After an exhaustive road-trip, calling in at eleven of the UK's top photographic University Colleges, Hasselblad UK completed the second half of its Educational Studioday Tour with visits to the De Montford University in Leicester, the University of Wales in Newport, Gloucester College and the Edinburgh College of Arts.
After a successful first half to the tour, hopes were high for an equally successful second half, with the tour picking up momentum with each Educational Centre it visited, and the four remaining dates certainly didn't disappoint.
Students of De Montford University in Leicester turned up in great numbers, all keen to get their hands on Hasselblad's H4D digital camera system, and 'hats off' to four of the university's female fashion students, who bravely modelled in their revealing lingerie designs for their first venture in to modelling. Although nervous at first, the student photographers did well to put the models at ease, and the result was some fantastic images.
The visit to the University of Wales saw the tour leave England for the first time, with the high enthusiasm of the students proving to be consistent with the previous tour dates. Students paid particular attention to Hasselblad's new 'True Focus' technology, exclusive to the H4D, and experimented with it in their test shots to see how focus on their focal point was retained even after recomposing.
Whilst the brave lingerie models at De Montford University proved to be impressive subjects, Gloucestershire College came up with the equally impressive idea of bringing in some props for their fashion students to pose with. Not content with the odd stool or feather boa, they sought help from the local motorbike dealer, who promptly wheeled three Vespa mopeds and a Quad Bike in to the studio!
With the college's female fashion students dressed in matching 60's attire, the photography students were more than forgiven for wanting to grab the now retro V-System camera for a few shots, to match the nostalgic theme, whilst keeping a modern feel to proceedings with the associated CFV-39 digital back, allowing them to maintain the controls and feel of the original Hasselblad 500 series cameras, but instead of film, capturing the image digitally with 39 MPixels.
The volcanic ash cloud from Iceland did its best to disrupt preparations for the visit to Edinburgh College of Arts, the last venue on the tour. However, 'where there's a will, there's a way', with the Hasselblad team travelling north by car from their Hertfordshire base in the south of England, taking in the stunning countryside in the Lake District and Scottish Borders during the 7 hour journey.
The trip was made even more worthwhile for the Studioday, with two large groups of Edinburgh College of Art's students coming along for what was, for many members of the groups, their first go with a digital Hasselblad. The evening session for Edinburgh's local professional photographers saw model, Stephanie, posing in a range of evening wear, with a few H3D owners coming along to try out the additions the H4D has to offer.
Hasselblad UK's Mr. David Summerfield, who managed the Educational Studioday Tour, was impressed with the success of the tour, "The Tour has provided over 600 students the opportunity to experience the Hasselblad H4D-40 close up. Initial apprehension of handling a product they could only dream of was quickly replaced by enthusiasm as they discovered how easy the camera was to use. It was a joy to see their reaction when their images were processed and displayed using the Phocus software. The response was replicated by over 100 Professional Photographers who attended by invitation to enjoy the Hasselblad experience."
He added, “The tour went from strength to strength as it progressed, with news of the tour filtering through to both students and photographers with each event, through media such as the printed press, Twitter and Facebook. This success of the HEST tour has encouraged us to repeat the exercise later in the year and forward into 2011. We have a duty to photographers of the future to provide the best possible products enabling them to maximise their creative potential.”
Hasselblad UK Managing Director, Mr. Chris Russell-Fish, knows the importance of such events, “These road shows are very much based around increasing awareness, and dispelling misconceptions about Hasselblad. Where better to start changing hearts and minds than with students and our future photographers? I look forward to obtaining feedback and comments from the students, on both what they experienced, and their expections of us for the future.”
To find out about Hasselblad UK's Studioday programme, and for the latest dates and venues, please visit www.handsonahasselblad.com
View a video of the Studiodays on Hasselblad UK's Facebook page.