UK Based Courses (plus a general hello from me)

Hi all,

I've been lurking on here for a little while - and finally post #1 arrives.

I've been looking into what courses are available in the UK based around digital photography, and portrait photography in particular.

I was just wondering if any of you have attended any courses and if any would be worth my while.



Seeing as how this is my first post and all - by way of introduction (and so as not to start loads of threads) :

I'm a rookie in the photography world - depite having a Pentax MX left to me when my grandfather died (along with a good amount of kit). The final nail in my point-and-click's coffin was a my son being born and subsequently getting very mobile. Once I had some money set aside for it, it was time to go shopping.

In addition to the MX, there was also a Ricoh XR-7, plus multiple lenses, filters etc. There was no choice - it had to be a Pentax Got the K10D now, and not looking back. The first couple of "decent" photos of my son convinced my wife that the wad of cash I'd just parted with was well worth it.

I'm currently an IT manager, but looking to start freelance web-design, and also I'm looking at doing some portrait shooting at the business my wife's due to start next year.

Welcome aboard Adam

No, I haven't attended any classes... yet.
I thought about the NYIP (www.nyip.com) but decided against it for now.

It depends what you are looking to gain, but these resources might prove helpful:
www.ephotozine.com (run by the same crew as this site ) Enormous resource.

Brian Peterson's books are worth a read:
Learning to see Creatively and Understanding Exposure (you might need to scout around for the new or second hand editions on Amazon)

Then, there's your local library for general photographic stuff.

And lastly, there's this forum if you have any technical questions (specifically related to Pentax, but also general ones too).

Hope that helps!
Matt