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.

No doubt about it, a workshop with Nikos is an extraordinary experience. To all potential participants: feelings of incompetence and dread are not uncommon during the first 2 days, no matter your photographic level. Then the magic happens: Nikos’ unparalleled expertise, judgement, and above all humanity come to the fore – inspiring and fostering better and better work from all participants as the days pass. The honest and down-to-earth approach which characterizes Nikos simply ensures that, at the end, regardless of level and interests, you will feel and act like a better photographer. The result: a portfolio to be proud of, a fresh ‘eye’ and energy for all future photographic endeavours, a new group of friends you can learn from, and a profound sense of belonging to a dispersed yet resourceful photographic community that is On the Road workshops.

I have been an avid photographer for the past few years and moved to Greece from New York only a few months ago. Greece is my homeland but has experienced many changes during my 9 years of absence and I am eager to use my camera to tell the present story. Attending the workshop was a no brainer, being on the spot and needing a serious incentive to get me on the streets of Athens. What I got in return was much more than I had bargained for!!! I met Nikos and discovered a person who went far beyond small technical issues, discussing what photography is really all about and using his own experiences as examples. The topics were endless and his willingness to answer every question and clarify every blurry notion was remarkable. I was very impressed with his openness and how friendly and giving he was. Sharing our knowledge and our experiences is most important and it is what helps us and those around us grow. And Nikos certainly does that. Furthermore, I was very happy that Nikos encouraged participants to go off on their own to shoot. We need to www.ontheroad.grelop our own vision and make our own mistakes. In short, thank you Niko for an amazing week and I look forward to future workshops and more guidance from you!

This is the third time I participate in a Nikos’s workshop. Everybody comes back! Cuba was amazing. The people, the place, the backgrounds, the light, everything was perfect and of course Nikos’s passion for photography, his sharp vision, his keenness to find great images in our work made us produce and achieve great results. His comments are always truly useful and make us see in a different way. This is not a didactic class, this is an awareness journey, this is a personal search of style and meaning for our images. He does not tell us what to do. We ultimately discover it by ourselves and this is truly amazing. It looks like an impossible task but after a few days every body’s work becomes stronger, more compact and meaningful. Nikos is friendly and affectionate to everybody, he tries to understand the needs of every participant. He is generous with his time and he is always ready to help during the day. If he feels somebody needs extra help he immediately proposes a private meeting in the morning. The evening meetings are a delight. To see so many good images, talented photographers trying to improve their work is incredible motivating. I am planning to come to Iran in May and looking forward to it. Thank you Nikos for organizing the workshops and for your enthusiasm in our work. We do appreciate it, hugely.

I just returned from my 5th workshop with Nikos. This was the second time I joined him in Cuba. It was, once again, an amazing experience. It is very exciting when you know what to expect: growth, challenge, intellectual stimulation, encouragement and friendship. You can count on these every time. As many participants have pointed out, there is little structure to the workshop, no handouts or hand holding. Nikos treats everyone as if we were all professional peers. The meetings at the end of each day are magical, enlightening, and stimulating. Nikos does not tell you how to do things rather he accurately points out what works for each person considering individual interests and styles. He points you in the right direction for you to go to work the next day. We work very hard. We work long days, we edit hundreds of images, and we go home with strong portfolios. We are one hundred percent immersed in photography for the length of the workshop. Something else I appreciate and enjoy is the post learning experience. Days or weeks after the workshop you continue to realize how much you learned then and continue to learn from that workshop. It is a privilege to have Nikos as a mentor. He is not only a master in this craft but also the most considerate, encouraging, and generous professional photographer I have come across. I already look forward to the next workshop On the Road.

Doctors, teachers, students, architects, among others, left their comfort zone and their countries to meet other photographers to go to an unknown part of the world. 12 hours a day taking photos, then editing them to get to enjoy the cherry to the cake, meeting Nikos every evening to share all the results of each productive day. A whole week of pure pleasure to those passionate about photography. The guidance received by Nikos after first seeing our portfolio made us be prepared for the days to come. The feedback received every night not only by him but also by the other photographers, helped us continue to improve our way of photographing. Exchanging views with the others was a very enriching experience, both personal and professionally. Nikos’ sensibility and the encouragement he gave us made us realize that he is not only a great photographer but also a humble and considerate friend. I highly recommend this workshop to those lovers of photography and to those seeking to move on or searching for new ways. I am looking forward to joining more workshops with Nikos in the near future.

Nikos family name has something to do with economics. But don’t be mistaken, he is more the kind of person always happy, without any sense of saving its time, to be involved 200% in its works as a…. what? Teacher is an understatement for an attitude towards the rest of the world which helps you in advancing at a fast rate towards the excellency. Always saying what he thinks, if there is something he does not like, and helpful in finding the good sides to be www.ontheroad.greloped.

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.

Reflecting on the workshop in Varanasi I can first of all say that I am happy that I joined the workshop and that I am satisfied with the whole experience. The structure really suited my way of going about things. Being free during the day to go and photograph wherever an whatever I wanted and not necessarily going out in groups is something I could appreciate and enjoy. It forced me to look around me, find my subjects and focus on how I would translate what I saw and felt into a photograph. Keeping in mind that an editing session followed added that extra bit of positive pressure. And those editing sessions in the evening were of course crucial for the learning process ! The setting with the terrace, some food and beer was great. Your projection setup is really great. Listening to your comments was most enriching. I found it particularly interesting when you analysed all the elements that make up an image. I learned a lot from those remarks about form, content, balance and trying to go beyond whether it concerned my images or those of the other students. That is why it was very important and interesting that we did the editing and image evaluation as a group, these were moments of sharing and contribution (sometimes also moments of confrontation with oneself). We all benefited from the image critiques, guidelines to improve our skills and image quality. About the stay I can say that I liked the fact that we stayed enough days in Varanasi so we could really get in touch with this very special Indian city. But maybe one day less in Varanasi and one more day in Delhi might be a suggestion … (I also did find photographing in Delhi a lot more difficult and tiring). The total workshop duration of 9/10 days is perfect. As far as I am concerned I found the choices for accommodation really fine. The hotel in Varanasi did not only have a great terrace but it also matched the Indian scene we found outside the hotel. Personally I don’t like to find myself in “golden cages” in these countries, it does not correspond with how I see traveling and experiencing those parts of the world. I enjoyed the company of the group too (about the right size). For communication it is never obvious when a nationality or language group is in the majority even if all know that the workshop language is English however towards the end when we all got to know each other better it worked out alright. Anyway, I was really happy to be able to combine my interest in India with my interest in photography.

…The workshop in Istanbul has been a great experience for me. Some points I got from it are the following: I trust myself a little bit more and now I think my personal view is as valid as any other to describe a city or a place. I have to work much on this subject: What do objetivity and subjetivity mean in photography? Moreover, Istanbul is a fantastic city to make oneself questions such as: What do contemporaneity mean? I have become more motivated to go through the work of different photographers…

Attending a workshop with Nikos as your teacher, critic and guide into the world of creating the best images that you can produce, is both a challenging and inspiring experience. This was my second workshop with Nikos, and it was incredible!! How he teaches you to look at a photograph and “not just see it” makes me compose each individual frame with an more critical eye and deeper understanding on how to make a photograph come alive. With his encouragement and strong commitment to getting the best from me, he guided me in the direction that I wanted to grow. Ultimately the week with Nikos was a very rewarding experience! On another note just spending time with him, over dinner or lunch, listening to his stories, is great. Traveling around parts of Istanbul with him on tram’s, trains and taxi’s looking for stadiums, they are all great memories that will be with me for a longtime.

Nikos workshop was by far the event with the most intense and strongest impact on my photographic view. It was an amazing pleasure to see everyone flourishing under Nikos relaxed and still disciplined guidance. Initially you might experience some confusion. You might still carry the diffuse anxious anticipation you built up before the workshop. Or You might feel even jammed seeing your former photographic concepts going to pieces. But then: Boooooom – comes the creative explosion within the steep part of the learning curve. You´ll very soon get more selective, more focused, more careful, more personal and more playful when working with your camera. Powerful stuff, hard work, lovely people and lots of fun. Nikos teaches a wonderfully concentrated no-frills approach to photography. One camera, one fixed focal. It´s all about the picture, the visual event in the frame and within that rigorous selection of what is interesting and what is not.

It was a great trip and although I worked really hard, I still had a lot of fun wandering the streets and trying to hone my eye.
It seemed to me that Nikos explained more in this workshop (as compared to the others I’ve taken with him) and I think that is a good thing. Even when it’s something that we think we know, it is always good to be reminded and guided. I really enjoyed hearing his thoughts on so many aspects of photography and I personally needed a nudge in being reminded to look at the work of the great photographers. I had slacked off in that department over the last few months. I also love how he meets each student at his/her level and encourages them.
And, as usual, what I learned will continue to resonate with, and direct, me for months.

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.

I’ve learnt loads of things and I met very nice people who hopefully i’ll see again. I improved my way to get close to the city people, who allowed me to capture intimate moments. This workshop also helped me in how to become honest to myself taking pictures and how to capture the humanity of the moment. Anyway, my conclusion is that I knew less than I thought, which motivates me a lot. Now I see how to work. Thank you for show me things that its no possible to find in books and to guide me in the road of my way of life, photography.