Photography

Echi
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Great insight, Casey. It's always a challenge to break this workshop cycle/pattern..

I'm quite picky conducting workshops simply because it's not easy to give a Leica audience (critical bastards especially when it's about the M.. kinda like us over here :p) something really positive to walk away with after a day's session.

To give you an idea, I only conduct one or 2 a year with the boutique. And usually specialized ones. It takes months to create a module and just like our reasons for photographing, the raison d étre for a module should come from a place where you have something to say. And the guiding principle here is one I carry with me from corporate.. to not waste people's time.

Also, most instructors rely too much on a template and forget the needs of the day. With an M workshop, I would deviate a bit and help the boutique sell their wares by injecting my personal experiences with particular lenses for example.. this is very helpful especially with newbies.. kinda like a new watch collector asking what he or she should start with.. And then the boutique template needs to be challenged as well. Not all workshops lend itself to shooting and critique for example. I tried to nego this out as it's a proven time waster (you're not going to be a Bresson and come back an hour later with a smashing street photo.. inside a freakin' mall) but i don't always win. In fact, i think never hahaha! If it were a landscape workshop on location, I'd understand. But for a half day session, I'd rather spend that extra time looking at an attendee's portfolio if he or she brought a few snaps.

Then one needs to go the extra mile to ensure that you're able to carry your message across. In a Monochrom master class that I conducted, I lugged 10 framed exhibition prints so that the audience can see for themselves how various M cameras handle BW. It's not enough to project these things on screen, I think they have to see how it translates to print.. make them figure out for themselves if the dynamic range translates in a comparable manner digitally on screen versus paper.

So how should one approach a Leica Akademie class? With very low expectations regardless of instructor especially if it's a half day one.

1) Make sure you bring your own set of questions, ideas, or prints/images that an instructor or the class can tackle as a group or individually so that your specific need is at least addressed.

2) Enjoy the company. The Leica audience is a very interesting one. In as much as photography can be an introverted pursuit, try to come out of your shell and connect. It's not as difficult as it seems. And there are lots of learnings to be had from these rich and varied backgrounds. Just like good watch GTGs, lifelong friendships can be forged.

3) Workshops are like panning for gold and it can come from an unexpected module slide. It's not going to be a buffet of inspiration so leave all bias by the door, keep an open mind, listen, and you might just end up with a nugget or two.

At the very least, there will be coffee

If you made it this far, thanks for going through my spiel as I wanted to reinforce what our Mod said about workshops.

My prints for my Monochrom class which I titled as "Color Blind"



My 2018 class

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