Join Chris Steele-Perkins for an intensive five-day workshop giving participants the opportunity to shoot, polish and publish their work under the guidance of this experienced Magnum photographer.

As a long-time member of world-renowned photography collective Magnum, Burma-born, British-raised documentary photographer Chris Steele-Perkins is a living legend. Over the past four decades he has photographed all over the world, published numerous books (see below), and picked up a string of awards along the way. The festival is proud to present a rare five-day London workshop with the photographer.

"I have began to do more teaching over the last few years and have begun to really enjoy the challenges it offers. When you are talking to an audience they have to know what you mean — it is no good just you understanding it."

Steele-Perkins will lead an intimate and informal workshop where he will tutor participants imparting some of his own photographic techniques, helping them to build an individual identity and assisting with successful editing processes.

Chris Steele-Perkins says: “The intention of the workshop is to push you out of your comfort zone, ingrained habits and ready assumptions and point you in the direction of authorship and finding your own voice. The more you put in the more you get out. There are no easy fixes."

"That's the key to learning. You've got to produce work, theory is all very well but you've got to produce. Doing it shows you how photography and the world really work. It's about interacting and you can't do that from behind a desk."

Applicants should demonstrate general photographic aptitude and be comfortable with their equipment.

SCHEDULE

Photographers will be expected to shoot digitally, and have a digital portfolio of no more than 20 photographs to present to the group. They should also have an idea of a body of work they want to shoot in London.

While the emphasis overall will be on doing, day one will be principally one of discussion:

• discussion of the portfolios
• discussion of the projects the photographers want to work on
• discussion on how that should be approached
• discussion of the photographers' strengths and weaknesses

This will involve all photographers and I will be pushing photographers to express their thoughts on their own and each others work, in line with the principle that "what applies to photographer X generally applies to photographer Y too".

The following days photographers will be sent out with a task to work on and will bring in new work which will be discussed by myself and other photographers and based on that they will be sent out to shoot more new work. I will be pushing you in ways that should stretch you technically and psychologically. Some will be sent out with specific exercises to do. New work will be expected from each day.

I will not be coming out with you when you work as it is impractical for a workshop group to divide the time fairly and usefully, but I will be giving detailed attention to the new work you are producing.

Over the days there will be a process of editing and selection and in the last day we will collectively edit the work into a PDF reflecting the production from the workshop group as a digital "book". This should make you think more clearly about selection and sequencing of work and give you an end product from the time spent.
 

EXHIBITION

Chris Steele-Perkins is showing his new work Centenarians in a group exhibiton as part of the festival. The Great British Public is spread across two sites, Dog Eared Gallery (1 to 24 June) and St Pancras International (1 June to 1 July).

BIOGRAPHY

Chris Steele-Perkins is undoubtedly one of Britain’s most renowned photographers. In 1979 he published his first book, The Teds, and that same year he joined Magnum Photos. He has worked extensively in the developing world as well as in Japan and England, both of which are a current focus for his work. Steele-Perkins has published a number of books and his reportages have received high public acclaim and won several awards, including the Tom Hopkinson Prize for British Photojournalism (1988), the Oscar Barnack Prize (1988) and the Robert Capa Gold Medal (1989).

A selection of worthwhile reading on the photographer:

• Steele-Perkins Magnum Portfolio
• The photographer's own website
• 2006 BBC Interview
• Steele-Perkins presents his book England, My England, to a full house at FOTO8 Gallery.
• See what Wikipedia has to say about Steele-Perkins

RELATED BOOKS BY STEELE-PERKINS:

Chris Steele-Perkins: England, My England -  Nothumbria Press (7 Oct 2009)

Chris Steele-Perkins: Tokyo Love Hello - Editions Intervalles (4 Jan 2007)

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  England, My England
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  The Teds
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  Centenarians