sells out within days the other takes weeks. I have not yet figured out all the math or the algorithm of how this works and I probably never will. But one thing is for sure planning the workshop keeps me and my partners always on our toes.

Venice Workshop: Inspiration on the Strada del Prosecco

[Stunning Valdobbiadene] 

There is a time and place for everything and those are the times when everything falls into place just perfectly. It did not take very long after our collaboration in the London workshop last year for Jeanne and me to get back in the saddle to plan the next one together. We are a well functioning team and we had a very clear idea of how and where the next workshop would be.
With the gracious team of Nino Franco supporting us things glided off to a smooth start.

Dubai Workshop 2013: From Glitzy Glamor to Humble Origins

It’s glitzy, it’s shrill and it’s kitschy, this once-upon-a-time fisher village entices with bright lights and the superlative. While Dubai’s headlines always places its unparalleled projects in the limelight:  world's tallest tower, manmade islands and underwater hotels, there is a part of Dubai that seems to have been forgotten.

A part that I remember often visiting when I used to come here in the mid 80s, before the towers rose from what used to be sand and shrubs.

Energizing and Inspiring: A Food Photography and Styling Workshop in Amsterdam

“Is it over already?”

I always seem to say this when one of the food photography and styling workshops conclude. On one side I feel thrilled and even relieved at having completed a 2 day session successfully but there is a slight melancholy at wrapping up something that has been planned for so long and with great care. The Amsterdam workshop was special for me on many levels.

The Compelling Image: Online Courses on Food Photography and Styling

It was Mr. Chadwick, my English literature teacher who changed my entire perspective of how I viewed the world. I was 14 and his teachings animated and inspired me on so many levels. I looked forward to each class, eagerly awaiting to discover the aesthetics of classic books, poignant prose and exploring the plots of the stories. One day it was a fabliau, then it was a Shakespearian sonnet, or the next a tragic love story, whatever topic we were currently analyzing Mr. Chadwick kept us all focused throughout his lessons.

From Plate to Page: Creativity Unleashed in Ireland

One never knows how the dynamics and mechanics of a group will function. It’s an intricate matter bringing 12 people together, each from different parts of the world, with different personalities, characters and desires. The drive has to flow in positive directions and the synergy between the group must be cohesive and interactive. It is one of the things that keeps us, as instructors of the Plate to Page workshop, always on our toes.

Cultural Heritage: A Food Styling and Photography Workshop in a Historic Landgut, Weimar

What I love about living in a city like Weimar is the culturally rich secrets hidden away, tucked behind hills, around corners, behind the park or just across the street. Even after living here for 9 years I still find jewels that surprise me with their beauty and uniqueness. They are treasures that have transcended the limits of time and survived centuries of eras and seasons.

When Sandy and I visited the Landgut Holzdorf, just a few kilometers outside of Weimar I was left speechless on many levels.

Spice it up: London Food Photography and Styling Workshop

London is a tough and competitive market. When it comes to food blogging there are a multitude of blogs broadcasting from this inspiring and pulsating city that it’s hard to keep count. However, even though there are many bloggers and foodies in London I never looked into the city as a place to host one of my workshops. It’s an expensive city and costs like venue, travel and other expenses that need to be considered while calculating the overall ticket price can quickly become costly making it seem ridiculously high-priced. 

Impressions of the London Food Styling and Photography Workshop

I am back from London! Phew! What can I say - London energizes, enlivens and exhausts me. It’s a city so full of wonderful impressions and creativity that one needs to free the mind to empower it with all the impacts it is fed with.

The weekend was sensational and so full of creative intensity I have come away feeling like I am walking on clouds. Do you know that feeling?

Supperclub Food Styling and Photography Workshop in London, UK

An exchange of ideas, thoughts and emails, soon we were in the midst of comparing our calendars in search of free dates. The rest came so easy. As Sumayya Jamil from the famed niche blog Pukka Paki and I put our heads together great things began to flow and it was hard to stop them. I shared my concept with Sumayya about creating a slightly different workshop series I am planning to execute next year and she put her faith in me and my idea, joining me for the first in this series. 

Before we knew it we had chiseled out a fantastic schedule, booked the perfect venue and planned a luscious menu for what I hope will be an amazing 2 day Supperclub | Food Styling and Photography Workshop in London, UK.

The idea is to create a full food experience for the people who attend this workshop. Broken down it’s a food styling/photography workshop, where you will learn all the elements you need to hone your skills in food photography and learning how to find your way through the jungle of food styling to create the perfect set-up. Moreover, I am thrilled to have our special guest Jeanne Horak-Druiff, who will be teaching an extensive session on restaurant and low-light photography we will address the needs of bloggers and reviewers who need to polish their skills in taking photos in busy restaurants and with nasty lighting. There will be many practical exercises, a lot of theory and an on-location shoot. Sumayya will take our participants on a divine culinary tour, where you will not only learn different cooking techniques used in the Indian/Pakistani kitchens and create some mouth-watering dishes, but you will also indulge in an array tantalizing South-Asian street food.

We have booked the stunning kitchen at the Central Street Cookery School, which provide huge windows streaming with gorgeous natural light, plenty of space for cooking, styling, photographing and eating! Being very centrally located the Central Street Cookery School is absolutely ideal, providing an exceptional experience for us over the course of the two days.

How does all this sound? If I have enticed you some here are the details of what we will cover, what the course costs are and where you can register.

Workshop Details

Dates to diarize: February 15th-16th, 2013

Location: Central Street Cookery School, 90 Central Street, London EC1V 8AJ
Website: http://www.centralstreet.org/

Preliminary Programme

Day one - Friday 15th February 2013

• Meet & Greet Brunch - prepared by Sumayya
  A feast for the senses - Sweet, Spicy Sub-Continental Brunch:
  This menu is based on Pakistani brunch-style, with Sumayya's contemporary twists along the way. Usually always a mixture of sweet, sour, hot and many different textures, flavors and aromas, this is a beautiful celebration of South Asian spicy sweet breakfasts!
• Photography Fundamentals by Meeta
  Mastering the camera, natural light techniques, focusing, learning the techniques etc. 
• Styling Fundamentals by Meeta
  Composition and placement, creating a mood/atmosphere, the right props, color, texture etc.
• Free-Style Photography Exercises
  Short exercises to warm you up
• Evaluation and presentation of exercises
  Constructive feedback, discussion and critique on exercises
• Restaurant photography by Jeanne Horak-Druiff
• Pushing Photoshop by Jeanne Horak-Druiff
  Post-processing your low-light images
• Gastropub Photo shoot 
  On location photo shoot to practice taking shots in a restaurant atmosphere and in low light conditions.
• Dinner at Gastropub

Day two - Saturday 16th February 2013

• Enlightening yourself with Lightroom by Meeta
  Workflow, post-processing, watermarking, tagging
• Styling demo with Meeta
• Styling session for assignment with group
• Cooking session and demo with Sumayya
  This will include different quick techniques of
  Tempering - using hot oil/ghee to top temper a street style lentil dish with dried chillis, cumin, garlic topped with fresh coriander and ginger
  Paratha bread making - making ghee flat breads on a flat pan and rolling them out
  Deep frying street snacks - dipping vegetables in spicy chickpea batter, frying and serving quickly topped with spicy chaat masala and lemon
• Lunch prepared by Sumayya
  A walk through a South Asian-style food Street - based on a street style Pakistani / Indian menu, will include kebab rolls, tarka daal, pakoras, bun kebabs, chaat and sweet samosas
• Intensive work on assignment
• Evaluation, discussion & critique on assignment
  Constructive feedback, discussion and critique on assignment
• Finale Cocktails by Sumayya
  Be surprised by Sumayya’s luscious cocktail creations like Anartini, Imlitini and more.

Ticket includes:

• 2 day food styling, photography and cooking sessions with Sumayya, Meeta and Jeanne
• Friday: Meet & Greet Brunch, Dinner at Gastropub
  Saturday: Lunch, Cocktails
• Snacks and beverages during the workshop

Does NOT include:

• Travel costs
• Accommodation

Registrations can be made using the registration form and are accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis

Limited to max 12 participants

 

See you in London!

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All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2011 Meeta Khurana Wolff unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First

Dubai: A State of the Art Food Photography & Styling Workshop at Miele

“Militante!” shouted Giorgio punching the air with his fist and grinning at us as he turned around and walked back into the cool air-conditioned Ronda Locatelli leaving us feeling exhilarated, ready to take on the world. Giorgio Locatelli is a man of great passion and it is easy to become infected by his passion as he shares his love of good Italian food with many stories of his childhood.

The surprise Sally and I had arranged for the participants of the Dubai Food Styling and Photography workshop was a full on success. Meeting Giorgio Locatelli was a well deserved treat that happened later on the first day after a packed few hours of photography and styling techniques and theory. Sally and I had organized our second food styling and photography workshop in Dubai, this time at the gorgeous venue of Miele’s lovely gallery.

Workshop: Miele Dubai Food Photography and Styling Workshop

Sometimes there are things that work so well that they just have to be repeated. Like Sally Prosser and me - we really harmonize and complement each other so well. After organizing and carrying through the Atlantis Food Photography and Styling Workshop in April this year, we just knew we had to do this again.

Ettersburg Castle: A Regal Food Photography and Styling Workshop in Weimar

“Do you still get nervous?” Julia asked me a few minutes before we were to start with our presentations. I smiled and answered “Yes!” That never changes - it’s like stage fright and no matter how often I have given workshops for food photography and styling there’s always a slight sense of anxiety when the room starts filling up with a new set of participants.

Plate to Page Somerset: The Best of Britain

Does it ever become a routine when one does something often enough?

In some cases it might, yes, becoming a chore, perhaps. There are some things, however that no matter how often you repeat them, they still preserve the initial charm of the first time. And From Plate to Page certainly falls in the latter category.