My third on the road workshop and again another amazing experience. New goals set not only for the workshop but to consider and start tackling when you return home. Nikos simply does not give you a break! Looking at your work, he sets personal goals for each participant and demands to see more in every critique. That is one of Nikos’s major strong points as a teacher along with his contagious passion for photography. With such motivation and challenge, I find myself driven to accept the challenge and push for more. He simply keeps me marching to make the best out of his workshops. Most important I see it better. Having your work compared against other photographers help you see what you need to work on next. You see your points of strength and weakness against theirs and helps to learn and set goals. It was a nice experience to run into other participants that you met in earlier workshops and see how they grew as photographers since the last time you met them. This workshop was the best of the three for the reasons above and for the fact that it was held in Mumbai. For me it was a portrait heaven and almost everywhere we went was a great shooting location. We were also blessed with a group of participants from all over the world that were extremely dedicated to photography and committed to making the best out of this workshop. The most special thing about these workshops is that for a week you get to switch off and escape from everything and think nothing but doing the photography that you want and love. It is just you with your camera on the road. I look forward to join other future workshops with Nikos and highly recommend it as a great learning and fun experience!

Ok..it was really my pleasure to meet you and be part of the Damascus workshop.. A really nice experience and a good start for myself and my photos. The workshop has encouraged me to become better and learn more … In the one week I learned from your comments and your suggestions what I should look for and what to avoid. You gave me directions for finding my own style and to experiment on that. Now being back inCyprus, believe it or not, I feel like a “new ” person. I know this might sound strange but the one week that I spent time with myself and my camera and later having your comments about my work made me fall in love once again with the world of photography, keep taking photos, love the people and try more.

The workshop in Lisbon was very enlightening for me, since I don’t normally do this kind of photography. After sharing these days with Nikos and the other participants, I find myself noticing things more, actually “seeing” people and their interaction with each other and the immediate environment. It was an eye opener and this kind of photography is something that is gradually becoming more enticing and enjoyable for me. Besides, the way Nikos leads the participants gives them complete freedom to experiment and achieve durable results, while gently guided by a master towards better and better images and a keener vision. He hides nothing from the participants and genuinely strives to give everyone an unforgettable experience. Nikos Economopoulos, thank you very much for a very enjoyable week.

Working with Nikos is an unforgettable and very educative photographic experience. Nikos is a great teacher, a person who finds the good points in everybody’s work and gives you the way to take the benefits of it and arrive at a higher level. During the workshop I found myself seeing things differently, from a photographic point of view, and he stayed beside me, pushing me towards finding a more creative way, educating my photographic eye and explaning to all of us always with patience, why a photo is not strong enough, why an other is powerful, what is missing and what is important. So everybody was going deeper and deeper everyday. I saw also the other participants’ work and I had the feeling that this process was working for all of them in a creative way.

I wanted to thank you so much for your dedication and for offering all help possible for all the participants. I can’t forget that you stayed up one class time until 2 a.m. reviewing &amp editing my work. The workshop was one of the best hands on learning experience that I had since I took interest in photography. Mainly because we watched you daily critique and edit every participant’s work right after a full day of shooting. This process has pushed me to think seriously about my work and the changes needed to make in order to improve. It allowed me to compare my work with others and this gave me new ideas for future projects and ways to improve. Not only that, we had discussions on equipment and why some of us use certain cameras or laptops. Which was really useful for someone like me who never cared for the technical side of photography. It was hard to go back to work and my usual routine because I will not be photographing as much as I did during the workshop even though one of my main tasks at my work is photography. Photography as full time job is not the same as the photography we did during the workshop which is the kind of photography I dream of pursuing one day. As a result of this workshop, I am more focused about my personal photography goals inside Kuwait and I am planning to commit myself to planning photography trips outside Kuwait. I am trying to commit myself more to my personal photography. I forgot how much joy that used to bring me and that workshop was a great reminder. Thank you especially for being tough on me! I didn’t come all the way to hear what I would like to hear. I wanted someone to push or dare me for a change and you did! Honestly I haven’t put my 24mm on the side. But I am crazy over the 35 mm. And that is a great start.

First of all I would like to tell you that I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to attend your workshop. It is still making me reflect on photography (…) I’ve been reading and watching images and documentaries about history of photography. I was very curious and excited to see where your advice would take me when I started shooting in Porto. There was a kind of freedom in restriction: type of project, one camera, one lens, only color, same ISO.
Because I challenged myself to meet people with the camera, I felt that photography is not such a solitary act. I agree with you that this connection is something beautiful about photography, as it is beautiful about dance.
I also approached color differently. Before it was something that was there, naturally, as part of the reality. I became more sensitive to it, even when I wasn’t shooting, and I also became more conscious of it as one more element to consider in composition.
One of the most important things for me during the workshop was to hear your comments about the images, ours and yours. What caught your eye and why. What makes a photograph a good one. I realized that photography is possible to be read. This is something that I would like to continue to practice, so I can trust my judgment about my own photography.
Spending so many hours dedicated just to photography made me realize how time is important to achieve a good work, even as an amateur photographer.Since I started photographing, I feel it is an important part of my life. Maybe one day I’ll find a way to take it to another dimension.

Thank you very much for a great yet challenging week in Marrakesh. Being ‘On the Road’ with you helped me to understand what the street photography is all about. This workshop allowed me to discover photography once again. Your advices and suggestions helped me in choosing a right direction for my future photographic journey. Time spent with other participants and possibility to see their work helped me to understand how much photography dependents on personality. In fact it inspired me to be a better person. I am sure I will see you again…

Two words about something I don’t understand. About something that has been in me for over a decade. A tale that I had made up in my mind (…) In September 2009, I packed two changes of clothes dress and two cameras and came to Istanbul. Expectations? Countless. Reservations? Even more. ‘Fairy-tales do not exist’ I said to myself. But what I experienced in a week was more than I ever expected or even imagined. (…) I have been in a photographic frenzy ever since. I carry my camera with me all the time, everywhere. (…) Can no longer do otherwise.

I sometimes felt like a first year violin player in a master class. I do not mind feeling a bit stupid at times and think I profit a lot by learning of the best. I have learned a lot and will continue to do so for quite some time. And hopefully, I will be able to join other workshops (…) I liked the approach very much – giving advice on the one hand and letting the participants find their own way on the other. And then, of course, the voyage was marvellous, extraordinary in the purest sense of the word.

Every literate can write. Not every literate can write poems or short stories. Even less of them can write meaningful or original stories. I think the same thing applies to photographers. Every person with a camera can take photos. Some can produce stories, but just a few are able to produce a meaningful and personal work.
Sometimes I joke and say that Nikos’ mission on Earth is to educate us, his participants, to become original, faithful and personal photographers. After a while, I am coming to believe that my joke was actually real. The transformation he manages from us is unreal. The photos that he choses are a caress to the eyes and soul. And this leads me to a second conclusion: Nikos is the best editor I have ever met.
Gracias, Maestro!

To go on a workshop with Nikos is one big learning experience. It means to challenge yourself in ways that at least I don’t do in my everyday life. I really appreciate his strong opinions and straightforwardness. To talk about photography and show your daily work to him is very rewarding because of his profound knowledge and total honesty. I strongly recommend anyone interested in this type of photography to go on a workshop with Nikos. I’m truly grateful for what I have learned from him and of course I will return for another workshop.

My trip to Ghana was my third with Nikos Economopoulos. As always the workshop is very high quality, and a total eye-opener to photography. Nikos is one of the best photography teachers out there, and the general level of the participants leveled up daily. Ghana was very beautiful, and the resort absolutely stunning.
Bonus info: best African food in Cape Coast with fresh fish on a daily basis.

Why my last workshop with Nikos (in Buenos Aires) was the Sixth and hopefully not the last one ?
-The pleasure of learning and improving from a great photographer and a marvellous teacher
-The pleasure of being part of a high level group where community is more important than competition
-The pleasure of travelling trying to look at the country from inside
-The pleasure of the pleasure.

I really had great time in Istanbul and found the workshop every bit as challenging as I had hoped. The blend of nationalities was great and I think it was a good idea to move the sessions to the middle of the day to allow shooting in better light. I guess the only thing was that removed the social aspect a little as I guess in the evenings we would have had a meal or some beers afterwards and a chance to talk more on a personal level. From my personal perspective, I did find the workshop extremely challenging and I do find it a little hard to force shooting and I did struggle to find photographs that express my thinking. Having said that, this was exactly the reason I came, to be challenged and taken forward in my photographic evolution. I can safely say that since the workshop I am much more demanding of myself and no longer tolerate shots that are safe or just plain nice. I think the workshop facility and location was superb, and I really enjoyed meeting all the guys. Maybe some more reviews of local photographers work would have been good as it’s always nice to see a different perspective. I do hope to make it to some of your future workshops and am even thinking of Istanbul again in December as I love the city so much.

People ask me why I keep attending Nikos’ workshops. Well, I can’t imagine a better way to experience and photograph a new place than through Nikos’ workshop! The regimen and discipline it requires is just impossible to duplicate if you’re otherwise simply traveling on holiday. What’s even better is that you get daily feedback and instruction. We see ourselves improve, whatever skill level we’re at. Our understanding of photography and our own approach thereto is deepened with each session, in every workshop attended. This is probably why this tribe of On The Road travellers has continued to grow into a thriving community of like-minded people. Even after the workshop, we have continued to keep in touch and remain friends, providing each other with insight and feedback on photography. This is why I like being On The Road with Nikos.

The workshops of Nikos Economopoulos are a great teaching experience. For him there is no “must” or “don’t”. I was suddenly confronted with all my past choices in a way that forced me to go backwards and look for all those things that I had previously discarded in order to re-assess them. At least I now feel closer to the truth. And I thank him for this and for everything else.

I have as complicated a relationship with street photography as I do with my streets. I am passionate about other people’s street photography but find it very hard to do it myself. I don’t want to poke my camera into the face of someone having a bad day, but I do want to show my family and friends the intensity of life here, and why I often have my heart broken during a short trip for groceries. Recently some of my Istanbul photography friends did a workshop (or two!) with legendary Magnum photographer Nikos Economopoulos, and I was really interested in the work they produced. When we heard he was coming to Istanbul Ville persuaded me that I should sign up.
For three days I spent a few hours shooting alone and then met up with Nikos and the other participants to go through all the pictures. This took four or five hours each day. I learnt so much by listening to Nikos critique us all. He is truly a person with great generosity and a big, open heart (as well as being an incredible photographer). He removed the terror of showing my attempts (however unsuccessful) and helped me find a new way of thinking about photographing on the street.

First of all, I am very happy to know a person like Nikos. Even if we worked until late hours, I enjoyed every minute of it.
I guess my adventure of photography will be divided into 2 before Nikos and after Nikos and I am very excited to use what I learned from Nikos on my photography.