Two months ago I attended Serge Remelli’s “Colors of the Fall in New York” photo workshop. I’ve been to the US a lot but mostly on the west coast. Of course, I’m full of impressions of the great city but I’m not a travel blogger so this article will not be about the city or its people. 

For a while, I have been enrolled in the Serge’s Institute of Photography program and this workshop was a part of it. Again, the article will not be an in-depth review of the workshop itself but I do plan to write about such workshops in the future so stay tuned if you are considering something similar for your photo education. 

Instead, in line with the main topic of the blog, it will be about the impact of the trip on me and my photographic journey and transformation.

In the months before the trip, it all looked fantastic. An opportunity to include New York in my portfolio and see masters at work looked fantastic and I was looking forward to it with excitement. But, as the day of the trip grew nearer, doubts and worries started to creep in. 

I am a seasoned traveller. There were periods in my work life where I would literally fly to a new place every Monday morning and return home only for weekends. I also love flying and visiting the US, so it’s couldn’t have been just a pre-travel anxiety. At first, I couldn’t point my finger to the exact reason for the uneasiness but I thought about it a lot and, after a while, I started to recognize the problem. 

It was not a usual business trip where I would go to do the things I already knew I was good at. It also wasn’t a conference or a classical training where I would go to learn and network but typically without very strict expectations. And neither was it a fun focused vacation trip.  As much as I like discovering new places and meeting new people, this time that would not be enough. It was an investment in my future career and, more importantly, a checkpoint on my photographic journey so I really needed it to feel like a success in the end. The whole experience had potential to be a significant boost or a setback and that was making me a bit apprehensive. And the worst part was that I didn’t clearly know how to push it in the right direction. 

I decided it was a time for a solo brainstorming session in my favorite local cafe. It is the place where I often go to work, especially for those “alone with your thoughts” tasks. I asked myself what is it that I’m trying to achieve, and what are my worries and opportunities. 

First there was the workshop itself. I had no prior experience with these kinds of on-location photographic events. I couldn’t really know what the experience or value would it ultimately prove to be. Call it an unnecessary skepticism if you want, but it would not be the first promising but ultimately unremarkable event that I attended. As you can imagine, a trip and a photo workshop in New York aren’t in any way cheap so I would very much prefer a proof that my decisions were good and investments well placed.

Then, there was New York. On one side I felt extremely excited, privileged and grateful that I can organize such a trip. On the other hand, it also felt overwhelming. New York is  is surely a great city but it is also huge. There are amazing photographers that dedicated their entire careers to photographing streets of New York. Some of them would even be with me on the workshop. How would I be able to find and create anything that stands out in my very first week? 

To make it even more specific, there even was a small competition planned in the workshop. While I didn’t stress about getting an award for its value, I really wanted my work to be good and noticed. Wouldn’t such a recognition be an excellent proof of my progress as a photographer? But, again, standing out while we all have the same assignments seemed to add to the challenge. 

Serge did a review of my portfolio. I knew he thinks positively of my photos and that I could be reasonably confident in my eye, camera and mouse skills. On the other hand, he would likely not be my harshest critic. As my own examiner, I would look not only at the final results but how I got to them. A single lucky shot might get noticed but I want to be much more intentional and consistent at this stage. 

So what could I do about it? 

I have been following Serge since the beginning of my new photographic journey. I know and like his style of teaching and photography. After all, I wouldn’t have enrolled in the whole thing if I thought otherwise. He published two books about New York so I could expect a lot of stories and background information. I concluded that the workshop had high probability of being interesting and useful. I could not do much more about it at that point.

I also reminded myself that I’m usually quite good at networking events with a clear context so no need to worry about other photographers. We are not in any real competition and it would be an opportunity to also hear their stories and what are they facing in their current career stages. So, no need to stress about that either. 

And regarding me as a photographer in New York? 

There are two things I’m better than average. One is physical adaptability. I can walk for hours and a fruit on a bench in the Central Park would work fine for food. The other thing is that I’m good in understanding weather and cloud forecasts and using them in planning. So I would use these things to my advantage, be out in every possible moment, and seek every photo opportunity that I could find. 

I decided to go to all the places that we are scheduled to visit together and scout them before the workshop. That way I would not be overwhelmed by stunning new places when I see them for the first time. I would also more likely be able to come up with good ideas. 

Like the workshop itself, I decided to focus only on lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. In photography, you usually want and need to give time to a place and even revisit it several times for the best results. New York is huge and trying to cover it all in a week would likely stretch me too much. Less is often more as the famous saying goes.    

I also completely gave up visits to museums, shops, events or usual sightseeing. I was to be a week of complete immersion in photography. 

So, I would wake up well before the sunrise and hit the subway to an all-morning place. After that, a short mid-day break to recharge the batteries and prepare the afternoon session. Then, again, a trip to a sunset oriented place followed by an evening of review and more planning. The workshop days were more or less the same, except that locations were predefined and, of course, included more people. 

How did it turn out in the end? Did it work?

In a word – yes. Perfectly…

The workshop itself was excellent. People, both instructors and attendees, were friendly and passionate about photography. Of course, I learned things but, more importantly, all of it amplified my excitement for photography. For example, one very colorful and beautiful morning, looking at the famous skyline from the Manhattan bridge, I felt so happy that I almost started crying. I realized that I never felt like that during what was essentially a work assignment, and that I must have been right in making all those decisions about developing myself as a photographer.   

Equally satisfying were the photos I made. One of them even got selected by Serge. The award arrived recently – a large canvas print of the photo in question. It will take the central place in my office/studio and be a reminder of the great time I had and a motivation to keep going.

And then there was the city itself.  I was in love from the very first moment, when the mist covered Manhattan started to appear from below the left wing and caused the entire airplane to scream a stunned WOW. I’ve seen large cities, cities with beautiful buildings and cities with lively and colorful streets but for me nothing can compares to New York. There is something magical in its urban vibe and industrial architecture. Even things that I often complain about, like super crowded places and dirty subways, somehow didn’t bother me much in New York. Looking forward to going there again soon.

So it was a great experience in almost all possible ways. Most of all, I was delighted to realize how I approached the whole week. I acknowledged my uneasiness before the workshop, and instead of letting it spoil the fun, I used it to help me develop my plan, sharpen the focus and make the most out of the great opportunity. I felt completely in control and confident in the things that I do. 

Lately, I started to acknowledge how my confidence as a photographer grew and how much it changed since the beginnings. The New York experience was not the only reason for this change but it was an important milestone and, in many ways, marked the end of this first phase of my journey. 

Two months ago, I attended Serge Remelli’s “Colors of the Fall in New York” photo workshop. I’ve often been to the US, but mainly on the West Coast. Of course, I’m full of impressions of the great city, but since I’m not a travel blogger, this article will not be about the city or its people.

I have been enrolled in the Serge’s Institute of Photography program for a while, and this workshop was a part of it. Again, the article will not be an in-depth review of the workshop itself. However, I plan to write about it in the future, so stay tuned if you are considering something similar for your photo education.

Instead, in line with the blog’s main topic, it will be about the impact of the trip on me and my photographic journey and transformation.

In the months before the trip, it all looked fantastic. An opportunity to include New York in my portfolio and see masters at work looked amazing and I was excitedly looking forward to it. But, as the day of the trip grew near, doubts and worries started to creep in.

I am a seasoned traveler. There were periods when I would fly to a new place every Monday morning and return home only for weekends. I also love flying and visiting the US, so it couldn’t have been just a pre-travel anxiety. At first, I couldn’t point my finger at the exact reason for the uneasiness. I thought about it a lot, and I started to recognize the problem after a while.

It was different from a usual business trip where I would go to do the things I already knew I was good at. It also wasn’t a conference or a classical training where I would go to learn and network, but typically, I would do so without strict expectations. And neither was it a fun-focused vacation trip. As much as I like discovering new places and meeting new people, that would not be enough this time. It was an investment in my future career and, more importantly, a checkpoint on my photographic journey, so I needed it to feel like a success. The whole experience had the potential to be a significant boost or a setback, and that made me a bit apprehensive. And the worst part was that I didn’t know how to push it in the right direction.

I decided it was time for a solo brainstorming session in my favorite local cafe. It is the place where I often go to work, especially for those “alone with your thoughts” tasks. I asked myself what I was trying to achieve and why I was worried.

First, there was the workshop itself. I had no prior experience with these kinds of on-location photographic events. I couldn’t really know what the experience or value it would ultimately prove. Call it an unnecessary skepticism if you want, but it would not be the first promising but ultimately unremarkable event I attended. As you can imagine, a trip and a photo workshop in New York aren’t cheap, so I would very much prefer proof that my decisions were sound and investments well placed.

Then, there was New York. On one side, I felt extremely excited, privileged, and grateful that I could organize such a trip. On the other hand, it also felt overwhelming. New York is undoubtedly a great city, but it is also huge. Some amazing photographers dedicated their entire careers to photographing the streets of New York. Some of them would even be with me in the workshop. How would I be able to find and create anything that stands out in my very first week?

To make it even more specific, a small competition was planned during the workshop. While I didn’t stress about getting an award for its value, I wanted my work to be good and noticed. Wouldn’t such a recognition be an excellent proof of my progress as a photographer? But, again, standing out while we all have the same assignments only added to the challenge.

Serge did a review of my portfolio. I knew he thought positively of my photos and that I could be reasonably confident in my eye, camera, and mouse skills. On the other hand, he would likely not be my harshest critic. As my own examiner, I would look not only at the final results but also at how I got to them. A single lucky shot might get noticed, but I want to be more intentional and consistent at this stage.

So what could I do about it?

I have been following Serge since the beginning of my new photographic journey. I know and like his style of teaching and photography. After all, I wouldn’t have enrolled in the whole thing if I thought otherwise. He published two books about New York, so I could expect a lot of stories and background information. I concluded that the workshop had a high probability of being interesting and valuable.

I also reminded myself that I’m usually quite good at networking events with a clear context, so I didn’t need to worry about other photographers. We were not in any real competition, and it would be an opportunity to also hear their stories and what they are facing in their careers. So, no need to stress much about that either.

And regarding me as a photographer in New York?

There are two things I’m better than average. One is physical adaptability. I can walk for hours, and a fruit or two on a bench in Central Park would work fine for food. The other thing is that I understand weather and cloud forecasts and am pretty effective in using them in planning. So, I would use these things to my advantage, be out in every possible moment, and seek every photo opportunity I could find.

I decided to go to all the places we are scheduled to visit together and scout them before the workshop. That way, I would not be overwhelmed by stunning new places when I see them for the first time. I would also more likely be able to come up with good ideas.

Like the workshop itself, I decided to focus only on lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. In photography, you usually want and need to give time to a place and revisit it several times for the best results. New York is huge, and trying to cover it all in a week would likely stretch me too much. Less is often more, as the famous saying goes.

I also completely gave up visits to museums, shops, events, or usual sightseeing. It was to be a week of complete immersion in photography.

So, I would wake up well before sunrise and hit the subway to an all-morning place. After that, take a short mid-day break to recharge the batteries and prepare for the afternoon session. Then, again, a trip to a sunset-oriented place followed by an evening of review and more planning. The workshop days were more or less the same, except that locations were predefined and included more people.

How did it turn out in the end? Did it work?

In a word – yes. Perfectly…

The workshop itself was excellent. People, both instructors and attendees, were friendly and passionate about photography. Of course, I learned things, but, more importantly, it amplified my excitement for photography. For example, looking at the famous skyline from the Manhattan Bridge on one very colorful and beautiful morning, I felt so happy that I almost started crying. I realized that I never felt like that during what was essentially a work assignment and that I must have been right in making all those decisions about developing myself as a photographer.

Equally satisfying were the photos I made. One of them even got selected by Serge. The award arrived recently by post – a large canvas print of the winning photo. It will take the central place in my office/studio and remind me of the great time we had and a motivation to keep going.

And then there was the city itself. I was in love from the very first moment, when the mist-covered Manhattan started to appear from below the left wing and caused the entire airplane to scream a stunned WOW. I’ve seen large cities, cities with beautiful buildings, and cities with lively and colorful streets, but for me, nothing can compare to New York. There is something magical in its urban vibe and industrial architecture. Even things that I often complain about, like super crowded places and dirty subways, somehow didn’t bother me much in New York. I’m looking forward to going there again. Soon.

It has been a great experience in almost all possible ways. Most of all, I was delighted to realize how I approached the whole week. I acknowledged my uneasiness before the workshop, and instead of letting it spoil the fun, I used it to develop my plan, sharpen my focus, and make the most out of the great opportunity.

Throughout the entire week, I felt in control and confident in what I was doing. The best part is that the feeling is still there weeks after the workshop.

I started to acknowledge how my confidence as a photographer had grown and how much it had changed since the beginning. The New York experience was not the only reason for this change, but it was an important milestone. In many ways, it marked the end of the first phase of my journey.