This week I have had the pleasure of working on the great CLIX project. This is a fantastic project, as it allows me to pass on my expertise, experience and hardworking methodology to potential photographers of tomorrow.
Taken from the Grendon Study Centre’s Blog here are excerpts of how I got on;
“We have the student ambassador’s year 9 group from Wollaston School taking part in the county wide CLIX Olympic Photography Project. Using Olympic values as the underlying theme, the group have been taking part in practical sessions with Grendon’s instructors as well as photography skills work with Chris Denner on site at Grendon Hall.”
“We got some great photos of the pupils in the pleasant countryside surroundings of Nene Lakes.”
“In the afternoon Chris led a brainstorming session around how to ‘mash-up’ or mix the photos of iconic tourist locations in Northamptonshire with sporting images. The groups came up with all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas such as bowling in a church aisle, rugby players dancing ballet at Franklins Gardens, playing football on a plane’s wings at Sywell aerodrome and rail grinding a skateboard down a roller coaster rail at Wicksteed Park.”
“Then it was time to have a go at taking some photos out and about round Grendon Hall’s grounds. In pairs the students looked at different and interesting ways to take photos which will be added to a bank of images to be used for ‘mashing-up’ photos later in the week.”
“Day Three of the CLIX project saw the group visit Wicksteed Park in Kettering, a local and national tourist destination. The park’s rides don’t open until later in the month but there was plenty for our budding photographers to see and take photos of.
“We explored the park, focusing on colour and shape. Chris led a discussion on this and how certain colours suggest certain moods – known as colour psychology. The bird area was popular as the peacocks were very vocal and showed off their magnificent tail – loads of photographic potential.”
“Back at Grendon, Chris led a workshop on ‘what and how’ to put mash-up designs together. He showed some of his work mixing fashion and sport together and asked the group to come up with their own versions. What would they do and how would they do it? Then the pairs used photos they had taken over the 3 days to create their own mash-up.”
Evaluation Comments from the Ambassadors Group:
What I learnt:
How to canoe and about Chris! Amy
You can do mash-ups even in photography
I learnt so much about the war from going to Sywell and all about mash-ups. I learnt loads about photography – Courtney
What I enjoyed:
Talking about photography – Courtney
I had fun doing all the activities and enjoyed everything. I enjoyed the photography with Chris and overall had an amazing time – Beth M
I think today was a really good way to spend my birthday because the climbing and archery were so fun and we’re all friends. Chris inspired us all about photography and made me more interested in it – Courtney
I’ve enjoyed being with my friends and working with Chris, he’s an inspiration – Beth W
Read the full blog article coverage on these great 3 days here.
Photographs taken by CLIX.
Chris Denner's Blog 