Unleashed Workshop 2024 Recap
Created by renowned pet photographers Charlotte Reeves and Craig Turner-Bullock, Unleashed Workshop offers in-person tuition for pet photographers worldwide.
Over three days, participants were fully immersed in dog photography, pushing their skills to new levels.
The three shoots took place in beautiful locations around Arrowtown and Queenstown in New Zealand's South Island, where the autumn leaves cast a golden glow over everything.
The Earth has music for those who listen.
- William Shakespeare
"The greatest thing you can do in life is to follow what brings you joy, connect with those who share your passion, and always be open to learning more."
Over three full days, the students were invited to dive headlong into exploring their passion, to develop their skills and their individual styles. From the first minute, they committed themselves to their experience, listening eagerly to every nugget of information that came their way, and using what they learned to improve their skills both in the field and later, in post processing.
Surrounded by like-minded, dog-obsessed people, they found themselves in the perfect environment to experiment and play with their craft, to push their boundaries and discover new techniques.
In this season where every leaf becomes as beautiful as the sweetest spring flower, before floating gently to the ground and forming a patchwork quilt over the cooling ground, our participants found the calming influence of Mother Nature in all her majesty, grounding them and giving inspiration to create their beautiful images.
A humble orchard and a loyal dog became canvas and muse for our artists to capture, with Charlotte and Craig always at hand to provide gentle guidance, suggestions, and assistance where needed, whilst giving the students space to find their own voices in the space.
"Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go."
This was our third visit to Arrowtown for the Unleashed Workshop, having become besotted with it from the very first sight. And it didn't let us down on this occasion, with its traditionally flamboyant display of shocking golds, reds, and greens.
Our first trip to this special place was during winter of 2022, for the very first Unleashed Workshop. So enamoured were we, we knew we just had to return for the magic of Autumn, and plans for another Unleashed Workshop in April 2023 were quickly formed.
As expected, Arrowtown did not disappoint with its majestic autumnal cloak, and we just knew that we had to return this one final time, before heading off to pastures new.
"I feel so very fortunate to have attended this workshop in Arrowtown. Craig and Charlotte encourage you to achieve, regardless of your level of knowledge and reminding you that you are there to improve yourself. Their willingness to share their vast knowledge and bring their level of teaching down to each individual need's was truly appreciated."
"This workshop has made me think differently about so many aspects of what makes a photo work. Charlotte, Craig and the fantastic group of people on the workshop, made this a truly valuable experience, one I will never forget!"
- Claire Penno
Three days of world-class instruction
Unleashed Workshops empowers participants to bring their creative visions to life. While many other workshops rely on gallery-style setups where scenes are arranged for participants to shoot, an Unleashed Workshop focuses on providing individuals with the tools to interpret each dog and environment in their own unique way.
During the daily classroom sessions, we discussed the upcoming shoots and anticipated challenges at each location.
Upon arriving at the shoot, Charlotte and Craig guided the students through their approach to scouting for potential angles, followed by demonstrations from both instructors, setting participants up for success.
Throughout the shoot, each pair of students was encouraged not only to ask questions but also to articulate their own vision for the scene, resulting in truly individual images.
And three incredible shooting locations
The diversity offered in the Arrowtown area at this time of year is incredible.
Day one was spent at Jackson Orchards, followed by the olde-worlde urban setting of Cromwell's gold-rush town.
Day two found us at Thurlby Domain, a fairytale scene of burbling waterfalls, russet red apple orchards, and stunning stone buildings.
On the last day we headed back to nature, to the cold waters of the Arrow River itself, where the turning leaves shimmered like a cloak of burnished bronze.
Every shoot was filled to the brim with superstar dogs, of all shapes and sizes, to get those creative juices flowing. Alaskan Huskies, Rottweilers, Basset Hounds, Border Collies, German Shepherds, and mixed breeds of every variety, each one had our students cooing and falling a little bit more in love with this genre of photography.
Shoot One: Cromwell
Our first shoot started at Jackson Orchards, where the well-tended stone fruit trees provided ideal framing and leading lines for some great shots. The autumn colors were at their peak, with shades of saffron, tawny, and copper adding a warm glow to the scene.
A quick five-minute drive took us to the historic town of Cromwell, on the banks of Lake Dunstan, for the second half of the shoot. When the lake was created, the original Main Street was flooded, and many of the old buildings were carefully rebuilt and restored on higher ground, offering a unique, history-rich backdrop.
The total immersion of an Unleashed Workshop focuses you like nothing else.
Nothing can compare to being surrounded by your peers, living, breathing, and loving what you're doing. With no external distractions, no other commitments - just you, your camera, and the dogs - you'll find your peace, your voice, and your vision.
It's an undeniable fact that life often gets in the way of what we really want to do, and it can be hard to break away from the feelings of guilt that we should be doing something else. But when you commit to an Unleashed Workshop, you commit to yourself and your craft, and everything else melts away.
In this supportive bubble of community and education, you can give yourself the time and the space to discover so much more about the stories you want to tell, and how to take the necessary steps to achieving your goals.
"The Arrowtown Workshop with Craig and Charlotte is one of the best photography learning experiences I've had. The location was perfect, Arrowtown in the autumn, and being based at Millbrook Resort, set us up for 3 days of inspiration."
"The days were well planned with mornings spent studying and editing, then afternoons for shooting. Craig and Charlotte kept the feeling relaxed and it was a great learning environment, where everyone felt they could ask any question. The afternoon photography sessions were equally well planned and the dogs and their handlers were so much fun and very obliging. Each day our lunches at the Hole in One Cafe were a great chance to mix and get to know one another a bit better."
"Lots of friendships have been made with people who all understand each other's passion for dogs !!! Thank you so much for a truly amazing experience and it was the best way to improve my dog photography skills - Total immersion!!"
- Rebecca Williams
Shoot Two: Thurlby Domain
This beautiful estate is a popular wedding spot, especially in autumn, and it's easy to see why. The colors are vibrant, with soft yellows and greens mixed with deep oranges and reds.
The estate's natural beauty is complemented by historic ruins, vintage stables, and traditional stone cottages, providing a wide range of backdrops for the amazing dogs that modeled for us.
"I treated myself to the Unleashed workshop in Arrowtown in April this year and I absolutely loved every minute. My usual genre is family photography but I wanted to gain more skills and confidence photographing dogs and the workshop did not disappoint! I can’t say enough positive things about Craig and Charlotte and the rest of the Unleashed team.
"I came away from the workshop with so much more knowledge in so many areas - editing, camera angles, location spotting and of course working with dogs. It was interesting, informative and a huge amount of fun. Truly grateful to Craig and Charlotte for sharing their knowledge and talent with me."
- Karla Flanagan
Shoot Three: Arrow River
Our third and final shoot was the closest to our base, set in the small town of Arrowtown by the clear Arrow River. With the Autumn Festival approaching, the vibrant fall colours were at their peak. It was a perfect spot for the dogs, with walking trails and shallow water for them to enjoy. The dogs had a blast, and their happiness was clear - just like ours!
"Wow! The workshop was a total gamechanger, in terms of how I look at locations and take canine portraits. Prior to this workshop, I would place my subject close to a structure, because I thought the structure was cool, but then the dog would get "lost" in the resulting image."
"Because of this workshop, I now know how to make cool structures "doggie-sized", and make the dog really stand out, while also still having the cool feature in the image, but no longer dominating it! To me that was HUGE!!! The other AWESOME part of this workshop is being able to work with ALL of the dog models. Sign me up for the next Unleashed Workshop!!!"
- Kate Westfall
"The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best." — Epictetus
It takes a special kind of person to step outside their comfort zone - to travel to an unfamiliar place and join a group of strangers. For many pet photographers who see themselves as introverts, the idea can feel intimidating. But no one at an Unleashed Workshop ever needs to worry - this shared passion for photography creates instant connections.
Despite coming from diverse backgrounds and, in some cases, traveling great distances, everyone found themselves in a community where differences were embraced.
This wasn’t just a workshop - it was a place of belonging, where participants felt accepted and supported.
So, even if you think of yourself as socially limited or feel the commitment is too big, you'll discover that this group is your tribe - friendly, welcoming, and united by the same creative goals.
Working together in pairs, friendships were forged, as the students helped each other to bring their visions to life, with additional help from Charlotte and Craig always close at hand.
This collaboration adds an another dimension to the learning experience, as they investigated how each other saw the scene.
The daily image shares brought much mutual appreciation of everyone's differences, as well as cementing the common goal - to be on a continual path of self-improvement, and providing support for each other along the way.
"Working alongside Rebecca (Williams) was brilliant! She sees the world in such a different way to me, and we created totally different work from the same location. Being on a workshop where we were setting up our own images alongside other talented photographers was such a great learning experience."
- Rebecca Kostka
