Andrew Niesen

LaCour Photographer, Andrew Niesen, is featured in the current issue of the Leica e-magazine. Andrew has been using the digital Leica M8 for the past year and says, "By minimising the impact of my presence, the M8 lets me create pictures that can speak in adjectives... It's so low-key that people don't take me seriously, which is a good thing."

**Click Here to check out the entire article.

LaCour is excited to announce its brand new workshop, The Business of Storytelling : Branding & Marketing. Come join us for an intensive two-day workshop, August 19-20, 2008, focused entirely on branding and marketing.

Based on feedback we received from past attendees and the amount of inquires we received from photographers wanting more information about branding and marketing, we decided to create an in-depth workshop that delves deeper into these topics. Limited to an intimate group of 10 photographers, this workshop will empower you to craft an unforgettable brand and convey a singular marketing message.

Our goal for this workshop is to give photographers extensive one-on-one consultation in a small group setting that will give you highly useful and actionable ideas. We want you to walk away with new brand and marketing strategies that will launch your business to the next level.

What this workshop is not: There will be no shooting demos, no lighting demos, no workflow or post-production demos. We will not be shooting or editing or talking about how to do any of that better. We're going to be talking non-stop about branding and marketing!

For more information and to sign up, visit LaCourPhoto.net/workshops/

Leaving the pink hues and European flavor of the Costa del Sol, we ventured across the Strait of Gibraltar into the bustling port of Tangier. Simply put, Morocco is striking – its vibrant culture embraces travelers as soon as they step off the ferry.

We started the day by meeting our gracious host Youssef, a painter and graphic designer in Tangier (see some of his beautiful work in the slideshow above). Youssef advised that we plunge deeper into Morocco to experience the countryside and culture. We hired a driver, Abdul, to cart us around for two days. He was so much fun to spend time with. We took a road trip into the coastal town Assilah on Wednesday and the mountain town Chefchaouen on Thursday. Being in these two beautiful, relaxed towns was like walking into a Dalí painting! Whitewashed homes lined rocky Atlantic coastline and perched on the edges of towering cliffs in the Rif mountains. By far, the most rewarding experiences were found wandering through labyrinthine medinas, taking in the sights and smells of North Africa.

It's difficult to summarize the experience in words. Morocco is best described in sights and smells. It's a visceral place that beckons travelers to slow down and absorb daily life. Check out the slideshow for a taste of Morocco!

After spending most of Sunday entrenched in business discussions, the next day we decided to leave the hotel for a day trip to Ronda. Ronda is home to the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain, and despite our general opposition to the sport, we thought it was something we should see. Ronda has bullfights only one weekend of the year, in September, during the main town festival. The rest of the year tourists are welcome to tour it and even walk into the middle of the ring. After a brief tour of the town, our adventurous whims took over and we hiked down a very precarious, steep, rocky trail to get the best angle on the huge gorge that splits the town in two.





Here are some more photos from the day:









And finally, here is a little treat for all of you:

Sitting on the veranda watching the sun go down while discussing business strategy. Some of the things we've decided so far: