Magnum Workshop

Magnum Photos.  The mere mention of this historic photo agency will get most photographers excited.

Last week I was privileged and lucky enough to spend a week at the Magnum Photography Workshop in Toronto that was part of the CONTACT Photography Festival.

My luck continued when I was accepted into David Alan Harvey‘s group, one of my favourite photographers of all time.  David is a legend in the photography world, having travelled the globe and shot over 40 assignments for National Geographic and published stunning books like Cuba and Divided Soul.

The workshop was different from others I’ve taken in that we weren’t told what to shoot, we were just expected to hit the streets and find something… anything to shoot.  We were on our own to find a story.

I spent a couple days wandering Kensington and Chinatown looking for my story.  Eventually it sort of just gelled into street performers and in particular showing them isolated from the crowds they spend their days entertaining.

We started each morning with a critique of the previous days work.  David is brutally honest with his critiques but that’s how you learn.

And learn I did.  This is one of those workshops that will impact my photography for the rest of my life.  The passion and skill of all the Magnum photographers has inspired me beyond words.

I’d like to thank David, as well as everyone in my group, for an amazing week.

Here are some of my best images from the week.