Zurich Photography Workshop

Matthew Osborne Photography

May 2015

A few weeks ago I flew from the UK to Switzerland for a long weekend of 1-2-1 model photography tuition in Zurich.  The local photographer I was teaching uses some similar cameras to me including both analogue film Leicas and digital Leicas but also medium format film cameras such as the Mamiya 645 Super.

Cameras for the trip:

• Digital Leica M9 Camera
• 1950s Leica M3 Film Camera (50mm frameline)
• 1950s Leica M2 Film Camera (35mm framelines)
• Voigtlander Bessa R3A Camera
• Leica Summilux ASPH 50mm f1.4
• 1950s Leica Summicron 50mm f2 DR + close focus Goggles
• 1950s Leica Elmar 50mm f2.8 Collapsible
• Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f1.4 (for M2)
• Fuji GF670
• 35mm and 120 Film

I only had a 8kg cabin bag allowance so had to pack as light as possible.  I decided to take more film camera bodies than lenses as I knew I wanted to shoot with different film stocks and pack my smallest medium format camera, the 6×7 folding Fuji GF670.

Film packed included:

Fresh stock –

• Kodak Portra 160
• Kodak Ektar 100
• Kodak T-Max 100
• Kentmere 100 (**first time trying this film – excited!)
• CineStill 50D (**first time trying this film – excited!)
• Rollei Retro 80S (**first time trying this film – excited!)
• Ilford Pan F 50 ( (**first time trying this film – excited!))

Saturday

The first model for the three day photography workshop was an agency model, Joy.  Joy was a young new model but took direction well and was very enthusiastic.

The second model/ dancer was Julia who we shot with until it was dark.  I slept well once I reached my hotel! 🙂

Sunday

Day two started with a couple shoot with a twist.  Local model and band member, Taisha asked if we wanted to do a band shoot with her and her band partner, Ben.  I like a challenge so we accepted and I shot it differently to my normal portraits.  My take on a music cover shoot.

We then did some model style images with just Taisha before finishing

For the afternoon shoot we met agency model Nadja.  My Fuji GF670 needed a fresh battery so I borrowed a Mamiya 645 Super to shoot some medium format film alongside 35mm.

Monday

For day three we met with agency model Anne-Marie.  We had scoped locations for the shoot the evening before so we had a plan of where we would be shooting.  For the third day in a row we had blue skies and sunshine so I felt very forntunate if a little warm!  The overhead sunlight was actually quite a challenge and was too harsh for Anne-Marie’s skin in many situations.  I tried to demonstrate how to get the best from a 5in1 reflector and used every trick I knew to make the light more manageable yet still shoot out in the open as we had planned for.

Film Images

I will share some of the photos taken on separate film type used blog posts when I get chance.  It was the first time for me shooting with 35mm black and white Ilford Pan F 50, Rollei Retro 80S and Kentmere 100 films and also my first chance to try out 35mm CineStill 50D.  The bright light conditions we had were perfect for these types of slower film stocks so I felt lucky it all came together for the trip after months of planning and co-ordinating everything.

August

The Zurich photography workshop was such a success I have already been invited back to run another workshop in August!  For the next trip I will take a wider lens to capture more of the beautiful city within my images.  Looking forward to it already!

Your City

If you would like me to fly out to meet you in your home city and provide 1-2-1 photography tuition, or teach photography to you and a small group it is more than possible.  You do not need to own or use a Leica camera nor do you need to shoot with film.  It would probably suit experienced photographers looking to master portraiture or those wanting to learn how to work with a model more so than a beginner.

Matt