Personal photographic stories draw on the imagemaker's past and present life, hopes, fears, and dreams. This workshop is intended for those who are interested in developing a body of work that explores these dimensions of personal experience.

The mysterious and intimate language of symbols, surrogates, iconography, and metaphors are discussed as a means by which students may pursue a heightened visual language. The class explores the personal versus the universal, the constructed versus the found, and how to avoid the pitfalls of cliché and stereotype.

The goal of the workshop is to learn the skills necessary to develop a coherent, visually sophisticated, and meaningful body of work with a content that resonates deep within. There are daily discussions, written exercises, and reviews of work in progress, as well as individual assignments designed to help participants hone their abilities to recognize and capture emotional content and create memorable images.

Students should bring ideas, a strong sense of humor, and an intention to take risks.