Vilnius has always welcomed me with open arms. From the very first day I stepped in Lithuania, I felt a connection. It is hard to explain, what it was? But, I always feel at home. Perhaps, this is why I was very comfortable with the idea of organizing a photography workshop in Vilnius. The city gave me opportunities to not only do documentary projects, but also to exhibit and share it with the masses. And, I wanted to share what I learned in Vilnius, with people of Vilnius.
I am highly grateful to my friend Elena, who suggested Art Café – Vilnius, to me. From the moment I got in touch with them, I was confident that I am in good company. We decided to do the workshop on the weekend of 10th – 11th November 2018. And, they supported me in all the possible ways. Very rarely one meets such friendly people, in such an artistic place. For me it was perfect. A workshop of visual art, at a café which appreciates art was a wonderful idea.
And, when the day came, I was astonished to be in company of vibrant and dynamic participants. Our youngest photographer was 16 years old, and oldest? I prefer to skip that. But the most interesting part was, that we all represented different cultures of India, Lithuania, Turkey, and Portugal.
Photography is highly influenced by our culture, and our personal history. We derive our stories from this background, and when we take a photo, it consists of fragments of those stories. This was evident in our photographs, which we took for the assignment of the workshop. It was wonderful to see how each of us enters photography through different doors. Some prefer light, some goes for shape, and some of the most powerful images, were taken just out of pure emotions.
The next day, we collaborated to prepare a visual narrative out of these images. I was happy to see that in the end, everyone was discussing to improvise each other’s photo-stories. And, everyone was open to each other’s suggestions. It is wonderful to see, how similar interest in photography, creates a friendly atmosphere. I really hope that time spent with me, contributed to photography of the participants, and I look forward to meet all of them again, maybe this time for a photo journey in Lithuania.
Below are the images taken by some of the participants in workshop. If you want to check out more of their work, follow them on Instagram.
