The Tutors
Desi Fontaine
Honorary Fellow of The Master Photographers Association
Fellow of The British Institute of Professional Photography
Fellow of The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers
Desi Fontaine is an established people and places photographer. She has an Honours degree in photography from the University of Westminster and Fellowships from the three major photographic bodies including her recent Honorary Fellowship (see above). She also has six coveted Kodak European Gold Awards.
As well as being a mentor for newer professionals, helping them to climb the ladder of professional qualifications, she is called upon as a judge or to head judging panels for many of the major national and international professional and amateur photographic competitions and awards.
A former chairman of The Guild of British Portrait Photographers, in October 2009 she was elected as the 2009/2010 President of The Master Photographers Association. Following this, she is now the new Head of Associateship and Fellowship Qualifications of the MPA.
At her busy studio and gallery, the largest part of Desi’s time is spent on photographic portrait commissions for families, children, business portraiture, actors’ and entertainers’ promotional shots, PR shots for website and dating sites, milestone birthdays, special anniversaries and celebration get- togethers and a small number of weddings and civil ceremonies.
Desi loves teaching others how to improve their photography in most genres and runs workshops and one to one tuition at her studio for both amateurs and professionals alike. She has run photographic trips for Light and Land for about seven years and really enjoys helping photographers of all levels and skills to come back with great images. She has been a tutor on previous trips to Provence, Cuba and the annual Carnivale di Venezia and now has her own workshop travel company, The Photographic Journey, where future trips are planned for Provence, Puglia, Morocco, Venice, Route ’66 and Montenegro.
Desi’s private gallery is open for long weekends, three or four times a year, to showcase and sell her catalogue of Fine Art travel work to collectors.
Desi has been passionate about her craft since a young age and could never imagine happily retiring from her profession!
Giles Christopher
Associate Member of The Master Photographers Association
Winner MPA - Landscape & Travel Photographer
Winner Professional Photographer Magazine – Fine Art Photographer
Giles started his Photographic career as an Assistant to some of the UK’s leading feature film Photographers, travelling around the world to different film studios and locations. From here, he moved into the film industry, working his way up through the ranks of the camera department to cameraman.
After 20 years in the film industry and with numerous feature films, tv dramas, commercials and pop promos under his belt, Giles moved back to his first love – Photography. Ten years ago, and taking everything he had learnt as a film cameraman – including lighting, composition, camera knowledge in both film and digital formats - he set up Media Wisdom Photography Ltd. He has gone on to win numerous international awards, and is now the main Photographer in a successful and busy photographic studio, specialising in advertising and commercial photography.
One of his very first clients was Loch Fyne Restaurants, and he has worked with them ever since photographing their restaurant interiors, people and food. Giles also photographs and creates all the photographic artwork hanging in the Loch Fyne Restaurants around the country, as well as the photography for their packaging, websites and hotels.
Giles was thrilled to be invited as a guest Tutor for The Photographic Journey. It gives him an excuse to share and photograph some of the landscapes he knows and loves around Loch Fyne and the surrounding areas, as well as catching up with great friends made over the years on the Loch Fyne projects.
