Focus On: Renie Haiduk

© Nerissa Escanlar

"Renie's my name, and logistics are my game!" This familiar refrain from our dear workshop staff member Renie Haiduk greets many a participant at the Workshops welcome dinner on Sunday evenings. Renie, Nerissa, and Brook (the Operations staff) work hard to create a seamless participant experience. Susan Hayre Thelwell caught up with Renie before the summer season to chat about her time at the Workshops and her love of teaching.

Susan: First off, please tell me about where you are "from", where you grew up?
Renie: I grew up on a farm in the Texas Panhandle in a large, Polish Catholic family. I love being from a large family; they were and continue to be my best friends. I learned about quiet beauty from my daddy; my mama taught me the grace of giving.

S: And what you first wanted to be when you grew up?
R: In my very early years I wanted to be a mother, a teacher, an airline pilot -I thought flying was a miracle- and then a hair stylist. We called them beauty operators! I did become a mother, a very young one, and I was a great snapshotist in capturing special moments of my little darlings. I worked at a university and then moved into the corporate world when I lived in Dallas. It was never a fit for me

S: How did you end up in Santa Fe?
R: After years in Texas, Mama and I took a trip west and spent several nights in Santa Fe. I felt the peace that so many of us living here are drawn to. There was art and energy, but peace too. So I packed up my life into my red Honda and moved. I did the Santa Fe shuffle for several years, and at one point a friend invited me to take a photography class. That class changed my direction straight into the world of photography and Santa Fe Photographic Workshops.

S: And can you tell me about your history with the Workshops?
R: I actually met Reid [Callanan, Director,] at a party the first week I moved to Santa Fe, but I knew nothing about him or his visionary Workshops. I modeled for a Workshop participant that first year, so the Workshops was in my destiny. Years later, I boldly made an appointment to meet Reid and Don Werthmann to show my portfolio and volunteer to do whatever I could just to be in that environment. I became an intern in 1995, and worked my way into being Work Study, Course Assistant, Store Manager, Operations Assistant and in 2000, the Director of Operations. I’m still here because it feeds my mind and soul.

S: What is the role photography plays in your life/ career?
R: My job at the Workshops is full time, sometimes more than full time. I do freelance work on the side, photograph for The Heart Gallery, and have many projects – and several that are long term. Layered Voices is one of those long-term projects that began when I was visiting my family farm. The project began as a documentary of how the land was changing before our eyes, and as most projects do, it evolved into a deep examination of the strong, determined people that I come from who have been on our home place for over five generations, and who live there still.

S: So, tell me a bit about the photographers who have had the biggest impact on you or your work.
R: While working as an assistant, I was able to observe perspectives of photography and life. Rodney Smith, Tony O’Brien, Keith Carter, Elizabeth Opalenik, and Debbie Fleming Caffrey are some of the most influential instructors I worked with. In addition to these amazing photographers, I have been greatly inspired by Julia Margaret Cameron, Atget, Disfarmer, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Sean Kernan, Norman Mauskopf, and Machiel Botman. I am also energized by the growth of my many friends made through the Workshops.

S: Tell me about your teaching and how teaching photography fits into your career.
R: After years of being involved with the Workshops, seeing what works inside and outside the classroom, and working with some of the most amazing photographers/ teachers, Reid gave me the great gift of teaching my own workshop. I was thrilled beyond expression. It is so energizing to guide students and fellow photographers to the point of “Oh! I got it! I can’t believe I made that image!” To watch a student light up, having a deeper understanding of light and structure, of themselves - is truly the greatest reward. Teaching is a gift!

© Renie Haiduk

S: I want to take your workshop! So, tell me a bit about the next workshops you will teach.
R: I continue to be devoted to black and white images made with good ole TriX film. This July I will be teaching a workshop called Portraits Wrapped in Silver! It just sounds yummy to say, and the experience will be equally rich. The workshop will be dual-focused; making profound portraits in natural light, and then the delightful next step in the creative process – making silver prints! It is a beautiful, tactile process.

© Renie Haiduk

In December, I co-teach a workshop in Africa with Eddie Soloway called Tanzania: African Digital PhotoAdventure. This is a life-changing experience where one is immersed in the classic romance of old Africa on a photographic expedition to Tanzania and the Serengeti. The Kiswahili word “safari” means “journey,” and this promises to be an epic one for the adventurous traveler in search of an African countryside that is still wild and unspoiled.

S: And finally, speak with me about your inspiration.
R: Beautiful moments are my inspiration - in my photography and my life. Albert Camus, author, philosopher, and journalist, once said, “A person’s life purpose is nothing more than to rediscover through the detours of art, or love, or passionate work, those one or two images in the presence of which his heart first opened.”


Thanks Renie! It is always a pleasure to catch up. Best wishes for a terrific summer season!

Alyssa Bowers, Being Extraordinary

© Santiago Romero
Runner, photographer, bright-spirit: not one word sums up the enthusiastic and lovely Ms. Alyssa Bowers. She joins the Workshops again this summer as a course assistant. Susan Hayre Thelwell caught up with this fun-loving sprite while she was "catching my breath" in between seasons.

Susan: So, Alyssa, tell me about your path into photography?
Alyssa: I always wanted to write, I loved poetry and short stories. Photography has become an extension of that love for the imagination and dreams you can create in your heart and mind. I took a darkroom class when I was 14. I will never forget the moment I watched my first print appear like magic in the developer. I've been hooked ever since.

S: How do you describe your personal work?
A: My personal work is fine-art self-portraiture. I am deeply interested in the emotional metaphors an image can hold.

S: What is your dream job and your biggest life dream?
A: Benefit others, take pictures, and experience other cultures. In that order. I want to start a non-profit organization supporting and raising awareness of international aid organizations through media based projects.

S: Wow. And where did you go to school? Study photography?
A: I have Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Communication's; I wanted to broaden my horizons by gaining a grasp for filming and audio-visual technology. I'm grateful for it even though I'm not technically practicing with it, I'm pretty sure it will come in handy in the future.

S: So, how did you make your way to Santa Fe?
A: I was filming a group on a snorkeling and scuba diving trip in the Cayman Islands, spouting my dream of pursuing photography to the closest victim who casually replied by mentioning the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops as a possible place to start. I researched his reference and jumped at the opportunity. I've had the gift and privilege of participating as a work-study and course assistant since applying for the summer season of 2008.

S: Tell me a bit about the instructor or instructors you have assisted who has had the biggest impact on you.
A: Every instructor has a different influence on my work and in my life. Eddie Soloway taught me about details and playing with the camera, Arthur Myerson taught me framing and composition, Mary Virginia Swanson taught me how to make myself known, and Bobbi Lane taught me about light. I could list every single instructor I have interacted with and something vital I have learned from them. I am constantly amazed at the depth and knowledge base of instructors who teach at the workshops.

S: What do you like best about living in Santa Fe?
A: I love the landscape. There's nothing like a summer storm at sunset, the sky blazing with colors, flashes of lightning in clouds looking as if they could spill onto the desert floor at my feet. It's magnificent.

S: What is your favorite sport or outdoor activity in Santa Fe?
A: I love to hike and trail run. It's a blast and there's endless opportunities to explore.

S: Tell me about your running. When did you get into running and what are your current goals?
A: I come from a family of runners. I ran competitively in high school and truly got hooked when I ran Hood to Coast, which is a non-stop, 200-mile relay from Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast, with 24 family members and friends. I'm training for a 50K at the moment and have two and five years goals of running a 50 and 100 mile ultra-marathon as well as the Iron-man Triathlon. I love the freedom and mental release running gives me from the trials of every day life. It's my therapy and sanctuary.

S: What do you find most challenging about being in Santa Fe?
A: Being away from my family, they're wonderful and I miss seeing their faces!

S: What do you do for fun at night in SF?
A: Catamount is a favorite hang out downtown I frequent with other workshop staff, but there's really nothing better than a nice, relaxing dinner with friends.

S: What is your favorite place to eat in Santa Fe? What do you order there?
A: I love Gabriel's. It's just outside of the city and has really great guacamole and enchiladas!

S; What is your favorite color and what is your sign?
I love the color of the ocean. It's peaceful. And I am an Aries, I love doing crazy things like sky-diving. I'm goal-driven and I love to lead.

S: Do you have a nickname? And if so, what is it?
A: My first season at the workshops I was penned "Velcro" for my abnormal tendencies to hug everyone in sight. I become "Industrial Strength Velcro" if I'm feeling particularly lovey-dovey.

S: And something surprising or unknown to us about you?
A: Most people are surprised by the size and connection I have with my family. Six aunt's and uncles, and 30 cousins. We spend a lot of time together and we're all very close.

Sounds like you come from a supportive and engaged family, Alyssa. We are thrilled to have you as part of ours here at the Workshops! Have a great summer season.

The Workshops are featured on CNN.com!

As part of an adult summer camp article, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops is featured in the Travel section of CNN.com on Friday, May 29, 2009. Check it out! Feel free to share your Workshops experience by leaving a comment at the end of the story.

Inside SFPW with Laura Solomon

© Karen Lenz
Recent addition to the Workshops’ front office, Laura Solomon spoke with Susan Hayre Thelwell about moving to Santa Fe and where to find the best chile rellenos in town.

Susan: Where are you from? Tell me something about your family.
Laura: I was born in Albany, NY the first child for my parents. My grandmother called me "Queenie." Thankfully, it never stuck. Every birthday, I got a singing telegram from her which thrilled me to no end!

S: Sounds like she was a creative nature herself! Tell me about your own interest in art.
L: It became evident that I was not going to be a concert pianist when I developed a nervous twitch every time I sat down to practice my lesson. I do recall, however, being "caught" drawing a nude woman during first grade. The teacher asked me why I was doing that and I told her that I was going to be an artist when I grew up. And I am an artist today.

S: Did you go to school to study art?
L: I went to Syracuse and Boston Universities to study art, but I was restless at the time and didn't complete my studies. Later, I took secretarial classes and later still, I took classes to learn bookkeeping, accounting, computer programs and art classes.

S: So, how did you make your way to Santa Fe?
L: I first moved to here in 1999 from San Jose, CA, where I worked in Silicon Valley. I got very weary of the smog, congestion, and high tech environment. As the fickle finger of fate would have it, I left Santa Fe after four years as I became a grandmother for the first time and finding a good job was difficult. I went back to California for a few years and then lived in Sedona. After a couple of trips back Santa Fe to visit, I decided that this is really where I belong and moved back a little more than a year ago.

S: You mentioned being a grandmother. Can you tell me about being a mother?
L: I have three boys: two from my marriage and one son before I was married. Almost six years ago, I was reunited with my first son who I had given up at birth. He had been looking for me for a long time and I also made attempts to locate him. Our reunion was very joyful and we are very close to this day. This has been a great blessing in my life!
S: That is a beautiful and powerful story.

Laura began looking for work last summer and says that when she found the workshop’s ad she sent in her resume with “a great cover letter.” Now she works in the front office with Anne, Dodie, and Mignon.

S: What do you like best about your job?
L: The variety of tasks. The Workshops is a great, creative place to work and I am so very thankful to be here. It's a place where, thanks to Reid, people work hard but in an environment of harmony, trust and co-operation. It's a fun place, too! I love meeting the people who come in to take workshops.

S: What do you like most about living in Santa Fe?
L: There are so many things that I love—the natural beauty, the clean air and pristine skies—no smog, the art, adobe houses with fresh snow on them, lilacs in the spring, hollyhocks in the summer, the smell of pinon wood burning on a winter night, the food, the Plaza, the different cultures, to name the most important things.

S: What do you do for fun in Santa Fe?
L: I used to go out on Friday nights to El Farol to dance. I love music and am so sorry that the Paramount is gone. I saw some good shows there—Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks and Lucinda Williams. I saw Judy Collins recently and I will be seeing Bruce Cockburn soon.

S: Red or green?
L: Sometimes, it's green and sometimes it's Christmas. I love both, really. My favorite place to eat is Gabriel's which is about half-way to Espanola. I think they have the very best chile rellenos and margaritas! I also go to the Plaza Restaurant for their meatloaf and mashed potatoes—yum!

S: Have you had any nicknames other than Queenie? And what were they?
L: My mother called me Lolly. My high school friends called me Solly. My brother calls me Lolita or Lolita Conchita. I just like being called by my name but not Laurie.

S: Tell us something surprising or something we don’t know about you.
L: I used to date Burt Reyonolds……..only kidding! But, I was at the very first Love-In that took place in Los Angeles at Griffith Park. I was stunning in my pink bell bottoms!


Thank you for your time Laura! We are lucky to have you as a permanent member of our staff!

Photography Show by Darkroom Manager, Kacie Comly (aka Rambo)

© Kacie Comly
Kacie Comly charmed the Workshops staff in the summer of 2007 as the Darkroom Manager. She has an opening featuring her photography at Java Joe's on Rodeo on Friday, April 10th, from 5-7 pm. The show runs through May 6th. Susan Hayre Thelwell had opportunity to catch up with the most celebrated “Birthday Girl” in the history of the workshops.

Susan: First off, tell me about where you grew up?
Kacie: I grew up in Ambler, PA-- a town outside of Philadelphia famous only for an old asbestos factory.

S: And how did you get involved with photography?
K: My dad gave both my brother and me cameras after we complimented his Ansel Adams calendar. It never really took for my brother.

S: So, where did you go to school as an undergrad?
K: I've gone to a bunch of schools (transferred three times) but ultimately graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

S: And how did you make your way to Santa Fe?
K: I came out here in 2007 to be the darkroom manager at the Workshops and ended up staying when my boyfriend was offered a job with Outside's GO Magazine.

S: What is your "dream job"?
K: I just want to wake up everyday and make things. Sitting in front of a computer all day every day is not ideal.

S: What are you working on right now?
K: I'm in the beginning stages of a new handmade book and also doing a lot of painting and sewing. Pretty soon though it will be all packing as I just found out I'll be starting school again this summer

S: Congratulations! But we will all miss having you in Santa Fe. I have loved knowing you are over at Bostick and Sullivan every day. So, what have you liked best about living here?
K: People seem to be more connected to the outdoors here compared with back east.

S: What is your favorite sport or outdoor activity in Santa Fe?
K: There's great hiking everywhere.

S: What have you found most challenging about being in Santa Fe?
K: Being away from my family and dealing with the local drivers.

S: Red or green?
K: Christmas!

S: Where is your favorite place to eat "christmas"? And what do you order there?
K: I always seem to end up at the Santa Fe Baking Company. I love the breakfast burritos and the people watching.

S: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
K: An octopus for sure. They're shy but can still take a shark.

S: Do you have a nickname? And if so, what is it?
K: My nickname at the Workshops is Rambo... courtesy of a certain knife and the persistence of David Henry Emmanuel Hyams.

S: And finally, I must ask: Why did we sing Happy Birthday to you every Friday night at the workshops?
K: Well now it's tradition, but initially Christopher James was just trying to embarrass me/possibly get me a gift bag.

It has been terrific to have such a knowledgeable and familiar face managing our darkroom the last few summers. Best wishes in grad school, Kacie!

Longtime Workshops Participants Publish Book

© Marybeth Flower and Joe Bauwens
Marybeth Flower and Joe Bauwens of Ketchum, ID joined us in Santa Fe last week to take Mary Virginia Swanson's workshop, The New Business of Photography. Part of their intention in taking the workshop was to better market their book Piazza: Italy's Heart & Soul that they wrote, photographed and self-published through their company Eccola (or 'here it is' in Italian) Press.

They spoke with Susan Hayre Thelwell about how they studied photography through the workshops for almost a year just to photograph the book and about their other adventures in self-publishing.

As Marybeth explained, upon completion of the publication of their first book, their instructor Jay Maisel said, "You two are like bumblebees. A bumblebee does not know that dynamically he is not supposed to fly. The two of you did not know that you were not supposed to be able to do a photographic book after shooting only a short while." Marybeth says that compliment means the most.

Marybeth: I was passionate about the (Italian) project but didn't know how to photograph so we asked around to find the best place to take photography classes and people said "Santa Fe." So we came here and took out first class with Marcia Reifman.
Susan: Together?
Joe: Yes, together. Loved it!
MB: Then we took the National Geographic Expeditions On Assignment workshop in Tuscany with Jim Stanfield, Connie Phelps and Elizabeth Opalenik. Then we came here for Jay Maisel's workshop on Light, Gesture, Color, and Perception.
Joe: You forgot about Mexico.
MB: Oh, we went to Mexico and he took Arthur Meyerson and I took Eddie Soloway's workshop. Then we went to Italy and shot!
Susan: So five or six workshops over a year...
MB: I took five workshops because I also took Photoshop with Genevieve Russell and then we did it.

Marybeth and Joe worked with Connie Phelps who designed the book and they all went to Wisconsin where the book was published.

Joe: The most exciting part is when you see the cover come off the press. You just go, "oh my God!" And then about two days later they put the gloss on it which punches up the color a little bit and makes it silky. But that was a real high.
MB: Yes, and then they send you home with a sample copy that you can take around and show to local bookstores and key people.
Susan: How many did you publish?
Joe: We published 5,400 and have sold 3,200 copies.

The couple worked hard at placing their book as they did the marketing and distributing for the book.

Susan: So, knowing what you know now, would you do it again?
Joe: Yes.
MB: Oh, absolutely. It was the best thing we ever did.
Joe: Well, every step of the way, including the photography, we didn't know what we were doing. But by the end of it we figured it out.
Susan: So, what are you going to do with all this knowledge? Are you going to make more books?
MB: We have several ideas but we want a publisher for them. We are now working on a project with abstract landscapes.
Joe: In Idaho.
Susan: As a book?
MB: As a gallery show.
Susan: You guys are something else!
MB: Crazy!

While Joe and Marybeth are retired they joked that with the current economic situation they may have to, in Joe's words, "go back and work hard on photography. We'll be doing weddings!" he joked.

To explore the book that Donald George, the former travel editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, reviewed as "...sensual, robust, colorful, stylish, passionate, illuminating and altogether enchanting as the inimitable institution it celebrates," visit the Workshops bookstore or www.piazzabook.com.

Letters from the Field: Carlan Tapp

© Carlan Tapp

Earlier this year, photographer and popular workshop leader Carlan Tapp began working in Tennessee on a story about the TVA ash spill in Kingston, TN. This is one piece of a larger project called "Fueling America: The Social Cost : The 21st Century human condition and social cost of the production and consumption of energy in America."

Carlan has a new multimedia piece combining his interviews of residents at the site and with images of the devastation and has a new blog where you can keep up with his work.

Carlan wrote to us from the field:

At 12:40 am on December 22, 2008, 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic coal sludge surged into the confluence of the Emory and Clinch Rivers, covering 300 acres of rural Tennessee land and waterways.

The coal ash sludge is the waste by-product of burning coal to make electricity. The sludge contains heavy concentrations of a vast array of heavy metals.

Independent water testing at the Kingston plant's canal intake revealed arsenic levels 300 times what federal laws allow; all samples contained "elevated levels of arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel and thallium," according to Appalachian Voices' web site.

I have been in Kingston, TN working for the past five days.

Be strong, be safe,

Carlan

The Life of a Photograph

Sam Abell's new book, The Life of a Photograph, both inspires and educates. In this beautiful new collaboration between Abell and editor Leah Bendavid-Val, the book features never before published photos from Abell's personal work, as well as images he made for National Geographic. Abell deals with the question, “What's the difference between a picture that has a life and a picture that doesn't have a life?” Photographs are printed side by side, providing the reader with two views about taking pictures and two views about editing pictures. It’s an opportunity for deeper consideration of Abell's notion of "seeking" the picture.

The team of Abell and Bendavid-Val returns to Santa Fe this March to offer Publishing the Photographic Book, a popular workshop they have offered for many years. Their book will be available for purchase in the Workshops bookstore in March.

For a terrific in-depth interview of Sam Abell speaking about his new book, check out PDN online.