Downtown New York, 2-Day Workshop Registration:
Sat + Sun, Oct 7+8th, 2023
(4 Spots Remaining)
Schedule:
*This is a tentative schedule.
The schedule below may change to take advantage of the best weather. A full schedule and workshop details will be emailed to participants closer to the workshop date.
Saturday (Oct 7th): Beginning around 10am, we will meet for a 1.5-hour introductory street photography presentation. I will provide Russ & Daughters bagels/bialy sandwiches for everyone (based on your preferences), and then we will head through Nolita, explore SoHo, the heart of my HYPE project, and up to Washington Square Park as we explore the hype and fashion culture, old alleyways, and a variety of creative corners. At the end of the day, we will stop for conversation, drinks, and food for anyone who wants to stay.
Sunday (Oct 8th): Beginning at 10am, this day will be spent exploring the Lower East Side and Chinatown, the heart of old downtown New York with a massive variety of subjects to cover. We will also spend an hour (but not longer) exploring the International Center for Photography Museum, in the heart of the LES. By far my favorite photography gallery and museum in the city, before heading on to shoot for the rest of the day.
Post-workshop: A few weeks to a month after the workshop, everyone will submit their favorite 15 photographs from the workshop and I will share a presentation of them all.
Notes:
Confirmation: Confirmation and payment info will be sent soon after registration. A registration is not confirmed until payment is complete.
Where: Unless noted otherwise, the seminar space is located at the Houston Street Center, University Settlement, 273 Bowery, New York, NY 10002. It is recommended to stay near the seminar space in SoHo, Nolita, Little Italy, East Village, Lower East Side, or Chinatown.
Equipment: As the workshop will include a lot of walking, comfortable shoes and traveling light is recommend whenever possible. Tripods and laptops are not necessary. Extra batteries are highly recommended.
Price: $850
Size: 10 people.
Email James if you have any schedule or equipment-related questions.
Reviews:
“I’ve just finished a fabulous two-day street photography workshop in NYC with James Maher. Hard to beat the experience of following James on a shooting-walking tour of lower Manhattan through a dozen or so diverse neighborhoods, each with different visual stimuli, changing light, cultural histories — and countless possibilities for photographing people and architecture! James began Saturday morning with a 1 1/2 hour presentation on ethical and technical aspects of street photography. Wanting to normalize our fears about intruding into the space of our subjects, he described how he thinks and works, generally moving slowly with his camera chest-high and ready, taking pictures initially ‘with his eyes.’ At other times, he might pick an unobtrusive spot where he waits for the subject to enter his field of view.
Following this preparation, we hit the streets, going first to a busy intersection where we could not lack for stimulation. Throughout the day, as we moved slowly in and out of different areas of the city, James worked his way among us, responding to our varying degrees of experience with photography and with street photography in particular. Often, he encouraged us to find a good location where we, too, could wait for the subject to come to us. Occasionally, he gave particular challenges to those who were ready.
By the end of Saturday, I began to feel more comfortable putting people into my pictures and had some ideas about how and how not to do it. On Sunday morning, however, before we again went into the streets, James took us to another level of appreciation — artistry and composition — via a slide presentation of the work of the great street photographers (beginning with Cartier-Bresson).
Throughout, James was a generous and gentle instructor, comfortably smart about what he knows. His individualized instruction was just what I needed and to the point. I cannot wait for more! Meanwhile, I’ll dig more deeply into his thoughtfully written e-books, along with the books of street photographers he recommended.”
– Sandra Ullmann
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