Scirocco
Sicily, Italy 2007
As a maestro I strongly believe that teaching is a mutual exchange of knowledge and creative energy between the instructor and his students. I always learn a great deal from my students while they learn from me at the same time My belief was confirmed, once again, with this group of very young and talented students from the Chicago Lab School eager to learn the secrets of street photography. I simply love to teach teenagers. Their ability to get the message I’m trying to convey is almost uncanny.
After our first wonderful experience in Oaxaca of two years ago (Group Discombobulated, 2005), I met the new group in Sicily for a very intense 10-day workshop. We visited many beautiful parts of this island that has shaped me into being the photographer I’m now.
We traveled extensively, took many pictures, did long editing sessions, ate some incredible food, and in the end each one of them had come up with very personal images that would express the diversity and complexity of each photographic approach.
During the last few days of our course the African wind called Scirocco took center stage in our photographic activities by blowing incessantly very warm wind and sand. At first, we felt miserable sweating like crazy, but after getting used to it, we all felt it was a very unusual way to be reminded of the mysterious nature of Sicily and it also gave the name for our group.EB
