Visual storytelling and reportage with Gentl & Hyers | Lummi Island, WA | September 10-13

I’m so excited to announce that a workshop by Gentl & Hyers.

Andrea Gentl & Martin Hyers have been such an inspiration for me and every single photographer I meet along the way and they will be coming to idylic Lummi Island (off the coast of Washington State) this September to share their knowledge, experience and work on this still life and reportage workshop.

Andrea Gentl and Martin Hyers are freelance photographers living and working in New York City and Delaware County, New York. They have collaborated for over twenty years as the photo team of Gentl and Hyers, shooting still life, travel, food, lifestyle and interiors. They are on a constant quest to reexamine their personal style and to embrace change through personal experience. They are most inspired by travel. They build on the experiences they gain through that form of photography. A few years ago, Andrea started the blog, Hungry Ghost Food and Travel, to expand on those experiences and to focus on personal projects and collaborations. Through that blog she has gained a following in the photography and food community. They have traveled extensively all over the world and they are now bringing their combined experience to a workshop on Lummi Island, Washington. Together, they will be be teaching a two-day/three-night workshop on Lummi Island off the coast of Seattle. They will discuss photography from the perspective of a working professional. Each participant will have one on one time with the couple to discuss their goals for the weekend and to discuss how they shoot.

The weekend will focus on two types of shooting; still life and reportage. For the still life and food portion, they will discuss and demonstrate; composition, natural lighting, simple editing and capture tools in Capture One. They will shoot tethered so the changes will be easy for the students to view in real time. They will discuss propping and personal style as it pertains to still life and food.

Each student will get the chance to practice the techniques learned using simple tools that every photographer should have in their kit. A discussion of story telling and editing will be present throughout the weekend. They encourage each student to use social media tools to promote their work, the weekend will result in the creation of a series of images, a blog post and several instagram posts. They will talk about how to use social media as a tool for self expression, promotion and visual story telling.

The group will use the beautiful background of Lummi Island and local farms and makers to create a visual reportage series. Each person will be guided through the recording of an event, be it foraging, farm portraits or visiting a maker from the island. We will discuss technique, gear and the building of a story for personal, commercial or a blog post. Storytelling and personal style will be the focus of this section with an emphasis on learning to “see” photographs.

At the end of the weekend Andrea & Martin will do a short critique. Each participant will have gained experience in visual story telling and how to use techniques and gear to build their own unique style and vision.