MODE: The World’s Photography Festival

Sony photographer and Street Dreams Magazine co-founder Steve Sweatpants makes a passionate case for monochrome in a color-saturated world. Drawing on his film roots and signature editing style, Steven walks participants through his approach to light, contrast, and visual storytelling in black and white.

In photography, editing is far more than selecting "successful" images. It is the process through which meaning, authorship, cohesion, and narrative emerge. Drawing from decades of experience working as an agent and editing for acclaimed photographic talent, as well as her work as an educator at Drexel University's College of Media Arts & Design, Beth Huerta examines the role of curation in shaping visual voice and defining the broader impact of a body of work. Through discussion, case studies, and professional insight, this lecture explores sequencing, audience, storytelling, and the inherent challenge of editing one's own work with sufficient distance and objectivity to assess it clearly. Participants will examine how editing shapes not only which images are seen, but ultimately how the work is interpreted, perceived, and remembered.

A conversation on what it takes to build a sustainable career as a creative nomad. Beyond the laptop-on-the-beach fantasy, the panel covers income architecture, layering revenue streams, choosing base cities intentionally, managing clients across time zones, and designing mobility without sacrificing stability or creative depth.

Steve leads participants through Minneapolis using his documentary and street photography approach in real time, covering how to find moments, build confidence in public spaces, and develop a personal eye.

Black Soap takes audiences inside the world of abandoned photography, sharing the stories, the danger, the beauty, and the unexpected joy of exploring places most people will never see. From forgotten train stations and grain terminals in Red Hook to entire abandoned towns in upstate New York and beyond, this is a visually driven, personal account of what it takes to find and capture these places and why it matters.

Josh leads hands-on shooting sessions on various skateboarding setups, covering the technical and instinctive skills needed to capture halfpipes, rails, boxes, and street obstacles at every experience level. Sessions are structured for beginner and intermediate photographers separately, with an additional Friday sunset shoot for those who want to push into more cinematic territory.

Chicago-based film photographer and 2023 Flickr x Black Women Photographers grant recipient Genesis Falls makes a compelling argument for shooting with intention. Drawing on her practice of documenting people in their spaces exclusively on film, she explores what it means to slow down, remove the safety net of color, and commit to an image before you ever press the shutter.

Canon workshop instructor and Skatefolio co-founder Josh Katz breaks down what it actually takes to build a career as a skateboarding and sports photographer, from developing a visual identity to landing clients like Nike, Converse, and Mountain Dew. A practical, experience-driven look at the business and craft of shooting one of photography’s most dynamic subcultures.

Josh leads participants through skating spots across Minneapolis, teaching them to see urban architecture as a photographic playground, capture skaters in action, and shoot with confidence in unpredictable conditions.

Genesis Falls sets up a working 4x5 portrait studio at MODE, inviting attendees to sit for a large format portrait taken on film. Across 25 available portrait slots, participants will experience the slower, more intentional process of large format photography while Genesis walks through what she sees, how she meters light, and why she waits before pressing the shutter. The goal is to create thoughtful portraits and have prints developed locally before the festival ends.

Jimmy covers how to capture live music performance photography in real conditions, from reading a stage and working with available light to finding the decisive moment in a fast-moving, unpredictable environment. A hands-on session grounded in four decades of concert work published in Rolling Stone, SPIN, and Time.

From underwater surf cinematography to the Arctic, Ben Weiland and Brian Davis have figured out how to get the shot in conditions most crews would turn around for. This workshop covers the practical realities of filming in remote and extreme environments: gear, safety, logistics, and the creative problem-solving that turns footage into a film.

Tony will lead a group of photographers on a photowalk, setting up props to teach real life shooting environments.

One of the most celebrated adventure photographers of his generation, Chris Burkard has spent his career chasing light in the places most people will never go. At MODE, he presents Searching for SuperCrust, a 35-minute documentary tracing an iconic 1990s expedition across Europe's largest glacier by fatbike — and his own journey to retrace it in 2025. Equal parts adventure film and climate document, it is a meditation on what glaciers mean, what we stand to lose, and what compels people to cross them anyway. Following the screening, Chris takes the audience behind the lens with an in-depth look at the expedition photography before opening the floor for a Q&A.

Naska makes the case that great photography starts long before the camera comes out. Drawing on 15 years of portrait work and a philosophy rooted in community, legacy, and human connection, this is a conversation about why we create and what we want to leave behind.

Olivia brings her love of analog process outdoors for a cyanotype workshop built around sunlight instead of a darkroom. Drawing on her years of making large-scale cyanotypes alongside editorial and advertising work for clients like Hermès, Nike, and Levi's, she walks participants through digital negatives, photograms, and the Anna Atkins tradition of printing with plant matter, with the paper developing in real time.

A panel with photographers who have documented history as it's being made. Drawing on academic work exploring how images drive social movements, the moderator guides panelists through questions about access, ethics, and the power of the image to shape collective memory.

Kelley walks through how photographers can make more intentional choices about paper, format, and finish. A practical and eye-opening conversation for photographers who want to take their work off the screen and into the world.

Drawing from his experience shooting for major automotive and travel brands, Chris Hau unpacks how he approaches every shoot with a licensing and sales mindset, capturing images with the versatility to serve multiple clients. This talk is about building a philosophy around your work, not just a technical skill set.

At roughly $10 per sheet of film, shooting 4x5 large format demands a level of precision that no other format can teach you. Genesis walks participants through the full process, from focusing and metering to working with a subject in a portrait studio setting, before making actual exposures together and producing physical prints.

Discovered on Flickr as a teenager, shooting Converse by 15, the cover of the New York Times at 17, and campaigns for Nike all over the world before she could legally drink, Olivia Bee has since traded a nonstop commercial travel schedule for a farm in southern Oregon, where she raises grass-fed beef and pasture-raised poultry between shoots. This talk is an honest look at the constant negotiation between art and commerce, the value of building a perspective far outside New York, LA, or Paris, and what it takes to stay rooted while still making work for clients like Adidas, Vogue, and the New York Times Magazine.

Brooke walks participants through her self-portraiture practice (including failed attempts, strange props, and happy accidents), making the case that all you need is curiosity and a willingness to tinker.

A walk through Minneapolis locations tied to the city's legendary music history, where Jimmy will explore with his participants how place and culture intersect and how to photograph the stories a city holds.

Penny leads an exploratory walk through Minneapolis food culture, from markets to restaurants to local producers, looking for the stories, people, and moments that make a place unique.