1. About the Market Photo Workshop

Located in Newtown, Johannesburg, the Market Photo Workshop strives to create an environment where students learn, not only the technical and conceptual aspects of photography, but also ways of critical thinking integral to the understanding of contemporary photographic practice.

Equipping students with an extensive insight of the role photography plays socially, politically and in the wider cultural community, the Market Photo Workshop provides students with the vital tools needed to negotiate the urban terrain that is present-day Johannesburg.

Through its various endeavours and ongoing projects the Market Photo Workshop continues to make strong links with organisations both locally and internationally. Dedicated to the development and nurturing of new talent, the Market Photo Workshop fosters a rich culture in visual literacy for the furthering of photography in South Africa and Africa.

The Market Photo Workshop plays a crucial role in establishing new voices in South African photography. Alumni include: Jodi Bieber (seven times World Press Winner), other World Press winners like Themba Hadebe, and Sydney Seshibedi; and internationally acclaimed photographers such as Nontsikelelo Veleko and Zanele Muholi who has recently in 2013 been appointed Honorary Professor at the University of the Arts in Bremen, Germany.

History of the Market Photo Workshop

The Market Photo Workshop was started by world-renowned photographer David Goldblatt in the late eighties. At the outset, the aim was to provide visual literacy and practical training to young photographers who were excluded from formal training in tertiary education institutions by the policies of the government at the time.

The schools initial focus was on social documentary photography, a genre which would provide photographers entry into the media landscape, allowing them to create a viable career for themselves. This was the core of the curriculum, as photography as a social and political practice was an important strategy in documenting the socio-political landscape of apartheid South Africa.

Since then, the Market Photo Workshop has successfully adapted to the challenges of a new democratic dispensation, and the influences democracy has had on visual arts in South Africa. The Market Photo Workshop now offers short and long courses in photography, educating learners in all technical and practical aspects the medium.

The Market Photo Workshop is a division of the Market Theatre Foundation.

2. About Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Programme

The Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Programme (PDP) is a year-long course intended to address the needs of aspirant photojournalists from South Africa and further afield on the continent. Students who complete the programme are able to integrate themselves quickly and efficiently in newsrooms across a variety of media organisations (newspapers, picture agencies, radio stations with a presence on the web, etc) as photographers or in other capacities.

While applicants accepted into the course are required to have a demonstrable prior knowledge of photography from at least an intermediate level, they undergo rigorous training designed to bring their technical and conceptual skills to the level required of professional photojournalists. Students are further challenged to analyse and question photographic and social conventions, so as to report insightfully on their cultures and add depth to coverage of African issues.

The PDP begins mid-January and ends mid-December. It comprises four terms, with the third semester largely devoted to internships in which students gain work experience at news organisations in Johannesburg and elsewhere.

2.1. Core Subjects

• Photojournalism (including multimedia components) : In this course students learn how to approach breaking and general news events, and how to tackle other assignments typically given to photojournalists
• Documentary Photography:  This course enables students to embark on a year-long photographic assignment that is covered from various perspectives.
• Technical and Digital Practice: During an intensive period of training at the start of the PDP, students are drilled in photographic and editing techniques.
• Visual Culture Literacy: During this course, students learn how and why images have the effects that they do, and how interpretation of visuals is influenced by the background, knowledge and value system of an individual.
• Media Practice: This course helps photographers gain confidence with the written word through introducing them to the basic principles of news and feature writing. Students are also given insights into current challenges with regard to journalistic ethics and freedom of expression.
• Internships: For their work experience, students are placed at organisations across the media spectrum: daily and weekly newspapers, wire services and broadcasters that make use of multi-media
• Protects: The Photo Workshop regularly joins forces with various groups to run projects that enable students to share their photographic and writing skills, and document issues of interest
• Exhibition: The exhibition is a high point of the PDP: it gives students a showcase for their work, and raises the profile of the PDP in the photographic arena.

2.2. Important information for applicants:

• The PDP welcomes applicants from a broad range of backgrounds, including:
• Practising photojournalists and documentary photographers who would like to hone their skills
• Persons with recognised prior learning in photography who wish to advance in the fields of photojournalism and documentary photography
• Graduates in media studies or related fields
• Passionate people with a talent for photography
• Persons applying for the PDP should have demonstrable prior knowledge of photography from at least an intermediate level, and a reasonable command of English
• Entry-level professional cameras and other equipment can be rented from the Market Photo Workshop by students who do not have access to these resources. Learners are required to pay deposits for each piece of equipment that they book out, and their use of equipment is closely monitored

2.3. Time frames and costs:

• The PDP is a year-long course, beginning mid-January and ending mid-December
• The course runs full-time from Mondays to Fridays, 09h00 to 17h00
• Fees for the 2014 PDP have been set at R30 000
• Bursaries may be made available to candidates who can clearly demonstrate financial need. Recipients of financial aid are required to do bursary duties that may require their presence at the school after hours and over weekends
• Equipment rental fees (in the form of refundable deposits) are currently set as follows:
• Digital camera: R450
• Tripod: R100
• Voice recorder: R150

For more info please log on to : http://www.marketphotoworkshop.co.za/content/page/apply-for-the-photojournalism-and-documentary-photography-programme