Steve Simon Image

VPW is proud to bring acclaimed photogapher Steve Simon back to Vancouver this August!

Join award-winning street photographer Steve Simon for an unforgettable weekend of living and breathing photography in beautiful Vancouver.

This intimate three-day masterclass (limited to ten students) will take you on a visual treasure hunt to some of the most interesting and exciting locations for Street Photography in Vancouver.

Workshop course description provided by Steve Simon:

In this workshop, Steve will be teaching you new and powerful street photography techniques guaranteed to push you from your comfort zone to new heights in your work.

Steve will share his street-shooting philosophies gleaned from a lifetime of wandering urban places with his camera.

He will help you find your own unique vision and street style through assignments created to get you past photographic fears and cliches to capturing lyrical, poetic and decisive moments that communicate the energy of the streets.

“When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.” - Alfred Eisenstaedt

But mostly we will be shooting on the street; sometimes together, often on our own. All levels of photographic experience can benefit from this workshop.

Street Philosophies:

“If you can smell the street by looking at the photo, it’s a street photograph.” - Bruce Gilden

You’ll learn about the “rhythm of place” and we will discuss the laws and ethics of street photography as well as dealing with difficult situations that might pop up. We will define a strategy for capturing the rich daily life of people on the street and overcoming shyness, approaching strangers, framing and juxtaposition, layering your compositions, letting the image come to you and whether color or black and white best suits your vision.

“The only thing that gets in the way of a really good photograph, is the camera.” - Norman Parkinson

Street-Tech:

We will talk street-tech and Steve will give you his minimalist view on gear along with a simplified shooting process to maximizing your response time to capture decisive moments.

Steve’s street tools include a Nikon D810, V3 and “Coolpix A” cameras along with a carefully curated selection of lenses; but he’s familiar with a wide range of equipment to help you maximize your mirror-less, compact, rangefinder, DSLR or even your camera phone for compelling street images.

We will talk lenses, auto focus, zone focusing, shooting form the hip, using live view, flash and a host of other tips, tricks, distractions and ideas that will improve your work dramatically.

It’s a street photography workshop but the lessons learned will benefit you in all genres of image-making.

Street Agenda:

“I am a tourist.“ - Garry Winogrand

Day 1: Friday August 29th: 10AM Arrival & Orientation.

The workshop begins with a meet & greet/orientation and introductory overview on the history of contemporary street photography. We will then do a group portfolio critique followed by lunch (included). We then hit the streets together, but we will soon split up and you will be encouraged to continue the shoot. We start each day with a lecture and critique. We meet at 12pm-3pm daily so we can take advantage of the best early morning and later in the day light. You are encouraged to edit and choose your top six images from that morning (and the previous night’s shoot) for critique. You will have from 12-12:30 to finalize your edit.

Days 2: Saturday August 30: 12-3pm Class and Critique

We meet at 12pm - 3PM daily so we can take full advantage of the early morning and late afternoon light. You are asked to edit your previous days shoot before class, choosing six of your strongest images of the day. Our daily lecture will be followed by a group critique. Then we hit the streets, a little wiser from the day before. There will be an optional night group shooting session.

Day 3 Sunday August 31: 3pm - 6PM Class, Critique & Final Slide Presentation

On this, the final day of the workshop, we will meet in the morning on location and get out shooting. We meet at 3pm in class for a final lecture, critique and group slide presentation. You are welcome to add a final 5 images to your take and Steve will edit these into your body of work for the final presentation.

“I always find it hard to say goodbye at the end of a workshop but I’m heartened by you leaving with a renewed sense of mission and confidence, some great ideas and techniques and a reinvigorated passion to continue your wanderings on the streets of your world.

“The artist's world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep.” - Paul Strand

What to Bring:

A portfolio of 8 images - JPEGS on a USB FlashDrive in a folder entitled "Your Name" for critique.

Images file names should contain your name as well.

This is a digital workshop, so a DSLR, Mirrorless, High-End Compact or rangefinder camera will all work.

Having a back up body is always a good idea. For your DSLR or Mirrorless, fast prime lenses are ideal, or at least one wide-angle zoom.

Lenses in the classic range for street photography: 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm will all work (based on full frame camera) and fast lenses f2 or faster offer more flexibility.

Two or three fully-charged batteries & charger. More memory cards than you think you will need and a card reader.

Your own laptop for image editing and note-taking.

A flash is optional but bring one to experiment with flash on the street.

“The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected that you find in the street.” - Robert Doisneau

Steve will travel to Vancouver ahead of the workshop to personally scout out the best shooting locations before the workshop begins.

The first 3 registered students will get a $45 Early Bird Discount off regular tuition!

Steve Simon has been passionate about documenting life through photography since he began taking photographs at age 12 in his home city of Montreal.

He has participated as a guest lecturer and workshop leader at various photography and arts events in Canada, The United States, and Argentina, including a nine city tour of University Photo Programs in the United States with Apple Computer.

Steve has had solo shows in New York at The Leica Gallery, Buenos Aires, Toronto and Montreal and his work has been featured three times at the Visa Pour L’Image Photography Festival in Perpignan, France. His work is in the permanent collections of The George Eastman House, Houston Museum of Fine Arts and The Canadian Archives and the Comune Di Verona.

The author of four critically acclaimed photography books with works in major museum collections around the world, Steve’s presentation combines humor and poignancy, as he takes you on an inspirational journey through his work.

From the emotional impact of 9/11 to a dazzling road trip across America At The Edge and coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics. From the stark, often ruefully funny images in his coverage of American politics; to the unexpected photographs of strength, courage and the innate vitality of human warmth and resilience under pressure in Heroines and Heroes: Hope, HIV and Africa and The Grandmother Spirit.

Please visit the links below to learn more about Steve!

New Book: The Passionate Photographer! 

www.stevesimonphoto.com

www.twitter.com/stevesimon

 

Pre-Requisites

Level:

Beginner/Intermediate/Professional. All Levels welcome!

Enrollment:

Maximum 10 participants.

What to Bring

Equipment Needed:

  • Please bring 8 images in print form (any size) or JPEGS on a USB FlashDrive
  • Camera
  • Lens
  • Battery
  • Memory card(s)

Please above for more details on suggested equipment for this workshop.

We Provide:

Workshop as described above.

Discounts

Early-Bird Discount:

Most of our courses and workshops offer a 10% discount is applied automatically if you register before the Early-Bird Discount deadline date listed in the registration table below.

Some courses and workshops offer a discount if you're among the first 3 people who register. This discount will replace the 'standard' Early Bird Discount mentioned above, and will be applied automatically during the online registration process (as long as it is available). Check the course/workshop listing page for more details.

Group Discount:

A 5% discount will be appplied if 3 or more people register at the same time for the same workshop. (All 3 tuitions must be paid for by one credit card to be considered a group registration.) Please follow the instructions on the online registration page.

Refunds

In order to provide the best learning environment possible VPW keeps class and tour sizes limited to 10-15 people (depending on the workshop). This is but one reason that we count on you to attend your chosen class or tour, once you have registered for it.

If you must withdraw for any reason please be aware of our refund policy as follows:

For our Local Lectures, Seminars, and Workshops valued at or under $100, VPW is unable to provide a cash refund. Transfers are limited to one transfer to either the same event at a later date, or a different event of equal value. VPW requires 48 hours written notice in order to make such a transfer (email notice is acceptable). The event you are transferring to must occur within 6 months of the original event you registered for. A $15 fee will be applied to all transfers.

For our Local Workshops, 1 to 5 days in length and our Local 4 to 10 Week Courses, VPW requires 30 days written notice (before the event start date) of your withdrawal in order to provide a refund. (Email notice is acceptable.)

For our Master Photographer Series workshops, 1 to 5 days in length, VPW requires 60 days written notice (before the workshop start date) of your withdrawal in order to provide a refund. VPW may retain 15% of fees paid or $150 minimum in processing your refund. If the tuition is less than $500 the minimum fee drops to $75.

Within 45 days of the Master Photographer Series workshop date all fees paid are non-refundable.

For our Photo Tours (national and international), the following charges will apply:

  • If you cancel up to 3 months before the tour start date and we can fill your space, your reservation (or deposit) fee will be refunded
  • There is no additional cancellation fee up to 8 weeks before the start of your tour
  • From 8 weeks to 4 weeks before the tour: 25% of your balance
  • From 4 weeks to 1 week before the tour: 50% of your balance
  • From 1 week to 72 hours before the tour: 75% of your balance
  • If you cancel within 72 hours of the start of the trip, no refund can be paid
  • Transaction charges incurred on accepting and refunding payments will be deducted from the refund amount
  • In the (unlikely) event that we cancel the Photo Tour, all monies paid will be refunded in full

We highly recommend that you take out travel insurance to guard yourself against monies lost due to unavoidable cancellation by either party.

Transfers (for all events over $100): If you wish to transfer to a different workshop date, VPW requires a minimum of 30 days written (email) notice. All transfers are based on availaibility, and subject to approval by VPW staff. For courses/workshops with tuition above $101, the transfer fee is $35.

Transfer Fees as based on event pricing:
Tuition of $100 and below, the transfer fee is $15
Tuition of $101 and above, the transfer fee is $35

VPW can give no refunds:

If you registered for any event valued at or under $100
If you do not show up for your registered course.
If you register for a course beyond or below your skill or ability level.

Refunds for all events valued at $101 and above (excluding Master Series Workshops):
If a student wishes to cancel their registration for any of VPW's events, and has provided written notice within the appropriate timeframe, a refund less a $50 administration fee will be provided.

Course Cancellation:

Occasionally, we may have to cancel a course due to low enrollment. In this case, we will issue a full refund of all monies paid to VPW up to that time.

Instructor Replacement:

In the event that a listed instructor is unable to participate because of a change in his or her professional schedule, we will replace the instructor with someone of equal or similar credentials. If we cannot find a replacement in due time before the course is about to start, a particular class may have to be rescheduled.

Liability

In the event that we cancel your course, for any reason, the extent of VPW's liability is limited to the return of all monies paid. We will do everything we can to register you in another equivalent course. VPW will not be responsible for reimbursement of travel expenses of any kind.

Please note: An administration charge of $50 applies to all refunds

Read complete refund and liability policy

"Thank you for an amazing workshop this weekend! I'll be back for more."

"I learned so much in just 2 days. What a great studio space you have. The models were amazing too."

Read more testimonials......

This workshop is taught by the following instructor:

Steve Simon
 
See Steve's work by visiting his website here!

Class Dates Time Early-Bird Discount Offer: Location Instructor Registration
Friday to Sunday August 29 - 31, 2014 10am - 6pm First 3 students registered get $45 off regular tuition VPW Studios Steve Simon Click Here to Register Online Now!