The Courtyard After Heat

There is a particular moment in a southern courtyard when the sun has moved beyond the wall but the stone still holds its warmth. A face becomes easier to photograph; a conversation lasts a little longer. This is the atmosphere I would like us to find at Masseria Potenti: three days with six photographers and three models, sharing a house and the pleasure of making images.

We will work in small groups, leaving room for each person’s ideas. A figure at the edge of the shade, a quiet portrait, the movement of fabric against a wall: the same place can hold very different photographs. I am interested in what happens when we return to an image, change one small thing and discover that it has begun to say something else.

The models are part of that discovery. We will have time to talk, try a gesture, abandon a pose that feels imposed and find one that belongs to the person before the camera. As familiarity grows, photography acquires an ease that cannot be arranged in advance. Sharing the day matters as much as choosing its best light.

Meet the Model brings us together to photograph. It is neither a workshop nor a course, and there is no timetable of lessons. You are free to pursue your own pictures, exchange ideas and enjoy the company of people who understand why you might spend half an hour looking at a patch of shade.

I will be there throughout. If an image needs another pair of eyes, or you would like a suggestion about lighting, a particular technique or a piece of equipment, I will gladly work through it with you. A short explanation can become an experiment we try together; this informal support is entirely free of charge.

We reserve the property exclusively for our photographic production. That reservation is already part of the cost of making the event possible, whether or not participants sleep there. Accommodation at the house is therefore offered without a supplement. Staying with us is optional, and choosing your own accommodation does not change the participation fee.

Around the table, the day will continue in another register. There is time to enjoy the cooking of Puglia, compare impressions and let a conversation wander well beyond photography. Meals are included in the participation fee; drinks remain at each participant’s own expense.

Masseria Potenti is in the countryside of Manduria, in Puglia. Its character is that of a rural house made for life together: rooms and outdoor spaces, places to gather and others in which to find a quieter interval.

For our photographs, the relationship between shelter and open light will be central. A bright wall can return light to a face; a shaded threshold can hold a figure while the world beyond it becomes almost abstract. We can work closely with the models or step back and allow the architecture to become part of the composition.

Spending three days in one place gives these decisions time to develop. By the second morning, a corner may already feel familiar, yet the light will have changed. That is a good starting point for a new photograph: knowing where we are, and still being able to be surprised.

Over many years of working as a photographer, and of running both a photographic studio and an equipment-hire service, I came to understand what photographers truly hope to find when they arrive on a set. Not simply more equipment, but the freedom to make an image without being stopped by the absence of the right tool.

This is what London Photographic Workshop places at your disposal: a rare, complete photographic production, brought together in one place and made available to you for the duration of the event. It is the kind of equipment most photographers encounter only in fragments, over many years, and which would cost a considerable sum to hire for a three-day production.

You will be able to work with HASSELBLAD X2D II cameras and a selection of HASSELBLAD lenses; SUNBOUNCE natural-light systems, including reflectors, screens, Sun-Swatter and Sun-Cage; PROFOTO, BRONCOLOR and BOWENS studio flash; professional battery-powered PROFOTO flash, with a complete selection of modifiers; LEE Filters and professional matte boxes; MANFROTTO photographic tripods; and MATTHEWS grip equipment.

This is not equipment assembled for display. It is a working set of serious tools: the cameras, light, modifiers and support systems that allow an idea to become a photograph when the moment arrives.

Respect is part of the photographic language, not an administrative footnote. All models and participants must be eighteen or older. The models determine their individual nudity and posing boundaries. Consent is specific, ongoing and may be withdrawn at any time. No participant may touch a model without explicit permission. No phones, spectators or behind-the-scenes recording on closed sets.

Images may not be published, exhibited, sold or submitted to competitions outside the agreed model-release terms. No generative-AI training or synthetic alteration of a model’s body or identity. A private changing and resting area must always be available. Models receive proper breaks, meals, accommodation and transport support.

Alcohol is served only after photography has finished for the day. Before each session, the artistic director holds a short consent check-in covering wardrobe, nudity level, location, participating photographers and intended images.