PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURE VACATIONS

Guest Showcase

The World’s Most Creative and Inspiring Photo Adventure Vacations

JOSÉ HELLMEISTER

PHOTOGRAPHY ENTHUSIAST

BRAZIL

We first met Jose in Naples, Italy where he joined us on our Naples & Amalfi Photo Adventure. It was clear from the outset that Jose was a real gentleman, a fine person, and a pleasure to be around. But what really impressed us was Jose’s thirst to learn about photography. Next Jose joined our group in Croatia where he explored this beautiful country from north to south and captured some really outstanding images. Croatia seemed to be a turning point for him. Jose stayed connected with PWA through email, Facebook and other social media, so the learning continued. Finally, Jose joined us in Cuba for a really wonderful time. It’s been cool for us to see Jose’s progress with every photo adventure he has attended. We believe Jose would agree. Thank you Jose for being part of the family!

On our fourth day of our Croatia Photo Adventure our photographer guide brought us to UNESCO village of Trogir, an amazing village founded in the 3rd century B.C. Here we visited the St. Lawrence Cathedral. The construction began in 1213 and was completed in the 17th century. I took this photo under low light conditions without a tripod. My ISO was set at 4000. The challenge was to find the right composition, right symmetry and the right light. (see more photos below)

ABOUT JOSÉ

I was born in São Paulo, a big city I call home, and a city that never sleeps. I am Product Development Engineer with more than 30 years experience in the automotive engineering industry. Within my professional activities I work passionately on details and perfection. What brought me to the photography? I’ve loved photos since I was young. I would admire my father’s photographs and I always tried to learn from them. Now, at this time of my life, I try to combine my love for travel with my passion for photography.

A CONVERSATION WITH JOSÉ

Why did you choose Photo Workshop Adventures?

I read in a European photo magazine an article about “One day with a Professional Photographer” and how much I could learn. Trips for Landscape Photography, Architectural and Street Photography. So I started searching the internet in search of a workshop. I found several tours offered by different companies but always with a big amount of participants per group and the itinerary did not fulfill my wishes. When I found PWA and all the adventures they offered I realized that they would be the right choice. My first adventure was to Naples and Amalfi Coast, the second one to Croatia, and Cuba was my third choice. All were amazing, and I learned so much in such a short time.

What did you enjoy most about the adventure?

The organization of the workshop was great. Everything is very well planned, you do not need to think about where to go, which is the best time to be at the right place to take a picture. The hotels, the food, the places to visit, each detail of the trip have been planned before. About PWA in Croatia, I can say, that Croatia is a wonderful country with beautiful people and very safe. So far with PWA I’ve had the opportunity to be with very good Professional Photographers, Michael Chinnici, Roman Martin and Marko Vrdoljak. I learned a lot in a short time.

What do you enjoy most about photography?

Photography is like painting. It is a way you can transmit to the others the way you see and feel about things. The biggest challenge is to transform the real life image 3D in 2D picture. To reach this challenge you need to be patient, to relax, take a breath and looking for each detail in your surroundings, and try to find the best perspective to reach your target. For me, when I am photographing its my time, my relaxation.

What are your goals and ambitions as a photographer?

As a hobby photographer I can combine trips that I love to do and at the same time improve my photos. After each adventure / trip I have so much pleasure to show my new pictures to my friends. Each new trip I try to improve the effect of light, shadows and to get more emotion in the faces of people.

View more of José’s work on Instagram