Photojournalist - Susan Markisz - Behind the Viewfinder

June 9, 1998

It's no secret that I enjoy covering community theater. The energy that goes into these productions amounts to countless hours of behind-the-scenes rehearsals and encouragement on the part of teachers, and students who are learning to take risks.

Risk is something I've had some trouble with in my life. Usually well obscured by a false self-confidence, I used to have the feeling that someone might discover I didn't really know what I was doing. To some degree, this is part of the human condition and many of us go through similar periods of insecurity in our lives.

Bronx High School of Science production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" June 6, 1998 © Susan B. Markisz/The Riverdale Press

Mostly, I don't feel that way about photography anymore, although I still occasionally beat myself up when I don't get great pictures.

But there's always that next level of risk-taking, opening oneself up to new experiences, intellectually and emotionally, which can be pretty exciting, except that it also opens doors to our vulnerability...and to rejection, to say the least.

I have the greatest admiration for kids who perform in front of their parents, their peers, their greatest admirers, who can also be their greatest critics, and the community.

On Saturday night I covered the Bronx High School of Science production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes." The production started over 1/2 hour late, and since we were doing a possible layout, it probably meant staying through the whole thing.

I was a little anxious because I had a 15 minute speaking engagement on Sunday afternoon in front of 500 people, and I had not finished writing the speech. I'd already had thoughts about changing the entire focus... I had used the delete key a lot... but then I'd think of something else to say. I still don't know what prompted me to accept the gig, except that I felt I could do it.

Watching the kids perform was, as always, inspirational. I forgot about hurrying along the performance to get back to my computer (as if I had a choice) and I watched the kids do their thing. From freshman to seniors, most had had little acting experience. (Bronx Science is known among the top academic high schools in the nation, but this was only the second theatrical production they'd put on in 17 years!) It was really terrific... and there are a couple of kids, whose names I fully expect to see in lights one day.

Jessica Brand played the part of Erma and Tom Ciaccio played the part of a sailor in the Bronx High School of Science production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" on Saturday, June 6, 1998

© Susan B. Markisz/The Riverdale Press

On Sunday, I gave a 15 minute speech in front of 500 people, including Congresswoman Nita Lowey. A newspaper photographer from Gannett covering the event, a friend of mine, chided me about my speech and how he was going to heckle me. (He didn't!) Afterwards, Congresswoman Lowey congratulated me on a fine speech. Someone had told her about the censorship of my photo in Congress in 1993 and she was interested in knowing more about it. Several others congratulated me on being a "great public speaker," using words like "profound" and "moving."

I guess the answer is to continue stretching ourselves, to continue taking risks, to do our personal best, whether it's photography, or anything else in our lives. If we do that, then the possibilities are endless. Anything goes!

Susan B. Markisz

June 9, 1998

Susan Markisz

< smarkisz@digitalstoryteller.com >
Contributing Photographer
The Riverdale Press, NY
Freelance for the New York Times

Other journals by Susan Markisz

334	November 10, 1999	I have a New Boss
328	Is Photojournalism Dead? Susan Markisz	I am not a photojournalist here (at the U.N.)
322	September 20, 1999	The heavy artillery has arrived
321	September 21, 1999	My adrenaline was already running high when I was given today's schedule.
318	September 14, 1999	7:45 AM: I note as I arrive at St. Bartholomew's Church on East 51st Street for the Interfaith Prayer Service
317	September 13, 1999	Milton hands me two Nikon F4's and an assortment of lenses and assigns staff photographer Evan Schneider to accompany me on my first assignment in the GA
314	September 10,1999	Milton Grant, Chief of the Photo Unit, welcomes me to the department and takes me on an informal tour of the UN.
312	August 31, 1999	The Boy Who Fooled New York.
311	August 20, 1999	I Went Scuba Diving
310	August 16, 1999	The Junkie Priest
306	July 21, 1999	The relentless quest for (Kennedy) imagery
296	July 7, 1999	Hot Hot Hot
294	July 3, 1999	The Sleepovers
288	May 31, 1999	Bad Judgment / Good Judgment: The Picture That Never Was
285	May 27, 1999	Shut Out
281	May 17, 1999	I received a letter recently that reminded me that I'd been taking some things for granted lately.
278	May 7, 1999	A Mass for Littleton
250	March 15, 1999	It's been three months and I've finally developed the rest of my film.
245	March 11, 1999	The picture-taking took less than 10 minutes.
242	March 3, 1999	I don't want to get in a mudslinging contest about the future of photojournalism
235	February 24, 1999	Lately, I seem to be the queen of features and the environmental portrait.
219	February 9, 1999	Does Color Matter?
208	January 29, 1999	Let Me Take This Call
194	December 28, 1998	Last July on this website I wrote about an assignment I had had, to photograph a mother and her young son, both of whom were battling leukemia
193	December 27, 1998	Girls, curls and slipjigs
188	December 19, 1998	Around this time last year I wrote that one of my goals was to find out how photography fits into my life.
172	November 4, 1998	We've all had to do our share of one computer genius/computer programmer/computer innovator/computer geek photograph after another... and it begs the question: How many ways can you shoot a computer without taking out a double barreled shotgun?
165	October 28, 1998	Baseball legends
162	October 26, 1998	"Keep following the story, sounds like fun!"
149	September 17, 1998	Something about Harry
144	September 6, 1998	Photography enabled me to bring my own vision and interpretation to the canvas, at first fairly effortlessly, at least compared to what it had been like trying to eek out an image from a glob of burnt sienna to replicate a paper bag still-life.
136	August 21, 1998	A Day in the Life
134	August 17, 1998	What was startling was that one of the kids who used to play there not so long ago, now a young mother herself, was there with her 3 year old.
117	July 18, 1998	This story is not about a war on another continent. It's about a silent one being fought here...and in just about every corner of the world
113	July 15, 1998	I don't do wars...
112	July, 1998	Lighting 101
107	July 5, 1998	Hundreds of people would gather and watch as unscripted---and illegal---eye candy unfolded.
104	June 25, 1998	How many ways can you spell G-R-A-D-U-A-T-I-0-N ?
102	June 24, 1998	Simple Pleasures
99	June 22, 1998	Life Begins at 40
95	June 15, 1998	"I am woman, hear me roar..." ...Ok, so it's only a muffled "Yesssss!!!"
93	June 13, 1998	Pomp and Circumstance
88	June 9, 1998	Anything Goes...
86	June 3, 1998	Shooting for Stock
85	June 1, 1998	Baby, think it over...
79	May, 1998	Art.Rage.Us -- An Essay
64	April 19, 1998	Thursday I took the day off ... well, sort of.
60	April 14, 1998	Bernard L. Stein, Co-publisher of The Riverdale Press, wins Pulitzer prize.
57	April 10. 1998	A Homecoming of sorts
56	April 6, 1998	"I am not Julia Child"
54	April 5, 1998	The Photojournalism Roller coaster: Of Extremes and Insecurities
49	March 30, 1998	The dark side of humanity reared its head in one of our communities over the weekend.
48	March 29, 1998	A mitzvah is a good deed...
46	March 29, 1998	Today, it was over 80 degrees
45	March 28, 1998	"the (not really) begging phone call."
41	March 22, 1998	In Search of Art
36	March 12, 1998	And today's assignment is to photograph...real estate brokers.
26	February 23, 1998	I always breathe a sigh of relief when I edit my negatives after a basketball game.
19	February 18, 1998	Newsroom Decisions, Dilemmas and Cut Lines
15	February 10, 1998	These are the things about journalism that are truly joyful
4	January 23, 1998	One of the last photographs I took in 1997 was of firefighter John Usai. . .
2	January 14, 1998	My hope for 1998 is an ability to come to terms with what role photography plays in my life.

Contributor since 1998