Maine Media Workshops 2015 Review

My annual trip up to Rockport to teach at the Maine Media Workshops always feels like coming home. I have many special memories, such as being served lobster by Arnold Newman – who was in line before me and, picking up his lobster, turned to me and gallantly offered it. A thrill I still hold dear. The first workshop I ever taught at the MMW I had a great teaching assistant named Elizabeth Greenberg, who is now the vice president for academic affairs and a dear friend. Yes, I have been teaching there a long time.

This year, my week teaching in Maine FLEW by! We work extremely hard for a solid week, but we also know how to have a good time….

Our frequent visits to Graffam’s shack proved that their famous lobster roll was just as I remembered it – PHENOMENAL.

The karaoke tradition at Cuzzy’s on Thursday night was as raucous as ever. Our song this year was Blowin’ in the Wind – and if I do say so myself, we nailed it.  And the Friday night slide show, a celebration featuring the work from all the workshops running that week, was very impressive. I felt quite proud of our class and walked around campus the next day all puffed up!

The Students

…were remarkable as ever! I am always amazed to find that teaching a workshop at MMW every year centering around photographing the nude can consistently yield images that are surprising and new. It just goes to show that it’s truly not what you photograph, but how you photograph that is of value! The students were dedicated, devoted to making their imagery the best it could be, and open to trying a different approach. Willing to leave their “safe place” behind with the daily assignments I gave them, they pushed themselves and me. In other words, they were the best students a teacher can ask for!

Peter S.

Carol Chu

Heather Velez

Sanja Matonickin

The Interview

One thing that was new this year was being interviewed by the folks at the Maine Media Workshops, who did a fantastic job putting together a brief bio video on yours truly. It highlights my work and features me rambling on about creative process, exploration, intuition, and all that good stuff. Despite shooting it at the end of an exhausting week of teaching, I could not be happier with the result!

THANK YOU!!

I always feel like I can never thank the folks at MMW enough for all the hard work, generous support, and wonderful hosting they provide every year. I am forever grateful and look forward to the Workshops every year, and so from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

And of course – a very special thank you to my dedicated students in 2015 – Carol Chu, Sanja Matonickin, Peter S., and Heather Velez! I have been just as eager to share the excellent work you did as I am to share my own, and I hope to see more of your images in the future!