TEACHING & WORKSHOPS
My photography career was launched because of a workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The instructor, a famous National Geographic photographer who turned into my long-term mentor, eventually helped shepherd my portfolio to photo editors at National Geographic Traveler. My work was good enough to get my first assignment with the magazine that turned into many more stories, along with contracts to illustrate travel books. My work was featured in the book Ultimate Field Guide to Travel Photography, written by National Geographic editor Scott Stuckey.
After years of being a working photographer, I decided it was time to try my hand at producing workshops in Asia. This led to several high-profile collaborations in Bangkok and Singapore with renown photographers like Michael Yamashita, Steve McCurry, David Harvey and Ira Block. I also started to teach at my own events in Singapore and elsewhere in the region through my own company, F8 Workshops.
I also was a guest lecturer and photographer on National Geographic Expeditions in Vietnam and Cambodia and hosted a student tour in India.
Lasalle School of the Arts in Singapore hired me in 2013 to teach extension classes in street photography and storytelling, as well as basic photography. The university classes eventually branched into video and multimedia instruction on how to plan a story, how to shoot and edit, and finally how create a final work with a clear narrative. Most importantly, my students have fun and seem to learn new techniques quickly.
My teaching techniques involve a touch of theory but rely mostly on first-hand experience and in-class critiques that focus on the positive while learning from mistakes.