THE popular Bright Festival of Photography has already sold out in its eighth year, with an expected 600 people to flock to the town for a weekend of workshops, events and group activities next month.
Co-organiser Matt Krumins said the festival sees more than 120 workshops over the three days, with interstate travellers from as far as the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.
“Most people arrive on Thursday night and many bring their families to make it a weekend for all,” he said.
“We see around 550 people arrive, plus 50 instructors and staff so that’s a decent number of people spending money at local accommodation, eating our great local food and hopefully introducing people to the area.
“We hope it creates some repeat travel and the realisation that Bright is an excellent photography destination.”
Mr Krumins was an instructor at the first festival, founded by Mick Fletcher in 2017, before coming on board as an organiser the following year.
“It first started at Bright Brewery with no real infrastructure; it was just people sitting round in workshops taking photos,” he said.
“Over the years we included a giant marquee and then shifted to Bright Community Centre where we still are and it’s just grown and grown.
“We’ve tried to keep it as sustainable as possible; given it's a community style festival we maximise what people who are doing but minimise the cost for an experience perspective.
“It’s like a school camp for adults; a very casual vibe and not the typical stuffy photography event.
“We focus on having fun, meeting people, community and breaking down barriers between the professional and hobbyist side.
“The core of it are the workshops, we encourage people to experiment with new techniques and new people to get creative.”
Mr Krumins said over the years the biggest positive has been the friendships people make.
“It's not a hobby everyone gets into so it’s a real opportunity to find their crowd,” he said.
“We also get a lot of feedback from those who experience mental health challenges who find an accepting crowd and a feeling of community, so we’re quite proud of that.
“A fun aspect of the event is shenanigans night with onstage competitions, games, trivia and all sorts of opportunities to let your hair down and be a kid for a night.
“That’s what changes the vibe of the festival.
“It’s a different demographic; you hear a lot about the younger creator crowd and we see more around the 40+ age bracket.
“It’s a bit more about learning and enjoying photography for the fun of it rather than pursuing it as something else.”
The Bright Festival of Photography will be held from October 11 to 13, and for more information, go to https://bfopaustralia.com/.
