Mary Ellen Mark, centre, during portfolio reviews, June 7, 2008, in Oaxaca, Mexico.
There are 15 of us from around the world – Canada (1), Denmark (2), Mexico (1) and the U.S. (11) — participating in Mary Ellen Mark’s 10-day black-and-white photography workshop in Oaxaca, Mexico, which she has been doing for years.
One of the photographers is even a face many will know from TV, Michael Richards (a.k.a. Kramer on Seinfeld), who has been shooting for about six or seven months. Another young woman, Alex, has been interning at Falkland Road since June and has given me an idea of what to expect next month when I begin my internship.
Mary Ellen has assigned each of us a project, and for the past three days I have been shooting in a school for children with Down syndrome. Tomorrow I will bring a translator to help with the Spanish.
It’s not in me to simply shoot without investigating, although Mary Ellen advises I concentrate on the images alone. But the writer and journalist in me knows there is more to these children’s stories than what I can simply see.
The black-and-white I am shooting is Ilford XP2. Mary Ellen edits our contact sheets every day – on the first day she circled almost 10 prints, Day 2 she liked only three or four – and then work prints are made. Unlike some in my class who are shooting digital, images will have to wait until later.
