Hosted by two members from the Boreal Collective in Toronto, this workshop will help photographers who are interested in developing long-form photo essays and personal projects in articulating complex stories photographically.
Laurence Butet-Roch and Ian Willms will explore different storytelling techniques, deal with how to approach working with diverse communities, and provide helpful tips on working in a documentary tradition. Questions of ethics, cultural sensitivity, objectivity/subjectivity and collaboration will guide the discussion along with various tips on turning ideas or observations into a compelling, engaging visual narrative.
Participants are asked to bring a body of work that is in progress (up to 25 images), both as small, unframed prints and on a USB key, for an editing session.
Laurence Butet-Roch
After falling in love with journalism through “Scoop”, a sitcom set inside a Montreal newsroom, Laurence Butet-Roch completed a B.A. in International Relations at the University of British Columbia, studied photography at the School of Photographic Arts: Ottawa and recently graduated from the Master of Digital Media at Ryerson University. A photographer, photo editor and writer, she contributes to Polka Magazine, The New York Times Lens Blog, TIME Lightbox, The British Journal of Photography, PhotoLife and others. She’s a member of the Boreal Collective and her personal work examines the intersection between place, memory and identity, which has led her to question the relation between economic prosperity and the cultural, physical and psychological well being of communities.
Ian Willms
Ian Willms is a founding member of Boreal Collective and NAMARA Represents. His visual practice resides within the gulf between photojournalism and contemporary photography. The inevitability of passing time and compromise are common threads that run throughout Willms’ longterm photo essays. Willms holds an Honours Diploma in Photojournalism and is a previous recipient of the Reportage by Getty Images Emerging Talent mentorship. As a freelance photographer, he has contributed to The New York Times, The Guardian Magazine, TIME, The New Yorker, The Walrus and prominent NGOs. His works have been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council and exhibited at O’Born Contemporary, Photoville, CONTACT Gallery, Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography and the Museum of Photographic Arts.
