Castore workshop

Very soon I will have left for a 5-day photo workshop in Tuscany. It is organised by Tuscany Photographic Workshop (www.tpw.it). Location is the monastery of Sant'Anna in Camprena, near Pienza. Originally I had booked another workshop on the Eolian Islands in spring. But I couldn't free myself at that time and switched to a summer course. The tutor is a young Italian photographer, Lorenzo Castore. His bio:

Lorenzo Castore was born in 1973 in Florence and moved to Rome in 1981. He began his career in photography in 1997, studying photography while still attending the University of Law. In 1999 he spent one year in New York. In the same year he travelled to India and exhibited at the Gallery di Via Minerva in Rome. In 1999 he won the second edition of the “Dintorni dello Sguardo” Award. He worked in Kosovo, India, New York (his exhibition, “Babylon, New York” was partially on 9/11), Poland “Szczesc Boze” and Cuba “Paradiso”. He documented the construction of the Arcimboldi Theater and of Pirelli’s Headquarters. His show “Paradiso” was exhibited at Grazia Neri Gallery in Milan and at the VU Gallery in Paris. He also exhibited his work “Nero” at Torre Littoria in Carbonia, at Palazzo Reale in Milan and in Cracow during the Month of Photography. Federico Motta published the book on this show. His photographs are a part of the collection of the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna in Rome. In 2005 he works in Germany, Italy, France, Poland and England. His work is published in magazines such as Amica, Ventiquattro and Internazionale. In 2005 he has also won the Leica European Publishers’ Award for Photography. He is represented internationally by VU agency and in Italy by Grazia Neri Agency.

This is what he writes about the workshop:

“I don’t know where to begin from. I don’t think photography is something you can teach. I don’t want to impose a method, nor a style. The most important thing is to be open about who you are and what you want to say. I will not have a real schedule to offer you. My efforts will be to deconstruct the used and abused points of reference in photography and help you to confront with yourself in a immediate way. Photographing will become a simple and direct way to be closer to who and what you love, rather than a technical excuse to hide behind. A street, a wall, a story, a person, ourselves, all those things together, whatever you like. I am against dividing photography into categories: for me documentary photography, social photography, personal photography, landscape, portraiture, etc do not mean a thing. What is important is the attention you pay to what you do. Good photographs, are such because they are true, genuine. They become so when you try to reach the truth that is inside you and follow your personal vision. Forget yourself, put yourself in a uncomfortable situation, don’t be afraid, enjoy all these things. Well, these are the things I keep repeating to myself every morning in front of the mirror .”

I like the open, de-constructive approach and the focus on paying attention to what you do. So I am curious to see how it will go. I'll keep a diary which will be posted on the blog upon my return.

I am counting on a good opportunity to work on my Mediterra-portfolio. In terms of photo gear, my initial plan was to take a complete Hasselblad kit with me (including the ELX, the SWC, the Flexbody and two lenses plus tripod). But as I was packing yesterday it seemed like to much hassle, so I am now taking only a small bag with the Rolleiflex and the SWC and some Agfapan 100 and Rollei R3 400. That'll do. For note taking purposes I'll take the Leica CM with me. More news later.