Interested in an MFA but can’t pursue one for any of a hundred rational reasons? Ride along with photographer and thoughtful fellow James Pomerantz as he completes his degree at SVA! James starts school today, and you can start with him, on his brand new blog, A Photo Student.

Here’s what it looks like:

I asked James just what he’s up to- read all about it!

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Hallo, JP! I hear you are going to do an MFA at SVA! Tell me how you came to this decision; what made you yearn again for the classroom, and what do you hope to gain from it?

Hey RH! You heard right. I’m going back to school. Rodney Dangerfield did it, so why can’t I?

My reasons for going back to school are pretty basic: I feel a bit like a child having difficulty expressing his thoughts. I have questions. I wasn’t fulfilled by what I was doing or what my photography was doing. I found it more enjoyable to work slowly with a large format camera and some Kodak film than I did to run around with a digital camera meeting daily deadlines. I found myself more interested in trying to document something personally interesting instead of considering what others might be interested in seeing.

I think going back to school is like going to see a marriage counselor or a therapist. I want to have clearer lines of communication between my brain and my photographs. Two years of school for an MFA isn’t for everyone. Many of the photographers I most admire don’t have MFAs and I wouldn’t presume to tell anybody else that they should do what I’m doing or that it’s the right thing to do.

I’m hoping that the answers to the questions I have will come through building upon different areas of my photography:

1. Strengthening my technical skills. I look at work by Barry Frydlender, Gregory Crewdson or Andreas Gefeller and I don’t have a clue how they do it. I’m pretty oblivious when it comes to lighting or post-processing.

Barry Frylender, Estates, 2005

Gregory Crewdson, Untitled (Ophelia from Twilight), 2001

Ohne Titel (Kunstakademie, R 217) Untitled (Academy of Arts, R 217) Düsseldorf, 2009

2. Strengthening my understanding of contemporary photography and the theory behind it. One of the courses I’m taking:

Contemporary Criticism with Richard Leslie: This course is designed to examine both general and specific areas of critical discourse. The first project is to examine the distinctions between commonly used terms such as “history,” “analysis,” “theory,” “criticism” and “critical theory” in broad, but grounded, terms. The second project is to delineate the concepts of modernism and postmodernism by tracing the development of specific methodologies such as formalism, Marxism, semiotics, literary theory, structuralism and poststructuralism, deconstruction, feminism and psychoanalysis. This mix also provides location of emerging discourses in cultural studies, and issues of imaging and representation. Understanding the issues as an interrelated history of ideas will be emphasized.

That’s some heady stuff!

3. Strengthening my images and the ideas behind them through rigorous critiques with a group of equally curious peers and instructors including Penelope Umbrico, Collier Schorr, Shimon Attie and Liz Deschenes.

Collier Schorr, Smoke Ring, 1999

Penelope Umbrico, 87 Suns From Flickr - 29 Visible

Shimon Attie, Untitled (from White Nights, Sugar Dreams), 2001

Liz Deschenes, Tilt / Swing (360° field of vision, version 1), 2009

I think that being a part of community where the basic intent is to study “new theories, contexts and techniques of an evolving, creative medium” is pretty damn exciting.

It’s very kind of you to share this experience with others- what will the blog encompass? is it intended to bring folks with you on your scholarly journey, or to tell them about your own progress?

The blog will have a lot of my experiences at school. After a critique, I’ll likely post some of my images and what the feedback was. I’m hoping that some of my peers at SVA will be willing to share their experiences too. I’ll be reaching out to students I know at other programs. I’ll try and interview gallery owners, editors, professors and whoever else will give me the time of day. When I was looking at MFA programs, I was fortunate to be able to talk to people in the photo industry and art world who I’ve met over the past five years that I’ve been working as a photographer. I went and sat in a critique at Yale. I went up to Columbia and talked to Thomas Roma who runs the program there. I was still pretty confused! I’m hoping this blog can lessen some of the confusion for others interested in getting an MFA. For those who don’t want to get an MFA, maybe they’ll be interested in picking up one of the books we’re reading, or checking out some of the work we’re discussing. I guess I also want my blog to be a community where people can discuss “new theories, contexts and techniques of an evolving, creative medium.”

Thomas Roma, from House Calls with William Carlos Williams, MD

Do you hope to continue to make the same kind of work you have been making, or will we suddenly see you in a studio making beautifully lit and precise portraits (or something similarly different)…

I have no idea! I’ve been feeling very liberated lately. I really don’t know what the next two years will be like and I’m so comfortable in my ignorance. I’m excited to embrace whatever happens and I’m keeping a very open-mind about growth and change.

Do you hope to parlay your Ms Fs and As into a teaching position some day? Because this blog sure would be a great start.

Peter Bialobrzeski, Ramesvaram

Mark Power, Warszawa, 2005

Philip-Lorca diCorcia, Ike Cole; 38 years old; Los Angeles, California; $25

I think it would be great to teach. Some of my favorite photographers also hold teaching positions: Peter Bialobrzeski, Mark Power, Philip-Lorca diCorcia…and of course, everyone at SVA. The blog would be a great start. Some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned have been from fellow photographers I’ve met in the field. I remember sitting at a computer at a hotel in Haiti, wondering why my photos were taking so long to send. I had no clue about resizing an image or compressing a jpeg. Shaul Schwarz stopped me and showed me what to do. That was 5 years ago and he probably doesn’t remember it, but I do.

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Read A Photo Student! And read my interview with Mr. Pomerantz, a few weeks back.