First Half of "Los Bomberos de Ave Fenix" by Monte Swann

Hi Folks, Monte here from Minnesota. I just wanted to thank Michael Chavez and Ron Haviv for all their work as well as all the other presenters and volunteers at the Foundry Workshop.

Please have a look at my ten final files...







Copyright 2008 by Monte Swann Photography LLC.

Second Half of "Los Boberos de Ave Fenix" by Monte Swann

Copyright 2008 by Monte Swann Photography LLC.

More of The Image Makers from Monte Swann

Copyright 2008 by Monte Swann Photography LLC.

Images of Image Makers from Monte Swann

Copyright 2008 by Monte Swann Photography LLC.

more pics from the workshop...

Conflict Photography Panel: An Intense, Intimate Discussion

The first night's panel on war photography- with Stephanie Sinclair, Andrea Bruce, Paula Bronstein, Stanley Greene, Ron Haviv, Kadir VL, Kael Alford, Ben Lowy, Guy Calaf, Eros Hoagland, Shaul Schwarz- and special surprise guest Anthony Suau, one of the world's great conflict photo-js- and moderated by Mike Robinson-Chavez, himself no stranger to conflict zones, turned into one of the more intense and personal discussions of the entire workshop. The topics ran the gamut from why people do this line of work to the emotional and psychological ramifications- and the high price to pay- for being a conflict photographer. Tears were shed (we wont say whose- youve got to be at some things) and brutal honesty reigned, from the emotional pain of seeing people die, the affects of PTSD- and how each person dealt with these affects- and the difficulty of maintaining personal lives in this industry. An audio and video clip of the event is forthcoming, but Ill leave you with some photos.

Hogar Dulce Hogar

I did my workshop project in a children's home called Hogar Dulce Hogar (Home Sweet Home).

Thanks for an amazing workshop to all the instructors, especially Andrea, Stephanie, Shaul, and Ben, and my fellow students. See you again next year.

Cheers.

Mikko 

p.s. for some reason I could only post five images. I'll post the entire final edit on my blog at http://mikkotakkunen.com .

May an end be merely a new beginning.

Photo: Samson

Peregrinos, Basilica de Guadalupe

(Not sure how to add audio to this, but there is audio. Just ask Tewfic.)

Wall to Wall Paneling

Its late so Ill do a brief post, but for the last three nights- after fabulous slideshows by Stanley Green, Ron Haviv, Kael Alford, Mike Chavez, Rodrigo Cruz, Eros Hoagland, Adriana Zehbruaskas, Daniel Aguilar, Stephanie Sinclair, Paula Bronstein, Andea Bruce and Renee Byer, we;ve been having some powerful panel discussions (filmed and audio recorded; excerpts of which will be posted here/one the Foundry website for all to enjoy). Weve enjoyed special guests Dario Lopez, head photo editor for AP Mexico, Enrique Martinez, head of Latin American AP, the legendary photographer Anthony Suau dropped by, and World Press WInner Daniel Aguilar joined in. Thus far we've discussed conflict and war photography- a very emotional panel, with a strong emphasis on difficult experiences, being a journalist versus a human being, helping others, the power of the image in creating change, and the personal toll/PTSD affects of so much war and suffering. Last night we heatedly discussed the current state of affairs of Latin American photojournalism- opportunities and challenges, especially concerning low pay rates, a lack of Latin photogs in major agencies and in print, and the lack of print space given to Latin American stories and issues since 9/11.
Tonights panel (no pics yet) was on women and their changing role and power in photojournalist today. Leica also had a sponsor presentation by the ever gracious Roland Wolff, who also loaned Stanley Greene's class 10 Leicas (including M8s) to use in the field. A wonderful experience for all invloved; stay tuned- with 140 studnets in the field all covering stories- from Mexican clowns to womens prisons, from prostitution and train riding immigrants to Orthodox monasteries and Santa Muerte worship- a whole host of stories and powerful images is developing; perhaps even a final book...

Santa Muerte Two

Just to add to Jaime post below, here's another image of Santa Muerte made during Sunday's photo shoot. It also has other names, such as La Santísima Muerte, and Doña Sebastiana. This is a religious figure who receives petitions for love, luck and protection, and is often depicted as a female figure.

Research indicates that the cult of Santa Muerte dates back to pre-Christian beliefs during the Aztec era.

Santa Muerte

On Friday  through Rodrigo Cruz's hard work and absolute kindness to us participants at the workshop he got a driver and a van to take us to the Doctores neighborhood to photograph one of the shrines to Saint Death or Santa Muerte. The subject intrigued me as soon as Eric posted some of the themes that could be documented once we arrived in el DF.

 It was the first day of the the workshop and it was raining. Rodrigo first scoped the site to see if it would be ok to photograph.He gave us the go ahead.

To my sense of relief and to my surprise not only were people at the shrine accepting of our presence, they were welcoming. What I had assumed would be a trip to a dodgy neighborhood turned out to be a rosary where families with their children attended. At no point did I sense any danger or feeling that we should not be there. I asked questions about the meaning of the different colors of Saint Death; Green for Money,Red for Love, Purple to ward off envy (envidia) and Black the most powerful of all providing protection from all evils that may befall the believer. People patiently answered my questions and agreed for me to make their portraits while it rained on us. We were there perhaps twenty minutes and because of space constraints we had limits as to how close we could shoot once the rosary began after all it is a religious ceremony that we had to respect and we also had to show upmost care not to over extend our welcome.The whole affair was short but meaningful to me, it challenged my preconceived notions about shooting in a place where I could have been viewed as an intruder.  I was instead not only tolerated but welcomed. Rodrigo deserves the credit for gaining us access and for having been such a giving human being. Muchas gracias de todo corazon.

Day One: In the field with Kael

Alright so I played hookie (not hooker, thats the San Pablo story...) from director today and went ans (finally!) got to shoot something. Headed out with Matt Steel, Katie Orlinsky, and Kirsten Luce- all phenomenal photogs in their own rights- and Kael Alford, our professora, to Lecheria, an area of Df where the trains come through , toting cargo, cars and, on the roofs, Central American immigrants. It took us almost 2 hours to rack an down, however- complete with talking to -then avoiding - railroad security, some old men in a pool hall, another random locals. finally, we just walked up the train tracks, Katie climbed into one of the stationary train cars- and, perhaps thinking this was a sign, two young men came out of hiding. We conversed with them for some time, both young (mid 20s at the oldest) and heading to Celaya, Mexico to do home building work. Hungry, dirty and worn out, the journey thus far sometimes takes up to 6 weeks. Many of the train routes have been shut done as of July 2007, and the ride hasnt gotten easier- bandits and police, often one and the same, harass, rob and even kill the migrants, and the journey is fraught with danger from the train ride itself- every year hundreds of immigrants lose legs, arms, and even heads to the dangers of rolling stock, sharp metal and high speed. We took a lot of photos of their sleeping "quarters"- old cement pipes and cardboard boxes- and more and more migrants came down the tracks. By the time we had to leave we had spoken to over a dozen (with well north of 20 there, under a highway bridge). A grassroots NGO was handing out clothing and sandwiches, and it was remarkable and powerful to see so many young people heading north for a hopefully better life. They were gracious enough to allow all of us to crowd them and photograph them, a bit like paparazzi, and we listened as Kirsten and Katie, both speakers of impeccable Spanish, translated their stories for us. A few pics below of students and Kael working and a few not so good results (why didnt I post the better ones ? too tired) from the shoot...Kael is a GREAT teacher by the way, patient, kind and with both a quick sense of humor and an amazing eye...

the beginnings of my project

wow, i'm exhausted and it's only monday...but exhausted in a good way... the first day of class was cool but i'm eager to get into talking about intimacy...today we just did introductions and logistical stuff...  stephanie and andrea are really down to earth, and shaul and his class are with us too, and he gave us some really good insight on the freelance side of things today.

it's intimidating to show my work on here amongst so many talented photographers, established and not yet...blogger will only let me upload one picture right now...maybe that is a sign ...i hope not!

...this is the beginnings of my week's work, from sunday...i am spending my time with a family of aztec dancers and after shooting dancing over the weekend, i'm just gonna get into their daily lives and see where things go.

was supposed to meet up with the dad, manuel, today but he didn't show and i thought my story was lost (i didn't have his phone number or anything) which was a huge bummer...and after almost 2 hours waiting in the zocalo i ran into a dancer friend of manuel's and got his number, called and made plans to meet up tomorrow...my story is back on track for now

...thanks for looking

martin, the 12-yr-old son of manuel and monica, dances in the zocalo

--david ryder

A few photos from the field:

Early arrivals talk shop with Director Eric Beecroft (far left).
Michael Robinson-Chavez

Santa Muerte

Mexico is charming for Street work.

-Images: Matt Wright-Steel

I know there are a few of you already in Mexico City and we are jealous.  That said, here's a moment from my planning sessions at a coffeeshop in sunny and (finally) dry Portland, Oregon.

--Posted by Andrew Volk

It looks like I'll be the first to post with some photos everyone should see first thing  in the morning...

Yesterday, I went out with Eric, Rodrigo, and a Mexican Photojournalist that covers spot news for a local paper.  This involved sitting in his parked car for 5 hours, listening to the police radio, and going to the bathroom at the newspaper office.  After three bathroom trips for Eric and I, they refused to let us in.  Finally, around 6 p.m. we drove over to a naked protest.

There seem to be at least a couple very efficient things in Mexico City.  One (god bless) is the metro, the other is protests.  The protesters sang, danced and shouted naked until the signal for dinner, where they promptly put on their clothes and came together under the make-shift tent to eat and watch t.v.

They use comedy to make get attention but their point is serious.  They're protesting to regain land they claim was stolen under the last president.

--Posted by Jennifer Chase