I've been told about an exciting new photo course being set up by Park Cameras. I've posted the press release below for those who are interested - the company is based in the UK, so bear that in mind!

Park Cameras Announces its ‘School of Photography’ Park Cameras new retail premises in Burgess Hill will see the company provide a comprehensive range of workshops, seminars and training courses across a vast range of photographic genres under the banner of the ‘Park Cameras School of Photography’. Held on a regular basis, seminars, workshops and courses will be part of a three-tier approach adopted by Park Cameras. This will see the company utilise their own inhouse trainer as well as provide courses run by product specialists from leading brands such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sony and also experts from across the photographic industry eager to impart their knowledge to the photographic benefit of others. The very first of these workshops - Fashion and Beauty Lighting with Jon Gray - is already on sale with places going fast. The day, based around Jon’s insights into how to enhance fashion and beauty subjects through the utilisation of lighting equipment, is highly hands on with Jon guiding the group through the various techniques before inviting delegates to put what they have heard into practice, with the opportunity to shoot a professional model in Park Cameras dedicated studio. Designed to be very much hands on, the latest Bowens lighting equipment will be on hand to provide a truly memorable and informative day to those that attend. In addition, Park Cameras’ own inhouse seminars, workshops and course are also now on sale, offering consumers a wide range of opportunities to develop their skills, regardless of their level of ability or photographic interest. Ultimately it is hoped that Park Cameras will offer one of the widest and diverse number of courses in the country, continuing to ensure that it offers unrivalled levels of service to its customers. For more information please visit www.parkcameras.com/training and find out how you can benefit from one of Park Cameras new photographic courses. About Park Cameras Ltd Park Cameras Ltd was founded over 37 years ago by Managing Director Reg Atkins. Over these years the company has come to be recognised as one of the UK’s leading independent photographic retailers, catering for the needs of amateur and professional photographers alike. As one of leading stockists of brands such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sony as well as vast range of associated photographic brands, Park Cameras continues to offer one of the widest range of photographic products in the country, both instore and online. The company currently operates with two stores in Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath and is currently finalising a move to an all-new purpose built retail outlet in Burgess Hill that will greatly increase the level of products and services that the company is able to offer to its consumers. For more information on the diverse nature of Park Cameras business please visit www.parkcameras.com or call us on 08450 50 22 66.

Victoria is a recent member to the gallery and if this image is anything to go by, she will soon be filling her pages with gorgeous images. This image was chosen as Pic of the Week for a number of reasons. Firstly, I think the colours work really well. The green background contrasts nicely with the girl’s hair and gives an overall feeling of nature (helped by the sunflowers). Secondly, it’s sometimes nice to have a portrait where the subject isn’t staring out at you. By having the eyes cast down, Victoria evokes a more esoteric mood. And lastly, it’s just really well done! The skin is nice and smooth, the billowing hair adds a touch of movement and the composition is good. Fantastic work, Victoria!

If you have a few moments to spare, head over to www.photofaceoff.co.uk. Set up by our sister title, Digital Photographer, it’s a crazily addictive game where you get to decide which image you like best out of two random photos pulled from the site. As soon as you’ve made your choice, another two will appear and the fun can begin again!I’ve said to go there if you have a few moments spare, but the truth is I suspect you’ll find yourself on there for a lot longer. In fact, the mag will probably be late this month as I’ve been playing it so much!

Pat is a well-deserved winner of the Pic of the Week, with this stunning creation. I love the wistful gaze of the woman and the scanned textures and paint splats turn a classic pose into something more modern in feel. The colours work really well too, showing how a relatively simple colour palette can still be very striking. My favourite part is the transparent, sheeny effect on the ruffles as well as the treatment given to the skin; it almost looks as though it is glowing! Great stuff.

I know that a lot of you really enjoy taking digital photos. One of our sister titles, Digital Photographer, is organising a great competition. The Digital Photographer of the Year Awards is open to anyone with a passion for digital photography. This year’s categories include Portrait, Landscape, Documentary, Travel, Black and White, Macro, Wildlife and Wedding. Each category will crown a winner and there will also be an overall Digital Photographer of the Year. Categories are open for entries now, with a closing date of 14 November 2008. Head over to http://www.dphotographer.co.uk/competitions_2008.php to enter the competition and good luck!

I’ll admit that I will always gravitate towards anything cat-related, but who can fail to love Amanda’s image? I think the use of a black background is an excellent idea, as it really emphasises the brushstrokes. The limited colour palette helps to make the eyes really stand out, drawing to viewer in to the image. Excellent work, Amanda!

We now have over 10,000 images on the website, which is a fantastic achievement considering the high quality of the artwork you’ve uploaded! It’s been great seeing how some of you have grown and improved as artists. There’s a lot of amazing stuff on the site, representing all skill levels and interests, making it a truly inspirational place to visit. So give yourself all a big pat on the back and then get back to painting so we can hit 20,000 images!

John’s textured creation is a deserved winner of Pic of the Week, with a combination of interesting colours and patterns and all sorts. I love the background colours peeping through the top application of paint and the crackly, canvas texture adds to the appeal. The muted colour tones gives a vintage feel to the piece and the scene in itself is lovely. Excellent work, John!

Machelle takes the latest, and very much belated, picture of the week award. I loved the colours in the image and the feeling of a day winding down. The texture on the mountains is very believable and the subtle suggestion of snow on the trees makes it a perfect winter wonderland.

Eric Schranz takes the Pic of the Week title this week with his lovely fairy painting. I liked the small palette of colours, and the expression on the fairy is very intriguing. The use of the Image Hose is interesting and the textured brush strokes gives and almost 3D feel to the picture. My most favourite thing, though, is the transparent treatment given to the wings. Beautiful!