Episode 28: Italy In Focus

Tuscany is an wide open canvas for all kinds of artists. You have painters, potters and our favorite, photographers. In preparing for this podcast episode we did a quick Google search of "Pictures of Tuscany", 24,000,000 results popped up. 24-MILLION! It seems everywhere you look in Tuscany there is a picture to be taken. The Duomo in Florence, thePiazza del Campo in Siena, hill towns like the famous San Gimignano, the vineyards of Chianti and the famous landscapes of the Val d'Orcia.On your next trip to Tuscany, wouldn't you like to bring all these images into focus? Of course you would, and this is why you need to meet Rob Moles. His company "Italy in Focus" offers week long photography workshops in the heart of Tuscany. Rob's workshops run in May, June, July and September. You will notice there are no workshops in August, this is because of the extreme heat that can make an all day photography excursion uncomfortable. Who are the workshops for? Rob specializes in working with beginners as well as photographers with intermediate skills. This isn't to say a professional can't participate, after all Rob knows all the secret places to get some of the best photos in Tuscany!These week long workshops are an intensive but yet a fun crash course in mastering your camera's settings, working and finding the perfect light, composition and processing your works of art in photoshop. Rob Moles is an award winning photographer and started his professional career in photography as a commercial photographer, traveling the UK shooting architectural photography for an advertising agency. But he soon developed a passion for portraiture and in 1986 he opened his own portrait studio in Nottingham.Commissions to photograph the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Joan Collins and a variety of actors and musicians from the entertainment world followed as Rob's style developed, culminating in the studio specializing solely in Black White photography. This love of Black White is still reflected in a lot of Rob's work as you will see on the pages of his website.So how did Rob end up in the heart of Tuscany? It's a journey of extremes highs and lows that took him from the U.K to New Zealand, Australia, the United States and finally Italy. A story he describes in great detail in this podcast and his determination will serve as motivation to chase your dreams no matter the circumstances and the road blocks in the way. When you sign up for one of Rob's workshops you get so much more than an education in photography. You get an experience of a lifetime that includes five nights accommodation including breakfast, transport from your arrival airport to your accommodation, transport to all photographic locations by comfortable minibus - including night tours and early morning trips. So what are you waiting for? The next time you take a trip to Tuscany you can start creating lasting memories and stunning images when you bring Italy In Focus!