Based in the small Hampshire town of Fleet, Kevin Ahronson works as a professional photographer with over five decades experience behind the camera.
He specialises in photographing people, both private clients (individual portraits, families, children and the occasional wedding) as well as those in the corporate sector.
Married to Linda (financial genius) and with Bailey the ginger tom, he has lived in Fleet since 2015. Together with Linda he set up the Hampshire School of Photography in June 2016 and has been teaching photography in one form or another since 2009.
My Mother’s Fault…
“I have my mother to thank for my passion in photography” he explains “She bought me my first camera when I was just eleven”.
“I clearly remember buying my first 35mm camera, (second-hand) a couple of years later. I joined the school camera club and spent hours in the school darkroom, learning how to mix chemicals, process the negatives and develop the prints”.
In my late teens, I left my hometown of Brighton to live in London working for the BBC film department and I bought my first single-lens reflex (SLR) camera.
My favourite camera during the 70’s and 80’s was without a doubt the Olympus OM1. It sits on my shelf today as a reminder of wonderfully creative times.
Working with film cameras for all those years has given me a deep knowlege and understanding of photography, that digital alone could not have done. It has given me an edge over many of today’s digital camera users.
I used Olympus cameras extensively during the 1970s and 80s
Digital has transformed my photography in recent years, as it has for most long-serving photographers; and long hours in the darkroom have been replaced with long hours at the computer, fine-tweaking images to get the very best out of each shot.
The Hampshire School of Photography
Kevin now passes on his vast knowledge and experience through workshops, courses and private mentoring.
His students range from children through to the retired, they include complete beginners, amateurs who want to brush up on certain subjects – right through to advanced amateurs who are looking for a career in photography.
Students are usually set photo-assignments with their work critiqued. Sometimes they get to work alongside Kevin on his professional photoshoots. Other times they will go out with him, using cameras together in the field.
The teaching is real-world practical teaching, avoiding the more esoteric style of instruction, often taught in colleges and universities. And while many aspects of photography can be quite technical, Kevin has developed ways of communicating information that easy to understand, in a very visual format.
For more information about learning with Kevin, visit the training website hampshirephotoschool.com
