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Sept 13-15, 2024: Philadelphia MENTORSHIP WORKSHOP with Steve Simon & Owen Seidenberg


Limited Space (6 Spots) - Join Steve Simon & Owen Seidenberg for an Intensive, Transformational Shooting Experience in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, PA. This is a mentorship workshop where Steve meets with each participant prior to the start for a one-on-one Zoom meeting assessment of your portfolio and a tech check to discuss gear and best ways to use it regardless of your system brand. There is also a pre-workshop group meeting & lecture as well as a post workshop Zoom class and post one-on-one Zoom meeting as part of the mentorship.

  • Dates: Sept 13-15, 2024
  • Genre: Street, Travel, Urban, Documentary
  • Group Size: Max 6 participants
  • Skill Levels: All
  • Includes: Pre & post workshop Zoom Lectures, pre & post 1 on 1 hour-long Zoom Sessions, workshop classes, critique sessions, teaching materials, SEPTA pass for local transport, Museum Entrances, teaching materials, snacks, gourmet welcome dinner @ The Buddakan Restaurant, Philadelphia.

The Passionate Mentorship Street & Urban Photography Workshop in Philadelphia.

Participation is limited, so please book soon. To paraphrase W.C. Fields, “We’d rather be in Philadelphia,” living our passion for photography with you, than anyplace else, on Sept 13-15, 2024.

Steve and Owen

View All Steve Simon Passionate Photographer® Workshops Here

Philadelphia Mentorship Workshop Details

This is a mentorship workshop where Steve meets with each participant prior to the start for a one-on-one Zoom meeting assessment of your portfolio and a tech check to discuss gear and best ways to use it regardless of your system brand. We make tweaks to enhance your speed of response which might include back button autofocus, Auto ISO, Easy Exposure Compensation, frame rate and playback options along with other best practices all designed to simplify your process and build your muscle memory so the technical fades to the background and you increase you success rate. 

 

 

An Intensive & Transformational Shooting Experience

This intimate 3-day weekend masterclass (limited to just 6 students) is designed to maximize both the learning experience and your ability to create a unique and powerful portfolio of imagery from Philadelphia.

The pre-workshop personal zoom session and portfolio review insures each student is ready to maximize the shooting part of the workshop when we arrive on location. One more pre-workshop Zoom Group session and lecture and we are ready to maximize our workshop experience.

This 3-Day Intensive workshop begins with a meet, greet and lecture followed by a ice-breaking photowalk and shoot on the grounds of America's birthplace, Independence Hall on route to share a fabulous meal at one of Philadelphia's finest restaurants, Buddakan, a true culinary event. The atmosphere is stunning; food is absolutely delicious and it’s quiet enough for great conversation.

In this intimate masterclass (limited to 6 students) we explore some of the best photo opportunities Philadelphia has to offer, designed to get you a great portfolio from Philly in the short time we have.

We have curated this tour to alter between iconic Philadelphia photo opportunities and those less known. On Saturday we catch the Philly Phlash Bus to the Philadelphia Museum of Art where our first stop will be Rodin's Thinker, inspiration to get our cerebral and photographic juices flowing. 

We've got some great locations planned, which may include: The Rocky Statue & Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Liberty Bell and Independence National Historical Park, Race and Cherry Street Piers, Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, Rittenhouse Square, Reading Terminal Market, Dilworth Park/City Hall, Elfreth's Alley, Spruce Street Harbor Park, Chinatown, Love Park, Boathouse Row, Logan Circle.

Cheesesteak Central at 9th & Passyunk (Pat's King of Steaks / Geno's Steaks)

No trip to Philadelphia would be complete without a pilgrimage to the dueling Meccas of cheesesteaks, Pat’s - King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks. Together, they have been raising Philadelphia’s cholesterol for a combined total of 145 years! They’re a 20-minute bus ride through the old Italian neighborhood of South Philly with photo opps to and from to work off some of the calorie intake.

We take a quick open-air bus tour to get the lay of the land and see all the best tourists spots as well as challenge ourselves to get some images from the unique perspective of the bus. 

Steve & Owen have scouted locations to work out a final detailed itinerary to balance the street and urban work we pursue. Though the schedule may seem packed, woven into the program is down time to relax, edit your work and percolate on your New York experience.

We encourage flexibility and independence among participants and will attempt to personalize your experience whenever possible. If you fall in love with an area and want to continue working there–you are encouraged to do so.

Limiting our workshop to six participants allows us to tailor this workshop to meet the needs of each participant. Lectures and assignments will be personalized to get you out of your comfort zone and push you forward in your work. Philly is easy to navigate but you will be doing a lot of walking so keep that in mind!

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

All levels of photographic experience can benefit from this workshop. You’ll learn about the “rhythm of place” and you will discuss the laws and ethics of street photography as well as dealing with difficult situations that might pop up.

You will define a strategy for capturing the rich daily life of people, overcoming fears and shyness, approaching strangers, framing, juxtaposition, layering your compositions, letting the image come to you and whether color or black and white best suits your vision. And you will have fun!

Post Workshop Mentorship

After our workshop we have a post-workshop Zoom Class where we have our final lecture and critique of images not yet seen and Steve puts together a narrative of your best work from the workshop. You also can schedule a final hour-long one-on-one Zoom session to talk about the final outcome of the workshop and areas to work on moving forward.

Critique

In class, we will examine a selection of your best or most interesting work from the previous day.

These daily critiques are of crucial importance, where we share ideas and constructive criticism looking through each others’ images. Our workshop will be a “safe place” for group discussions with suggestions and new ideas put forward.

Our private Zoom sessions allow us to personalize our critiques and conversations for a more private and uninhabited conversation.

Steve will help guide participants work into a cohesive portfolio of images, through careful culling. You will be encouraged to take on a theme over the week for your final portfolio, and Steve will curate your final results into a set of your best images in the Lightroom Book Module and send you the catalog for review and/or printing.

“A picture is the expression of an impression. If the beautiful were not in us, how would we ever recognize it? “ – Ernst Haas

Street Tech

We will talk urban-tech with Steve giving you his minimalist view on gear along with simplified shooting processes to maximizing your response time to capture decisive moments. This will be in our one on one session where we tailor the technical for the gear you use.

Steve’s street tools include Nikon mirrorless cameras along with a carefully curated selection of lenses. He is also familiar with a wide range of equipment to help you maximize your mirrorless, compact, rangefinder, DSLR or even your camera phone for compelling urban images.

Though our focus is on vision more than gear, we will talk lenses, auto focus, zone focusing, shooting form the hip, using live view, flash, camera support and tripods and a host of other tips, tricks, distractions and ideas that will improve your work dramatically. Steve will go over his post-process workflow in Lightroom.

It’s a street and urban photography masterclass but the lessons learned will benefit you in all genres of image-making and help you to create a compelling Philadelphia portfolio.

Our Venue: 

Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District, 400 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19106, United States, 866-573-4235. We have a special rate of $199 per night plus tax and discounted overnight parking for $20 a day. After you sign up we will reach out and ask if you want a room. It's a beautiful hotel and a great base for the workshop. We will have critique meetings their daily. 


Itinerary To Come...

Testimonials

Gary Niederpruem, Chicago

“What a fabulous experience. I learned more about photography in one week than I had in 5 years. Steve is very knowledgable about the technical side as well as composition. He is very patient, gives excellent feedback and will work one on one with you on any photography subject you want. I asked him for help on night photography and at 10 PM he was out on the streets of Havana with me with step by step instructions on how to take the shot. 5 star plus rating!!”

Anna Blanco, New York City

“Best workshop I’ve ever taken! Steve is not only a great photographer, he is also a terrific teacher. He is patient and very hands- on. In some workshops the instructor sends students out to shoot after a short lecture–Steve goes out with his students, coaching them throughout the process. His course is well organized and covers diverse topics. He is funny and engaging and generous with his time and knowledge. I had SO MUCH fun and am ready to sign up for the next one. Highly recommended!”

Anne Dunford, Ithaca, New York

"My week in Steve’s Street Shooting workshop challenged me tremendously. There’s nothing like taking your work apart and putting it back together with new vision to make you a better photographer. If you take this workshop, I guarantee you will see the world differently at the end."

Paul Lavergne, San Juan, PR

"Steve’s passion for photography is contagious and his teaching abilities and knowledge extraordinary! I highly recommend this workshop to anyone interested in photography."

Chapman Solomon, Mountain View, CA

“Participating in the NYC Street Photography Workshop was an enriching and exhilarating experience. It challenged me to step out of my comfort zone to improve my skills. Steve’s curriculum and hands on approach offered me an opportunity to learn new techniques, add some creativity and visualize subject matter from another perspective. Each day presented abundant photo opportunities, resulting with the capture of some amazing images, exceeding my greatest expectations.”

Stephen Sholl, New York City

"Not only is Steve a great photographer, he is also a caring, compassionate person as well. He is constantly trying to help participants achieve their photographic goals in a gentle, caring, and sincere manner. Sadly, the critiques of my work were very helpful. Steve was right-on in terms of his suggestions to better my work. The totality of the workshop was terrific, primarily because the parts were all excellent as well. Choice of shooting locations, image reviews, suggestions, videos shown, and galleries visited were all great. Steve also promoted wonderful interactions among the participants. The venue was perfect for the workshop. We could spread out, leave our things there, use the facilities, and eat the goodies provided. You know you’re in good hands with Steve! An outstanding workshop!"

Steve Lavelle, London

"This is an outstanding workshop, led by a world-class photographer. It is impossible to spend time in a room with Steve Simon and not be inspired to get out there and make great images …I had high expectations and you exceeded them…Steve is very personable, articulate and passionate about photography, very welcoming with a warm, engaging personality. Steve’s style is outstanding. I knew of Steve from the TWiP podcast and would have attended if he was talking about how to watch paint dry…”

Oscar Piñeyro, Dallas

"I just spent the last three days with Steve Simon, What a wonderful experience, the best time spent in a workshop ever. Steve is a perfectionist, every presentation not only had spectacular photography but also the perfect music to enhance the mood, a roller coaster of emotions. He cannot hide his journalistic background every single image tells a story. His technique is flawless; his teaching patience unparalleled. I am eager to start a new chapter of my photography applying what Steve taught me in the last few days."