DIVERSE VISIONS
by Leslie Mazoch
The Associated Press
Diverse Visions Workshop was wonderful, and exactly what the
doctor ordered. Three
days of meeting some of the best photojournalists in the A.P. as
well photojournalists
like me who are in the beginnings of their careers, enjoying group
discussions and presentations,
and last but not least, shooting a photo package. Each of us participants
were paired with an A.P. staff photographer. Paul Sancya of Detroit was
my guru for the week, and we were assigned to photograph a car wash. Paul
was fantastic and the car wash, believe it or not, was equally so. He was
there for me in a
heart beat, like to
discuss story angles and editing, but kept a low profile while I
photographed. Each
of us were required to use our mentor's equipment, which for most
of us meant shooting
a Nikon D1, so I had technical questions.
The atmosphere of the
workshop was casual with an emphasis on learning, leaving the
cutthroat competition
of the work world behind for the week. We were told to relax, learn
one thing that we could
build on, and shockingly, to have fun. It took a day to convince me,
but when I heard the
discussions concerning the strong and weak points of our stories,
with thoughtful recommendations
on how to proceed shooting the next day, I felt zero
competative energy
in the air. I'd rarely felt the encouraging touch of sincere mentors
before, and it was
great.
n terms of learning
something I could build upon after the workshop, my goal of the week
was to nudge out of
my habitual shooting style - too much concern for composing and not
enough for capturing
spirit. I was able to loosen up on day two, in part because I'd taken
all my usual shots,
and because more than one person recommended I take more risks.
Shooting habits are
hard to break indeed. Luckily, day two was fruitful, and I've shot two
images since the workshop
that show growth towards a less structured style.
This image is a break
from my typical style in that
it's loose using a longlens.I usually get
close with a wide angle or I shoot super tight with long lenses... and
PHOTO 2 HERE
I didn't recompose to hide the doorway light behind the boy's face.
Instead I concerned
myself with the interaction between this mother and child and let them
create a photo for
me. What surprises me about this image (uncropped) is I took it during
a conversation. I looked
to my left while listening, swung my camera up, took a snap, and
continued the conversation.
I figured I was too far away to "get it," but I like the image
because of the distance.
My voice shakes when
I speak in front of large groups, my brain sometimes draws a
blank and I've been
told I turn red. So, articulating how my images ommunicated my story
was by far my biggest
challenge and the most valuable learning experience at the
workshop.On three occasions
we spoke individually in front of the group: introducing
ourselves on day one,
describing how our first shoot went on day two, and presenting our
final edit (six images)
when we made a case for each image and its place in our
story.
But, as a result, I've
returned to my newsroom with a renewed spunk in defending the
images that I believe
are important, particularly in photo package situations. News
editors often moonlight
as photo editors here and I honestly began to lose hope when too
many times my images
were thoughtlessly published. But, after one week of being
surrounded by some
of the best A.P. photojournalists and talented young photographers,
I am on fire with a
renewed sense of purpose, much to the chagrin of my editors.
Thank you Diverse Visions.
Leslie Mazoch Staff Photographer
Brownsville (TX)
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