My Story
Developed over 30 years of intense effort
About Andy Beel FRPS
Andy Beel FRPS is a professional photographer, writer, mentor and workshop leader.
His whole photographic career is and always will be a twisty road of unplanned creative self-expression. He was given the title: “Just Me” by a friend for his first camera club talk. Andy has always tried to be true to his individual vision without trying to copy anybody else’s photographic seeing style.
Beel fully concurs with the need to create unselfconsciously to quote Elizabeth Roberts Editor of Black and White Photography magazine
“To be truly creative we have to allow ourselves to invent, to look, to imagine, and to produce whatever we want to produce without concern for what others will think of us. We need to produce unselfconsciously.”
Testimonials
Here is a small sample of what his clients, workshop participants and talk audiences say about Andy’s work as a photographer and teacher:
“…truly stunning.” (Simon Galloway, Group Picture Editor, Bristol News & Media (Bristol Evening Post))
“….as always you are an inspiration to us all.” (David Bathard FRPS AWPF, Frome-Selwood Photographic Society)
“I don’t attend many workshops, but this is the only one to give notes and superb tuition, I learned an awful lot from you.” (Jay Charnock FRPS)
The Reasons Why
Why I do what I do, is to inspire and encourage passionate photographers to reach out and connect with their potential.
What I do, is to enhance how you think, through learning, discovering and growing. I am confident you will follow your head and your heart to fully attain your aspirations.
- Confirm your photographic vision and intent
- Make a lasting emotional engagement with the viewers of your photographs
- Become the photographer you were always meant to be
How I do this, is by offering structured Masterclasses and Workshops
Learn > Grow > Express
Extract from a review of the talk and Pixels to Print workshop at Storrington Camera Club May 2017
Andy Beel FRPS is an acknowledged virtuoso in monochrome photography.
If there is one word which is not appropriate to any of Andy’s work that is “bland”. Andy’s style is to make the extreme darks really dark (but not blocked out) and the extreme lights very light (but not blown out) and whilst all in-between shades of grey are represented they are often in the minority. This makes for very powerful pictures – he leaves the viewer no doubt as to the centre of attention of the picture. Did I like all the images he showed? Well, no, but I did like some of them as much as any photography I’ve ever seen.
Andy’s style of monochrome involves high contrast and counter-change – usually light centre of interest against dark background but occasionally vice-versa. He’s very much of the persuasion that the best weather for photography involves conditions when conventional people stay indoors.
Throughout the Pixels to Print Workshop, Andy was clear and thorough in his explanations and very generous with his advice. The accompanying book (The Dark Art – A black and white digital printing manual) is possibly the most practically useful guide I have seen of digital photography from camera to print. Direct, pragmatic advice on the technicalities and let the accompanying photographs speak for the art seems to be the approach and it works very well indeed.