Nikos is a wayfaring man. He takes you on a journey which is neither comfy nor sluggish, but encourages you to witness the foreign and encounter your own limits. This way of traveling with the camera forces you to participate with the world around you and in the evenings during the workshop your participation will be putted to the test, if you have sweated enough. On some days life gifts you with one or two good photographs, but on some not a single one. So the next morning you’ll head out again and demand your luck. And at the end of a week or two with Nikos you make your way home safe in the knowledge that you have achieved and experienced something unique.

Thank you for another amazing workshop. I feel that not only I noticed the great improvement of the quality of my work, but also feel that Nikos is not only a great teacher &amp mentor but also a great friend. Also interacting with talented photographers from all over the world added a lot to the experience. What is amazing about this workshop was the fact that all attendees were at different levels. Being able to provide assistance to all showed Nikos’s ability as a great teacher. I think each one of us returned home with many goals to pursue &amp ideas to improve their work. I am more clear about what I want to photograph, what lens I want to buy next, and needing to work on my weak ‘editing’ skills. I just wanted to thank you and thank all attendees for this great workshop. I learned a lot from each one of you! I am really looking forward to being on the road again.

The expertise and clear vision of Nikos criticism is the best gift for any photographer attending his workshops. The last few years I had lost motivation for photography and all i was hoping from this workshop was just to awake my “eye” and to feel the magic of the photographic process. The “mission” was more than accomplished! Until the end of the workshop i felt falling in love with photography again and got the thrill of grabbing my camera and go photograph the action. Nikos guided me through this process and with his generosity shared precious “secrets” of big photographers. The end of the workshop meant a new start to my photographic projects. I continue photograph the city and feel the influence of this workshop on my work. THANK YOU! I am really looking forward to the next photographic workshop with Nikos!

I have previously attended a photography workshop with Nikos Economopoulos (Karpathos-Greece, Easter 2008) and it was the most beautiful ten consecutive days of my life. I asked to participate at the Varanasi workshop because I admire Nikos as a photographer and completely trust him as a person. I regretted it immediately after I signed up, because my fear of the unknown took over and I was about to call and cancel, despite all the shame that I would feel. Fortunately I did not do it. I got a whole lot out of this workshop. The daytime was dedicated to shooting, and during the evenings we were showing our day’s work. Niko’s observations and criticism were made in such a way that made us feel pushed forward, he has a way of encouraging you and making you put yourself in every image you make and feel confident about it. We never felt put down by a comment or a remark. There was an atmosphere of affection and solidarity all the way through. (He even helped me with my laptop..) Varanasi is magical..

As a passionate photographer I was looking for a workshop that was not about pixels, gear and academic lectures.
Coincidentally, I discovered Nikos’ on the road workshops. The participants’ work immediately caught my eyes – and shortly after I found myself at the Istanbul workshop. It exceeded by far my expectations: Nikos’ joviality, patience, his guidance and incitement to try new ways and discover what might be dormant in oneself was incredible! It was manifest everyday in the pictures we “brought home” after long and exhausting walks in this staggering city. The vespertine meetings were fun as well. Thank you, Nikos, for your effort and thanks to all participants for the great atmosphere!

I have been on several workshops with Nikos. I keep coming back because, not only Nikos is an amazing person, but he is also a great teacher. Nikos manages to get the best out of all of us. The transformation of some of the participants is just amazing. I like the simple words he uses to “critique” images, his directness and honesty. He always challenges us to do better every day. He is very engaged in editing our photos whatever the level of the participants. I also love coming to his workshops as I always find the attendees friendly and interesting people. With a lot of them, we have continued to keep in touch and communicate regularly. His workshops are a truly unique experience. 

Here is some feedback on the Oaxaca workshop. Simple and short – the workshop was absolutely amazing. Excellence defined.
The feedback sessions in the evenings were transforming with deep inspiration continuing as a growth journey day by day. I highly appreciate the way Nikos gives feedback and shares his amazing vision and way of seeing, it is clear and to the point, with the beauty of the creative process not being jeopardised. A way of life, how to shoot, when not to shoot, and how to discipline your mind loosing the experienced feeling of time. I definitely left Oaxaca with deep and new inspiration.
Excellent workshop. Amazing atmosphere.
Great workshop set up – with a feeling of freedom in the creative process and flow during the day.
Unique feedback sessions in the evenings with firm and clear communication.
Tailored feedback how to improve day by day Again. Just great. Difficult to describe in words!

Thank you again for that week in Istanbul. I had a realy good time. All was great, the workshop and the city. At the beginning, when you saw my previous work, i received “a bucket of cold water on my head”. And that was exactly what i needed. My aproach to photograhy has changed totally. The way I look at photography now is more mature. During a week spent at the workshop i feel i achieved something I’m proud of. The only bad thing is i start loving this city and now I’m planing to go back there and do some more work.. Once more big thanks for all.

“First time in the Balkans. First time with Nikos. A great experience. While I knew him as an outstanding photographer, I discovered a gentle, honest person. He talks, does not assume. He shares his personal experience, without secrets. He is tough, but not rude. He does not overwhelms you with his skill. And what a wonderful travel companion! My only regret: having to unexpectedly leave a few days earlier”.

It’s all about sensibility, involvement, balance and control. This is mostly what I have learnt from Nikos workshop. From my day-to-day photos, Nikos directed my feelings and revealed what is the best in me. I started to be more conscious about what I was photographing, what I should photograph, what approach I should apply and what new direction I should explore. I have learned that getting close to people is the key, searching for the right setting and capturing the action at the right moment are essential. Nikos workshop is highly rewarding for those wishing to progress and confront themselves with street photography. Nikos workshop is a powerful human experience where I have met other interesting friendly photographers from different backgrounds, cultures and objectives in life. Nikos outspoken, honest critical look and simplicity, as personal qualities, make the workshop unique and very valuable for anybody wishing to move to next level in photography. Thank you Nikos for your true sympathy.

“I travel to photograph”, Nikos says. This statement made me rethink my purpose for travel. Not only do I want to see and be in the moment, I now strive to capture those feelings in a still image as well, so that I may later find pleasure in viewing it. This is my takeaway from Nikos’ workshop. He has given me a new perspective on travel and a new way to photograph and derive pleasure from it. It’s been some time since our group parted ways in Iran, and yet my thoughts are still suffused with notes from discussions with Nikos. The challenge now, it seems, is how to get into workshop mode and produce quality images without Nikos around. It’s tough. Whether it’s your first workshop or your fourth, Nikos’ methods will challenge you to level-up. Accept his teaching with an open mind, plus a dose of humility, and you will be rewarded with discernment of what is a good photograph, and what is mediocre. I look forward to being On The Road again.

I’ll get straight to the point, the “On The Road” workshop I attended in Istanbul was the single best photography class I’ve ever taken. Nikos is an inspiring teacher who perfectly combines a nurturing, generous spirit with a rigorous critical eye and revealing analysis of each student’s work. He pushes each participant to look harder, go deeper, shoot better. Over the course of the week, I greedily collected the pearls of wisdom he would drop about everything from composition to lens choice to how to most effectively approach shooting in the street, and I realized that I was learning as much from what he had to say about my classmates’ photographs as my own. Through it all Nikos imposes no single viewpoint about what photography should be, but instead pushes each student to fulfill his or her own vision. I felt I made a huge leap with my work. Finally, “On The Road” is a fantastic way to experience a new city, and to have seven glorious days with the luxury of thinking about nothing except photography.

I recently returned from Nikos “Balkan Expedition”, although I have been back for three months, I don’t feel like I am anywhere near to returning to “normal life”. My experience during Nikos workshop was spectacular. Visited locations I would never have travelled to and energized to photograph there. I learned so much and experienced so much that I am sure it will take quite a while to fully assimilate. The symposium experience was truly flawless, from discussions and critiques with an honest opinion about your photography. And lets not forget the participants themselves, an amazing diverse and talented group who were a joy to be around and learned much from each other. If you are serious about wanting to become a better street photographer you can not go wrong with Nikos “Balkan Expedition” workshop. For myself, I am already thinking about my next Economopoulos experience.

“I haven’t touched the camera for good period of time and right from the first day of the workshop i was back in the game. This group was so rich of characters and bonding in a great way. I personally learned so much in this 11 days and i will never forget the time in Iran with you guys -)”

This was my third trip with Nikos –I believe it is called “voting with your feet”. One of the nicest parts of these courses is the chance to meet interesting and intelligent people from around the world. What is however truly amazing, is that despite the daily struggle to improve, there is no competitiveness (or at least, that was my feeling) – something that would have impossible, but for Nikos’ amazing warmth and interpersonal as well as balancing talent. What however I really relished, was the -almost linear- improvement in the quality of photos I took during the course. There is a big difference between photographing while traveling andtraveling in order to take photos. In the first case, photographing in a secondary (albeit important) part of your trip: In the heart of traveling is understanding and learning. A traveller wants to explore (and, occasionally, photograph what he sees) – while a photographer is (exclusively, obsessively) interested in producing photos. The difference is anything but academic. Meeting someone like Nikos, a person living, breathing, dreaming photography, makes the difference obvious. Like most things in life, the amount of effort correlates directly with the results. During a week in this workshop I felt that the quality of my photos improved dramatically. It is not easy to explain it: It is partly related to different day-planning (waking up early and going around during dusk to take photos), partly choosing where to go on the basis of its photographic potential, partly being constantly exposed to amazing photos from and interacting with the other participants, but most importantly, having a daily feedback and being stimulated daily by someone with a passion for photography that is still not blunted, someone who has kept his enthusiasm after all these years. The genius photographers are people that are different from the rest of us: They breath, eat, live, drink and live photography. For them photography is a demanding mistress – jealous and harsh: You cannot treat her to the second row, you cannot give her just your spare time. The trip is a light immersion (a “preview”) into this strange and wonderful world.

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.

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.

This is my third workshop with Nikos. It has been very helpfull to me in order to discover what kind of photography I want to do in the near future and to begin to www.ontheroad.grelop my own style. I think Turkey is a great place to take pictures and I have the intention to go back several times and make a solid photographic portfolio of the country. The atmosphere, participants, place…all have been great.