"If I were just curious I'd find it hard to say to someone, 'I want to come and see you and talk to you and make you tell the story of your life.' But the camera is a kind of passport. A lot of people really want you to take an interest in them, and that seems a reasonable way of doing it." This quotation from American photographer Diane Arbus sets the tone for a workshop whose aim will be to create a series of personal images focused on the individual.
This workshop is designed as a practical and theoretical photographic experience, with participants in a real working situation. The week will begin with discussions, after which each participant will settle on a theme that fits with his/her personality and aspirations. Then individual photography followed by collective editing sessions and discussion of the images will encourage development of a personal artistic language, the goal being to express as closely as possible the relationship between the participant and the people he/she has chosen to photograph. The working relationship with the subject – giving directions, creating trust but also unsettling, framing, lighting, etc. – will obviously be part of the workshop, but in the broader context of a personal programme extending from project design to the layout of an exhibition.
Another major facet of the week's work will be ongoing analysis of the work of such greats in the portrait field as August Sander, Richard Avedon and Diane Arbus, as well as more contemporary figures including Rineke Dijkstra, Philip-Lorca Dicorcia, Jürgen Teller and Valérie Belin. This will provide those taking part with additional cultural input and inspiration. For their photographs participants will also be able to draw on contacts provided by the Rencontres d'Arles.
DAVIDBALICKI :
David Balicki graduated from the National School of Photography in Arles in 1993. Today he photographs celebrities for newspapers (notably music and cinema stars for the Inrockuptibles) and for publishing houses. In 2005, the Rencontres d’Arles commissioned and exhibited his series of portraits of the inhbitants of Arles.
www.davidbalicki.com
WORKSHOPCONTENT :
- Presentation of the photographer’s profession
- Technical exercises
- Analysis and practical evaluation of the participant’s previous work
- Daily photo sessions, technical c ounselling
- Individual and group analysis of the previous day’s pictures
- Selection of images with a view to creating a series
- Final one-to-one interview
BRING :
- Photographs, portfolio, press book, etc., indicative of your level.
- Films and/or digital cameras : note that given the processing times required, view cameras and black and white film are excluded (films are not provided).
- Participants working with digital material can bring a Memory stick, external hard drive and/or a laptop computer for storing their images.
