Foundry Photojournalism Workshop in Manali, India

Passing this along ...

I wanted to let you and your students know about the Foundry Photojournalism Workshop that will be held this year in Manali, India in July. The workshop is intended for PJ students and young professionals who want experience with international reportage. Students are expected to work independently on a story under the guidance of their teachers. This year we have an amazing list of faculty including Ron Haviv, Ami Vitale, Andrea Bruce, Michael Robinson Chavez and the Bombay Flying Club will be teaching a special multimedia course. After shooting all day, there will be nightly presentations and discussions regarding the logistics of working on int'l projects. We are completely non-profit and no one makes a dime off of the workshop. Our esteemed faculty and dedicated staff all donate their time.

Last year the first Foundry workshop was held in Mexico City and was, on all accounts, a smashing success. This year, we are reserving at least 20 slots for South Asian journalists, who receive a substantial discount to ensure that we have a diverse student body. We are also offering several merit-based scholarships to emerging talent from the US and Europe.

Grants for Good

Getty Images has posted info on their latest Grants for Good competition. The cash awards are "two annual grants of $15,000 to cover photographers’ costs as they create compelling new imagery for the nonprofit of their choice."

Video Workshop in Athens - March 28

Psst ... there's another workshop coming up in the college ... March 28, put on by the Telecomm Department. Cheap, lots of good info to be had. Go sign up.

Hard Times a the High End

We all generate Top 10 lists at some point ... the Top 10 Car Designs, the Top 10 Albums of All Times ... silly things like that. Some of them are relevant to what we do in our careers, some are not.

For instance, if I were to come up with a list of the Top 10 Portrait Photographers of Our Time, Annie Leibovitz would be way up on that list (along with her peers like Chip Simons and Mark Seliger). So to find out she's in financial trouble and has, essentially, pawned her archive is ... well ... disturbing.

Twitter Ponzi?

I've been capturing a lot of Steve Yelvington tweets and blog posts, such as this:

This is about Twitter getting another $35 million in venture capital funding. I love Twitter, I use Twitter. But I don't know how it will ever make money.

Anyone have an idea?

On Business

Our beloved industry is in trouble, but you can survive. Being smart about running your own business is extremely difficult, but extremely rewarding when done right.

The first thing you need to know is diversify your clients. Do not put your proverbial eggs in one basket. 

Facebook Showdown

Facebook instituted a change in its terms of service that drew a lot of complaints. Wednesday morning, they backed down.

Now, if only other entities would understand that content has value ...