My Review LA

I used to attend a weekly psychotherapy group in Buenos Aires. It was an individual exploration within a collective experience. A journey trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel that we all shared.

Our Next Step workshops with Aline Smithson worked for me as sessions in which we learned that we were not alone in our quest for a future as photographers. Acknowledging our weakness, sharing fears and nurturing our strengths, our point of view, and self-respect as artists.

With Aline we learned how to educate our vision by working in a series, building that series and understanding the rules of the photography art world. Part of the task was to go out, take the challenge and present our work to the highest qualified eyes, trying to position ourselves out there.

Back in the day as part of our therapy we used to get together, twice a year, with two other groups for an eight hour Saturday marathon. As I remember we used to leave these extraordinary earthquake sessions in a state of grace with aftershocks that endured several months.

Review LA reminds me of those marathons for the experience and the results. After six reviews on Saturday I left the Doubletree loaded with questions, tips, ideas, renewed goals, comments and fresh insights delivered not only by the reviewers but also by the amazing and talented photographers with whom I had the chance to meet and exchange ideas.

I also realized that most of the attending photographers hadn't meet one another before the event. But some of us, the Next Step participants had. And that helped a lot Friday evening when I opened my box for the first time to show my Women in Windows series. I was looking around nervous and hesitant but a little more confident than the rest knowing that we, the Next Steppers, were there somehow for each other. Lots of them showed up and stopped by included Aline and her encouraging message: “Relax, you'll be okay. You'll have great reviews.”