Photographer interview: Marsel van Oosten
Digital SLR chats to Marsel van Oosten, the nature photographer-turned-tutor
Nature photographer Marsel van Oosten runs several fabulous photographic workshops a year all around the world. We spoke to him about what his photo trips and what photographer expect to gain from going on one
Digital SLR Photography: What courses do you offer?
Marsel van Oosten:We deliver nature photography tours and workshops throughout the year to worldwide destinations, including Kenya, Alaska, Zambia, Japan and the United States.
Who are these courses ideal for?
Our courses are designed for photo enthusiasts of all experience levels. We get people who have just bought their first camera to professional and semi-professional photographers.
The beginning and intermediate photographers join for the learning experience, while the pros and semi-pros join for the fact that our tours are very efficient and no valuable shooting time is lost. We are at the right place at the right time.
All the locations we visit, we have visited ourselves extensively in order to scout for the best spots, and the best time of day for the perfect angle of the light. If you want to improve your photography skills, enjoy travelling with a small group of like-minded photographers and want to have fun, then you’ll love our tours.
What equipment would a trainee need to attend one of your photo trips?
MvO: It's not about the equipment, it's about your creative vision. So it's not necessary to have professional equipment to join any of our tours. A camera, a wide angle, a (medium) telephoto, and a tripod are usually all you need.
DSLR: What can trainees expect to gain/learn from your courses?
MvO:The most important thing they will learn is how to see in a creative and analytical way. The whole thinking process before pressing the shutter is much more important than gear or equipment. One of the presentations I usually give on our trips is aptly called: Stop looking, start seeing.
DSLE: Why might photographers want to attend your course over others?
MvO: We are a husband and wife company and we lead all our tours together. My wife takes care of the organisation, I take care of everything photography and as a result I have more time to spend with the participants. As we’re a husband and wife team, we tend to get more couples joining us - not the typical all-male gear freaks. We like mixed groups: different experience levels, different ages, different cultures – it makes it all very dynamic and fun.
Most photographers that go on a photo tour want to improve their photography and return with great shots. My best advice is to have a look at the portfolio of the tour leader - if that's the sort of photographs you want to make yourself, it makes sense to join that specific photographer.
There are many photographers offering tours nowadays, so there is plenty of choice. However, there are a great many photographers that have started to run tours and workshops for no other reason than to have the participants pay for their costs and to be able to travel to places they have never been before themselves.
In those cases the tour leader knows just as little about the location as yourself, the only difference being that you just paid for their trip. Look at the credentials of the tour leader, i.e. has their work been published in any major publications or won any awards.
On our trips I give daily briefings on what to expect, what specific things to look out for. I'll be shooting alongside the participants so that they can see how I'm working and ask questions. I also usually give at least one presentation on a subject related to the tour, and there are regular image reviews during which we show each other our results and I give tips and advice.
We’re very easy-going, flexible people with a good sense of humour. If you like to have a good time and take great shots, we're it.
DSLR: On average, how long do the courses last and how big are the groups?
MvO: We offer courses ranging from a few days to a couple of weeks. On average our shorter courses last a week, the longer ones two weeks. We prefer to travel with small groups - this is better for group dynamics, better on location, and it gives me more time with each participant. Group size differs from tour to tour, but on average we have groups between eight-ten people.
DSLR: What's your favourite photo trip/s and why?
MvO:Japan and Namibia. They’re both round trips and offer an incredible diversity of subject matter. Usually we spend two days on a location to get both sunrise and sunset shots before moving to the next one. The round trips are also most popular among people that want to bring a non-photographing friend or partner.
DSLR: What's a typical day like on one of your photo trips?
MvO:Our trips are action-packed. We usually rise very early, depending on the location and the subject matter. Our landscape courses, for instance, are probably not a good idea if you have trouble rising early in the morning.
We want to be on location long before the good light starts, so that we have plenty of time to find a good spot and get prepared. On the round trips we travel during the day when the light is not good anyway. This is the perfect time to upload your images onto your laptop and make a small selection for the image reviews.
Presentations will also be done during the day, typically around lunchtime. On every trip we will plan a couple of image reviews that are always a very popular event on our tours. I'm always there to help with tips and advice and although we do a lot of photography, we realise this is also your holiday, so if you want to sleep late one morning or stay in for the afternoon that's fine.
