Truth With A Camera Workshop in Ecuador

We want to pass along some info from Josh Meltzer, an outstanding photographer and multimedia producer, about his upcoming Truth With A Camera international workshop in Quito, Ecuador, from January 9-17, 2010. I heartily recommend this to anyone interested in learning more about photojournalism from one of the profession's most accomplished teachers. Register now, as these week-long workshops typically fill up fast.

Imagine 6-year-old children, running in and out of traffic in the street, trying to sell gum, wash windshields or juggle oranges to earn some change. These children lack education, suffer from malnutrition and are surrounded by a world of danger and loneliness. Now, imagine that your work can tell the whole world who these children are. Your photographs can breathe life into an existence that few people know.

With a population of 2 million, the capital of Ecuador is one of the most modern cities in the country, although the presence of social inequality and the urban poor remain powerful reminders that thousands of people live below the line of extreme poverty.

Our mission is to educate photojournalists, not only in current technologies, but in understanding cultural differences and similarities and to contribute to truth, ethics, and social justice.

Our goal is to reflect honesty, sensitivity, and intelligence in photojournalism, and to use these as tools to inspire, educate, and promote change in the world around us.

Through the workshops, photojournalists will experience international location coverage and develop an understanding of their social responsibility to provide a voice to all members of society while stressing truth and ethics in an effort to bring about social change.

This will not be a vacation. During this intensive week, you will work with Ecuadorian students from some of the best universities from across the country. At the end of each day, you will edit your images with some of the leaders in the field of documentary photography from the U.S. and Ecuador. Your work will be shared with our partnering NGOs, which gives you the opportunity for your work to stand as a witness and defense of the lives of your subjects. It is an opportunity to strengthen your skills while donating your work to an NGO at the same time.

Josh received a Pictures of the Year International (POYI) documentary award this year, and a NPPA Photojournalist of the Year award in 2006.

(Pictured: A photo by one of the Mexican students in Truth With A Camera's first international workshop in Guadalajara, May 2009.)

LINKS:

* Truth With a Camera Website
* Truth Workshop Blog
* Josh Meltzer's Website

P.S. While with the Roanoke Times, Josh Meltzer provided the video for the award-winning "Age of Uncertainty" series, which tackled issues affecting the rapidly growing elderly population ... and those who will care for them. The ambitious project has been showcased on KobreGuide.com .

'Truth With A Camera' in Guadalajara

There are only 15 spots in the Truth With A Camera workshop in Guadalajara, Mexico, May 23-31. It is led by NPPA 2006 Photographer of the Year Josh Meltzer, a Roanoke Times photojournalist and Fulbright scholar.

(Meltzer's prizewinning "Age of Uncertainty" project, about caring for the elderly, is proudly showcased on KobreGuide.)

Imagine children as young as 6-years-old, running in and out of traffic on a 6-lane highway, trying to sell a piece of gum, wash a windshield, or juggle oranges for change. They lack education, suffer from malnutrition, and are surrounded by a world of danger and loneliness. Now imagine it is your job to tell the whole world who these children are. To breathe light into an existence too few know about. That’s the critical role photographers working with non-profits and NGOs play.

It is exactly what you’ll be tasked with if you join our next Truth With A Camera workshop in Guadalajara, Mexico. At over 5 million people, Mexico’s second largest city is one of the most modern in Mexico, though social inequity and urban poverty remain a constant and painful reality for the tens of thousands who have sunk desperately below an already subterranean poverty line. This is no vacation. During this intensive week, you will be working alongside students from the University of Guadalajara, one of the largest and most respected public institutions of higher education in Mexico.

After each full day of shooting, your evenings will be spent editing your work with some of the leaders in the field of documentary photography from America and Mexico. Your shared assignments, at one of our partnering NGOs, will offer you the chance to be both witness and advocate. A chance to build experience and make a difference – by donating your work to the NGO - at the same time.

Tuition is $1,100, and only $110 for students at University of Guadalajara. Check TruthWithACamera.org for more information .