T-7 For the Eddie Adams Workshop XXI

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In just seven days from now – 100 very lucky students (comprised of 50 students and 50 professionals) will come together to participate in what is very likely the best photography workshops in the world:   The Eddie Adams Workshop – edition number XXI.

This workshop is always one of the highlights of my year – in fact I turned down a commercial job two years ago to make the annual pilgrimage upstate… (everyone volunteers at the workshop…and NO – I ain’t making enough money to be turning down commercial jobs… so that’s saying a lot!)  

The workshop is an annual gathering of some of the best “established” and “new” talent in the industry – I (and all of the other participants) have had a chance to hear the likes of Gordon Parks, George Tames, Nick Ut,  Bill Eppridge, Tom Kennedy, John White and many, many more legends of this industry share some pretty priceless stories and insight over the years.  In fact you can hear many of their speeches here.   Real, real cool.   Not only do some of the “best photographers” get invited to speak – but many of the very best editors from the most prestigious magazines and publications and other influential members of our photographic community also come to share.

There are two guarantees that anyone who attends the workshop can come to expect – the workshop has the definite potential to change the course of your career if not your life – and you’ll leave absolutely dead exhausted… but it’s worth every second and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

To see some of the work that has been produced in the past – click on this link – and look through the work.  (You can also go to the link for the Brown Team from the link above – the team that I “led” last year along with Michele McNally (Managing Editor for Visuals at The New York Times) and the best producer out there – Josh Haner – also of The New York Times.  You can also see our team’s work from 2006 here (Green Team) (click on student gallery for the following links) and 2005 here (Tan Team) and 2004 here (Purple Team.)  

You can find out more about Eddie Adams – the legendary photographer who started this workshop more than two decades ago here.   His wife Alyssa Adams has continued to run the workshop with the help of many very talented and generous people (and sponsors) since Eddie passed away in 2004.

Here is a detailed explanation of the weekend – taken directly from the workshop site:

“The faculty, who donate their time and effort to the Workshop, are the nation’s leading working photographers and editors. Participating faculty has included Eddie Adams (Pulitzer Prize Winner), Nancy Andrews (Detroit Free Press), Karen Ballard, Hal Buell, James Colton (Sports Illustrated), David Doubilet, Eric Draper, Bill Eppridge, Bill Frakes (Sports Ilustrated), Tom Franklin (Bergen Record, Pulitzer Prize Winner), Bert Fox (National Geographic), Shelly Katz, David Kennerly (Pulitzer Prize Winner), Douglas Kirkland, Eliane Laffont (Hachette Fillipacchi), Vincent Laforet (The New York Times), David Leeson (Dallas Morning News, Pulitzer Prize Winner), Mary Ellen Mark, Clay McBride, Carl Mydans (LIFE), Gordon Parks, Chris Ramirez, Eugene Richards, Joe Rosenthal (Pulitzer Prize Winner), Mike Sargent (Getty Images), Howard Schatz, Michele Stephenson (Time Magazine), Brian Storm (MediaStorm), John White (Chicago Sun Times), Michael Williamson (Washington Post), Steven Wilkes, and Nick Ut (Associated Press).

After portfolio reviews and student selection, students are divided into 10 teams of 10. Each team has 3 faculty members- a Team Editor, Team Leader, and Team Producer, who work intimately with their students to help them through the weekend, and in many cases, to mentor them for years to come.

The Team Editors are responsible for working with the students on their assignment for the weekend, going through the shoot with them, and helping identify strong images, as well as areas they need to generally improve on. These Editors are all Directors of Photography or Senior Photo Editors at major publications and organizations throughout the US, including the New York Times, Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Dallas Morning News, etc.

Team Leaders are professional photographers, who go out into the field with the students during the Workshop, to shoot alongside them, and offer advice and feedback. These photographers come from a variety of backgrounds- from daily news, to major sports, to war and conflict photography, all lending unique experiences and advice to the students.

Team Producers have the most involved job- they start months in advance, making trips up to the Catskills to secure subjects for the shoots. Each Producer is solely responsible for all logistics pertaining to their students, from getting them to their assignments, to having backup plans incase of weather or other obstacles.

Along with the Team Faculty, we have a number of speakers who come in. Each speaks for 30 minutes, showing their work, and answering questions for students. Over the four days, the students are exposed to many types of photography- not just photojournalism, but also fine art photography, studio portraiture, underwater work, long-term projects, and conflict photography. Speakers lean more towards inspiration than instruction- sharing parts of themselves and their careers that will, hopefully, profoundly affect the students and their future careers.”