Mentorship 2016 – Nathan Siegel

I am pleased to announce that Nathan Siegel is the recipient of my 2016 Mentorship, a free tutorship which aims to give early career photographers and multimedia journalists an opportunity for feedback, critiques and advice on their work.

Nathan’s work focuses on environmental issues, geopolitics and business, with a heavy focus on issues in Africa. His portfolio shows a lot of promise and his writing is of a good quality too. A rare combination in our industry. I’m looking forward to working with him to help him develop his work over the coming year.

Thank you to everyone that applied for the Mentorship Program this year.

ABOUT THE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

The profession of photojournalism has changed a lot in the past decade. The seismic shifts from the film world to that of digital, the explosion of cameras which are now accessible to all, the profusion of the internet in our daily lives and the avenues for sharing images are all new realities.

So for those new to photography who wish to make it their career, the current climate can seem quite daunting.

As a self-taught photographer, I remember the feelings of starting out in the industry and not being entirely sure what path was the right one for me. I was lucky enough to find a mentor in the late Philip Jones Griffiths, during a 1-year internship at Magnum. This experience was one of the most important in my early career and helped fortify my desire to pursue photojournalism.

In 2015, I began my new mentorship programme that aims to help one photographer in the early stages of their career.

The mentorship programme is free and runs until the end of 2016. During that time I meet (virtually, via email or Skype) each month with the mentee and offer thoughts, critiques and guidance on the projects that they are working on, in an effort to help give them assistance through their early work.

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2015 Mentee – Coleen Jose – Early career multimedia journalist and documentary photographer, focusing on environmental issues in Asia. — “Thanks for the many conversations, edits and brainstorming sessions around photojournalism and the business. Your honest critique of my work and thoughtful questions continue to encourage.”