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WELCOME!
Photography is still the buzz-word of the moment, something which must
in part be due to the excitement generated by digital imaging. More and
more people feel that making images is accessible to them with digital
technology in a way that it wasn't with traditional 'wet' processes. We
have seen a definite shift in our clientele with increasing numbers of
younger people joining our tours and workshops and a greater proportion
of female clients. Photography, it seems, is no longer the exclusive
domain of dusty and technologically obsessed old men – long may this
trend continue!
Astoria Bridge, Oregon © Charlie Waite
We feel that Light & Land
can take some credit in helping to promote this remarkable craft, where
technology and art blend to provide us with a truly wonderful means of
expressing our response to our environment and the beautiful planet we
inhabit. Our mission is not simply to improve the image making skills of our clients but also to pass on our enthusiasm and to inspire them to reach new creative heights.
We want to expand this educational and inspirational role beyond our tours and workshops and have chosen to publish a series of books on landscape photography. We hope that these books will build into a thoughtful library on this topic.
Working the Light, the first of the series, was available from early November 2006. We are immensely proud of the book and very grateful to Eddie Ephraums for steering his concept to magnificent fruition. The quality of his design is outstanding and only matched by the wonderful images contributed by our clients. We all feel that it is a powerful and inspirational tribute to the art of photography and especially the work of non-professionals – too often the unsung heroes of the medium. You can download sample pages as PDF from the Working the Light website.
 The second book in the series, Developing Vision & Style was published in autumn 2007. Sample spreads can be viewed on the website and Eddie will be continuing the debate on this crucial aspect of photography through its pages – just click on the Vision & Style Debate link on the site to find out more.
Take a View, our first national photographic competition was run in 2007 in association with the AA and The Sunday Times. Entries closed on May 31st and the winner of the £10,000 grand prize was announced in the summer. Please look HERE for an article on the exhibition at the National Theatre and a selection of the winning images Watch these pages for updates about next year's competition...
Using Our Website
In this rapidly changing world we want to keep everyone up to date with the latest offers and benefits. The website gives us the power to keep you instantly informed. The website is constantly updated with tour news, upcoming events and articles. You will be able to see everything that Light & Land can offer right down to the finest detail and very importantly, completely up to date.
As well as checking your Tour details you can complete the full booking process on-line. The booking procedure is a simple step-by-step process. We believe that booking on-line will be quick, easy and informative with numerous “Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) giving you a complete picture of your tour.
Share Your Thoughts & Images
We'd love you to share your experiences of photography with us and other Light & Land members. There are two main ways in which you can do this on the site.
Firstly, why not write an article and email it to:
info@lightandland.co.uk
for publication on the site. We'd love to hear about your views on photography, about special experiences for you (perhaps a great dawn or a wonderful vista after a long climb) and even technical reviews of new equipment.
You can also post some of your images on to the Gallery section of the website. Each time you travel with Light & Land you will be able to upload 4 images from that tour to share with others in the gallery – it will be a great opportunity to see one another's images from the trips and you will be able to send the link to your friends directly from the site. I know that many of you are keen to keep in touch with friends you have made on our tours and we have created a Forum where you can post your thoughts and questions on topics ranging from what equipment should I buy to car sharing en-route to one of our tours. If there's a topic that you would like to add to the Forum then please email us at: contactus@lightandland.co.uk
As well as our on-line booking service, we are introducing the Light & Land Store in 2008. We plan to offer the best brands on the market, many regularly used by our leaders. Signed copies of our leaders books will also be available on-line. Watch this space for further details!
Personal Service
Don't worry if you prefer the telephone to Google and megabytes, the same personal assistance that we have always offered will still be there you. If you want further information about any of our Tours simply contact the office (on +44 (0) 1432 839 111) quote the tour code and we will send you a printed tour sheet. You may also book your place over the phone or by filling in a printed booking form (you can download one as a PDF HERE)
What's New
We are very much hoping that 2008 will see the birth of a Light & Land journal. There is too little space here to provide full details of our plans, but we are confident that each quarter will see a publication that will cause quite a stir throughout the ever growing photographic fraternity. The wider world has already seen much of your photography in the internationally-acclaimed book Working the Light and its successor Developing Vision & Style, now Light & Land photography and philosophy can become even more immediate through the Light & Land journal.
In our constant enthusiasm to improve and refine our service, you may remember that earlier in the year we asked you to take part in a survey. A huge percentage of you kindly participated. The big question was, should we continue to provide a full colour brochure of our tours or not? Thanks to your overwhelming and informative response, and indeed our continued awareness of the fact that over 95% of all bookings are now being made through our site, this will be our last Light & Land brochure. For the small number of you who may despair at this news, do not be alarmed.
You will be delighted to learn that our Light & Land journal will not only have enthralling articles and images, by both yourselves and Light & Land leaders, but also details of the courses and workshops that we are offering. One of the great advantages of a quarterly journal is, of course, the opportunity to inform you of new tours on a regular basis. Some of these will be highlighted by photographic essays from those of you who have enjoyed the same experience in previous years.
In conclusion, the entire 2008 brochure is now available as a downloadable PDF. As in previous years, as soon as new tours and workshops are organised, they will appear on the site. This will give you a three-fold opportunity to keep track of what is going on.
We very much hope that you will welcome and enjoy our new Light & Land journal when it appears in 2008.
Finally...
Many of you have generously given of your time by completing the questionnaires over the past year. This has been invaluable to Light & Land and helps us develop and further improve our tours. In this way we can maintain the reputation that we currently enjoy. Many thanks to you all.
Thank you for all your loyal support over the years and we do hope that we will see you with your camera sometime, somewhere in 2008 and beyond.
Charlie Waite
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