BIO:
Astor Morgan, commercial and fine art photographer, philanthropist, and consultant.

Astor has been involved in the photo industry for 20 years. Astor’s appreciation of the visual arts was born while growing up between the two colorful cultures of southern Louisiana and Sicily, Italy.

Astor’s images have been published worldwide in magazines, on CD covers, movie posters, as well as featured on television. He has had the pleasure of working with an array of legendary artists, actors and musicians. Astor is heavily involved in the global photo community representing commercial photographers and artists as the Chairman of the Los Angeles Board of Directors for the Advertising Photographers of America. Through APA, Astor helps to educate and inspire photographers through workshops and seminars, and promoting ethics in the photographic community.

TOY CAMERA DESCRIPTION:
Leave it to Fate. Learn the beauty and the drama of shooting with the humble toy camera. The Holga and the Diana will be discussed.

BIO:
David Healey began taking pictures in 1968 during the War in Vietnam as an infantry soldier. His experiences there would shape the rest of his life as a man and as a photographer.

“I’ve always wanted to take pictures of people who no one wanted to take pictures of,” says Healey. “People kind of lost in time.”

Healey’s work is largely documentary and revolves around his personal experiences.

Healey’s work has been featured in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Farmani Gallery. He has also worked for various agencies such as Magnum and Gamma Liaison Network.

His current project, Venice at Night, has been featured in Helen K. Garber’s GroupLA 2008 with award winning, Santa Monica based architectural/design firm, MINARC/GALLERY SKART.

PHOTOJOURNALISM DESCRIPTION:
Capture your community, friends and family. Ask yourself, “Is this news?” Learn the art of writing a captivating caption.

BIO:
As a teenager Frank Jackson trained himself in the fundamentals of photography, developing a subtle, simple and unique technique that would mature into a distinctive style.

At the age of 18 he left to go to Oakwood University, the same college in Alabama that his parents had attended. Despite pressure to pursue a traditional profession, Jackson left after only one year to follow his dream of becoming a photographer.

Rather than expressing political beliefs through his work, Jackson advocates social change on a personal level.

"Sometimes I happen to pictures and sometimes pictures happen to me," says Frank Jackson. "We sort of flow between each other like people who dance together for a long time."

Jackson is currently a member of the Freestyle Advisory Board of Photographic Professionals and is based in Los Angeles, CA.

FINE ART DESCRIPTION:
Discuss how to create powerful images of objects, humans and locations. Frank Jackson will demonstrate his creative process for short term (single image) and long-term (multi image) projects.

BIO:
Natalie Franco is a Los Angeles based photographer. She is a graduate from the Academy of Art University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Ryman Arts Alumni. Born and raised in the city of Alhambra, Natalie started photographing at the age of twelve. Natalie’s earlier work documented people struggling with AIDS and drug addiction in the San Francisco Tenderloin. Keeping to traditional black and white film for many years, her intimate portraits of humans were captured around various parts of the world including Turkey, Belize, Guatemala and Morocco. Natalie’s primary focus at her University was Photojournalism/Documentary. However, during her remaining years she expanded reinventing and refined her photographic vision. She dared to cross over carrying a new aim that fuses a hybrid of fictional elements and fantasy. The new stylized imagery evolved into a whimsical color field of unexpected human behavior. Natalie’s signature look has emerged into this primordial genre behind these cinematic moments.

FASHION PORTRAITURE DESCRIPTION:
Loosen up and transform a concept into a powerful image. Learn how to visualize these concepts in digital photography. Explore to discover your personal style. Create thought provoking portraits with live models on location.

BIO:
Tom Paiva is a professional, freelance photographer based in California where he has had his business for over 15 years. He specializes in large format photography of industrial and maritime settings, as well as architecture and interiors.

Tom has over 70 cover images for various Trade Magazines to his credit.

He has published a book, Industrial Night, containing 46 color images of industrial settings at night.

His long term passion is night photography and he loves to create images of urban settings and moonlit landscapes on film. He was a cofounder of The Nocturnes, a group of night photographers who had a landmark exhibit in San Francisco in 1991.

He has co-lead photo workshops on night photography and view camera use over the past 10 years and has had several articles on these subjects in photographic magazines.

NIGHT LIGHT DESCRIPTION:
Learn the art of low-light photography, shooting at night using existing light, speedy film and creating the right set-up to get the images you crave.