Workshop 4. Capturing Your Shadow in Black and White
Teacher: Roger Ballen (Johannesburg, South Africa)
The purpose of the course was to use the camera to better define one’s inner psyche. In order to achieve this goal, challenging daily assignments were given that encouraged the students to interact between their inner world and the exterior, looking for locations and props that suit their particular visions. The participants were working in classical black and white technique, and significant amount of time was spent on sharing the teachers’ experience as a master black and white photographer. The students were encouraged to produce images that extend their imagination.
Requirements/technique: Analogue or digital camera, good knowledge of the technical camera aspects. Darkroom experience is necessary if you work on film. Please bring your portfolios.
Roger Ballen Born in New York in 1950, Roger Ballen has lived and worked in Johannesburg, South Africa for almost 30 years. A geologist by training, Ballen began to photograph the houses and townsfolk he met while looking for potential mining sites in the 1970s. Ballen’s thought-provoking photography is known for particular attention to detail. He is photographing human and animal subjects in complex, fictional scenes filled with symbolism. His images have been called by critics a powerful social statements that at the same time are disturbing psychological studies. Roger Ballen has received numerous prominent awards including Best Photographic Book 2001 at the PhotoEspana festival in Madrid and Photographer of the year at the inaugural Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles in France in 2002. His photographs have been exhibited at top venues around the world, including the Gagosian Gallery and MOMA in New York, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Roger Ballen has given lectures and workshops at the most remarkable photography events worldwide; he also runs a Roger Ballen Foundation dedicated to the advancement of education of photography in South Africa.