Improve your photographic eye with Steve McCurry in Tuscany

Crouching down in an alley in Jodhpur, India, Steve McCurry waited for just the right moment when a boy came skipping past. Composing the shot and then being able to capture the instance, in this case 'Boy in mid-flight' (above), has made McCurry the remarkable photographer that he is.

McCurry will be taking three workshops (on the 11, 12, 13th July) which anyone can participate in, during the Toscana Foto Festival in Itay (until 31 July). The photographer - who in 1979 smuggled career-changing photographs out of rebel-controlled Afghanistan by sewing the rolls of film into his clothes - will offer practical advice on improving your eye for photography and exposing yourself to new opportunities.

Each workshop will be different and McCurry's approach will be on training the eye to analyse available light, composition and the uniqueness of the situation. These skills are evident in his series The Unguarded Moment, which will be on show as part of the festival at the Palazzo Abbondanza (until 31 July). The series includes photographs in which McCurry truly embraced the moment, jumping from his taxi to capture the spontaneous group huddle of women in Dust Storm, Rajasthan, India (1983) for example, as well as Beggar Girl, Bombay, India (1993) and Boy in mid-flight, Jodhpur, India (2007).

In addition to McCurry's workshops and exhibition there will be seminars from some of Italy's top photographers including Giovanni Gastel, who will be speaking about creative photography and fashion. And the best photographs from the 2010 competition Between Sunset and Sunrise will also be on show in the Cloister of St. Augustine.

The setting of southern Tuscany is a rather more favourable location to lingering in Indian slums for the opportunity to learn from McCurry and the many other photographers who hope to open your eyes to really seeing beyond the obvious.

Follow the link to download a registration form for the Steve McCurry Workshop as part of Toscana Foto Festival.