Gulf Photo Plus announces 'Foto Weekend 2009'

The four-day event which is new on the Dubai calendar, has attracted 5 international photographers who will present a programme of lectures and workshops designed to sharpen the skills of photography enthusiasts and amateurs in preparation for Gulf Photo Plus 2010, which has garnered the reputation as the creme de la creme of photography events in the region.

Participant feedback was the driving force behind the introduction of the new Foto Weekend 2009 by Gulf Photo Plus according to organiser Mohamed Somji, "A substantial number of participants at Gulf Photo Plus earlier this year mentioned that they would like the event to continue for a longer duration or have the event more regularly so that they could take advantage of the world-class instructors to improve their skills in various genres of photography as well as hone their skills in Photoshop."

"Unfortunately for a variety of reasons both requests were impossible based on costs involved and photographer availability. We thought a weekend of workshops in the most sought after disciplines was the best way forward and a great solution," he added.

Each year the annual Gulf Photo Plus event (held in March) attracts the best in the business from all corners of the globe, who impart their knowledge and experience to participants through more than 50 workshops and lectures on specific areas of photography.

"The pool of talent that converges in Dubai each March for our annual event is unmatched globally. The new Foto Weekend 2009 by Gulf Photo Plus has been introduced to provide participants with an opportunity to bridge the gap in their skill-set and techniques, to ensure they are at a level where they can most benefit from tuition and workshops presented by the world's best in their fields such as Joe McNally and David Hobby who will be teaching at Gulf Photo Plus 2010," Mohamed said.

In addition to both annual events, Dubai Knowledge Village based Gulf Photo Plus offers ongoing photography workshops throughout the year, however, Mohamed Somji says, finding highly qualified instructors locally for the intermediate levels has been challenging.

"We identified the need to bridge that gap between our regular workshops for beginners and the more advanced workshops we offer at our annual event. This long weekend event allows us to bring the world's best teachers in their field to take the confident beginner on to the intermediate levels, thus preparing them for more intermediate or advanced workshops at our annual event in 2010," he added.

Five international photographers will showcase their skills at Foto Weekend 2009 by Gulf Photo Plus:

Bobbi Lane: is a commercial photographer specialising in creative portraits and a dedicated photo educator. She is the Chair of the Education Committee for Advertising Photographers of America. Bobbi will present Portraits Unplugged, Studio Lighting, Flash Class, Portrait Tips, Tricks and Posing as well as Directing Talent/People.

Chris Hurtt: is a freelance commercial photographer and an experienced workshop teacher. He's a present Night Photography, Travel Photography, On Location and How to See Creatively.

David Nightingale: teaches how to apply computer editing skills with a discerning, artistic eye. His blog, www.chromasia.com won him worldwide recognition and awards for his distinct post processing style. David will present Intermediate and Advanced Photoshop, Working with Colour, Enhancing Portraits, Making the Most of the Curves Tool, Creating Dramatic Images and a special photography class - Landscape.

Robin Nichols: Editor of the popular Better Digital Australia magazine and a dedicated instructor at Sydney University. There's no one better to introduce you to digital photography & Photoshop. Robin will present From Capture to Print, Photoshop Elements and Digital Scrapbooking.

And finally, David Tejada, who will be visiting Dubai for the first time, is one of Colorado's most highly regarded location corporate/commercial photographers, internationally recognised for his dramatic and innovative photographic lighting techniques and graphic style.

David has been running a very popular workshop called Small Strobes Big Results all over the US (www.smallstrobesbigresults.com) and will present more intermediate and advanced classes such as Small Flashes Big Results as well as Corporate / Industrial Photography.

Foto Weekend 2009 by Gulf Photo Plus will be held 19-22 November at Dubai Knowledge Village.

Organiser, Mohamed Somji, says:

"Gulf Photo Plus and the Foto Weekend 2009 are our platforms to raise awareness about the art of photography and nurture talent in the region."