PART2 / VISIONan image that really worked. The control of the shoot
was a big focal point for me.A few years later, Millicent began teaching at the New
England School of Photography. “ Teaching forced me to talk
about what I did. It was the first time I began to articulate my
process and use words to explain what I had always taken for
granted.” It also provided Millicent an opportunity to recon-
nect with photographer Nubar Alexanian, as she comments,
“Nubar was my very first photography teacher. I thought his
insight would be helpful to my class, so I invited him in. After
listening to his advice and comments to my students I men-
tioned to him that he should begin a critique group.”
The idea for the group was not totally selfless. After years of
feeling comfortable with her work, Millicent was starting to feel
that her images were not pleasing her. While clients were still
happy, the photographer was not. “I felt that I was busy solving
other people’s problems,” she says. “I was meeting their agenda,
and somewhere along the way, that became the primary
focus.” While other photographers might have ignored the
clues, Millicent knew that it was time to begin to explore and
redirect her vision. The quest had begun.REKINDLING A PASSIONMillicent continues,I knew I was unhappy with my work, but I could not
articulate what I was unhappy with. I was thrilled that
Nubar began a new critique group. The group was key
for me. We were all working photographers who wanted
to rekindle our passion for photography. It was during
one of Nubar’s critiques of my work that I realized that
my produced images did not contain the spirit of who I
was. That was the missing link.
I decided to try a different approach to creating
images. I put my Hasselblad away, as I wanted to stop
“producing” and worrying about the technical end
of photography. I wanted to record found moments.Chapter 09.qxd 6/25/07 7:17 AM Page 54