Clearly the impact of the down-turn in business effected many photographers last year, which inevitably had an impact on those willing to invest in their education and training. Whilst numbers of delegates were down on previous years on PTO those who bit the bullet or dug deeper into their money boxes had absolutely no regrets on what was acclaimed by everyone to have been an exceptional week of inspirational and at times quite awesome levels of technical wizardry. Delegates attended from the UK; Ireland; Germany; with some from obscure Scottish highlands and even Tehran in Iran. All concerned found this unique week to be an "education" in more ways than one - so much so that most have pledged to return next year wherever the destination happens to be!

Speakers included: Marko Dutka an exciting new style portrait photographer who clearly brings an element of fashion into his thinking, inspired by the late great Dave Facey - he brings many of his former mentors ideas into his work. Morag Macdonald inspired many of the wedding photographers in the group with her enthusiasm and ideas for increasing wedding sales - Morag has written a useful wedding guide book and clearly enjoys teaching. Guy Gowan the well know Photo Shop guru mesmerised his classes with the depth of his knowledge - perhaps a little difficult for many to understand, however, Guy has promised follow-ups to his students and has committed to returning next year with a friendlier presentation level for PTO delegates. Llewellyn Robins quickly endeared himself to the group as the late stand-in for Sue Kaye who had to pull out at the last minute due to personal problems - his opening AV rendition of the great Johnny Cash song " A Boy Called Su" had delegates rocking with laughter - Llewellyn went onto  provide his own take on Su's excellent Fine Art presentation and he received rave notices from all who attended his classes. Mike Brookes Roper provided another diversion from social photography demonstrating the art of good PR images and how to bring otherwise boring shots to life by introducing unusual angles and props into the shots. Mike achieved this with his excellent teaching methods and likeable personality. Bjorn Thomassen an experienced lecturer bestowed the virtues of good lighting techniques and dramatic posing of the female form - an art Bjorn has dedicated himself to - his easy manner and expert delivery clearly opened the eyes of many who had not studied or indeed understood even the basics never mind the art of lighting. Simon John who had dashed from a photo assignment in Brazil to fulfil his commitment to PTO mesmerised the delegates with his exceptional image quality and creative lateral thinking on wedding photography posing. Simon demonstrated why those who offer something quite different will attract a market that can afford to pay far more than the average Bride. With constructive evening business seminars by Paddy Clarke from Ireland on social photography Marketing ideas that work.  Anita Mason on effective promotions including her fascinating "Fairies" concept which she takes to selected studios in the UK and Phil Flowers on the virtues of Pro-Select software as a selling tool the week was well balanced and most certainly well received by the vast majority of those who attended. PTO had some excellent support from the following companies - ONE VISION IMAGING; SWPP - renamed THE SOCIETIES; BIPP: FUJI: ALBUMS AUSTRALIA: THE FLASH CENTRE; TOWERGATE CAMERASURE and PRO-SELECT - all had representatives present who were willing to spend unlimited time with delegates throughout the week. A special mention should be made to Brian Collier of The Flash Centre who worked tirelessly supporting the "Master Class" speakers with their lighting requirements throughout the week.

In addition to this fine line-up of talented speakers who clearly merged into the wonderful atmosphere of sharing and camaraderie which a PTO exudes in abundance - there was a fantastic photo-competition for all delegates who enjoyed a personal critique of the submitted images offered by the tutors - One Vision made excellent prints from the short-listed finalists and this provided a stunning exhibition of work. The winners were as follows: Wedding category - Paul Callaghan; with Paddy Clarke as the runner-up, two exceptional Irish photographers. Portrait category winner was Liz Roberts who also took the runner-up position. Not to be outdone her husband Ken Roberts claimed the winning image in the Open category with student newcomer Emma Hurley - taking the runner-up spot. The PTO Photographer of The Year was Liz Roberts. We were treated to some great fun and entertainment especially at the end of week Gala Awards event, inspired by the new technical director - Phil Flowers who after running all the AV programmes during the week led the entertainment at the Gala Awards Dinner on the final night persuading our speakers and many unsuspecting attendees that they had great singing voices on his surprise karaoke spot!