Followup: David Trattles Photojournalism Photography Workshop
In early October, renowned social documentary photographer, and Canadian Geographic contributor, David Trattles, lead a workshop at CG’s headquarters in Ottawa. He was joined by amateur photographers who took part in assignments and a group critique of their work. Special thanks goes out Dave for sharing his expertise and enthusiasm, and to professional photographer Harry Nowell for partnering with us to create this workshop.

INSTRUCTOR David Trattles is a renowned social documentary photographer whose work has been published in numerous national publications including Canadian Geographic and Maclean’s. Learn more about Trattles through our one-on-one interview with him. To view more of David Trattles' work, visit: www.photomediterraneo.com

In their own words: Participants speak about the workshop

"I am so happy I took this workshop! David helped me break through... Yay Dave!

My biggest photo self discovery on this course was that I needed to be a little "messy." My work was to "square" and "nice" as David put it. I realized that I don't need to put so much energy thinking about the photo I'm going to take, and to just let it happen. David helped me break through and view things differently.

Here's a photo I took during an assignment David sent me on. He simply said "take pictures of stairs..."

— Jessica Hodgson

"Participants who are nocturnal will delight in prowling the streets with Dave and partaking in his atmospheric assignments. He is the new incarnation of Cartier-Bresson — 100%, full-on, focused, kick-ass, charismatic, non-stop social documentary. This is not your average point-and-shoot workshop.

At the workshop I was able to tackle and get feedback on a photo essay I call "Wheel Politik" which aims to cover cycloculture, architecture, history, bilingualism and movement."
— Julie Enfield

"I met Dave Trattles a few years ago at a CAPA conference where he was leading a workshop. His life and enthusiasm fascinated me and I was impressed by the personal involvement and empathy he has for his subjects. His photographs record their sometimes quirky lives in an indirect way. He documents them as they are, rather than by what they do. So when he photographs girls in India who box, we don't see them boxing. When he photographs fishermen, we don't see them fishing. I think he's a brilliant social documentarian.

Being primarily a landscape photographer, I assumed I had zero talent for photojournalism. People move around too much! However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to spend some time with David. The workshop was very relaxed. David is such a hugely genuine mensch, and funny as heck too. Those German and Indian accents! The assignments were well designed: not too specific, so there was lots of freedom, but with definite goals in mind. I appreciated the small group, which allowed us to view each other's work and learn from the comments David gave."

— Ross Norstrom

"This course changed the way I take pictures. But, more importantly, it changed the way I see myself and the world around me. It's not about WHAT we see in the world through the rectangular viewfinder, but HOW we see the world. My journeys in photojournalism will begin with a smile and a hand shake, rather than the sound of a shutter.

My photo here is the first part of a photo essay on what's most important to me — my family. I'm still learning a lot of technical stuff and look forward to joining future courses."
— Prasad Jetty

"I registered for this workshop with only one objective in mind: learn something new. I've taken many courses and workshops before and (as simple as it sounds) this objective wasn't easily achieved.

Dave shared his passion for photography with us. He told us stories and I learned a lot about taking pictures that represent my own take on life.

I learned that I can go beyond a “nice to frame picture” to reach a point where my picture tells a story. I’m not there yet, but I now aim at something else when I shoot — something meaningful. Thanks Dave!"

— Stéphanie Beauregard


Since this is the first photography workshop we've hosted we'd like to hear whether Photo Club members would be interested if we held another. If so, please let us know by responding to this post or by sending us an email about what kind of workshops you would like to attend in the future.

See the course calendar on HarryNowell.com for more information on upcoming workshops.