Award-winning photographers to lead master classes in Caucasus mountains

Aspiring photographers and photojournalists will be able to advance their knowledge of the profession from internationally acclaimed photographers Justyna Mielnikiewicz and Yuri Kozyrev in north-eastern Georgia's high-lying village Shenako starting next weekend.

The two award-winning photographers will lead five-day master classes in the Tusheti province village under a recently launched program of Tbilisi Photo Festival.

Mielnikiewicz and Kozyrev will teach emerging photography talents the art of visual storytelling, in a location perched on slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountains, 2,000 metres above sea level.

The Shenako village is located in the mountainous Tusheti province. Photo: Tbilisi Photo Festival.

This awe-inspiring hamlet of shepherds and horsemen was chosen for its breathtaking landscape and its photographic legacy in the name of Shalva Alkhanaidze, whose brilliant mid-20th century images of Tushetian life reveal a world of raw passion and somber frankness", said a preview for the event from organisers.

Mielnikiewicz, a Georgia-based freelancer photographer, will help participants "identify the best subject to work on during the five days" and develop their individual language of photographic work.

The W.E. Smith Memorial Fund award-winning professional will also guide the enthusiasts in production stages from planning to post-editing work.

Based in Georgia for the past 15 years, Melnikiewicz will also look to introduce participants to Tusheti, one of mountainous Georgia's most picturesque regions.

A 2008 photograph taken in Crimea, Ukraine by Justyna Mielnikiewicz. Photo: Artist/lensculture.com.

Hailing from Poland, she has seen her work featured in major international publications including The New York Times, National Geographic, Le Monde and Newsweek International.

The five-day program will also see a master class by World Press Photo Award-winning Russian photojournalist Yuri Kozyrev, who will share his stories created for commissions from "world’s leading publications", said the organisers.

Kozyrev will also look to discuss the ethics of "getting close" in search for definitive photographic moments, relaying his rich experience of working on conflicts throughout the world over the last 25 years.

The Frontline Club Award-winning photographer captured wide-ranging transitions in the former Soviet countries in the 1990s before covering 2001 conflicts in the Middle East for Time Magazine.

Mielnikiewicz's portrait of a woman at a Tbilisi beauty trade show in 2001. Photo: Artist/lensculture.com.

The ICP Infinity Award for Photojournalism-winning photo reporter has also photographed the Arab Spring revolutions in countries including Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt. His most recent work has been focused on the conflict in Ukraine as well as the European migrant crisis.

The series of master classes was launched by Tbilisi Photo Festival last year, inviting Niepce Prize-winning Magnum photographer Antoine D'Agata and Leica Prize-winning French photographer Klavdij Sluban for the maiden event.

Launched in 2010, the festival was established as the first annual international festival of photography in the Caucasus.

It was co-founded by curator and reporter Nestan Nijaradze and French photographer and Liberation newspaper director of photography Lionel Charrier.

The master classes in Shenako will run through July 28.