The Lido with My Workshop Students, Venice

As I mentioned yesterday I am in Venice conducting a workshop with local Venetian students. A few want to be photographers but most are aspiring fashion designers.

Explaining to the students the hows and whys of the way I work has been a real refresher for me. So many of the things that I do are instinctual, but verbalizing it to someone else really helps to restore my focus on the fun of my job/art.
The first day here we walked around Venice trying to shoot people in a similar way that I would in New York - it was a disaster. No one interesting to shoot, very hot and the students weren't really motivated. After a while we all sat down as a group and I tried to find out what they like to do when they have free time. Most all of them said that they like to go to the beach. So the next day we went to the beach.

I wanted to them to see that you don't have to separate having fun and taking pictures. I take pictures walking around on the street because I find it very relaxing and fun. What each student needed to do was to find what they were passionate about and try to capture that passion with images.

I tried to explain that if they want to become a fashion designer they should try to take photos that will inspire a certain feeling of a season, or a gesture, or a mood. The pictures that I took above are, to me, the essence of Summer. If I was a designer I would look at photos like this at the beginning of the spring design season, just to remember what it is that everyone loves about the sun, warmth, and vacation.

On the Street......Light as Light, Paris

On the Street......Cape for Spring Breezes, Paris

Sunset in Venice Last Night

I'm in Venice until Friday to conduct a workshop. This is the view from my hotel on the Grand Canal. It is incredibly beautiful here in Venice. I will be posting more photos from here in the next few days, then I'm going back to Sao Paulo!

On the Street......Green & Blue Al Milano

On the Street......Monotone, Paris

On the Street......After the Show, Paris

On the Street......The Charmer, Florence

On the Street......Modern Sleek, Milano

On the Street......Trench Tie, Milano

On the Street......Nicole, Berlin

I'm in Berlin for the next two days between the men's shows in Milan and Paris. As you can tell I have been jumping around a lot lately. You will soon be seeing lots of images from Pitti, Milan, Berlin, Paris, Venice, and finally back to Sao Paulo. I kind of love mixing up the images from these cities. It was very warm in Florence and very cool here in Berlin which leads to a really great contrast in Summer looks - it's difficult for me to pack clothes for a trip like this!

On the Street......Color Trim, Florence

I could shoot a Navy & White combo at Pitti about a million times. Here, however, I love how the little red scarf detail and the orange trim on the shoes take the look to a whole new level.

On the Street......Simone at Sunset, Florence

On the Street......After Prada, Milano

On the Street......Color Kids, Florence

On the Street......Ginsberg Tee, Florence

On the Street.....The Twins, Florence

On the Street......White & Blue, Florence

On the Street......Stripes & Squares, Florence

On the Street....The High School Student, Florence