Ismail Ferdous
Workshop – New York
Portfolio Reviews by James Wellford (NatGeo) & Molly Roberts (Independent Curator)
A workshop by Ismail Ferdous
Portfolio Reviews by Molly Roberts (editor and curator) & James Wellford (NatGeo)
With the participants I will share my experience and the lessons I have learned over my 10 years of photography carrier. I will discuss step by step how I have been manoeuvring as a self-taught photographer - in the workshop we will dive into the nuts and bolts of starting out as a professional photographer. We will also discuss the nitty-gritty details of crafts and philosophical aspects of photographic practice. How to sniff for story ideas from day-to-day life as a photographer, how to cultivate those ideas and turn them into the documentary story you want to tell.
Over the days of the workshop I will explain how to develop on a personal long-term documentary project, how to edit your project, how to pitch the stories and work on different assignments. We will also explore the valuable insight of visual representation, engagements, and how to think beyond photography with your documentary project.
Last but not least we will have a great few days at the workshop together where I will share the mistakes I made as a photographer and we will look at your inspiring work.
The workshop will have the visit and portfolio reviews by Molly Roberts, independent curator and visual editor, and James Wellford, Senior Visuals Editor for Global Issues at National Geographic.
Dates 30 Sep. & 1 Oct. 2023
Participants 12
Language English
Place Picto New York
Price $420 (+21% VAT Spanish citizens)
Payment Bank Transfer
In collaboration with
Timetable
Sep 29, 2023
AFTERNOON (17:00h)
Registrations
Welcome by the Scuola della Luce team
Welcome aperitive
Sep 30, 2023
MORNING
Intensive session
AFTERNOON
Intensive session
2 hours of Portfolio readings by Molly Roberts and James Wellford
Oct 1, 2023
MORNING
Intensive session
AFTERNOON
2 hours of Portfolio readings by Molly Roberts and James Wellford
Ismail Ferdous
Ismail Ferdous is a Bangladeshi photographer and filmmaker who lives in New York City. He is interested in social, cultural, and humanitarian stories of the contemporary world. A member of Agence VU’ in Paris, he began photography while he was studying in business school in Dhaka. He decided to break with his family tradition and not to work in business. Instead, he has pursued a carrier as a professional photographer for the last 12 years. After the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka in 2013, one of the worst industrial disasters in the history of Bangladesh, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,100 workers, Ferdous’s work made a plea against the devastating effects of the “fast fashion” industry on the population with his documentary film and photo projects “The Cost of Fashion” and “After Rana Plaza.” His curiosity about geography and migration has influenced his prolific work on migrations and refugees over four continents which shows unique human conditions and tells their stories.
Ismail has worked with important international newspapers, magazines, and corporate clients. Some of his major clients are The New York Times Magazine, Geo Magazine, Washington Post, Le Monde M magazine, Hermes, and many others. Since 2017 he has been a frequent contributor to National Geographic Magazine on many stories.
Ismail Ferdous’s work has been awarded with World Press Photo, Picture of the Year international, Alexa Foundation grant, Getty Images Instagram grant, and many other major awards in photography.
Molly Roberts
Molly Roberts is a visuals editor and curator residing in Baltimore, Maryland. Roberts worked in the DC metro area as a photographer, photography editor and director of photography at The Washington Post, USA Weekend, Smithsonian Magazine and National Geographic Magazine. In 2019 she was awarded a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation fellowship to study and teach photography and multimedia at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She received a masters degree in Visual Communication in 2021.
She has curated exhibits for PhotoWorks, Art Works Projects, University of Texas; Corpus Christi, Women Photojournalists of Washington, SXSE Gallery and Gallery 1448. She works on book projects for independent photographers and National Geographic Books.
Roberts leads workshops in photo editing for long term visual projects and photo books. She teaches photography, photojournalism and photo-editing, recently at Ohio University and Loyola University. Committed to the power of visual communication to educate and inform, Roberts created Humaneyes USA, a small non-profit using artistic and innovative approaches to inspire informed discussion, encourage civic engagement and create solutions for pressing American issues. Roberts is a regular reviewer and mentor at La Luz Workshops, Palm Springs Photo Festival, Social Documentary Network, and Review Santa Fe as well as the annual Women Photojournalists of Washington portfolio review, of which she is a co-director and member of the Board of Directors.
James Wellford
James Wellford is the Senior Visuals Editor for Global Issues at National Geographic. Stories he has worked on at NatGeo include; Afghanistan, the Science of Sleep, the Circular Economy, the restoration at Notre Dame Cathedral, Covid stories around the world, El Salvador, Falcons, Lithium, the crisis in Niger/Mali, World War II Veterans, Uncontacted People in the Amazon, Ebola in the DRC, Eritrea, the Sudan, Uganda, Ghana, Kashmir, Indonesia, and Migration/refugee issues throughout the world.
Prior to his time at NatGeo, he was the International Photography Editor at Newsweek Magazine for 12 years. He has also worked as a visual editor for Foreign Policy, CNN, and the Smithsonian.
James is a graduate of Brown University and a Knight Wallace Fellow from the University of Michigan. His career spans decades during which time he has served at an editorial director at Visura, founded ScreenProjects.org, edited the New York Daily News archival collection, curated numerous photography exhibitions, and served on a number of photography juries around the world including the Leica Oskar Barnack award, the Tim Hetherington Trust, the Overseas Press Club, PX3 in Paris, the Cortona Photo Festival, and at POYi.
Dedicated to visual education, James has taught at the International Center of Photography and the New School in NYC.
Apply Now
Send your information and Scuola della Luce team will contact you with more information.
Key information
The workshop will take place in Brooklyn, New York. At Picto New York.
A Field Guide of New York will be sent to the participants once the places is confirmed with information about accommodation, food, places of interest, transfers and transportation.
Each participant will receive a certificate of attendance to the workshop.
Feel free to reach us for further information or to ask any question. Our team will help you in any way we can.
Terms & Conditions
We reserve the right to cancel this event when we do not reach the minimum number of participants. In the unlikely event of cancellation, participants will be given at least 1-week advance notice and a full refund.
If you decide to cancel for any reason, and notify us at least 20 days before the starting day of the workshop, we will reimburse all fees. After that time frame, Scuola della Luce will not make any refund.
The workshop fee does not include transport, accommodation or ground expenses other than those organised by the Scuola della Luce team.
Every participant has to bring their own equipment (camera, lenses, tripod and laptop).
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