Workshops & Resources

Session Details

• Duration: 1 hour

• Format: Online or in person

• Languages: English / French

About Darren Ell

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Darren Ell completed his MFA in Photography at Concordia University in Montreal. His documentary work uses portraiture, landscape, personal stories, environmental sound and photojournalism to explore political issues : Palestinians living under occupation, the struggle of political refugees to Canada, the consequences of the 2004 coup d’état in Haiti, the student uprising in Quebec in 2012, the lives of new Canadians, the European refugee crisis, migrants fleeing Trump's America, ongoing work at the US-Mexico border and the Covid-19 pandemic.

His work has been exhibited frequently in Montreal and published by the New York Times, Le Monde, al-Jazeera International, CBC Canada, Radio-Canada, La Presse, The National Post, Photo District News, The National Film Board of Canada, The Toronto Star, The Montreal Gazette, Le Journal Métro, Chatelaine and many alternative media.

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“A portfolio review by a thoughtful experienced photographer is worth its weight in gold. Constructive, probing, supportive feedback clarifies, inspires, and anchors your efforts in completing any form of photographic exploration: series, articles, books, exhibitions, and more. No matter what your level of experience, the process is the same: look at the images, discuss what is or is not working visually and thematically, and try to find the through-line that can move the work forward and take it where it wants to go. Many things come up during a critique: technical matters, editing and sequencing questions, your goals and motivation, and your desires for the work under review. It will be an enjoyable, sometimes challenging, but always inspiring experience.

The critique can be done online or in person, but having experienced a great many critiques, I assure you it will be more constructive and efficient in person. Ideally, we would work with 8x10 prints and not a screen.”