Long-Form Storytelling Workshop
with National Geographic Photographer, John Stanmeyer, and Curator & Photographer, Annie Davarashvili
Kashi (Banaras - Varanasi), India ~ 12-21 March 2025
added Holiday discount till January 1, 2025
We are so excited to host our first Storytelling Photography Workshop of 2025 in the most incredible country on Earth…India!
Join National Geographic photographer and VII photo agency cofounder, John Stanmeyer, along with curator, photographer, and Museograph founder, Annie Davarashvili, for an immersive 10-day story-filled expansion of life and photography, from 12 through 21 March, 2025. These moments together occurring during vibrant days of Holi, the ritual day of burning known as Holika, symbolizing the victory of virtue over evil, celebrations for the birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a 15th-century saint and founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition, and the Vernal Equinox.
Open to only 12 photographers and a local scholarship photographer, we will be gathering along the banks of the sacred Ganges, delving into the fathomless power of creating stories that raise visual consciousness — these special gatherings expand your careers. And our lives.
Our 10-day workshop together in the most sacred place on our planet will be like no other workshop we've hosted. We will be in communion with the culture, the environment, and daily life of a people so unique, kind, and giving, found nowhere else on Earth.
These will be long days and nights, rising, lifting you and your photography by creating a body of work that transforms and reshapes how you see. Becoming a more unique giver of storytelling that ignites your photography and career.
What elevates your art, life, and purpose only manifests by going inward.
We understand and give to the unique way everyone sees, so when your stories are completed, you want to create a book or short film, or simply expand your excitement to tell stories, we present the world around us in the most unimaginable ways.
Photography is not about the surface before us—that is too simple. You've seen and been doing this already.
Now is the moment to rise into a visual consciousness.
This is how, within the beautiful mosaic of photographers across our planet, the stories you create will rise, enabling your career and passions to prosper.
About Our Most Special Workshop
Each photographer is expected to arrive in Kashi by the morning of 12 March 2025. It is even better if you come by the 11th to ease into the time zone change. On the morning of the 12th, we will gather to meet each photographer and be introduced to their fixer/translator family partner to begin logistics planning for your stories. That late morning or early afternoon, you start to create.
Story editing is Therapy Session that happens each day at the workshop venue. It is done individually and in groups, making it a fascinating learning experience for all to witness how each photographer's images evolve into a completed story throughout the workshop.
During our time together, John Stanmeyer will present work from more than 20 stories for National Geographic magazine on various nights of our gathering. Share and discuss aspects of the photography business to help expand your career. Do know that career building is not solely a pragmatic process.
Annie Davarashvili will present her immense passion for the art of curation, exhibitions, bringing you to a new state of awareness on how you see and feel the multidimensional world around us. Annie’s many years as an independent cultural manager, curator, photographer, and graphic designer bring new meaning, understanding, and new ways of having your stories seen. Annie Davarashvili is also the founder of Museograph, a visual storytelling platform that creates cultural events with a focus on photography, design, and arts.
These gatherings also raise consciousness of our collective fascination with life and photography. Our added role is helping to demystify what often muddles too many who want to expand their work professionally or, in general, your passion for storytelling. What we mean by this is that we frequently torment ourselves into overthinking. Our workshop is also a cleansing that will help you clarify your purpose in this life. Whether you want to grow your career professionally or for personal growth, we can only expand our photography once we expand within.
On the evening of 21 March, each photographer will project their completed essays on a large screen to all attending the workshop and invited guests. Photographers will present and discuss the unique aspects of each story in the same manner as photographers do for a completed story for National Geographic magazine. This evening event is truly magical and unforgettable, with each photographer learning something new about their work and the work of their colleagues.
We encourage all photographers to consider staying longer in the country to continue nurturing what you've gathered during our time together. Our most amazing team coordinator, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, can help offer guidance and insight into places around Kashi and other fascinating regions of India.
India Support Team
In India Workshop Coordinator — We would like to introduce you to our India workshop coordinator, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya. Ankitha and John have worked together on various stories for National Geographic. Ankitha is helping us sort all hotel accommodations and managing our Fixer Family team of local translators, as well as helping with photographers’ story planning.
In India Ground Support — We would also like to introduce you to Ram Kewal of Kewal Maurya Tours. Ram ji and John have been working together throughout all of India for nearly 20 years while on numerous NatGeo projects. Ram will help oversee Indian airport pickup and drop-off (some of you may want to arrive in Delhi and drive to Kashi), along with any in-country ground transport needs before or after our workshop. Like all aspects of our workshops we host, for all services and support from Ram, you pay directly with no markups - this is to empower the local team and the local economy.
Costs and Expenses
Workshop Fee — Workshop Fee — All workshops we host must be affordable and accessible. Because our workshop will be 10 days rather than the usual 9, we have only increased the workshop fee based on duration (see the Workshop Options section below for details).
This unique gathering starts at $4300, offering a 15 percent early registration discount and an additional 10 percent discount to the returning Workshop Family this year. This gives you a discount of up to 25 percent or as low as $3225. This means the per-day cost for this workshop becomes less than our shorter 9-day events.
We have more love and goodness…we are giving an additional $250 off these Workshop Family prices when registering and paying in full between now and January 1, 2025.
To avoid hiring a workshop manager team, which increases costs, you pay in-India expenses directly, with no markups or hidden fees…packaged workshops always create unnecessary expenses and higher costs.
Hotel — Hotel — John’s dearest friend and assistant, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, is organizing 12 rooms at the incredibly low rate of USD $40 per night per room, living and creating together in one location along the banks of the sacred Ganga (we will announce our hotel venue in the coming weeks).
Fixer/Translator — For your family member's support (fixer/translator), their day rate is a very kind USD $25 per day.
Logistical Ground Support In India — John’s dear friend, Ram Kewal of Kewal Maurya Tours, can help oversee India airport pickup and drop-off, along with any in-country ground transport needs. Like all aspects of our workshops we host, for all services and support from Ram, you pay directly with no markups - this is to empower the local team and the local economy.
Food and Drink — Breakfast is included each morning…fresh fruit, eggs, toast, fresh juice, and vegan options. We believe in empowering each photographer to decide how and what they wish to eat for lunch and dinner each day. We will collect nominal funds for whatever meals we want to eat together at the workshop villa, likely around $3-5 each—per meal, having beautiful Indian cuisine. There are countless exceptional restaurants in Kashi, where you can have excellent food for $3-5 USD or even less. Of course, fancy places, too, if you desire.
Air transport — Each photographer arranges air transport from wherever you live to Kashi-Varanasi (VNS). We suggest using Kayak, Priceline, Expedia, or Google Travel to find the lowest possible flight costs. We are here to help however possible.
The best approach is to make these workshops affordable and accessible through complete transparency. Creating a simple, flowing structure where you pay directly for however you want to travel or eat—for living and logistical support in the country.
Our workshops are about giving love…not troubling your wallet..
Epilogue
We look forward to you joining me in March in a land and culture flowing with so much energy and enlightening each of us in the limitlessness of storytelling. The unfathomable presence in all of us rises into awareness when we go within to feel. Then see.
Sending much love and kindness,
John and Annie
Holiday Discount of an additional $250 off when registering and paying in full before January 1, 2025
Workshop Options
Special discounts are available to support all photographers and those of our Workshop Family. We are also offering one free scholarship to an Indian photographer to support equal creative expansion in their photography and life.
Registration
Please read all sections of this webpage before submitting your registration to join this workshop. We accept Apple Pay, Venmo, bank transfers, and PayPal to attend each workshop. We kindly ask if you are using PayPal, please send workshop fees as “To a Friend” to avoid PayPal fees. Please note that all transfer fees are the responsibility of the photographer attending the workshop. Transfer fees can be paid as cash during the workshop or as follow-up payments on any of the above-supported options.
$3225
Early Registration - Returning Workshop Family Photographer
• 25% Discount for early registration
• Full payment received before 16 January 2025
• Returning Workshop Family Photographer
$3655
Late Registration - Returning Workshop Family Photographer
• 15% Discount
• Full payment received after 16 January 2025
• Returning Workshop Family Photographer
$3655
Early Registration - New Workshop Family Photographer
• 15% Discount for early registration
• Full payment received before 16 January 2025
• New Workshop Photographer
$4300
Late Registration - New Workshop Family Photographer
• No Discount
• Full payment received after 16 January 2025
• New Workshop Photographer
Registration
Each participant must complete the registration form and submit it to participate in the Long-Form Storytelling in Kashi 2025, with John Stanmeyer and Annie Davarashvili
FAQs
Is this workshop open to everyone?
This storytelling workshop is open to everyone at all levels of photography. The only requirement is that you are passionate, committed to expressing yourself through the visual arts, and willing to journey into the depths of long-form visual essays. India, however, is a gathering about something other than learning to use a camera. It is the journey within to access and expand your life and career.
I cannot afford, but I want to attend?
One scholarship is always offered to an Indian photographer. To submit for the scholarship, you must be a photographer residing in India who cannot afford the workshop fee.
The photographers receiving scholarships must pay all expenses, such as travel to Kashi, hotel room, food, ground transport, and fixer/translators.
How do I submit for the scholarship?
Fill out the form below and check "India Scholarship." Include a sample of your work—an Instagram URL or a website URL. Or a collection of 20 images and/or videos submitted via WeTransfer or Dropbox. The recipient will receive full, equal access to the workshop.
How much will it cost?
Wanting to share the love, costs for this workshop range from $3225-$4300 with new discounts (see above), and for the holiday’s, an additional $250 off when registering and paying in full before January 1, 2025. The workshop does not include your travels from wherever you live to Kashi, India. Nor ground transport to the workshop venue, hotel/lodging, food, translators/fixers, or personal expenses.
We have designed the workshop to be the least painful on your wallet for all expenses in India. The hotel rooms at the workshop venue will cost about $40 (as of today’s exchange rate on 10 December 2024). Fixers/translators support each photographer at a welcoming rate of USD $25 per day. We also ask that you please pay for your fixer/translators' meals throughout the workshop. Estimated costs for food and drink would range from $3-$5 per meal unless you eat extravagantly. If or when needing a taxi, taxis are very inexpensive in India compared to Western Europe and the United States, with an average cost ranging from $2-$10 depending on your travel distance. Because photographers are arriving in Kashi, India, from around the world, airfare costs are unknown. The beauty is that it will be the low-travel season, and direct flights to VNS are much less expensive than previous workshops we’ve hosted during the summer months. Here are some estimated flight costs based on 10 December 2024:
From within the EU — $670 r/t
From the United States — $950 r/t
From South Asia — $288
From Southeast Asia, and Australia — $200-$880 r/t
From the Middle East — $390 r/t
From most major cities in Africa — $900-$1200 r/t
All costs you pay directly — meaning to the hotel upon arrival to the workshop, direct to your fixer/translators, for your food, etc. We take no commissions, fees, or tips from anyone, helping keep costs as low as possible for you.
Workshop Hotel Venue
The main workshop venue will be announced in the coming weeks (our local support leader, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, is now in Kashi, visiting various hotels for our gathering).
Hotel rooms will cost roughly USD 40 per night for a private room with a private bath and shower. The costs will likely be less per person for those willing to share a room with another photographer. This is the lowest rate we have ever received for a hotel room, making our gathering in 2025 even more affordable.
Our workshop hotel will offer free breakfast each morning of fresh fruit, juices, eggs, toast, and vegan breakfast options too. For all other meals, you can order from the villa restaurant at the workshop venue or when creating your stories there are countless amazing Indian restaurants everywhere. Meals, on average, can range from as low as $2-$3 at local restaurants, $5-$10 at popular foreign restaurants, and, of course, even higher if you choose to eat at any of the many high-end restaurants— it is up to you how much you want to spend on food and drink.
Can I stay at a nearby Airbnb or other hotel?
The beauty of these gatherings is our dance together in the energy and power of sharing ideas and creating stories—long days and nights in editing therapy sessions. Coming and going to another place each day and night (sometimes multiple times per day) disrupts the energy for yourself and the others attending. Therefore, we will not support any photographer staying at an off-site hotel.
Only the Indian photographer receiving the scholarship to attend the workshop may you stay at a different location — we understand the cost of living concerns for those in the country, here to support you by any means possible.
Can I arrive early?
Of course you can! You only need to sort your own housing and food needs until the workshop begins. There is the option of arriving at the workshop venue hotel early, and we will approach this once the workshop is full and start understanding everyone's planned arrival dates. If you do arrive early in Kashi, We kindly ask that you do not request or expect Annie, Ankitha, nor me to be able to spend time with you. Two to three days before each workshop begins is a busy time to prepare for our event.
Can I stay longer?
Of course! However, after the workshop ends the following day, please organize and manage your plans independently for anyone wanting to stay longer in Kashi or elsewhere in India. Please note that a tourist visa upon arrival allows for only a 30-day stay, with the option to extend an additional 30 days upon request to Indian immigration at the arrival airport in India.
What do I bring?
Your mind, spirit, and love of photography.
Also, bring your camera or cameras and lenses. Always consider working with minimal gear — it is not the camera that makes great images. It is you, the creator, holding a tool.
A laptop — John and Annie are only familiar with using a Mac. PCs drive me batty! Please be aware that we will do my best not to whine as my round head-aches when placed into a square hole! If you use a PC, you will have to guide us on using it. Or even better, switch the tool all artists use for ease of creation — an Apple.
Bring enough SD and/or CF flash cards to have ample space for many images…some days, it is not unusual to create 500-1000 images because a situation is so visual.
We suggest you bring two 1TB external HDs to store a replication of your photography.
Please only use Adobe Lightroom Classic (not Lightroom Mobile) for all editing of your photography. John and Annie will not have the time to learn other digital image management systems. Therefore, it is not a request; You must use the latest version of Adobe Lightroom Classic. Thank you kindly for your understanding and for allowing the editing sessions we do daily, less painful!
Clothing and personal incidental
Because Kashi is tropical, March will be pleasant during the day, with a light jacket during the evening. It is not extremely hot; it is always warm in Kashi. Light pants or skirts and cool tops are recommended. Also, comfortable walking shoes (you will probably be doing a lot of walking) and maybe cozy sandals at the workshop hotel are recommended. Strangely, evenings can be cool, and it might be nice to bring a light jacket. For personal incidentals, bring what is specific to and for your needs. All personal hygiene products, such as toothpaste, shampoo, razors, etc., can be purchased easily and often less expensive than in the US/EU within walking distance of our workshop. If you take specific prescription medications, do bring those. Leaving basic, often heavy items (shampoo bottles, soaps, etc.) at home and purchasing them in Kashi may help avoid excess luggage fees and lighten your load.
Where and what is Kashi like?
There is no place on our Earth like Kashi. Deeply sacred, profoundly spiritual, you will be transported into a dimension well beyond imagination. Every day, evening, is filled with enchantment. Stories are everywhere along the Ganges River, in the narrow alleyways of Kashi, and short distances from the sacred waterway.
Annie and John, along with Ankitha’s local knowledge, will help guide and craft your story idea weeks before you arrive.
Are there any safety concerns?
Not really. Kashi is very safe, day and night. Other than the everyday awareness of keeping connected to your cameras and your wallet in awareness while with your fixer/translator (or alone), it is almost unheard of for concerns related to armed robbery or killings.
Anything else I need to know?
There are always more questions than answers. The answer shifts, expanding as each moment passes.
All you need is already within…the desire to be taken places you haven't been before.
Opening yourself to being lifted by each other in this communal gathering.
Giving to the limitless that resides within all of us.
We look forward to being with each of you this March of storytelling in a most spiritual and photographically expansive…India.
Liability WAIVER
Limited Liability Waiver - India 2025
This workshop is solely organized and run by Shaker Dam LLC.
Shaker Dam LLC, John Stanmeyer, Annie Davarashvili, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, Ram Kewal, the VII photo agency or any assistant, manager, organizer, or support staff nor any other participant does not assume liability nor responsibility for death, injury, or accident to any participant participating in the workshop in Kashi, India, anywhere else in the India or in-route, or while traveling to/from the workshop venue from their home countries.
Shaker Dam LLC, John Stanmeyer, Annie Davarashvili, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, Ram Kewal, the VII photo agency or any assistant, manager, organizer, or support staff, nor any other participant does not assume responsibility for a participant if they are arrested, if their equipment is damaged, acts of robbery, kidnapping, loss of personal items, damages to other person’s property or other actions of neglect by the participant or negligence caused by someone else. As well as any pre-existing or none pre-existing health issues, including illness or death.
Shaker Dam LLC, John Stanmeyer, Annie Davarashvili, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, Ram Kewal, the VII photo agency, any assistant, manager, organizer, or support staff, nor any other participant does not assume or cannot be held accountable for any cancellation of the workshop due to war, conflict, demonstrations, act or terrorism, social unrest, pandemics or acts of God.
Shaker Dam LLC, John Stanmeyer, Annie Davarashvili, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, Ram Kewal, the VII photo agency, any assistant, manager, organizer, or support staff, nor any other participant does not assume or cannot be held accountable for any damage to cars, motorcycles, bicycles, or any mode of transportation, before, during, or after the workshop. Suppose the vehicle or other forms of transport you are traveling in becomes damaged in any way. In that case, the participant must make arrangements with your driver on who is responsible for repairs. Our workshop team in Kashi will work with you and your Fixer Family member on how and who is responsible for repairs.
Visas: Many nationalities are offered free visas on arrival. Each foreign participant must have a valid passport and pay for their own at their respective Indian Consulate location, procuring their permit at an overseas India Embassy or Consulate office before arrival. Check with the nearest India Embassy near you or the Consulate office for details, as each passport holder’s country has different visa rules.
Shaker Dam LLC, John Stanmeyer, Annie Davarashvili, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, Ram Kewal, the VII photo agency, any assistant, manager, organizer, support staff, or any other participant does not assume nor are liable if the participant is refused entry into India for any reason whatsoever.
Each participant must pay for air and/or land travel to and from Kashi, India, and any ground transportation during the workshop. Food, drink, housing, fixer/translators, ground transport, and airfare are not included with your workshop fee and will be paid directly to each relevant business or person.
A minimum of 7 participants is required to host the workshop. The workshop can be canceled if it does not have at least 7 participants, with refunds offered only for the workshop fee based upon the date mentioned on the registration page and text pages of the India 2025 workshop. All other refunds related to hotels, air transport, etc., are the responsibility of the registered photographer if the workshop is canceled due to falling below 7 participants.
No refunds will be given after January 16, 2025.
In the event that the workshop does not reach a minimum number of participants before January 16, 2025, full refunds will be given. Refund will be minus all bank or PayPal transfer fees. However, travel and other incidental costs incurred by the participant will not be refunded.
If John Stanmeyer or Annie Davarashvili becomes ill or is injured during the workshop, he will do all he can to continue hosting the event. No refunds will be offered if John Stanmeyer or Annie Davarashvili become incapacitated or die during the workshop.
Shaker Dam LLC, John Stanmeyer, Annie Davarashvili, Ankitha Rajendra Subramanya, Ram Kewal, the VII photo agency, any assistant, manager, organizer, support staff, or any other participant will not be held accountable for any schedule/date changes.
It is recommended that all participants purchase travel insurance from a reputable source.
It is recommended that anyone requesting particular health vaccines receive those before traveling to the India.
We recommend each participant be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend this workshop, with proof of vaccination card.
Each participant and/or their spouse/partners must abide by the laws and rules of India.