Photographing Communities - Human and Otherwise (Feb 12-Mar 12)
Dates: February 12 - March 12, 2025
Meetings: Wednesdays, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CST (5 sessions)
Location: Houston Center for Photography
Cost: $480 (HCP members can receive a 10% discount)
Instructor: Jake Eshelman
Skill Level: Intermediate
This course offers guidance and practical tips to help students approach, engage, and build communities through their photographic practice. Through a blend of seminars, discussions, and hands-on work, we’ll explore the many challenges and opportunities of pursuing community-based projects. We’ll cover strategies to help you establish relationships, earn trust, and enhance the image-making experience for everyone. We’ll even challenge our own notions of ‘who counts?’ when it comes to defining a community—whether you’re photographing people, animals, forests, fungi, microorganisms, spirits, or others. To enact what we’ll learn during each session, participants will be encouraged to plan and develop a new body of work in the field. Students should have their own camera gear and be comfortable producing images (digitally or in print) for group discussion. By the end of this course, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of how to pursue projects with, in, and alongside communities that matter to you.
Objectives:
Articulate and expand how we define 'community'
Understand the ethics of image-making and interpersonal interactions
Practical steps necessary to successfully engage and collaborate with communities
Thoughtfully plan and begin a new body of community-based work
Appreciate our ongoing responsibilities to communities we engage with through our work
Prerequisites:
Photography I or being comfortable using your DSLR or mirrorless camera in Manual mode. Students are expected to have the ability to be vulnerable, constructive, and supportive of one another.
Course Prep:
Please consider what community means to you, why you are interested in building these sort of relationships, and what you hope to accomplish through your accompanying photographic work. Please bring materials to take notes during classes.
Dates: February 12 - March 12, 2025
Meetings: Wednesdays, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CST (5 sessions)
Location: Houston Center for Photography
Cost: $480 (HCP members can receive a 10% discount)
Instructor: Jake Eshelman
Skill Level: Intermediate
This course offers guidance and practical tips to help students approach, engage, and build communities through their photographic practice. Through a blend of seminars, discussions, and hands-on work, we’ll explore the many challenges and opportunities of pursuing community-based projects. We’ll cover strategies to help you establish relationships, earn trust, and enhance the image-making experience for everyone. We’ll even challenge our own notions of ‘who counts?’ when it comes to defining a community—whether you’re photographing people, animals, forests, fungi, microorganisms, spirits, or others. To enact what we’ll learn during each session, participants will be encouraged to plan and develop a new body of work in the field. Students should have their own camera gear and be comfortable producing images (digitally or in print) for group discussion. By the end of this course, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of how to pursue projects with, in, and alongside communities that matter to you.
Objectives:
Articulate and expand how we define 'community'
Understand the ethics of image-making and interpersonal interactions
Practical steps necessary to successfully engage and collaborate with communities
Thoughtfully plan and begin a new body of community-based work
Appreciate our ongoing responsibilities to communities we engage with through our work
Prerequisites:
Photography I or being comfortable using your DSLR or mirrorless camera in Manual mode. Students are expected to have the ability to be vulnerable, constructive, and supportive of one another.
Course Prep:
Please consider what community means to you, why you are interested in building these sort of relationships, and what you hope to accomplish through your accompanying photographic work. Please bring materials to take notes during classes.
Dates: February 12 - March 12, 2025
Meetings: Wednesdays, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CST (5 sessions)
Location: Houston Center for Photography
Cost: $480 (HCP members can receive a 10% discount)
Instructor: Jake Eshelman
Skill Level: Intermediate
This course offers guidance and practical tips to help students approach, engage, and build communities through their photographic practice. Through a blend of seminars, discussions, and hands-on work, we’ll explore the many challenges and opportunities of pursuing community-based projects. We’ll cover strategies to help you establish relationships, earn trust, and enhance the image-making experience for everyone. We’ll even challenge our own notions of ‘who counts?’ when it comes to defining a community—whether you’re photographing people, animals, forests, fungi, microorganisms, spirits, or others. To enact what we’ll learn during each session, participants will be encouraged to plan and develop a new body of work in the field. Students should have their own camera gear and be comfortable producing images (digitally or in print) for group discussion. By the end of this course, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of how to pursue projects with, in, and alongside communities that matter to you.
Objectives:
Articulate and expand how we define 'community'
Understand the ethics of image-making and interpersonal interactions
Practical steps necessary to successfully engage and collaborate with communities
Thoughtfully plan and begin a new body of community-based work
Appreciate our ongoing responsibilities to communities we engage with through our work
Prerequisites:
Photography I or being comfortable using your DSLR or mirrorless camera in Manual mode. Students are expected to have the ability to be vulnerable, constructive, and supportive of one another.
Course Prep:
Please consider what community means to you, why you are interested in building these sort of relationships, and what you hope to accomplish through your accompanying photographic work. Please bring materials to take notes during classes.
Images:
Jake Eshelman, Christmas Dinner (2020), from the series Heisykha
Jake Eshelman, Field Notes | Next Generation (2021), from the series Coming of Age
Jake Eshelman, Summer School (2019), from the series Heisykha
Jake Eshelman, Spirits (2020), from the series Heisykha
Jake Eshelman, Titka Olya, on Christmas (2020), from the series Heisykha