Workshops, Seminars and Panel Discussions Mark Day 1 of XPOSURE 2016

Timothy Allen, Levon Biss and Other Top Photographers Share Skills and Experiences with Audience

Sharjah, UAE, October 13, 2016:  The first day of XPOSURE 2016, Sharjah’s firstInternational Photography Festival initiated by Sharjah Media Centre, started off with a series of educational sessions hosted at Sharjah Expo Centre. These included workshops, seminars, keynote presentations and panel discussions on various photography-related topics.

Timothy Allen, the seven-time winner of ‘Travel Photographer of the Year’ award and the photographer for BBC's award winning series, Human Planet, presented the ‘Travel Tales’, a seminar on the rewards and challenges of travel photography. 

Also part of the festival is the ‘Timothy Allen Travel Scholarship Award’ that drew dynamic entries from across the globe. Shortlisted by Allen, seven candidates are given the opportunity to engage in an extensive full day workshop conducted by the top class professional on Friday, October 14, 2016. 
Speaking about his partnership with XPOSURE 2016, Allen said: “When I was approached for XPOSURE, I found the enthusiasm of the team very encouraging, and the event is a good platform for photographers. Besides, I love travelling, and so was thrilled about visiting the emirate of Sharjah for the first time.”

“I look forward to Friday’s day-long session with the winning candidates. From their online entries, I could see that they are very good photographers and hope to be able to further inspire them,” he added.   

Among other seminars hosted on day one was ‘Microsculptures’ by Levon Biss, an internationally renowned British photographer, who over a 20-year-long career has photographed celebrities, shot international campaigns for top global brands and published books on his global documentary projects. In his seminar, Biss discussed the genre of macrophotography, and the need for photographers to explore multiple genres of the art.

‘Elevating Vision’, hosted by Bjorn Lauen, a Dubai-based German photographer whose works have appeared in prominent international publications, introduced a safe and responsible use of the latest generation, aerial-imaging technology, and provided an overview of the challenges and possibilities that drones offer.
Muhammed Muheisen, Chief Photographer for Associated Press across the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan, in his seminar, ‘Reaching an Audience’, explored the opportunities that social media offers and the need to target news and story-telling through social channels.

‘Wide Vision’ offered a wide-eyed approach to creating breathtaking, highly detailed panoramic images. Hosted by Chris Collacott, the seminar offered a tour through some of his iconic work while explaining the technical principles and practices that can achieve similar results.

Eddie Keogh, a freelance sports photographer with major international publications, screened a collection of sporting imagery and films during his seminar ‘Split Second’. He also talked about some of the most inspiring moments that he has witnessed in his career.

‘Developing Styles,’ hosted by Erik Almas, was an informal panel discussion and screening with Drina Cabral, Robert Gilbert and Stephen Wilkes as guests. The Q&A session discussed developing individual styles as well as approaches to effective self-marketing.

Celebrated American photographer David Alan Harvey’s seminar ‘Visual Storytellers’ explored photography as the world's only common language in an age when everyone is a photographer. He also talked about the need and relevance of creating narratives through photography. 

The workshops for day one ranged from moderately priced beginner level sessions and explained basic camera operations in the manual mode, to full courses for advanced level photographers, including post processing, time-lapse, raw camera and Photoshop workflow.There were also masterclasses for each category, where participants got the opportunity to learn from experts. XPOSURE 2016 will continue to host such educational sessions conducted by leading photographers and industry experts on all four days of the event.

Schedule for Day 2