Philip Blenkinsop and Gary Knight Workshops Asia

This is not meant to sound sour-grapeish or mean spirited, but I do question the rational for staging these kinds of workshops in such glaringly touristic locations. Such places seem so contradictory to the kind of location and work these two well respected, seemingly hard-core photojournalists are reknowned for – or is this just RR combined with a bit of pretend photojournalism for a mainly well-heeled clientiel of dentists from Dallas? One would somehow expect a more authentic location from these guys. Seriously, a camel fair in Rajasthan and Siem Reap of all places!?!? Is that where you’re going to make your name as a photojournalist? Why not just head for Disneyland and have done with it? Might at least get something a bit off-beat in Disneyland.

Nigel…there is probably a surprise included like a mock kidnapping by (retired)Khmer Rouges or an RPG-attack and roadside bombs in India. After that an evaluation how the participants behaved, comparing images, changing underwear for some, and chilled beers for every-one. Hmmmm…..

Anyone who has been to Siem Reap rather tha read about in in Lonely Planet would see widespread poverty, injustice, HIV/AIDS, an indigenous buddhist culture trying to survive the ravages of uncontrolled tourism, land grabbing, paedophilia, environmental damage, prostitution and a whole host of other issues that need photojournalists, aspirant or professional need to address. To suggest that Siem Reap is not a decent base to cover central Cambodia and cover those issues, which is exactly what we do, is a little narrow minded at best. Many of these are the same issues Philip and I have photographed in Siem Reap for 20 years.

Another reason we do these workshops in Siem Reap is because they are concurrent with a small festival that supports the free workshops that we helped create and finance for 30-40 young Asian photographers a year. With a team of volunteer photojournalists from the region we have financed the participation of over 100 young photographers.

The workshop in India is a road trip, and the point is not to address political, social and environmental issues, it’s to encourage curious people to get back into photographing whatever comes their way and to do it with some vision and some intelligence in an intriguing place. The world isn’t all dark.

Authentic? What’s that? Iraq, Afghanistan – right! . Get out a little, open your eyes and look around you, the whole world is authentic if you look beyond the guide books. The suggestion that either Philip or I would engage in anything we don’t believe is legitimate is so at odds with everything we have done in our long careers that it is – as you can tell – deeply offensive. Criticism is fine and comes with the territory but do your research and get your facts straight before you throwing shit at people please.

The mock kidnapping RPG post must be a joke – I hope so and I take it that way – if not it is so stupid it is not worth replying to.

Gary

“The world isn’t all dark.”
Thanks Gary for this statement. I have started very recently but considering where most of the attention is I can’t help wondering whether journalism/photojournalism is just about AIDS, poverty, cruelty, death…

No worries Gary, little joke.

Personally I would join serious workshops immediately these days (though I really cant afford yours) as I am completely detached from the world here in Nepal, and I never go abroad. I only meet some photojournalists passing through. And only very, very few are based here. You can guess, not much interaction, not much time and occasions to learn from others or share thoughts over a brew, overlooking the Himalayas.

Well I guess this became an invitation for all LS’ers that come to Nepal to visit the isolated LS’ers here and do some ad-hoc workshops!

HELP …I still take pictures 80’s style!!! LOL

Hi I am new to Lightstalkers after a friend recommended it to me.

My first thoughts are rather dispiriting when I read this.

$2,850 USD for a 7 day workshop in Cambodia and €3,450 euros for a similar workshop in India is outrageous. Even if a percentage of the money does go to training young aspiring Asian photographers that kind of money could keep an aspiring “western” photographer in India for a year working on a long term project. In fact the that kind of money would allow you plenty of time to pursue any topic anywhere in South or South East Asia. I don’t understand why anyone would think they will become a better photographer in 10 days under the tutorship of either Gary Knight or Philip Blenkinsop. This is not to say either is a bad role model or tutor but in this industry as well as creative writing it’s your own voice, ideas and ultimately your authorship that matters.

OK Maybe these 2 photographers would advocate this but then why bother spending that amount of money when you can figure that out for yourself.

This culture of workshops is crazy and as a previous contributor has mentioned only the well-heeled clientele will be able to afford these workshops.

To be honest it’s a highly polished form of exploitation.

Aspiring photographers need to get a grip on reality and go shoot for themselves instead of oohing and cooing to their “celebrity photographic idols”.

I work with several magazines and I constantly hear from the people who deal with the photographers or look at aspiring photographers work about the lack of originality in the work. Be your own person, discover for yourself and save a great deal of money in the process.

Nigel: damn, that’s some pretty self-righteous stuff man…the irony is that the moment we lay an onslaught of questionalbe judging of another (especially their motives, both the organizers and (more depressing) your judgment of those who would participate) we quickly realize how hypocritical our own life choices are…

“Authentic? What’s that? Iraq, Afghanistan – right! . Get out a little, open your eyes and look around you, the whole world is authentic if you look beyond the guide books.”—GMK

that quote should be stamped on every photographers head (all ages, all backgrounds, all experience)…it should be a reminder (not only to PJ, WarPHotogs and aspirant folk of all ilk) to everyone that telling stories, documenting the world is what we do and no place, no story, nor region has a bone-up on the merit of authenticity. It’s the world we’re stretched and knitted into and the struggle to live is the rhythm of the entire world and cant express it any better than Gary just did.

good luck to the participants

cheers
bob

Get out a little, open your eyes and look around you, the whole world is authentic if you look beyond the guide books.”—GMK

Exactly but you or I could do that at a fraction of the price. It’s not the concept I am against it’s the ridiculous amount of money being asked to do it(for 10 days). As your probably aware Gene Richards took a lot longer than 10 days.
You don’t have to spend a lifetime working on something but be realistic €3,450 euros for 10 days is plain crazy. If one spent just a month in India they would spend a fraction of that and the money they did spend would go directly to the people.

Andreas:

on the money issues, i couldnt disagree at all…having struggled with money my whole photographic-working life and self-financing all my projects and travels, i couldn’t agree more. My sense of living, and my responsibility as a photographer is to do that, but the other reality is this: the photo world runs around spending (amateurs and pros alike) 1,000’s of moolah on new cameras at the drop of a dime (does one really need a $5,000 camera (m8) to be a good photographer/journalist? of course not, as i’ve written numerous times here at LS over the years), but the idea to me about these workshops is a simple one:

there is a demand for this by people who aspire (whatever their aspirations are) and i know personally that in the past these “big name” workshoppers and photogs have also taken (gratis) photographers who were interested…shit, there was a whole discussion of this last year (sorry to embarrass you Gary, i know you dont want people to know that you do help people who need it ;))) when Gary helped and took on some Asian photographers for free/assistance who’d wanted to participate and who otherwise would never had had the opportunity…

the thing is this: if there are people who want/desire/can afford this kind of experience, let them……that’s what for example your profession (travel writing) is all about, is it not…are the people who read your clients mags less authentic because they visit the locales you write about??…isnt it really the same…these workshops and the couch traveler…see, we are all part of the same truth..and shit, if these workshops help people, all the more good for them :))

i also know that Philip and Gary give back personally…now if the workshop folk think that by being with these two (or any others) will turn them into great photographers, of course, they’re mistaken. However, there also may be folk who have the money and see this as something they give themselves, and that experience alone changes them, their lives, their commitment whatever…

the problem Andreas is larger: that the world still equates authentic life or the life and commitment of telling stories with grandiosity……exploitation is when folk DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE…

if we condemn these guys or the folk who take the workshop, shouldn’t we then condemn the entire industry for running around the world shooting death and disease and poverty with cameras and equipment that costs more than most of the folks 5-year earnings?…see…the moment we begin to judge another, the moment all our judgments collapse…

the truth is it’s an adventure for people and who knows what that shall lead to for the individuals who participate..maybe the next Richards is there, is aflfuent…maybe the next photographer who gary and philip (or david harvey or jim nachtwey or arbus or whichever workshop leader does this) take on for free will be the one that tells the stories necessary for these places…

with affluence comes responsibility, and EACH OF US is ridiculously affluent (the fact we have cameras, develop film, have computers etc, is just another indication of our separation from most of the impoverished world) and i wish to use my own not to condemn those who wish to participate in these kinds of endeavors but to do the opposite:

invest my life in the telling of the stories around me…

i know personally people have gone to workshops like this and (yes, they were lucky to have the $$) changed their lives…one even started their own ngo…

who are we to condemn when the entire world is full of hypocricy…

and your last vacation, for example??…how much did you spend and for what reason?…

cheers
b

Bob with all due respect I am not an hypocrite just a realist.

All I am saying is that amount of money could be better spent regardless if you are affluent or not.
These workshops are just a revenue generator for the organisers at the expense of naive aspiring photographers.

Bob It does not matter how you try and spin it the fact remains: €3,450 euros for 10 days in India is an obcene amount of money. An aspiring photographer could go to India and contribute in a positive way to the locals, just spending a little extra in a restaurant or paying a little more for a hotel room is going to keep someone in a job.

My last vacation? It did not cost me €3,450 euros that’s for sure. aIn any case I don’t take vacations I am always writing wherever I travel. Call it a busmans holiday if you like.

It has occured to me that I may be coming over hostile but I just cannot agree with these workshops.

Bob In addition to the outrageous cost of the workshop did you read this on the workshop website.

In the event of cancellation by the course administrators, a full refund will be given minus €100 administration cost.

€10 yes OK but €100 Now that is just plain old theft.

andreas:

just so you understand: i wasn’t calling you a hypocrit. I was suggesting that as soon as we begin to condemn, we must be willing to accept that our own behavior (in the light of our own condemnations/judgments) when veiled beneath the same critique becomes hypocritical. the reason i asked about your vacation was that in truth probably for many of the enrollees, this kind of program functions as a once-in-a-lifetime experience: and for some has the same countenance as a “vacation”. for some, it is an aspiration that what they encounter/learn will make them better. Is the amount of money vis-a-vis India and obscenity: ABSOLUTELY! i couldnt agree more. incidentally, my wife and i are currently investigating opportunities to do volunteer work in india (we pay the ngo or the school or the sanga (we’re practicing buddhist) for the opportunity to go to india and contribute: teach or work as a volunteer), so i totally understand your frustration with the concept of the money. But, I have to also just tell you that I do not see this kind of activity any different from the same people who buy Conde Nash and NG Traveler and all those magazines and dream about going to Jaipur to Jodhp…shit, the whole Travel industry (not to mention colonialization) is founded on that…and yet we dont condemn those people traveling and spending even more $$ for less than 10 days…those folk who travel, is their life, their experience any less authentic??…

and yes, an aspiring photographer could do much more with much less in india, but that too would be a different experience…how do you know that one of these photographers who makes the journey won’t accomplish something (for themselves and for the people they encounter in India)…if they have the money, let them use it in a way that will enrich their lives and i hope enrich the lives of others…

mindfullness…

yes, question the “worth”, and all people should question that…and no way i have to be a defender of KNight and Blekinsop (Philip by the way, for me is one of the most ethical and humanitarian persons on the frickin’ planet), they can do that themselves…but i think that if we condemn this, we must also begin to condemn the entirety of how most of us survive, spend our money, time, etc…

but, i understand your own struggle with these workshops (and by the way, they are not for me either) but to condemn them without also taking a hard look at one’s own way of acquiring knowledge/learning/experience, is a “foolish” way to criticize…

all respects
bob

as to the ‘refund’ issue…well, for a 10-day Mediation retreat at the sanga that I belong to, if a person cancel’s, they too will be refunded except $50 administration cost (for a $700 retreat)…so, like the teacher of our sanga is a thief?? (using the logic above)….

…i think, that’s an indication that the discussion has devolved into a pretty petty and unfortunate criticism and attack if that’s the measure…Knight and Blekinsop are many things…but thief is not one that comes readily to mind Andreas. I think that’s a totally misfortunate comment.

I respect your take on the matter (many many feel similarly) but to accuse these guys of ripping off folks is just not kosher…and not because they’re famous/great photographers, but because it’s an unsavory thing to write about someone you do not know.

all the best
b

i echo Bob’s sentiments expressed so far. and Andreas, you’re new to Lightstalkers…while you’re free to express your views, publicly throwing a word around like ‘theft’ in this context is unnecessary and unfortunate. it doesn’t diminish Gary Knight, Philip Blenkinsop or Amber…it just diminishes you and your arguments.

I am sticking by what I said.

In the event of cancellation by the course administrators, a full refund will be given minus €100 administration cost.

Basically if not enough naïve aspiring photographers sign up to the workshop it will be cancelled; but hey lets charge €100 just so we walk away with something. That is theft and I don’t care what you say.

Not even a bank would make such an outrageous charge and the banks have been robbing people for as long as they have existed.

Your arguments are just 2 out of god knows how many, I wonder how many people on this forum actually feel the same but are just too scared to mention it, just in case they incur the wrath of their idols.

No I don’t know either photographer personally-why does that matter. It’s a mute point. I don’t know the CEO of my bank but they are still charging me and many others unfairly.

It’s really rather sad to be honest.
It’s not a personal vendetta against the 2 photographers running the workshop as I would write the same regardless of who is running the show.
It’s purely about the cost of the workshop in general and the unfair practice of withholding €100 to cover administration in the event of a cancellation.

How the hell does it cost €100 to cover administration.

I cannot believe intelligent people would subscribe to that and think it’s fair.

in practice, the commercial rationale in having cancellation fees is to cover the already expended costs by organizers in setting up such a workshop. these costs may be the aggregate of telephone calls to india or wherever, possible down payment for hotel rooms, web page set up, research time etc. such costs are normally included in the price of workshops, but if there are cancellations, the organizers need to recoup their actual expenses in some fashion…that’s one of them.

you may think and say it’s unfair…that it’s too high…so be it, don’t join…but shooting from the hip and accusing people of theft in a public forum just diminishes your standing in this community.

OK I tried to hold my tongue here but these are rather wild accusations you’re throwing around, Andreas. Sure, it may be expensive but you also failed to mention how some of the costs incurred in the price include accommodation, food and transportation. How does that not benefit the local community? Why are you assuming that the total cost goes to some magical mystery place and not a cent is left in Cambodia or India?

These workshops are not for everyone, obviously yourself included, but why such vitriol towards those that do want to participate? And without really knowing more fact you’ve put into the open accusations and speculation about something and someone you know very little about. Can you not just put together a clear and concise argument as to why you think it’s wrong? The language and invective is really harsh.

It’s amazing how much bitching and carping goes on with these boards, as soon as I saw Amber’s post I knew it was going to totally meltdown and self-destruct. It’s a shame how a simple post for a workshop can devolve into threats of theft, elitism and stupidity. Sigh.

These are just people selling what they have to sell at a price they think they will get. There’s a market for Leica M8s, too… I suspect that, with (by all accounts) a declining market for photojournalists, a couple of workshops a year would be an important complementary source of revenue. These are derivative products alongside a core activity. It’s business. Even photographers have families to feed, homes to pay for, insurance and pensions to finance, stories they care about to fund… Who cares? The Rajasthan trip sounds fun and I expect I would learn plenty. Unfortunately, I can buy the replacement for my 5D and a plane ticket for West Africa for the price… My priorities…
100 €for administration? Well,they can charge what they want. You accept or you don’t. You have to ask how many man-hours and money are lost due to a cancellation, what the overheads are associated with those man-hours and then charge a fee to recoup the loss. That’s how businesses work. Photographers don’t live in a bubble.

Here is how it goes Andreas. About 2 months before the workshop I send around $30,000 of my own money to Cambodia or India to secure drivers, fixers and hotels – in the case of India it was 6 months. That is a big risk. The workshop in India was done at the request of previous students who wanted to go there and the hotels match the places they like to stay and they are relatively expensive so are the drivers and all the other things that accompany a traveling roadshow. Work it out, 2 photographers, 2 assistants, projectors, 18 cars, fixers, 21 hotel rooms per night, 2 international flights, insurance etc etc. The fact that you can go on your own for a fraction of the cost is a pretty silly comparison isn’t it?

When students cancel I don’t get a full refund from the hotel and the driver is often left with no client – so that deposit is used to offset that – it doesn’t go in my pocket and it doesn’t begin to cover the loss but what it does is stop people committing unless they are serious. In most cases I fill the place and the person who cancelled loses nothing. The fee I charge is smaller than the day rate I earn if I were to spend a week working for one of the magazines, it’s not exactly a great source of income and its hell of a lot more complicated to manage than a week in Afghanistan so the charges of exploitation are a bit rich, I can make more money by simpler means. These workshops are hard work for less money than I would normally earn, but like many other photographers – Philip, Dave Harvey and others, I take them seriously, I really love doing them, I think that they are useful for the people who come, many of whom have become good friends and they are worth doing for that reason. I have to charge a fee because I have a family to feed but I do many workshops for no fee. If you have the patience read on.

The workshops in Cambodia spawned a children’s charity called Anjali that feeds 80 children every day every year and offers them an education for free, I also raise money to teach 30-40 young photographers from Asia a year for free and I sponsor Eric Beecrofts workshops – that speaks to my commitment to the local community and the local photojournalism community and my understanding of the fact that many of our friends and colleagues do not have the resources to pay for these kinds of workshops. Most of the photographers who I know who teach workshops do exactly the same thing – Stanley, Dave, Kadir, Ron etc. I cannot see how that fits into the picture you paint of people who are exploitative. Do you do anything like that I wonder?

These workshops are not compulsory and I cannot see how making some money from teaching workshops to people who are interested constitutes theft or is anyway immoral if the intention is legitimate, the results are good and one gives value. Nobody who comes appears to “coo” as you suggest and they don’t treat me like an idol, you demean them unfairly and without basis – do you know any of them or are you just making assumptions? I don’t accept what you call “naive young photographers” and people who want to come who fit into that category – if I can identify them – are discouraged, and there are many of them.

The whole point of these workshops is precisely to help people find there own voice so that they can go on and make the travels you urge them to but perhaps with more confidence in their ability to make better use of that experience. I imagine at some point you probably had help finding your voice – I assume somebody helped you read and write. To suggest that any form of educational experience is redundant and that one is better served by life experience in isolation is quite remarkable and right up there with creationism.

What you are engaged in here is character assassination and polemic punditry based on conjecture and as well as being demeaning it is one of the things that devalues this forum, which is a shame for the rest of us.

Cheers

Gary

ANDREAS….

Lordy, lordy why the attack about a hundred quid?

For heavens sakes, didn’t you eat your weetbix this morning and you’re a wee bit tired and cranky?

Accusing two of the most respected fellas around here of ‘theft’ for letting people know about an educational program/holiday event is just really silly.

People run buisnesses all over the world and some people never give a thought to the consequences of their actions. Here you have two guys who have contributed HUGELY to the betterment of people’s lives and you are calling them out on an adminstration fee?

I am hardly a naieve young photographer and I did a workshop last year with Nachtwey and Harvey, because after years of shooting for everyone else I actually had lost the thing that made me pick up a camera in the first place. Not only was the experience a fantastic learning opportunity it gave me a deep insight into my own motivations and the clarity with which I adressed my ideas visually. It was also just a fun thing to do for a bit of a difference to going out and working on an assignment for a magazine.

I have a degree in Visual Arts and a long history of exhibitions and yet I hadn’t had a decent push with my work until I hit that workshop. So your criticism about ‘ten days do not a photojournalist make’ is total crap. What I learnt stays with me still.

I don’t think that either Gary Knight or Philip Blenkinsop need to justify their motivations or the finances that go into making a workshop happen and I don’t think that using such harsh invective is useful either.

So here’s a bit of advice for you Andreas, absolutely free of charge, no administration fee either if you choose to return it…

Don’t forget to eat your Weetbix in the morning, OK!

PS ‘polemic punditry’ hehehehehe…

Now thats a way with words, love it!!!!

Andreas:

nothing for me to add that Gary, Lisa, Don, David and Tewfic havent said more succinctly. but you are mistaken. I dont “defend” gary and philip and their workshop because they are my idols (though i do admire them as photographers and as people) but because I believe in these workshops and I believe in what these gentlemen (and other photographers who do this) accomplish with these workshops: for the attendees and for the community and for the profession. Believe it or not, i dont always agree with “famous” photographers (and i’m unafraid to express that, as Gary knows) but i believe in what they are doing, in what these workshops do accomplish for lots of people (including other great workshops by great, caring and dedicated folk like David Harvey and D. Arbus and Ron Haviv and Michael Ackerman and a a whole host of people). These folk care. While i only know Gary and PHilip professional and through interactions here and elsewhere, i do know Harvey personally and let me tell u: these people make difference in folks lives and give back tirelessly (not only educationally but personally) in ways i guess you are not familiar with. I say that to you as a photographer speaking about a colleague (knight/blekinsop) and not as a 20 year old aspirant (im a 40 year old old man ;) )…

best of luck
bob

p.s. I want some of Sister L’s weetbix too :)))))))))))

Workshops sound great. Best of luck Gary with your project. ’Always good to have you jump in here once in a while.

I truly admire Gary and Philip for risking alot to organize this workshop, it must be a helluva logistical task to set it up.
as for the price? if I could afford it I would just jump at the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime 10days like this, as bob puts it.

as a side note, when I was working with computer networks, telecom and such before, the company I worked for paid us$5000 for a 4 day course I attended. that was just including lunch, and I had to pay for my own parking space. so compared with what these workshops include?(everything almost) not at all outrageous in my mind, even though I am nowhere near being able to afford it at this point. I just hope they will continue so I can save up some cash and join in.

lucky bastards those who can attend. enjoy the trip:)

Really? Once again I log into LS, and once again I read bullshit like this. Is it any wonder that the number of thoughtful, helpful and informative posts on this site have diminished in recent months? Please think before you accuse people of exploitation – or at least do your research.

Liam, wise words indeed. I think if I was one of the many commissioning editors / researchers who use LS I would be adding several names to the ‘dont employ under any circumstances’ category, based on the lack of basic research demonstrated here.

Gary, chin up old boy, and dont let the b***** get you down! I look forward to seeing you again in Siem Reap and to meeting Philip. No doubt we will be having a few more ‘robust exchanges of opinion’ about my wonderful pictures…. at least this time I will have a decent laptop.

http://www.al-liquindoi.com/talleres/blenkinsoptaller2.html

i find it incredibly disappointing to watch as each of these workshop announcements on LS’ers is immediately met with rancor and unchecked negativity. Gary does a more than adequate, if not unnecessary job of explaining himself over and over again on this forum, but perhaps by relating my experience as an “alumnus,” I’ll be able to help assuage the impulse for knee jerk reactions in the future.

i’ve attended two of gary’s workshops—in kosovo (sept 2005) and jerusalem (dec 2005) respectively. at the time, i was 22 years old, and moving directly to the middle east after the kosovo workshop without any work, and not a whole lot of understanding about the photojournalism profession i was trying to get into—let alone how to support myself off of it.

i departed for kosovo very confident in my abilities, and my experience up until that point. I’d traveled a bit and worked some. Before coming to the workshop, i decided to focus on youth in Mitrovica—a city that is split into ethnic Serb and Albanian halves. At the end of the workshop, i felt that i had crashed and burned, failed, and i was generally down on myself and the work i had produced. At several points during the workshop, i even contemplated whether or not i was cut out for this field. This all probably sounds pretty melodramatic, and it definitely was in the panicked freshly graduated mind of a 22 year old as I’m sure you can imagine, but at the time, it was very real, and just the kick in the ass that i needed. I was waking up at 6 most mornings, working with a solid group of fixers and drivers who tried to help me develop my story in much the same way I would have if I had been on assignment for a publication. Gary is a smart and tough editor, and the environment he creates, in my experience, is fine tuned so that he can identify your weaknesses, and work with you to improve on them. I think at the time i was concerned more with aesthetics and composition, and looking at my work with Gary back then helped me realize that I needed to become a better journalist before i would be a better photographer. it was a scary pill to swallow, but i think i ended up much better off as a result of it……

the commonly brought up idea that these workshops are only for wealthy dilettantes is as offensive to me as well The Jerusalem workshop I was a part of was attended by staffers at local papers in the states who are serious about their work, and wanted to broaden their horizons, as well as by freelancers living in Europe and around the Middle East who were, and still are working professionally in the industry. It is definitely not cheap, but in the end, you are not paying for a vacation….you are paying a tuition for a lot of hard work that translates into a pretty amazing learning experience under the supervision of some of the best “professors” out there. Also, Gary does a lot to bring local journalists interested in participating into the “classroom.” In addition to being exposed to the work of Gary, Philip, or whomever else is teaching, there are usually presentations by local photographers, or international journalists, such as Andrew Testa, or Balazs Gardi who happened to be in Kosovo while we were there, and getting to listen to their stories, and pick their brains as someone starting out is invaluable in my experience. The ability to unite so much talent in a place where they are then accessible to you is amazing, but the unfortunate reality is that moving your campus around the world to these venues is expensive, and the instructors have to build it before they arrive.

I’ve been very lucky since 2005. The NYT has had a humbling amount of faith in my work, and i continue to work hard, and make occasional mistakes along the way in the hopes that I’ll get better at what i do. Gary’s workshops may not have netted me assignments directly, but in addition to helping me improve the quality of my work they have taught me things about the business, and about ways of working as a shooter that helped me retain clients early on when i might have lost them otherwise. And what you absorb from Gary and other photographers who teach is augmented by the vibrant community each workshop creates.

And on top of everything, you have the chance to make great friends, and meet colleagues that you could end up sharing a car with or working on a story with in the future. If I had the cash, I’d go just to hang out and look at the work and presentations—they usually include some amazing stuff.

Hear hear, Bryan.

I know a bit about the costing of workshops like these, and they entail enormous risks for the organizers. Gary is doing this on his own (with Philip, it’s not a VII project, though we smile on it). I assure you nobody will get rich from these. Frankly getting ten daily critiques and guidance from the likes of Gary and Philip is well worth $345 each, but then on top of that you get housed and maybe fed also. There are other intangibles but, suffice it to say, when you break it down, it is really worth it.

Disclosure: Gary is a friend and working colleague, but I think I can prove every fact that I posit above (indeed most are self-proving).

I can sort of echo (a faint one maybe?) Bryan’s statements about the value of workshops. The only one I’ve attended was EAW 2006. It was a tough tough weekend. The story I had was a little off. I ended up take a lot of ports of a guy and drinking scotch with him while he talked about Vietnam and his road back to sobriety. The edit was a tough one, and I probably wasn’t in the right frame of mind to sit there and take it. In fact I almost quit the workshop, and the industry, after one particulary harsh portfolio review — it was the same folio I submitted to gain entry into the place. But I sucked it up and slogged through.
In the end I came out of it a better photographer. I made a few friends and gained a client indirectly from it.
Now its two years later. I live just outside DC. I still freelance around town. I’ve interned and worked at a major media network for almost a year. Now I’ve moved on to video and multimedia. I had collected audio for years, learned to edit it on my own and made those important connections for years. It took going to EAW to cement those methods.
So don’t discount the value of Gary’s workshop or any other one for that matter. They do serve a purpose, even if their value isn’t readily apparent.

I took workshops from Bruce Davidson and Charlie Harbutt in 1972 and 1974. I carry those workshops with me every day. Anybody got pricing for that?

john: guess the only correct term would be “priceless”.
some things just can’t be measured in monetary value, one of those things is life altering experiences, like these workshops can be…

I can’t afford it, is there any spots for young freelancers if you see good talent etc. Or some sponsors I can apply to, I want to learn, and exactly there is no contact or approach unless you are rich and loaded, hope there are few spots sponsored for youngsters. Unless someone passes on the knowledge how will anyone continue to do good work, I really cannot understand this industry.

Oh come on Prashanth, even within your own LS contacts list there is someone, who I know personally, who has benefitted directly from Gary’s support. Not only that, but the very same person also ran a workshop for people just like you in Ahmedabad a few weeks ago!
(If you are reading this, you know who you are, and congrats on the AP contract!!)

Prashanth, Gary’s already mentioned this twice on this thread, but the Angkor Photography Festival runs free workshops for promising young Asian photographers in Siem Reap. You can apply at Photographyforchange.net.

Thank you for the links, I did not mean anything negative, if I could afford I would pay. I was just saying if there was a slot I would apply. If you look at the Indian photojournalism scene,then the average pay per month is less than 1000$ a month, also a career as a freelancer for Indian publications is totally ruled out as there is no way to one would survive. I am sure it is a struggle to be a PJ everywhere, but here there are no schools, no one to teach, no feedback, nothing here. So a seminar like this is like a lifeline to cling on. I will ofcourse try my best to save and attend at least one in the coming years. I read through Gary’s earlier mails and will keep the free workshops in mind. So no offense to anyone. The discussions earlier were very tedious to read hence I missed Gary’s replies previously.

sounds like a good workshop..
far as i am concerned it will be superb.. enjoy..

one thing..
jaisalmer is not the famed pink city – it is jaipur.. or at least it was 17 years ago, unless they have thrown some paint around the place.
:o)

How about a minimum of respect, people?
Few if any photographers I know have a better understanding of contemporary photojournalism, and a track record to prove it, than Gary does. He is also a very astute businessman. To suggest that he would have to resort to ripping other photographers off is laughable. Gary is someone we should listen to. I know that from experience, and I wish I had kept my ego from getting in the way when he went out of his way to give me advice.

The workshop sounds great and it’s only expensive because I can’t afford it. But to put it into perspective, professional developement for post-grad types can cost much more. And one would probably learn more in 10 days with these guys than doing a masters in photography at a university.
As for the comment about the $ keeping a westerner alive in India for a year, weeeeeeelllllll, maybe in the 1970’s, man. And I prefer not to sleep in ditches if I have the choice.

Sorry for the delay in replying to you all.

I would like to reiterate my position regardless of how many of you disagree.

It’s no wonder there is an overall decline in original ideas and work out there because all the naive photographers (and their obviously not all young) will just imitate and plagiarise an already well beaten visual path.

So I suggest you all forget about sucking up to your idols, save some money and concentrate on making original work.

Lisa Hogben this advice is absolutely free of charge, with no administration or cancellation fees.

Care to share some original ideas and non-imitative work, Andreas?

Now Andreas, you might think it a little surly for me to point this out but weren’t you paraphrasing me in your reply?

Gee whiz, done without proper credit that would be called ‘plagiarism’ in my field…

Never the sign of a truly imaginative mind!

But to quote a photographic colleague and good friend, Glenn Campbell, relating a story about an encounter he once had with a very human photographer in a very difficult situation (I won’t mention his name, you might think I am ‘name-dropping’)

‘Whatever is going on in your head, the problem is not me’

Wow, Andreas, that’s original…how could i have been so obtuse….

care to put your “money” where your “mouth” is on originality…?i’ll gladly put up some work for you:

you choose bro, what would u like, photos or writing?…

this board gets more original by the hour….

David, Bob if you were astute professional’s you would know that you should keep your ideas close to your chest. Ideas are your currency!

Lisa I cannot be bothered to answer you because it’s just too silly.

Right! Sorry, I should have thought of that. Just not astute or professional enough, I guess.

not like andreas, david..
he needs to start a workshop teaching misdirection and evolving an argument if the first one turns out to be nonsense.

Andreas:

Ideas are currency, yes, got that right. Relationships with people are the gold standard. Incidentally, keeping ideas “close to your chest” is a bunch of paranoic bunk. Ideas need to be sifted then shared with the world, ergo: photography, language.

Originality comes from the ability to carry, like toss and tarried limbs, all that is in you and around you and quazar it alight so that it bursts, no matter how often folk have seen or read it before, and that it somehow appears to them bold and luminous and new.

the irony is that what these kind of workshops offer to off folks is just that: to set the rum-tum sight of living for them anew. From that, for some, the digestion and the alchemy of the original, born anew inside them.

It’s a feeble and sadly distended argument we’ve witnessed above, but i wish that you, especially you, who is a “travel writer” (implying that you have a traveled a great deal working for outfits (conde nast, NG Traveler) that cater to a particular (affluent, western, predominantly white) readership, should understand and countenance that just because one does not find merit in an idea because of the values they hold themselves (in this case you toward this workshop) does not mean that the object of their dislike/enmity does not hold inherent merit (itself or for others). To question something is one thing, to condemn it with knowing little about the experience, the organizers or those who have or continue to participate in it (and be profoundly and professionally changed by it), is really (frankly speaking) cantankerous. I would have expected someone who’d traveled to different and far-reaching places to have had a wider understanding of different perspectives.

Best of luck
bob