Travel photography requires the integration of a wide range of skills. Patience, resourcefulness, flexibility and inexhaustible curiosity are only some of the qualities needed to create exceptional images in unfamiliar territory.
Equally central to the endeavour of successfully rendering in photographic terms places and cultures that lie outside of our routine, are competent technical knowledge and the ability to adapt and respond creatively to new environments and situations, under constantly changing conditions.
It is precisely this combination of skills and technical knowledge that GeckoWorkshops Unique Photographic Journeys™ are designed to integrate – on our Photography Expeditions, participants have the opportunity to become immersed in their surroundings and learn to anticipate the moment, whilst remaining in full command of the technical skills needed to capture it.
Although the focus and pace of our workshops varies, each is crafted to inspire participating photographers to expand their experience and understanding of photography through an incredible journey, while developing a coherent visual narrative of the journey, or particular aspects of it.
So whilst each expedition centres on a specific, if broad, subject that presents particular photographic opportunities, all our expeditions aim to enable participants to acquire or refine the skills necessary to make the best of any real life photographic situation and produce images of a consistently high quality.
To achieve this, over the years, we have fine-tuned our own, unique approach that balances theoretical instruction with intense practical exploration of the medium and covers both technical and aesthetic aspects of photography through location shoots, individual assignments, targeted feedback, and group discussions.
The result is an ideal environment in which to experience firsthand the critical decision-making processes that support the creation of expressive images and the development of cohesive photographic narrative.
In photographic terms, the goal of each expedition is to produce a complete photographic story or essay. On all our workshops, therefore, participants are encouraged to explore and assemble strong coverage of particular subjects, and develop a consistent visual narrative. Each expedition is structured and timed to deliver this specific goal, enabling participating photographers to return from each expedition with a meaningful body of images showcasing their work.
Designed to meet the needs of individuals with different degrees of photography and travel experience, all our expeditions are limited to very small numbers of participants – generally six on our regular workshops, and five on our advanced workshops.
This enables us to focus on each participant’s needs and goals from the moment they join a workshop – we work with you well in advance of meeting you so, by the time the workshop begins, we have already given some careful thought to how best to help you achieve your photography objectives, whatever these may be.
In fact, many of the creative dialogues that develop during our workshops, continue to connect us with our participants long after a journey has ended and sometime form the basis of custom expeditions that are open only to photographers in our participants’ community.
There are many reasons why, over the past decade, dozens of photographers from all over the world have joined our photography workshops, and why 60% of participants who return on our expeditions, do so more than once. It would be impossible to list them all, but here’s a list of some of the main ones:
1. All of our Photography Expeditions in India are unique journeys of discovery and no two are alike. On each expedition the pictures that you capture are a record of a unique journey, yet the methods and techniques that you absorb will equip you with the ability to create strong, expressive images wherever you are.
2. Our itineraries are specifically designed to give you the opportunity to develop and apply a variety of professional techniques to a wide spectrum of secular and religious subjects as well as a wide range of photographic genres, from landscape photography, to street photography, and environmental portrait photography.
3. Our travel schedules are informed by extensive, specialised experience and based entirely on photographic necessity. They, therefore, allow generous amounts of time for shooting. Even when long-distance travel is involved, our long-standing experience of places, events and local realities, enables us to time and design routes that allow plentiful opportunities for photography.
4. Our group sizes are kept deliberately small, so on all of our workshops you receive the personal attention that you require to advance your photography at your own pace, while being part of a group that is small enough to travel unobtrusively, enjoying genuine contact with the places and communities that we photograph.
5. We have been creating and leading Specialist Photography Workshops in India since 2005. Our expertise of places and customs enable us not just to take you to the best places at the most appropriate times, but also to provide you with firsthand experience of how to approach and interpret different subjects and situations.
6. By travelling in a small group of like-minded people with a shared creative objective, you benefit from the opportunity to exchange ideas with others about photography and ways of seeing the world around you. This can be a very rewarding in both personal and photographic terms in the short as well as in the long-term; many of the creative dialogues that are first established during a workshop continue to engage, bond, and benefit participants long-after the expedition has ended.
7. All our journeys’ dates refer to time spent on the ground and exclude days for international travel. This means that the length of our workshops corresponds to the actual number of days when photography tuition is available. (It also allows participants easily to incorporate the workshops within their wider travel plans in India.)
Learn more about our method and what makes our photography workshops unique.