Magnum’s First Photo Exhibit and Documentary Photography Workshop with Tdot Shots

Feature image credit: Selected works © Magnum Photos. Exhibition view courtesy of The Image Centre.

Join us as we visit the Magnum’s First photography exhibit and discuss documentary photography and photojournalism. We will meet for a street photography workshop and walk to the Image Centre for a talk by a guide.

Event organizer Mike Simpson has designed an active, hands-on documentary photography workshop structured as a guided photo walk. Participants will explore the differences between documentary photography and photojournalism while photographing compelling subjects in downtown Toronto and engaging with a creative community of peers.

Participants will receive a private one-hour guided talk with a docent at The Image Centre before public opening hours. If you cannot join us at 9 am you can catch up with our group at 11 am at the venue.

Inspired by the pioneering photographers of Magnum Photos — including figures such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa — we will consider how contemporary street photography connects to the traditions of mid-20th century documentary practice.

50% of proceeds from this event will be donated to The Image Centre in support of its exhibitions and programming.

Time and Location

Meeting Time and Location – TBA – You will receive an update the evening before the event. We will meet in the downtown core a short distance from the venue.
which is downtown near Yonge and Dundas St. We walk as a group from our meeting place to Image Centre. Our walk is accessible.

Image Centre – 33 Gould St, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto.

Photographers featured:

• Henri Cartier-Bresson: Includes his 1948 documentation of Gandhi’s funeral in India.
• Inge Morath: Features her portraits of upper-class life in Mayfair, London, and a notable photograph of a woman in a limousine.
• Ernst Haas: Contains behind-the-scenes images from the film set of The Land of the Pharaohs.
• Robert Capa: Work from WWII and postwar Europe, including Italy and Eastern Europe.
• Werner Bischof: Images of people and street scenes from South America and Japan, captured shortly before his death in 1954.
• Jean Marquis: Scenes from Hungary (often shown alongside Capa’s work).
• Erich Lessing: Documentation of postwar Vienna and Central Europe.
• Marc Riboud: Early work documenting life in Dalmatia

Exhibition History

• Lost & Found: The exhibition went missing around 1957 and was rediscovered in the basement of the Institut Français in Innsbruck, Austria, in 2005.
• North American Debut: The collection is currently making its North American debut at The Image Centre in Toronto (September 2025 – April 4, 2026).
• Format: The exhibition is notable for its vintage gelatin silver prints, many still mounted on their original fiberboard. 

What is Documentary Photography + Photo Journalism?

Magnum Photos was founded to give photographers the freedom to work across both fields, bridging the gap between immediate news reporting (journalism) and long-term artistic storytelling.  Documentary photography focuses on long-term observation of people, communities, and cultural change. Photojournalism often captures decisive, high-impact moments in current events.

We will engage with this fascinating topic we explore and shoot the people and structures of downtown Toronto (street and architectural photography). In addition to discussions of how to approach photographing human subjects, we will discuss applications of photography in media, culture, politics and contemporary life.

Thanks for your interest and see you at the event!

Mike Simpson
Founder, Tdot Shots

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Limited to 24 participants. Take advantage of early bird pricing until Sat. March 7.