Street scene in Kano, Nigeria on March 31, 2013. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and it is also one of the world’s most important oil producers: 50% of the population lives in poverty, and in the north, where the situation is particularly dire, the number is more than 70%. Nigeria is evenly split between the primarily Muslim north and a Christian south, and although most people live in harmony, since 2009, a murky Islamic insurgent group, Boko Haram, which translates as Western Religion is Sacrilegious, has become increasingly radical and violent, targeting Nigerian security forces and churches. As tensions flair, there is a looming potential for civil war that could threaten to engulf the country and tear Nigeria apart –a disastrous outcome for all of Africa. Photographer Ed Kashi intends to make two trips to the Northeast to complete this story. This story will show how converging issues are impacting Nigeria’s growing crisis: religious strife, economic disparity, ethnicity, and a fight for resources.

Visual storytelling with Ed Kashi

Visual Storytelling in the Digital Age

Goal

Learn and improve how to build a documentary reportage by covering an editorial story defined with Ed Kashi. Refine storytelling and story composition by analyzing real- situation problems, images analysis, editing and captions writing. Most of all, the workshop with Ed Kashi will help you discover your own visual language as well as practical and conceptual know how to confront real situation reportage making.

This workshop will also focus on how to gain a new perspective on one’s works and attitude.

Biography

Ed Kashi is a photojournalist, filmmaker and educator dedicated to documenting the social and political issues that define our times. A sensitive eye and an intimate relationship to his subjects are signatures of his work. As a member of VII Photo Agency, Kashi has been recognized for his complex imagery and its compelling rendering of the human condition.

“ I take on issues that stir my passions about the state of humanity and our world, and I deeply believe in the power of still images to change people’s minds. I’m driven by this fact; that the work of photojournalists and documentary photographers can have a positive impact on the world. The access people give to their lives is precious as well as imperative for this important work to get done. Their openness brings with it a tremendous sense of responsibility to tell the truth but to also honor their stories. ”

Program

« [... ] Adults bring more neuroses, habits, and fears, along with their more developed talent and purpose. They are hampered, in a way, by their photographic baggage, their professional dreams, or their desire to emulate or outdo other people’s photographs. For these reasons my adult students are as much in need of guidance as the kids, but in certain ways they also present a greater opportunity for growth.

[... ] If I know an adult photo student wants to make photography their profession, then I’ll take a more critical approach to their images as well as their approach, behavior, even dress sometimes (especially with females), and I try to get them to express their intentions so they become clearer and stronger about why they want to do this.

[... ] The amateur who just wants to improve their photography requires a different approach. To me it’s important to help them grow while also preserving their love and joy for the craft. We all know people who are wonderful in some art form yet drop it because they lose the joy when they realize they’re “not good enough” to “make it” professionally.

In fact, many very talented people just don’t have the stomach to handle the pressures, rejection, and bullshit involved with being a professional in something that is so personal and subjective. » Ed Kashi (from RESOLVE, collaborative online community)  

Previous Workshops

© Ed Kashi 2023
Daily life in the village of Bonsaaso, Ghana on Oct. 4, 2015. © Ed Kashi/VII photo 2022
Northern Nigeria 2021
2019
Mar 26 - Mar 29, 2014
4 days in Paris - 850 €
DONE
PARTICIPANTS’
WORKS

- Only 9 students will be admitted for each session. Students will be granted admission to the workshop based on a review of a selection of 10 of their photographs.

- The 950€ fee does not include transport, accommodation nor on the ground expenses. For participants coming from outside the European Union, please be aware that there is a bank fee when making the payments via bank transfer.

- In order to confirm your application, an advance payment of €100 is advised. Once the application is completed, we will send an email via PayPal to the participant in order to settle the payment. If the candidate is accepted, this amount will be deducted from the overall cost of the workshop.

- In case the participation is not confirmed, he will get a full pay back of the 100€ fee.

- If accepted, the participant will receive a course contract confirming the success of his application by email.

- To confirm registration, the participant must return this contract to us, signed, within ten days, along with payment of 30% of the cost of the workshop.

- The rest of the fee must be paid by the first day of the workshop at the latest. The participant will then receive a receipt.

- A dossier in order to get prepared for the workshop will be sent to the participant at least two weeks before the course begins.

- If you're willing to participate in more than one workshop, we do offer a 10% discount on the following workshops' price.

- Successful candidates will be expected to arrive comfortable with their equipment and ready to photograph.

- Participants working digitally should bring their own laptops, and everything needed for digital editing.

- Participants working on film can use external laboratories services to develop their films but at their own expense and within the given time. Eyes in Progress will provide a list of laboratories and prices and the workshop team will be able, whenever possible, to bring the films to the lab and back once they're developed.

- Participants are required to find their own accommodation in Paris. However Eyes in Progress will provide you with a list of affordable places.

- Photo books

- Projector and screen

- 1 MAC with photo editing software

- Professional A3 printer

- Negative scanner

- Photo paper

A technical assistant will be present during the workshop.

- The portfolios produced by each participant will be published on the site of Eyes in Progress.

- An evaluation committee comprised of professional photo editors, journalists, creative directors and gallery curators will then critique these portfolios. It will be published on the student's page on Eyes in Progress.

- In case the participant does not want a portfolio review after the workshop, the workshop price will be reduced of 70€.

- Video interviews in which the students discuss their work, their motivation as photographers, as well as what they learned during the masterclass will also be posted on the site. In case the participant is not willing to have his video online, we won't publish it, however, we do encourage to record the video anyways as a practical exercise on how to orally express himself as a photographer.

- Social media modules will be available in order to share the page with friends and contacts.

- Each participant will be awarded a certificate of completion of the course.

- The participants will be required to evaluate the course when it has been completed, to show their level of overall satisfaction and the extent of their acquisition of new skills. These evaluations will help us to improve our courses.

- If the participant is not willing to have his profile online (portfolio, review, video), we will of course respect his decision and will not publish it.

- There will be two rounds of applications review

It is possible that the workshop is completed with the first round of applications, in that case, the second round of applications will not be processed.

- In case the participant comes from far away and needs to make early travel arrangements regarding the workshop's date, we will study his request to review his application ahead of the official deadlines.

- Eyes in Progress reserves the right to cancel groups with less than 7 participants. Students will be given either a full refund or offered a place with an alternative photographer. In the event of a cancellation, students will be given at least 3 weeks advance notice. Eyes in Progress reserves the right to change or alter the program advertised.

- If a participant decides to cancel for whatever reason, this must be confirmed in writing:

. Eyes in Progress will reimburse all the registration costs except for the €100 administrative fee, if the participant informs Eyes in Progress of cancellation at least 3 weeks before the first day of the workshop. Beyond this time limit, Eyes in Progress will charge the following:

. 50% of the cost if cancelled between 6 and 20 days before the workshop commences.

. 100% of the cost if cancelled less than 5 days before the workshop commences.

. All workshops that are commenced but not completed through the fault of the participant need to be paid in full.

- Eyes in Progress is not responsible for reimbursement of travel expenses in case a workshop is cancelled. We recommend that you buy refundable air tickets and/or travel insurance.

Eyes in Progress is committed to using all possible means to enable beneficiaries with disabilities to participate in the workshops. For this, the director of Eyes in Progress will assess all required adaptations and implement them.