BazanPhotos | Student Photography Galleries

Photography by Ernesto Bazan

Group Chance Encounters

My experience in Ernesto’s workshop in New York was both unexpected and deeply satisfying for me in my growth as a photographer. It wasn’t just about training my eye to see the story on the street - it was about learning to see, understand, and validate the bones of a photograph and my own work. I feel like I’m light years ahead of where I was before I took his workshop, and without question I would do it again.

Alexandra Cosentino

I came to the workshop in New York with more than 12 years of experience as a newspaper photojournalist, a place where the straightforward, easy read image is preferred by editors who have no experience editing anything other than words. It is a place that can drive photographers with more of a creative, impressionistic eye crazy. And, in my case, start to blur that vision of making images that go beyond the straight and narrow. Thankfully, there was Ernesto’s workshop in New York. For 10 days, I got to break the rules of the newspaper world and work toward creating images with my own personal style and point of view. I won’t say it was the easiest shoot I ever had, nor the best, but I did come away knowing where I want to take my image making. Ernesto’s direction during the workshop, seeing the work of his friends and taking to heart the comments of my classmates, coupled by endless walking and walking and walking and putting myself in places I never thought I would go have made me a better shooter today than the day I walked into his flat in Brooklyn. One thing I appreciated and admired was his high expectations of us as the week progressed. It forced me to work and think harder about what I was doing and how I was doing it. I have kept that bar high since I left as I know he would want me to do.

Chris Tyree

New York City is perhaps one of the most challenging
places in the world to do Street Photography. New
Yorkers notice a camera immediately and are highly
suspicious and paranoid of photographers. They often
make rude comments and run in the opposite direction
of the camera. Rarely, will a New Yorker say, "Hey,
take a picture of me." The group, Chase Encounters,
spent the first few days of the workshop doing a lot
of walking and scouting out places to photograph.
Coincidentally, we would often run into one another on
the subway, Coney Island, or on the street. The
majority of the group, except for Mia, were shooting
on average one roll of film a day. Often we were
frustrated and not pleased with the results.

We spent the mornings with Ernesto editing and
critique images that we shot the day before. With the
help of Ernesto and the support of one another we
continued to explore NYC and to photograph more than
one roll of film a day. By the end of the workshop, I
shot eighteen rolls of film and found a special place
to photograph, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

One Sunday afternoon, a friend of mine took me on a
walking tour of the Hasidic, Jewish, section of
Williamsburg. There was a lot of activity in the
neighborhood. The Hasidic's were preparing for a Holy
Day called Sukkot, during which Jews offer praise and
thanks for abundant harvest. This involved building a
Sukkah hut, somewhere outdoors and decorating it.
The entire neighborhood both Jews and non-Jews helped
to prepare for this Holy Day. Being Catholic and
unfamiliar with Judaism I was extremely fascinated by
the festivities. I photographed enthusiastically and
produced two timeless images.

Christine Ott

"My first workshop with Ernesto Bazan has taught me to look carefully around me. Street photography requires attention and capacity to capture moments, expressions, impressions. It is the ability not to scare people with the camera; it is the strength of persuasion; it is the cunning of the stolen shot; it's the courage to get close to your subjects. But above all, it's trusting what you see on the street and not what you have in your mind.

Ernesto has taught me to look in a different way by showing his images and the ones of other masters. He has given us a critical reading of our images. With his patience, his severity, his cheerfulness, he has taught us to look beyond our images. The editing of our images, the group discussions, the moments dedicated to the reading of our photographs, discussing our different bodies of work have been very precious.

Manuela Zadro