2022 Kolkata Photo Workshop Experience

Kolkata, India, Oct 24th to 31th, 2022
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Only Spaces Left

There is no city in the world like the City of Joy!

Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, was once the greatest city in India. During the British Raj, Calcutta was India’s capital. An ancient city with a rich Indian and Colonial heritage it is a photographer’s dream destination. But even the best locations and most interesting subjects are not enough to create amazing portraits. There are other factors that come into play and the biggest of them all is the light. In this workshop, Piet Van den Eynde and I will spend a large amount of time working with available light, sculpted light, and a combination of both. This workshop will help you overcome any fears of artificial light you might have and will let you use it as another exciting tool in your photographic toolbox.

Kolkata Facts

Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, Kolkata truly holds the essence of Eastern India. Being a historical city, Kolkata is home to numerous palaces, monuments, and temples bearing architectural significance. Let’s explore some interesting facts about this Gateway of Eastern India:

India's Capital

Under the East India Company rule, and later under the British Raj, Calcutta served as the capital of British-held territories in India until 1911.

Last of the Trams

Kolkata tram system is the only tram system running in India. It started operating electric trams in 1902. Currently, there are 125 tram vehicles running in the city.

Pull Rickshaws

One of the last remaining cities in the world that maintain an active community of pull rickshaws for public transit.

MALLIK GHAT FLOWER MARKET

One of the largest flower markets in Asia! Built in 1855, it is located near the famous Howrah Bridge.

Kolkata Gallery

Kolkata is a visual smorgasbord of color and culture. Here a few photos from some of our past visits and classes. Many of these images are photos taken by our fixer Shivam.

Our Master Class Timeline

Itinerary

ARRIVAL

Settle In

As this is an international group, participants will be arriving from everywhere in the world at different times throughout the day. Regardless of your arrival time, you’ll be picked up at the airport and be taken to our hotel. You’ll get a chance to freshen up and settle in, after which we’ll meet up for drinks and dinner at the hotel’s restaurant at 7 P.M. You’ll also be introduced to our fixer and guide Shivam. Born and bred in Kolkata, he knows the city like no other and he’s also an accomplished photographer himself (in fact, many of the images on this page are his). Unlike a regular guide, he knows what photographers want and he sees the world through a photographic eye. After dinner, we will wrap up the day and get some rest because the coming days will be full of travel and shooting.

DAY ONE

Hooghly River

Another early morning, we head to the banks of the Hooghly once again to photograph the men hauling buckets of water up from the river to several streetside food stalls so they can wash the dishes. 

After lunch, we will be visiting another off-the-beaten-track area: the people living near the railway tracks. These families live very close to the train lines and we can get access to their homes which are very unique in style. We may also have a chance to photograph inside a local train.

DAY TWO

Ghat Shoot

An early wake-up call for the sunrise shoot! We will take you to the least photographed side of the river but– as is often the case – this is one of the most photogenic spots in Kolkata, and off the beaten tourist track. This place is rich in culture. Among other things, we will find barbers ceremoniously having heads of men and babies. In the afternoon, it’s time for some classic fly-on-the-wall street photography in and around Kolkata’s largest railway station, Howrah. Here, you can find people frantically running for their trains but of course, knowing us, there might be a more formal flash-lit portrait or two of a taxi driver or a rickshaw puller.

DAY THREE

Kushti Wrestlers

Today we’ll head out to meet and photograph the Kushti wrestlers. These men have their school down beside the Howrah bridge, which provides an amazing backdrop to the activities of their gym. We might also have a chance to do a couple more formal portraits. These guys often love being photographed and are super photogenic to boot!

After lunch, we will be visiting another off-the-beaten-track area: the people living near the railway tracks. These families live very close to the train lines and we can get access to their homes which are very unique in style. We may also have a chance to photograph inside a local train.

DAY FOUR

China Bazaar

Another early start and we will visit another fascinating place called China Bazaar. This place is filled with amazing people and buildings. We can see people carrying huge bundles of goods over their heads and we will have the opportunity to photograph them while they are cooking and washing clothes. The light inside of these buildings is so pleasing, that you might not want to leave!

Yet, you’ll have to, because no visit to Kolkata would be complete without taking in the beautiful colonial buildings in the Kalighat area. So after lunch, we’ll head out there and you’ll be able to photograph another one of Kolkata’s must-sees: the hand-pulled rickshaws.

DAY FIVE

Streets of Lebutalla

Today, we will explore the streets of Lebutalla, which are filled with amazing Bengali culture and warm, friendly people. We will sum up this walk near Sealdah railway station. This place has a couple of markets, which have a unique kind of natural light pouring in, but of course our flashes will be ready in case we want to take it just a notch further… In the afternoon, we’ll take a boat on the river to go and photograph the local fishermen.

DAY SIX

Flower Market


We will wake up early and travel to Mullick Ghat (Flower market) to take photos of people going about their extraordinary daily activities, carrying and selling bulk flowers. There is a bridge down where we will have amazing natural light with amazing scenes happening all around us.

DAY SEVEN

Kumartuli & Brick Factory

We will start our day at Kumartuli, the idol-making area. This place is filled with the idol-artists and the handmade figures they create are so pleasant to photograph.

After breakfast, we will travel to a brick-making factory out of town. This could be a great place to work on the concepts and technics of a photo essay. The light can be quite harsh here, so it’s the perfect place for teaching and learning about location and lighting portraiture.

DEPARTURE DAY

Home Bound

We don’t want to give you a minute-by-minute schedule because first of all, that’s simply not possible and it also wouldn’t be much fun, would it? Throughout our trip, you might hear us say ‘T.I.I.’ on occasion. This is short for ‘This Is India’, which means things don’t always go as planned. While we plan to see most of the sights on this itinerary (and more), sometimes things might not go according to schedule, both in terms of places or people visited and the days we do so. The beauty is that the alternative provided might sometimes be even better than the original plan! Also, know that some of the best shots happen in between scheduled shoots. Such is the nature of travel photography! The images above hopefully show that there will be no lack of photo opportunities, interesting subjects, backgrounds, and teaching. After all, this is a workshop and not just a photo tour.

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The setup and the resulting image.

Location Portraiture

Don’t think this Masterclass is only about artificial (flash) light or posed portraits. We use available light and street photography techniques just as well. In fact, it’s the mix of these two approaches to travel portraiture that makes this workshop unique. To us, the difference between available light and flash is an academic one: we simply use the light that is most suitable for the image we have in mind.

“This is a workshop that will leave a lasting impression. Take the hectic street life and colourful people. Add Matt’s expertise to work with the local ‘talent’ and put the story into the picture. Spice up with Piet’s mastering of dramatic composition and off-camera lighting. Then top off with your own photographic ambition and inspiration. Whatever your visual and technical skill level may be, your imagery will never look the same again!”
René Delbar

Life-long Photographer and Gear FreakGoes Here

“Having taken two workshops with these two wonderful educators and moved from a noob to shooting my first wedding this summer after only two years of shooting, I can attest to their skills in teaching photography. I can’t recommend more highly this opportunity. If anyone wants to talk about my experience, feel free to pm me.”

George Neill

Application Systems Analyst and Enthusiast Photographer

What you’ll learn in This Class

1. Recognize Great Light

We will teach you to look at light and help you understand to use it.  You will come to understand that though there really is no “bad” light, it’s just that not all light is created equal.

2. The use of off-camera lighting.

Not only will Piet and I help you to grasp the basics of off-camera flash we will push you to try new and daring techniques. By the way, we even provide you with lighting toys to play with!

3. What makes a well-composed image?

Piet and I will spend time with you looking at your images and critiquing your shot. We will give you optional assignment to help you grow as a portrait and travel photographer.

4. Lightroom tips and tricks.

Piet and I do all our post-processing of our images in Adobe Lightroom. There will be times when we can sit with the whole class or individually and go through some of the ways we edit, from our favourite plugins to standard workflow techniques.

Meet Your Instructors

Matt Brandon

Matt Brandon is a Malaysia based humanitarian and travel photographer, who collaborates with NGOs to tell their stories and to train their field staff to do the same. Well known as a photographer and international workshop instructor, Matt’s images have been used by clients and publications such as National Geographic Magazine, National Geographic Traveller, Asian Geographic, the BBC, Honda Motor Corporation, and Bombadier Transport Corporation, KLM Airlines and others. His photographic pursuits have taken him to the countries of Egypt, Tibet, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Maldives, Philippines, Malaysia to name a few. Matt is a Fujifilm X-Photographer for Malaysia. For more information on Matt, read his complete profile at PhotoShelter.

Piet Van den Eynde

Piet Van den Eynde (pronounced “Pete”) is a Belgian freelance photographer specializing in travel portraiture. As an Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Certified Expert, he has written five Dutch print books on Adobe Lightroom. He also wrote a comprehensive ebook on using flash on location: ‘Light It Up! Techniques for Dramatic Off-Camera Flash’. When he’s not travelling or writing, he’s recording video courses such as his six-hour ‘Photoshop for photographers’ course. He contributes articles to photography magazines and offers photographic training worldwide. In 2009, Piet threw his camera, a flash and an umbrella in his bicycle panniers and cycled 5000 miles through Turkey, Iran, India, and Indonesia. Piet will be teaching off-camera lighting skills as well as some Lightroom post processing throughout this workshop. Visit his website: morethanwords.be

Practicalities and Pricing

While many travel photography workshops have an 8:1 or even a 10:1 guest: instructor ratio, we have purposely limited the number of photographing participants on this trip to only six. With two instructors, this makes for an incredible 3:1 guest: instructor ratio. Therefore, we expect this Masterclass to sell out quickly. In fact, one of the previous editions sold out within the hour! We regret that we cannot hold spaces: all six photographer spots will be allotted on a first come, first served basis.

This workshop is open to all levels of photographers using mirrorless or DSLR-style cameras who know the basics about operating their cameras. We’ve called this a ‘Masterclass’ because that’s what we want you to be by the time you return back home: a master of lighting, both available light and flash, and any mix in between.

Pricing for this portfolio altering workshop is $4.495 USD *

This is a double occupancy rate. We also offer a single room supplement for $495 USD (subject to availability). 

What’s included: Just about everything.

  • Your stay in a shared double room. You can opt for a single room on the registration page (subject to availability). The single room supplement price hasn’t been established yet, but should be around $ 500.

  • All meals and water during the tour

  • Airport transfer to and from Kolkata Airport;

  • Transportation in and around Kolkata;

  • Tuition by Matt and Piet;

  • Model and fixer fees;

  • Use of lighting gear during the workshop: although you can bring your own lighting equipment, you’re welcome to use ours.

What’s NOT included:

  • Flash trigger. Although we generally bring extra units, we highly recommend you purchase your own Godox X-Pro flash trigger for your particular camera brand. This trigger retails for about $80 and is available in a Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus and Fujifilm version. Having your own trigger, instead of waiting for one of ours to become available, will undoubtedly improve your workshop experience!

  • Any expenses of personal nature like tips, souvenirs, laundry, all beverages (except water), telephone calls, etc…

  • Any expenses caused by factors beyond our control like flight cancellation, roadblocks, vehicle malfunction etc…

  • Any travel, medical or evacuation insurance. We’ll require you to have travel and cancellation insurance and provide proof of that before the start of the workshop.

  • Your international flight to and from Kolkata.

  • Possible 10% surcharge for less than 6 participants* (see below)

* The workshop price is $4.495 USD per participant based on 6 participants. In the unlikely event this workshop does not sell out and there are 4 or 5 participants, there will be a 10% ($450 USD) surcharge per participant. If there are less than 4 participants, we reserve the right to cancel the workshop (and you will, of course, receive a refund of your deposit). When you reserve a spot by paying the deposit, you agree to this possible surcharge. Please do not book your international airfare until we have confirmed the workshop. 

Book your place on this workshop now!