5 minute read
Law professor to shoot in Beijing
Larry Kushner plans 2nd photo workshop in China during this upcoming summer
Michaia Hernandez / Roundup
To say that a law professor wanting to conduct a photography workshop is unusual would be an understatement, but that’s exactly what Larry Kushner plans on doing.
The 64-year-old adjunct assistant professor of political science and law is holding a photo workshop in China, a threeweek-long photographic essay seminar in Beijing this summer.
According to Kushner, who taught advanced photography and video production at Pierce College from 1974 to 1978, the workshop isn’t just about giving people the opportunity to take pictures in a foreign country.
“It’s about getting American and Chinese students to meet and work with each other,” he said. “The Chinese know everything about us, but we know almost nothing about them.”
The workshop, which begins July 15 and ends Aug. 7, is limited to 20 American participants, and the trip will cost around $2,840 per person.
“Actually, the workshop itself is free of charge,” said Kushner. “It’s the actual trip to China, as well as the living accommodations, that participants will be paying for.”
Kushner admits that the most difficult part in the process of getting the workshop together is attracting enough people to attend.
“I’ve been sending e-mails to as many photographic instructors as I can,” he said. “Just to get 20 people to go, you’re probably going to have to give notice to about 20,000 people.”
This is not the first year that Kushner is holding Photo WorkShop China.
The first one was held three years ago, just a few months prior to the commencement of the 2008 Olympics.
“While lecturing in Renmin University of China, I found out that their photojournalism instructor was preparing her students to become the photo staff of the Olympics,” he said. “I thought that the workshop would be a great opportunity to get them ready.”
For this year’s seminar, Kushner is partnering with the College of Art and Communication of Beijing Normal University.
The school is making the workshop a credit class for its students.
“I was surprised by that,” said Kushner. “It’s a good incentive to get the Chinese students to attend.”
According to Kushner, one of the deans of the school also promised that he would reserve the university gallery in order for the photographs taken by the participants to be publicly exhibited.
Professional photographer Michael Stern is Kushner’s co-instructor for the workshop.
Kushner said that he wanted to work with somebody who had an expertise that was different from his.
“I didn’t think he would be interested in doing it,” he admitted. “I don’t get paid for doing this so it’s hard for me to ask someone else to do it for free, too.”
Stern, who met Kushner in one of the professional photography clubs they are both part of, is looking forward to the trip.
“I do get lots out of being part of it,” he said. “The experience itself, in addition to the knowledge I’ll gain and connections I’ll make, are what I’m looking forward to.”
Stern plans to focus on teaching the participants how to “build a better photograph.”
He wants to get the student-taken pictures ready for display at the end of the workshop.
Herbert Camey, a 30-year-old sociology major and one of Kushner’s students, is looking forward to the trip as well.
“I’m not usually too open when it comes to other cultures,” he said. “So I think that this will be a great opportunity for me to get to travel and familiarize myself with the way of life of the Chinese.”
Photojournalism major Juan Gutierrez thinks that the entire project is a good idea.
“If I could go I definitely would,” he said. “This is an amazing opportunity for anybody who’s really passionate about photography.”
Another endeavor that Kushner is currently focusing on is the publishing of his first book, Portraits of China: a Photojournalistic Exploration.
He expects it to be available for distribution through Amazon.com by next week.
“I don’t really expect to sell too many copies but you never know,” he said. “Through this book, I hope to give people a bit of insight as to what China is really about.”
The book, which he says will cost $20 a copy, is a compilation of choice photographs he has taken in China throughout the years.
Each photograph is accompanied by a short description.
“The photos generally represent some evolutionary event in the culture: changes that have come about in the country,” he said.
Of all the accomplishments he’s made throughout the course of his life, the 2008 Photo WorkShop China is what Kushner is most proud of.
“Thinking about it always makes me smile,” he said.
