Every photographer wants to take great pictures that can make a difference and help make the world a better place. This photo workshop gives you the opportunity to work closely with an NGO in the bustling and vibrant India city of Kolkata under the guidance of experts.

This is a workshop for experienced photographers with a burning passion to give something back and produce stunning photography that can help transform the work of an Indian NGO. Conditions will be tough and challenging; you will see the worst humanity has to offer but, through your work with an NGO, you will also see the best.

We have made arrangements with a number of NGO’s so you will be able to spend time covering a range of subjects - from street children to HIV/AIDS and including slum dwellers, rickshaw pullers, child labour and adoption. The NGO’s with whom you will be working are small and lack the resources to commission photography.

The workshop will be lead by Jonathan Torgovnik, award winning photographer. He have been widely exhibited and published in numerous international publications, including Newsweek, Aperture, GEO, Sunday Times Magazine, Stern, and Le Monde 2, among others. He has been a contract photographer for Newsweek magazine since 2005, and is on the faculty of the International Center of Photography School in New York. He is the author of two books: Bollywood Dreams (Phaidon, 2003), and Intended Consequences (Aperture, 2009). Jonathan is also the co-founder of Foundation Rwanda, an NGO that supports secondary school education for children born of rape in Rwanda.

Support will be provided by Alice Wynne Wilson, Communications Director of ActionAid India who will provide insight into an NGO’s photographic needs and Cheryl Newman, Photography Director of The Daily Telegraph Magazine. Additionally, Carlo Roberti and his staff from Toscana Photographic Workshop will provide the logistics before and during the workshop and Changing Ideas will be on hand to ensure that the participants meet the NGO’s needs and to help participants think differently about humanitarian photography.

Kolkata is an exciting and vibrant city in whose busy, bustling streets you can find an example of almost every aspect of the human condition. With your camera you are sure to capture stunning images and you will end the week with a better understanding of working with NGO’s in addition to a portfolio of work that is useful for the photographer and vital for the Indian NGO.

It is intended that this workshop is different to the usual photo workshop and delivers a life changing experience for those involved.

Additional information
The workshop will be based at the Fairlawn Hotel and Bengal Club in central Calcutta. http://www.fairlawnhotel.com/

Accommodation:
The cost of the workshop does not include accommodation. We have reserved rooms at the Fairlawn Hotel (aprox € 40 per night) and at another local hotel (aprox € 55 per night). Rooms will be allocated on a first come basis.

Food:
Dinner will be provided on the first and last nights and lunches on those days where the group will meet together as a whole.

Workshop Costs:
€ 1700
For further information please contact info@changingideas.org

Course Structure:
You will have to hit the ground running. On the first two-days of the workshop you will meet the workshop leaders, introduce your work, meet the NGO’s and be briefed on working in Calcutta by the team.

For the rest of the week you will be intensely working with your selected NGO. You will begin by getting to understand their work and how photography could help them. With the help of the workshop leaders you will devise a plan and shooting script that you will spend the rest of the week working on. To help you achieve great results each photographer will be assigned a local assistant throughout the week.

The final two days will be spent busily editing your work and consulting with the course tutors. On the final evening you will present your work to the NGO and the rest of the group prior to a farewell dinner and party.

Biographies

About Alice Wynne Wilson
Alive is currently Communications Director of Action Aid, India. Previously she was editorial director at the highly respected agency Network Photographers. She was also part of the team that launched Reportage magazine and has also worked on the photo desk at the Independent Magazine. She has been based in India for the past 4 years.

About Cheryl Newmann
In her role as Photography Director of the Telegraph Magazine, Cheryl has established the magazine as a leading showcase for both fine art and photojournalism in the UK. Her work has covered the misery of global conflicts and poverty. Currently, she is working with Alec Soth documenting the decline of the American empire. She has a special interest and love of India and has visited over 30 times during the past 15 years.

About Changing Ideas
Changing Ideas www.changingideas.org is a charity and was established in 2006 promote the use of photography in humanitarian campaigns and as a catalyst for change.

About TPW
TPW - Toscana Photographic Workshop, active since 1994, is the leading Center in Europe for Photographic Workshops. This will be the second trip to India for TPW, after Rajastan in 2008.