Foundry Photojournalism Workshops

Notes from our Founder

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 11:39:09 -0400

This is a very lengthy and detailed posted BUT it contains amazing and very important information to prepare yourself for this summers workshop in Sarajevo. Even if you are not going to be able to make it to the workshop, do indeed read this entire post and watch/read/listen to all suggested material that is listed. It is great knowledge for ALL photojournalists to know:

This year, 2013, sees Foundry Photojournalism Workshops maturing into its sixth year. For an event that was fairly experimental when it was thought up and begun, those who volunteer and run Foundry are, trust us, the most surprised of anyone. It has taken five years of workshops, in five amazing, life filled locations- the beautiful chaos of Mexico City, the sky scraping Himalayas of India, the continent spanning souks of Istanbul, the vibrant nocturne that is Buenos Aires and the green trees and orange robes of Chiang Mai, Thailand have all been host to the kindness of Foundry’s instructors, the sweat and tears of its staff and the vision and dreams of Foundry’s motivated, passionate students.

Bosnia in general and Sarajevo in particular are very special places. Gorgeous in landscape and in people, this Balkan nation is in many ways the ideal location for photography classes. Sarajevo, known as the Jerusalem of Europe both due to its legendary tolerance and its location of major Catholic, Serbian Orthodox and Islamic house sod workshop and populations. It is a modern, fast paced European capitol city- many stories to shoot, great visuals and culture to document. It seems the perfect place for a workshop.

From 1992- 1995 a terrible war ravaged Bosnia, maiming, and massacring thousands. Some of the most iconic war photography of the last century was produced during this conflict, by some of Foundry’s most esteemed instructors. Bosnia’s war was a crucible for young war photographhers, the Siege of Sarajevo and Bosnia in general allowed latent talents to emerge and grow, and both single images that congealed all the horror, fear, pain, suffering, loss and anguish felt in this (and every ) war and visual photo stories were produced and published, trying to convince the outside world to intervene-and if not to intervene, than to at least care.

In a twist of sorts, many, if not most, of Foundry’s instructors photograph -at least some of the time- war and violent conflict. Yet Foundry has to yet to be held in a post conflict, post war setting. Until now. The reasons for this are many and include issues logistical, practical, and in some respects, emotional.

Holding a photography workshop in a place that so recently shuddered with the thump of mortar and shrapnel, roiled with the screams of the dead and drying, torn by the staccato rips of machine gun fire requires many elements from both our faculty and staff and you, the student.

Though its been twenty years since Sarajevo and Bosnia were under the yoke of vicious conflict, the remnants and nightmares of that war are everywhere. From the casualness of shrapnel and bullet holes in concrete and mortar “roses” on streets, to the levels of PTSD in the population, to the soccer pitches still filled with the dead instead of children playing ball, to the ethnically cleansed villages across parts of Bosnia- once multi ethnic, Serb, Croat and Muslim, now everyone in these region all from the same ethnic group- the Bosnian War, with shooting over since the Dayton Peace ACcords, still affects people daily. There are three presidents. Students learn three different histories, based on their ethnic group. Jobs are doled out on a system of parceled slots- each ethnic group gets a certain amount of public jobs. Certain areas of Bosnia still seethe with ethic hatreds. The killing may be over but the war itself still lives for so many.

Preparing for the Foundry: Sarajevo 2013 Workshop asks YOU, the student, to immerse yourself in the recent past, in an effort to understand TWO things: First, the Bosnia War 1992-1995; Second, the aftermath of the war —1996 to today. As Sara Terry, noted photographer of the Bosnian war, says, “war is only half the story.”Working in a post conflict nation requires you, the photographer, to work with extra sensitivity for people who have been thru unimaginable horrors, compassion for the wars victims, patience and acceptance of those who do not want to be involved or discuss the painful, very recent past or their losses or actions in it, and a deep understanding of both the war itself and the issues still wracking the nation of Bosnia. Anything less than this level of preparation and commitment is both a disrespect for the Bosnians you are documenting and your instructors good faith efforts.

If you wish to photograph almost any story related to the Bosnia war, you need to prepare NOW- contacting fixers, deciding on story ideas, finding NGOs and persons who can help you, doing all the reading and studying you can accomplish in order to understand the past and the current situation. Showing up for the workshop and planning on documenting Bosnia’s war and post war life without serious, sincere preparation on your part is inexcusable and untenable.

This workshop requires its students to understand the past to be able to tell the stories of its present. The best way to understand and to prepare to listen to the Bosnians you will meet and interact with, whose lives yo will document, is to READ and to LOOK.

This war, as all wars, has its own terminology, DO not let that scare you off. Siimply understanding the following can help you greatly in understanding the war in Bosnia:

ethnic cleansing genocide Serb Bosnian Croat Siege of Sarajevo Ahmici Massacre

Multi-ethnic intermarriage Yugoslavia Marshall Tito

Srebrenica Gorazde Omarska Camp Kereterm Camp Trnoplje Camp

Mostar/Siege of Mostar Slobodan Milosevic Ratko Mladic Radovan Karadzic BiH Greater Serbia

ICTY- Criminal Tribunal For Yugoslavia UNPROFOR mass rape Prijedor Massacre

SEE:
When you get to Sarajevo, GO ON THE WAR TOUR. There is a link to the tour on Foundry’s main webpage. It is only about three hours long but it will enhance your knowledge of the war untold amounts, and bring your pre trip reading to life.

READING:
Below is a reading list— by no means comprehensive and certainly biased-contains some of the very best books about the Bosnia War. Many are written by journalists and children and soldiers. While reading all of them would be great, if you only read a few, start with the first four or so. Many can be found on Amazon.com for less than $1 US dollar or in a local public library.

——————

my war gone by, I miss it so- anthony loyd
love they neighbor: a story of war- peter maas
War is dead, long live the war—ed vulliamy* (absolute must read, documents Bosnia up until 2012- will help you most of all research)
Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life in Wartime Sarajevo— Zlata Filipovic
Then They Started Shooting: Growing Up in Wartime Bosnia — Lynne Jones
Not My Turn to Die: Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia by Savo Heleta
My Childhood Under Fire: A Sarajevo Diary by Nadja Halilbegovich
When History Is a Nightmare : Lives and Memories of Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina by Stevan M. Weine
Surviving the Bosnian Genocide: The Women of Srebrenica Speak by Selma Leydesdorff and Kay Richardson
Srebrenica: Record of a War Crime by Jan Willem Honig and Norbert Both
The Graves: Srebrenica And Vukovar by Eric Stover and Gilles Peress
Srebrenica: by Tarik Samarah
Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995- Joe Sacco
The Fixer and Other Stories [Paperback]: Joe Sacco
Wounded I Am More Awake: Esad Boskailo
Logavina Street: barbara demick
A Problem From Hell: America in the Age of Genocide- Samantha Powers- Two excellent chapters on Srebrenica
MASS RAPE IN BOSNIAN WAR:
http://newint.org/features/1993/06/05/rape/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bosnias-rape-babies-abandoned-by-their-families-forgotten-by-the-state-519257.html
http://www.peacewomen.org/news_home.php

—————————————

LOOK- If you can, look thru/ acquire the book Bosnia 1992-1995. It is a compilation of tyne best photographs created by photojournalists during the war, and will teach you as much as the written work thru its visual history. None of these books are perfect; of course they express a bias, but all will help you understand the conflict mush more.

http://bosnia-book.com/en/

Look at Ron Haviv’s seminal work, Blood and Honey, and try and understand who, what,where, why, how.
http://photoarts.com/haviv/bloodandhoney/
Look at the work of Ron Haviv, Roger Richards, Christopher MOrris, Gilles Peress, Gary Knight, James Nachtwey, Tarik Samarah,
http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0302/rr_intro.html
http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0104/morris_intro.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/04/20-years-since-the-bosnian-war/100278/
http://tariksamarah.com/thumbs.htm

————————-

WATCH:

There are dozens of award winning documentaries online, mostly free.
Sarajevo Under Siege http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKg1TgOc52I
Srebrenica: Autopsy of a Massacre http://www.journeyman.tv/58510/documentaries/srebrenica-autopsy-of-a-massacre.html
Bosnia: Lost Images http://www.journeyman.tv/9456/documentaries/lost-images.html
Bosnia Revisited: Searching for Peace http://www.journeyman.tv/17514/documentaries/bosnia-revisited-searching-for-peace.html
Uspomene 677 http://vod.journeyman.tv/store?p=4814

Thee are also a few Hollywood movies made about the conflict and several great Balkan films, including the Oscar winner “No Mans Land”. Watch Welcome to Sarajevo, In the Land of Blood And Honey,The Hunting Party, No Mans Land, Pretty House, Pretty Flame and Grbavica. None of these films are perfect but they will give you a greater sense of the conflict.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf7pEhlf3bw
http://www.inthelandofbloodandhoney.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slnr74cqX9k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL8IF6431n4

The more you prepare the better photographer and the better journalist you will be. Foundry gives back to those who put the most into it. We are Bosnia’s guests; we owe it to the Bosnian people to give our best efforts in documenting their stories.

Congrats to the Scholarship Winners!

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:47:13 -0400

Thanks to everyone who applied and Congrats to our SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS 2013!

Carole Alfarah, Syria

Jess Clementine Bollaert, United States

Sebastian Enriquez, Peru

Danai Iconomou, Greece

Ian Thomas Jansen-Lonnquist, United States

Eugenia Maximova, Bulgaria

Andrei Nacu, Romania

Alok Rai, India

Nikolaj Svennevig, Denmark

Winners were selected by guest judge Peter Van Agtmael/Magnum Photos. (http://petervanagtmael.net/)

Why Pre-Register for Foundry 2013 in workshop...

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 13:00:34 -0400

Why Pre-Register for Foundry 2013 in workshop Sarajevo?

Preregistration does two things:

1) It guarantees you a spot; this year we are expecting to sell out all spots!

2) The sooner you sign up, the higher on the list you become to choose your instructor. Its first come first served and some popular instructors classes ALWAYS fill up quickly! (Though ALL our instructors are amazing!)

Pre-register NOW by paying a $100 USD deposit that will guaranty a spot in next years workshop. The $100 will be reduced from your overal tuition.

*Pre-registration deposits are NONREFUNDABLE. Before you pay for the full workshop tuition, you will receive a code to discount the $100 off the total price.

You can pre-register here

(all images by FPW Alumni Amer Kapetanovic)

Want to sign up for our Newsletter and get all of the latest...

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 10:57:45 -0400

Want to sign up for our Newsletter and get all of the latest updates and details on the workshop? or have any questions about the workshop?

To sign up, click here!!!

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is proud to announce that next...

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 02:55:09 -0400

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is proud to announce that next years workshop will be held in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina!

Pre-register NOW! Just $100 will hold your spot for next years workshop. Click here to register.

Tentative dates for next years workshop is July 14th-20th, 2013.

Tuition:

REGIONAL STUDENTS (this year thats anyone from the balkans) is $475 US. Nations that are included in the term “balkans” is listed on the website.

BONUS:

Anyone from LAST YEARS WORKSHOP REGION (Southeast and South Asia) takes regional price for this year only.

NON REGIONAL students, its $975 US.
This inclues all the weeks activities, parties, your class, portfolio reviews, nightly slideshows etc.

Price does NOT include travel, lodging, food, gear, etc.

(all images by FPW Alumni Amer Kapetanovic)

Taken with Instagram

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 15:11:19 -0400

Taken with Instagram

The Time Has Come!!!

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 01:05:29 -0400

Dear Foundry Students….

THE TIME HAS COME.

REGISTRATION, INSTRUCTOR MEET, KEYNOTE SPEAKER AND PARTY BEGIN AT 5PM at DOCUMENTARY ARTS ASIA

ON

SUNDAY, JULY 29, 2012.

ADDRESS: 12/7 WUALAI ROAD SOI 3 (click here for map)
CHIANG MAI

YOU MUST COME AND REGISTER. THIS IS MANDATORY UNLESS YOU HAVE GOTTEN SOME PREVIOUS CLEARANCE FOR A VALID REASON. IT IS CRUCIAL WE CHECK EACH STUDENT IN, YOU MEET YOUR TEACHER, AND BEGIN THE WORKSHOP PROCESS.

EVENING PANEL SCHEDULES AND TOPICS, PORTFOLIO REVIEWS, CLASSROOMS, WHERE TO GO AT CMU and MORE WILL BE ANNOUNCED.

THANKS

FOUNDRY STAFF

Foundry and this years workshop is featured on Pictureline!

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 21:12:53 -0400

Foundry and this years workshop is featured on Pictureline!:

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop has been featured on Pictureline about this years workshop being held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We still have spots available for this years workshop and we are currently having a great discount deal on tuition so sign up!

Fire Sale on Tuition!

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 09:49:34 -0400

We still have spots left for this years workshop in Chiang Mai with some pretty amazing teachers, if you were not sure about signing up NOW is your chance! You can’t go wrong with deals like these to be able to participate in such a great photography workshop with some pretty amazing photographers and people:

From July 7, 2012 Until July 29, 2012:

Locals pay: (locals include students from Thailand and surrounding South East Asian countries)

$325 US dollars OR 3 students for $1000

Students wanting to attend from other regions:

$650 or TWO for $1250 US.

Please email Jen Storey at: storey65@gmail.com

Jen will tell you which classes are available, as well as give you a direct link to pay the correct amount. (We accept paypal, wstern union, and on occasin cast in person).

This promises to be our best foundry yet! So sign up and get your photog on!

We’d like to give a BIG congrats to Ahsan Qureshi, who won...

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:48:00 -0400

We’d like to give a BIG congrats to Ahsan Qureshi, who won of our first Foundry Facebook Shootout contest!

For all students, young and starting out photographers out...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:47:29 -0400

For all students, young and starting out photographers out there… “Be imaginative, be creative, be yourself.” Great words by Ernesto Bazan (Taken with Instagram)

Group Discount Rates announced for this years workshop!

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:11:23 -0400

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop group rate announced!

In our desire to reach out to more diverse students from all over the world, we are offering a very good tuition reduction for groups of 10 people or more who sign up together.

Nationalities can be mixed, no limit on number of groups who can get this rate, but each group has got to be all international students or all regional/local students in the group.

Please message our director Eric Beecroft on Facebook or send an email to info@foundryphotoworkshop.org for specific information on how to get this group discount.

Getting together a group can make those who don’t think they can afford to make it, the ability to come to Foundry. We love diverse groups, especially from all over the world. Bring your friends..and enemies

A little Foundry presence at this years Look3 Photo Festival in...

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 08:54:00 -0400

A little Foundry presence at this years Look3 Photo Festival in Charlottesville, VA

FOUNDRY CONTEST!!!

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:33:00 -0400

The last chance to win a free spot to this year’s workshop.

THIS IS NOT A SCHOLARSHIP. This is a contest.

You can win ONE FULL FREE TUITION TO THIS YEAR’S FOUNDRY PHOTOJOURNALISM WORKSHOP in CHIANG MAI, THAILAND.

Winning=ONE free tuition AND an invite to the pre workshop faculty and staff private dinner.

But you have to ask Maggie or Henrik if you can sit by them. (sexiest faculty Foundry 2010). We wont do this for you.

HOW TO PLAY: (read and keep the rules or you’ll be disqualified)

1. You may post ONE PHOTO TOTAL on the Facebook Foundry Workshop Page. Thats one photo, over the 10 day span of the contest.

2. The theme is ‘Home.’ You can interpret that however you wish. There is no trick or secret, we aren’t looking for abstract or concrete here. Just good photos.

3. The winner will be decided by who gets the most votes/likes on their image on the Foundry Facebook page at the end of the 10 day period.

YOU MAY NOT LIKE OR VOTE FOR YOUR OWN IMAGE.

4. 4. Anyone and everyone can vote, invite your friends and family to visit the page and like the best photos they see.

This is open to the public. You can come back and vote multiple times for different people’s images.

5. The voting is not meant to be a popularity contest. We think that the best photographs will rise to the top of the entry pile. At least thats the plan.

6. CONTEST BEGINS SUNDAY MAY 27 at 12AM MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME.

CONTEST ENDS JUNE 5 2012 at 7 PM MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME.

7. One winner will be announced within 3 days of contest ending.

8. EVERYONE WHO ENTERS CAN TAKE 10% OFF FULL FOUNDRY TUITION FOR THIS YEAR WORKSHOP! WE ARE SO GENEROUS!

- THATS $100 dollars for internationals/westerners, and $50 dollars for locals/regionals.

YEP. JUST BY ENTERING.

Those who enter can get this reduction in price by paying the reduced amounts via Paypal (for internationals- $875; for locals- $375) directly to:

info@foundryphotoworkshop.org

Or pay via Western Union if you need to.

9. Already registered/paid tuition ? Students already registered can enter but if they win they get free tuition to Foundry 2013. Where will it be held ? thats a surprise until end of Foundry 2012….

SMALL PRINT: READ IT!!!!

We reserve the right to exclude photographers who don’t fit the criteria of:

international/western photographers: 3 years working as a professional photographer or less

locals- no restrictions on length of time worked as a photographer

We reserve the right reject entries that we feel are too manipulated, photoshopped, etc- its a photo contest not an illustration contest.

We will reject images that you steal from others. We don’t even want you at the workshop if you do this.

We reserve the right to reject entries that have multiple likes from the same person, should you figure a way to do this.

We reserve the right to be the boss of the contest, and that means if anything else comes up, we reserve the right to reject and award the winning photograph based on principles of fairness, ethics and good old fashioned sportsmanship.

We reserve the right that no one else has this right but us, since its our party.

Cheaters never prosper.

Cancelled AKE Training.

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:17:01 -0400

We are sorry to have to announce but we have had to cancel the AKE Hostile training course. Please stay tuned though for all upcoming Foundry announcements!

AKE Training Course!

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:26:00 -0400

Foundry Photojournalism Workshops is proud to announce that we are partnering with the AKE Group for their Surviving Hostile Regions Training Course:

Surviving Hostile Regions is AKE’s world-renowned, five-day course designed for companies and individuals working in a challenging or hostile environment. Established in 1993, the course was the first of its kind and has since become the benchmark for hostile environment training in many sectors. Surviving Hostile Regions will show you how to reduce risks, increase your effectiveness, and maximise control of any situation you’re in.

Dates for the course run from August 6th- August 10th, the week following the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop taking place in Thailand. (Specific location is still being decided on).

Anyone is allowed to sign up to take the course, you do NOT have to be a FPW student to be able to take this class at the discounted prices.

The course is usually $4000, but we are offering the course for $750 for local South East Asian students and $1500 for anyone outside of the area.

If you are interested in taking the course and would like to sign up, please contact Eric at: ericbeecroft1[at]hotmail.com. Deadline for the signing up for the course is March 31st.

For more detailed information about the course itself, please visit their website:

http://www.akegroup.com/training/hostile-environment-training/

This is a great course that is important for all photographers to take, especially if you are planning on being any kind of combat photographer and anyone traveling quite a bit and finding themselves in remote locations.

Foundry Photojournalism Workshops

Notes from our Founder

Congrats to the Scholarship Winners!

Why Pre-Register for Foundry 2013 in workshop...

Want to sign up for our Newsletter and get all of the latest...

Foundry Photojournalism Workshop is proud to announce that next...

Taken with Instagram

The Time Has Come!!!

Dear Foundry Students…. THE TIME HAS COME.

Foundry and this years workshop is featured on Pictureline!

Fire Sale on Tuition!

We’d like to give a BIG congrats to Ahsan Qureshi, who won...

For all students, young and starting out photographers out...

Group Discount Rates announced for this years workshop!

A little Foundry presence at this years Look3 Photo Festival in...

FOUNDRY CONTEST!!!

Cancelled AKE Training.

AKE Training Course!

Dear Foundry Students….

THE TIME HAS COME.