Do you want to take the photos you take with your smartphone to the next level? Are you interested in meeting other like-minded mobile photographers, immersing yourself in this rapidly evolving genre of photography and learning new skills and techniques?
If so, then you’re not going to want to miss SmartFotoFest, the one-day Festival of Smartphone Photography that’s being held this coming June at the National University of Ireland (NUI) in Galway on the picturesque west coast of Ireland.
Organized by the people behind the hugely successful mobile journalism conference MojoFest, SmartFotoFest consists of eight workshops and photo walks led by some of the world’s leading mobile photographers, including Jack Hollingsworth, Nicki Fitz-Gerald, Tim Bingham, Dan Rubin and Paul Moore.
Workshops are going to cover a variety of photographic genres, including street photography, candid portraiture, light painting with the Slow Shutter Cam app, landscape photography, smartphone post-production editing and even underwater photography.
SmartFotoFest organizer Glen Mulcahy has been at the forefront of mobile journalism, filmmaking and mobile content creation for many years. The idea behind SmartFotoFest was born from the popularity of the photography sessions, workshops and photo walks at MojoFest.
I asked organizer Glen Mulcahy where the inspiration came from for SmartFotoFest. “Every year at MojoFest, the smartphone photo workshops and photo walks are the things I hear repeated, huge praise about. Each and every year, I get a multitude of DMs, emails and calls from members of the public who really want to attend those sessions but who either have no interest in the extended schedule or simply can’t afford the overall event tickets.”
Mulcahy went on to say, “This year, I wanted to offer the skills and experience that professional mobile content creators have been learning over the last five years at MojoFest and make them as accessible as possible to a broader audience. I also wanted to give the team of regular photography hosts and trainers a chance to run a workshop of their choice that really delves into their expertise. For the very first time at SmartFotoFest, you can book a specific workshop of your choice at a modest fee.”
SmartFotoFest promises to be a truly unique event where the key takeaways will be skills, experience and making new friends. Each workshop is going to be limited in numbers to ensure participants get hands-on time with the trainers and learn the theory behind the session.
Glen also enthused, “It can be a rare experience to take time out of the daily bustle and really give yourself the opportunity to ‘see’ images. It’s a skill that develops in groups as they respond to each other and even compete with each other. All the workshops have a practical photography element – even the underwater session – so it’s very much going to be a hands-on experience.”
“As a result, you’ll not only learn new and valuable skills, but you’ll also join a network of like-minded, passionate smartphone photographers who often go on to build communities online around their shared experiences.”
To find out more about SmartFotoFest workshops, visit
www.smartfotofest.com
and book your place. Be warned: places are limited, so don’t delay.
