POV: In Praise of The Foundry Photojournalism Workshop (Again)

Photo © Adriana Zehbrauskas

As this blog's followers and readers know, I attended the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in La Antigua Guatemala just over two weeks ago. It was my sixth workshop as a faculty member; having missed Sarajevo out of the workshops held in Mexico City, Manali, Istanbul, Buenos Aires, Chiang Mai and now La Antigua,

Once again, while it is the students and instructors who are in the limelight during the workshop, it's the unsung heroes of the Foundry's staff,  its administrators and the local volunteers who consistently make them such wonderful successes. This particular workshop in La Antigua was particularly challenging in view of its venue (the conference rooms at the Casa Santo Domingo) being so dreadfully expensive to rent.

As always, Eric Beecroft, as the visionary force behind the Foundry Workshops, deserves singular praise. He had the  idea of creating such a workshop some 7 or 8 years ago, and made it a reality despite enormous obstacles. Eric, the staff and local volunteers worked around the clock, and deserve enormous credit for the success of yet again another wonderful Foundry.

I've often suggested to my class participants that attending a Foundry workshop is not only about enhancing their craft with advice of some of the best (and certainly selfless) photographers/photojournalists in the business, or about the class they've chosen or even about their own stories and image-making, but it's also about rubbing shoulders with other participants, whether these are peers, or just starting their photography careers, or veterans, and with all sorts of other styles of image-making....it's about augmenting their exposure to different worlds, about exposing themselves to divergent thought processes, to varying points of view, and in doing so...grow as human beings (and yes, as photographers too).

In my previous POV post, I refer to my personal photographic evolution...and there's little doubt in my mind that my involvement in the Foundry since 2008, meeting and viewing the work of my fellow instructors, as well as that of the students, has inspired a shift in my travel photography trajectory...and caused an evolutionary progress in my way of seeing...from the narrow focus on stock travel photography to a more documentary type of travel photography.

I'm quite certain of this, and I'm equally certain that many students, and possibly other instructors, have had their their own photographic evolution influenced by the osmotic phenomenon of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshops.

So when the next Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is announced (either Indonesia or East Africa...maybe), grab the opportunity and register.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2015 | Bali, Indonesia

Eric Beecroft just announced the Foundry 2015 Indonesia early bird enrollment!

The workshop will be held July 2015 (exact dates to be confirmed soon) in Bali. The tuition is $475  for local photographers and $975 for non-local photographers.

From now until December 26, 2014, photographers can sign up simply by paying a nonrefundable $100 deposit. This amount will be taken off the remainder of the tuition, and it also guarantees first come first serve when the specific instructor choice and class registration are open.

I've often suggested that attending a Foundry workshop is not only about enhancing their craft with advice of some of the best (and certainly selfless) photographers and photojournalists in the business, or about the class they've chosen or even about their own stories and image-making, but it's also about rubbing shoulders with other participants, whether these are peers, or just starting their photography careers, or veterans, and with all sorts of other styles of image-making....it's about augmenting their exposure to different worlds, about exposing themselves to divergent thought processes, to varying points of view, and in doing so...grow as human beings (and yes, as photographers too).

Bali, needless to say, is an inspired choice of place for the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop. It's a superlative source of visual and sensory experiences, of unlimited photographic opportunities...from travel to hard core social issues, and overflows with unique cultural events ranging from deity purification ceremonies to cremations.

Here's one of the multimedia projects I've produced during my many travel photography workshops in Bali.

La Antigua | First Class Day | Foundry Photojournalism Workshop

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

The first day of class for the Multimedia For Photographers course was completed, and the class participants (pictured above) are already on their way to gather photographs and audio for their multimedia projects.

There are a number of project ideas popping on individuals' radar screens, and we'll have to wait to see if these materialize or not. The advice given is to always have a couple of optional projects just in case the one chosen doesn't pan out.

Parque Central in the center of La Antigua is rife with interesting characters, and hopefully participants will be able to craft visual and aural stories as quickly as possible, as one week is really too short to create an in depth story with a multimedia component.

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

The eco-system that exists and gathers around the Parque Central, whilst touristy, is fascinating. The woman trying to sell some dubious looking liquor must have had luck selling it in the open in such a fashion. There was nothing furtive about her, and she brandished the bottle, offering it to me with no compunction.

La Antigua | Foundry Photojournalism Workshop

Photo © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved

Well, tomorrow I'll be flying off to Guatemala to join the rest of the faculty of the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop. I'll be spending most of the week-long workshop teaching the fundamentals of multimedia and storytelling, but I'll try to fit some street photography.

Having been to La Antigua a few years ago, I remember its streets offered strong contrast between shadows and sunlit corners, and hopefully I'll be able to do some interesting work with that.

I have a small class...which is what I always ask for and much prefer, since there's a substantial amount of one-on-one coaching in the audio editing module of the class. Having a larger class would be unmanageable, and would diminish its benefits.

I'll try to post while I'm in La Antigua, and keep my readers appraised about what I'm up to there....whether it's about the Foundry itself, my street photography, excellent coffee hang-outs or restaurants.

Keep tuned.

La Antigua | The 'Multimedia For Photographers' Class of 2014

Photos © Cheryl Nemazie-All Rights Reserved

Well, the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop 2014 ended last Saturday, after a week long of grueling work from instructors, assistants and class participants (aka students).

I'm not getting into the daily details of what the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop was all about in La Antigua, but I will certainly say is that this class exerted their very utmost to produce individual projects that included still imagery, text and ambient audio over the course of what is in reality only 4 full working days.

The above collection of "mug shots" was the brainchild of Cheryl Nemazie. She thought our group photograph should consist of individual mug shots, wearing my eyeglasses, a Cambodian krama scarf and holding a Leica M9...creating a Tewfic "tribe" or "team".

Despite the well publicized travel warnings about La Antigua, none of my class participants experienced any difficulties or issues (at least that I'm aware of) during the Foundry week-long event. The classes were held at one of the town's most prestigious hotel, with conference rooms allocated to each class, and the venue generally worked very well.

The Multimedia for Photographers Class 2014 Hard at Work

The class projects included an intimate look at Guatemala's chocolate-making process, Pollo Loco (the 'chicken' buses of Guatemala), two stories on traditional Mayan-Indian weavers, the art of making typical Guatemalan bread, a teacher of reading/literacy for Mayan Indian women, and a light hearted canine love story. Except for one, all the stories were in color.