Herzen Cortes: Blog https://www.herzenphotostore.com/blog en-us (C)Herzen Cortes (Herzen Cortes) Wed, 18 Aug 2021 15:30:00 GMT Wed, 18 Aug 2021 15:30:00 GMT https://www.herzenphotostore.com/img/s/v-12/u754935696-o839637316-50.jpg Herzen Cortes: Blog https://www.herzenphotostore.com/blog 120 120 My Experience as a student of Maggie Steber https://www.herzenphotostore.com/blog/2015/12/my-experience-as-a-student-of-maggie-steber Maggie Steber’s Mystery Workshop

By Herzen Cortes

I recently participated in Maggie Steber’s Mystery Photo Workshop in Miami as part of the Miami Street Photography Festival, a 5-day event sponsored and organized by Leica and Leica Akademie.

In my 8 years producing photo workshops I have been to many workshops and have known many photographers, I can say that this workshop was quite unique from its conception. It was not a workshop about creating great imagery or about creating a story, it was about unleashing our creativity to produce a body of work that would convey Mystery as a message, whatever that meant for each individual student (the mystery of love, the mystery of Christmas, create a murder story, be dark or wild...), or however each one of us interpreted Mystery. The only rule was that there were no rules, you could break them all!

Maggie, who was accompanied by Tom Smith from Leica Akademie, has taught this same workshop in the past. She has her own “Secret Garden” as she calls it (see: http://www.maggiesteber.com/main.html#Dark), where she gives free reign to her creativity. Maggie’s Secret Garden is a body of work created by her to be liberating for herself in many ways, and far from the public opinion.

Throughout the workshop Maggie came across as a thoughtful leader, very passionate about the Mystery Workshop, well organized, straight forward and extremely focused in all matters of our photography as students. She took her time with each one of us individually to provide feedback and expert guidance; She was demanding and asked for all to work hard. The group editing sessions were a great learning experience as she kept pushing us to liberate from our usual, to be able to “See the World in a Different Way”...

The workshop was a thrilling experience. Amid the renown Art Basel Festival, exploring the city, the people and the possibilities during that week was really amazing and inspiring, every corner was full of possibilities but then again... it was not about simply creating beautiful pictures or portraying what anyone else could see... it was about creating imagery with Mystery written all over it... needless to say, many times I felt a bit frustrated, but encouraged by the possibilities Maggie had pushed me to discover.

The workshop and the Miami Street Photo Festival concluded on a Saturday evening with lectures by Maggie and David Alan Harvey at the Miami History Museum in Downtown and the exhibition of the work of all students (Maggie’s and David’s).

We are honored to have Maggie amongst our Xperts for 2016. She will be leading our February Oaxaca workshop: Daring to See the World in a New Way http://www.photoxpeditions.com/xpeditions/photography-workshop-with-maggie-steber-in-oaxaca-mexico/ and I am certain that she will be an exemplary instructor for intermediate and advanced photographers alike. She certainly has the character, the experience, the eye, the focus and the ability to mentor her students and to push them to liberate and to become much stronger photographers and to learn to see the world in a different way.... I certainly did and enjoyed it along the way!

 

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(Herzen Cortes) Documentary Maggie Photo Photography Steber Workshop with https://www.herzenphotostore.com/blog/2015/12/my-experience-as-a-student-of-maggie-steber Sat, 19 Dec 2015 22:23:07 GMT
Water Polo From Underwater https://www.herzenphotostore.com/blog/2012/3/water-polo-underwater A few days ago Belen Jesuit visited Ransom Everglades on its 2nd game of the season. Upon arrival we were all marveled at the brand new aquatic complex Ransom built, a cutting edge, swimming pool that splits into 4 to give room for many groups to train, compete or play simultaneously. One of the things I liked the most were the windows built on one of the sides which allow for underwater viewing of the pool.

In a sport like water polo, all of us that have never played the sport but have only watched it from the top have all always wondered what goes on underwater while they fight for their position .... this week I had a chance to look at that and while there will be many more opportunities to take better pictures, here are a few that I took:

I also ventured to some B&W in some cases freezing the action in others with a bit of motion ....


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(Herzen Cortes) Florida Polo South Underwater Water https://www.herzenphotostore.com/blog/2012/3/water-polo-underwater Sat, 03 Mar 2012 23:22:09 GMT