August 16-18, 2024: The Passionate Photographer Mentorship Workshop Vancouver

Workshop Details

Join award-winning street photographer Steve Simon for an unforgettable week of living and breathing photography in one of the world’s most visual cities, Vancouver, British Columbia.

An Intensive & Transformational Shooting Experience

Join award-winning street photographer Steve Simon for an unforgettable week of living and breathing photography in beautiful Vancouver.

This intimate four-day masterclass (limited to 6 students) will take you on a visual treasure hunt to some of the most interesting and exciting locations in Vancouver. You will explore vibrant, visually rich places and neighborhoods including: Gastown, Stanley Park and English Bay, Chinatown, Granville Island, The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE), The Night Market & Yaletown.

Steve will be teaching you new and powerful street photography techniques guaranteed to push you from your comfort zone to new heights in your work and share his street-shooting philosophies gleaned from a lifetime of wandering urban places with his camera.

This intensive workshop will help you find your own unique vision and street style through assignments created to get you past photographic fears and cliches to capturing lyrical, poetic and decisive moments that communicate the energy of the streets.

But mostly you will be shooting the theatre that is the street; sometimes together, often on your own.

You will find out just how photogenic Vancouver is for a street photographer. All levels of photographic experience can benefit from this workshop. With street photography the world you capture is largely out of your control, making it one of the most difficult genre’s to master.

What you will learn here this week will make all other genre’s of photography you are passionate about, just a little bit easier.

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 on the street and overcoming fears and shyness, approaching strangers for street portraits, framing, juxtaposition and layering your compositions, letting the image come to you and whether color or black and white best suits your vision.

Our Venue: The Loft Gastown

This 1906 warehouse conversion is an open concept loft with polished concrete floors, 16 ft ceilings with timber beams, & exposed brick in Gastown, voted #4 in list of 50 Most Stylish Neighborhoods in the World. Easy access to some of Vancouver’s trendiest shops, restaurants, nightclubs, attractions and maybe most important —street shooting opportunities.

Walking distance to downtown Vancouver’s shopping, business and entertainment district, Chinatown, Yaletown, and less than a ten minute walk to the Waterfront Skytrain Station transit hub and Seabus. There’s even a bus stop outside the building. There are Citi Bike Stands very close to the loft. (Wear a helmet!)

You are welcome to leave stuff overnight at our workspace.

Street Tech

You will talk street-tech and Steve will give you his minimalist view on gear along with a simplified shooting process to maximizing your response time to capture decisive moments.

Steve’s street tools include the a Nikon Z Mirrorless Bodies & Lenses, D850, D5, D7500 and iPhone 8+ cameras, along with a carefully curated selection of lenses; but he’s familiar with a wide range of equipment to help you maximize your mirror-less, compact, rangefinder, DSLR or even your camera phone for compelling street images.

You will talk lenses, auto focus, zone focusing, shooting form the hip, using live view, flash and a host of other tips, tricks, distractions and ideas that will improve your work dramatically.

In class, Steve will look at a selection of your best work from the previous day. These daily critiques are of crucial importance, where you share ideas and constructive criticism as you look through each others’ images.

The workshop will be a “safe place” for group discussions with suggestions and new ideas put forward. You will visit a photography gallery and participate in lectures and critiques every day. You will also schedule a twenty-minute, one-on-one personal session with Steve.

You will be encouraged to take on a theme over the week for your final portfolio, which could be a specific idea or as general as your “Love Letter to Vancouver” capturing general impressions of the city from it’s people, places, food, light or architecture.

You are encouraged to do some research into what you will find here but you don’t need to finalize your theme until you begin to shoot. Steve will provide a number of assignments designed to push you from your comfort zone and help give you direction when on the street.

Schedule

Day 1: Friday August 16th: 2pm Arrival & Orientation

• Introductory meet and greet talking about the week to come as you view the work of some of the best and most influential modern day street photographers followed by a quick-start session with tips on shooting and editing.
• Steve will then lead a group portfolio critique followed by a ice-breaking photo walk.

Days 2: Saturday August 17th

• You start each day with a lecture and critique. You meet @ The Loft 11am-2pm daily so you can take advantage of the best early morning and later in the day light. (Sun will rise at about 6:10 am and set 8:15 pm).

• You are encouraged to edit and choose your top six images from that morning (and the previous night’s shoot) for critique.

• You will have from 12-12:30 to finalize your edit. After the group critique you hit the streets, a little wiser from the day before.

  Shooting locations will be determined each morning.

• There will be a group dinner one night, an afternoon/night shooting session at The Pacific National Exhibition another night.

Days 3: Sunday August 18th; 10am - 2pm

• On this, the final day of the workshop, we do a morning shoot.

• Then back to class for a final lecture and critique.

• Participants and tutors alike always find it hard to say goodbye at the end of a workshop but you'll heartened by the fact that you leave with a renewed sense of mission and confidence, new techniques and ideas to apply and a reinvigorated passion to continue your wanderings on the streets of your world.

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

Where To Rest Your Head

The cost of this workshop covers tuition only and a special group dinner. You will need to find your own place to stay and there are many, many options close to the loft.

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 your 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."