3 Spots Left! May 12-16, 2025: Steve Simon & David Brommer: Passionate Street & United Nations New York City Spring Workshop
- Dates: May 12-16, 2024
- Genre: Street & Urban Photography
- Group Size: Max 10 participants
- Skill Levels: All
- Includes: Critiques & Lectures, Group Dinner, United Nations Luncheon, Roof-Top Home-Cooked meal in Chelsea, MTA Pass for transport to the five boroughs, Museum Entrances, teaching materials, snacks
There is a pre-workshop group meeting & lecture as well as a post workshop Zoom class.
See All Steve Simon Passionate Photographer Workshops HereWorkshop Details
Prowl the mean streets of NYC with two of the most passionate photographers you will ever meet, Steve Simon and David Brommer--who have teamed up to share this intimate five-day masterclass (limited to 10 students) designed to maximize both the learning experience and your ability to create a unique and powerful portfolio of imagery from New York City.
Our Venue: Our classroom is inside B&H Photo, 420 9th Avenue, New York, NY 10001--a New York City landmark and the largest camera store in the USA, spanning 70,000 square feet with 10,000 demo products on the shelves. We can hold your credit cards for your own safety :).
As a very special bonus for this inaugural workshop, you get a seat at the International Photography Conference’s 50th Anniversary Celebration at the United Nations! This auspicious event takes place at the delegates dining room with a networking meet and greet sponsored by Fujifilm and a luncheon following. We will also take a guided photographic tour of the United Nations.
Last year's speaker lineup featured Keynote - Francoise Kirkland with a Lifetime Achievement Dedication in honor of the great Douglas Kirkland and IPC’s Environmental Photography Award to Benjamin Von Wong. This year's honorees will be announced soon. Our class will have its own table. This is a great opportunity to rub elbows with the greatest photographers and industry insiders.
David and Steve will help you find unique photographs across iconic and hidden gems of the most photogenic and electric city in the world. You will explore the vibrant, visually rich places and neighborhoods New York is famous for including some locations listed below along with hidden gems.
Locations may include: Little Island, the West Village, East Village, SoHo, Chelsea Galleries, MOMA, Central Park, Governors Island, Coney Island, Times Square, High Line Park, Harlem, Fifth Avenue & 57 Street, Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown, Little Italy, Ground Zero and the Lower East Side, Union Square, Washington Square Park, Queens and Brooklyn.
This is a mentorship workshop where Steve or David 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.
Group Dinner: Gemma @ The Bowery Hotel
Gemma is an Italian Trattoria located on the ground floor of The Bowery Hotel. It's a very special dinner location, a true New York City culinary event. The atmosphere is stunning; food is absolutely delicious and it’s quiet enough for great conversation. Chef Andrea Taormina pairs rustic, seasonal cuisine with an extensive Italian wine list in an ambient setting.
"Gemma has an unlabored panache that makes an evening go down very easy". THE NEW YORK TIMES
David’s wife Barbara Brommer is an accomplished chef and will delight you with special morsels to be appreciated while photographing a magnificent sunset 23 floors above the Chelsea neighborhood with stunning views of lower Manhattan, Empire State Building and the new skyscrapers of Hudson Yards.
An Intensive & Transformational Shooting Experience
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 our own.
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; 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!
Though the schedule may seem packed, woven into the program is down time to relax, edit your work and percolate on the experience and what is being taught.
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 the participants to 10 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.
Street Philosophies
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.
David Brommer on Photographic Style, something we will comprehensively cover during the workshop...
©David Brommer
We have curated this tour to alter between the spectacular indoor and outdoor iconic New York photo opportunities like The Metropolitain Museum of Art, Grand Central Station and The Oculus with the usual vibrant, visually rich places and neighborhoods New York is famous for. New Yorkers David Brommer & Steve Simon will take you to these and other hidden gems.
©David Brommer
©David Brommer
Street Philosophies
Steve & David 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. David will bring his years of experience and share his lessons to help you find and develop your photographic style. In classroom David will lead talks that dissect the anatomy of photographic style that will help students achieve a definable style they can call their own.
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 & David put 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.
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 and DLSR 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. David shoots Nikon and Fujifilm, but is also known for shooting analog and will have a few film cameras on hand for the curious. David is a famous “Camera Whisperer” and calls himself “PolyCamerous” from his years working for B&H Photo and the camera industry.
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 New York portfolio.
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. It’s a street photography workshop but the lessons learned will benefit you in all genres of image-making.
In class, you 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.
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."
Steve Simon
Steve Simon has been passionate about documenting the beauty and drama of the human condition his entire photographic life. The author of five critically-acclaimed photography books with works in major museum collections worldwide, he is on the faculty of the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York. He has also done a series of photography videos on Lynda.com.
Steve is as passionate about teaching as he is photography. His recently launched blog: thepassionatephotographer.com has info on workshops he teaches globally, including Street Photography Workshops, PhotoPlus Expo, Nikonians, Gulf Photo-Dubai, MacWorld & Nikon Mentor Series. He has been published and profiled in a variety of magazines: Photo District News, New York Times Magazine, Life, Harpers, People & Walrus among them. Corporate clients include Nikon, SanDisk, Sony Music & Apple. Among his honors: Art Director’s Club NY, Canadian News Photographer of The Year, Global Health Council, NPPA & PX3.
His book THE PASSIONATE PHOTOGRAPHER was chosen one of Amazon’s Top Ten Arts and Photography books. He is working on a new book on Street Photography and The Nikon System.
Read More about Steve Simon here hereDavid Brommer
David George Brommer is a New York City based photographer specialized in portraiture, historical landscape and is the mind behind Suspect Photography. Brommer’s body of work is unique in its fascination with history, science-fiction and mythology, with subjects often dark, whimsical and challenging. Ranging from underground goth/drag subculture, to stark battlefields and a viral YouTube video, Brommer is well versed in techniques ranging from platinum to pixels, embracing a range of analog & digital camera formats.
Specializing in seminars on Composition and Photographic Style, Brommer is a sought after speaker, setting many photo careers in motion globally. With a decades long career at B&H Photo, Brommer was behind the popular OPTIC & Depth of Field conferences, the Event Space lecture series, and the EDU Advantage program for photo video students nationwide. Brommer has taught at ICP, the Maine Media Workshops, National Geographic - Lindblad expeditions, the Cortona On The Move Italian photo festival, and at hundreds of industry conventions nationwide. Known as a “Camera Whisperer” Brommer has advised academy award winning actors and aspiring photographers alike.
Read More about David Brommer herePricing
Total Cost: USD $3000
Deposit: USD $99.00
The cost of this workshop covers tuition only, the group dinner & special United Nations Luncheon, Roof-top home cooked meal in Chelsea, local MTA transportation, museum entrances. The cost does not include accommodation or travel to and from New York City.
Deposit
Payment of deposit secures your spot and is non-refundable. This workshop is limited to 10 students so we encourage you to book your spot as soon as possible. Photo Educate and The Passionate Photographer Inc. are not responsible for cancellations due to medical emergencies or unforeseen circumstances. Please insure that these last-minute emergencies are covered by your travel insurance policy.
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