In early February, I attended a 4-day documentary photography workshop, Project LA. It was organised by ‘Momenta Workshops’ whose motto is ‘Documentary photography for social good’’. It was one of the many highlights of my time in the US to date.

*Teachers Matt, Allison and Dotan at the front. Students Jack, Laura, myself, Kristina, Henry and Richard at the back (Gerry absent)*

Why did I choose Momenta? I’m a big believer of things being presented to you at the right time in your life. Sure, we have to work hard and make opportunities for ourselves, but sometimes things get put in front of our noses that are perhaps a sign we should action. Being new to the photography world, and having recently moved from Australia to the US, I had no idea about photographic learning opportunities in Memphis or the US. Not long after arriving, I started researching what study I could take on. As I touched on in my previous post, study opportunities, and time as it turns out, were limited. I had to find another way. I heard about Momenta through a travel agent, and as soon as I researched their website https://momentaworkshops.com/workshops/ I was hooked. The following paragraph tugged at my heart strings:

“The heart and soul of Momenta lies in our Project Series workshops. Our mission has always been to change the world with storytelling and our students year after year have done just that. Whether you are just starting out or are a seasoned pro, we invite you to join our community today and be a part of the social change movement with your creativity.” How could I resist!

Momenta paired me up with a nonprofit organisation (NPO) they felt would be a good fit, based on a questionnaire and phone discussions. I also had the option of researching my own. Momenta provided a day of lectures, then it was out to the NPO for 2 days of photographing. Each day we received feedback on our images and assistance in editing. The week ended with a final edit session and a deadline to submit the 30 best images which would be presented that evening. It was all rather exciting and the adrenalin was flowing!

But to say I was a little anxious in the lead up is a bit of an understatement - I was petrified!! I didn’t feel like my photography skills or my camera were up to the job, I didn’t know much about the area I was going to, and I was worried about how the kids would be back home while I was away for 6 days (4 day workshop plus a day of travel each way). Thankfully, the brilliant Jamie Rose from Momenta put me at ease and reminded me that we were volunteering, learning, and that we’d end up with some great images the NPO could use in their marketing materials. We’ve also found a great babysitter here, so between her and my capable husband, things at home ran smoothly.

‘A Place Called Home’ (APCH) was the NPO I was paired up with. And what a wonderful match. Our values are very much aligned, the kids and teachers were really inspiring, and it left a lasting impression on my heart.

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“APCH provides a safe, nurturing environment with proven programs in arts, education and wellness for the young people in South Central Los Angeles, to help them improve their economic conditions and develop healthy, fulfilling and purposeful lives.”

Many of the kids have gone through tough times, and often come from homes where they’ve seen incarceration, addiction, violence, or abandonment. But through all of their programming, APCH tackles these issues with empathy and love.

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All lives matter at APCH as you can clearly see through signage throughout the building.

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Sport is a very big part of the programming to help ease feelings of despondency, and to foster a healthy life style. Many of these kids live in food deserts where access to fresh food is limited, whilst junk food is readily available and cheaper.

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Teamwork is also a large component of the programming and assists the kids with their healing. They work together solving problems in all types of areas such as gardening, growing food, music, writing, social enterprise, drama, dance and art, amongst other things.

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They also run the program RISE:

“A progressive high school focused on meeting the unique needs of youth navigating foster care, housing instability, probation, and/or other circumstances that have caused disruptions in their academic journeys.”

It was pretty amazing to see the rapport the teachers had with these kids.

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Once we were back at home base (either the Leica store in LA or the pub!) each evening, the Momenta teachers Matt, Allison and Dotan weaved their creative magic helping us edit our photos down. This was quite a process in itself but they did it so quickly, and taught us much along the way. It was 1 on 1 and we were able to do it with each teacher over the 2 days of photographing, often over a few drinks. They were not just brilliant photographers, but also super human beings, as I learnt over those drinks. They were all from varying backgrounds with differing styles, so this added to the learning experience. I felt really privileged to be in their presence. See their websites below for further information (super impressive!!)

Documentary photography is all about story telling, and there needs to be a strong narrative for there to be a successful story. The teachers were extremely generous with their extensive knowledge, and I felt like I had crammed 4 months worth of learning into 4 days. Here are some of my favourite tips they taught or emphasised to us:

The D.I.M. Methodology:

1) Design - how are the design elements in play in the photo (rule of thirds, framing, angle, leading lines, colour, pattern, rhythm, etc)? Are they pleasing to the eye?

2) Information - is the information understandable to the viewer?

3) Moment - what is the moment? This delivers the tension.

It’s great if you can have ALL 3 elements in the picture, but if 2 out of 3 of those are really strong, that can be enough for a successful image.

Avoid the naysayers that say it’s been done before. It won’t be photographed the way you’re going to do it.
Think about the photo in terms of a sentence - where is the noun, verb, and adjective?
Then think about your story (or final package) in terms of rhythm - opening, wide, medium, tight, wide, medium, tight, closer etc. The sequencing is the narrative.
If choosing a personal project, think about shooting what you love, what is accessible to you, and what would be interesting to your audience.
Check your trepidations at the door, present confidence, smile, and have fun!

They also reminded us to get high, get low, get in the action, and to not be scared of putting the camera on the ground. I may have taken this advice a little too literally when I was smashed in the face by this ‘very high speeding’ ball. A trip to emergency care was required to check if stitches were needed, but I got the shot!

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All in all, it was truly a wonderful experience, and one that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to learn about social documentary photography. As with most things we fear, once we actually make a start, the fears fade away and we wonder what it was we were worried about in the first place.

“If you doubt your power, you give power to your doubts”. Honore de Balzac