Non Basta ! Gallery
Master series with TOMASZ TOMASZEWSKI
Sicily, Italy 2017
® Ana Montoto
Ernesto Bazan and Tomasz Tomaszewski, two great photographers showing us how to be better photographers, so many good advises to achieve a quintessential image.
At the end the words “not enough” used at our daily critiques, made us laugh and suffer at the same time, stuck in my head and they come back each time I take pictures constantly looking for poetry in my images.
Thank you Ernesto and Tomasz for your time, advice and for making this workshop a fun, tough and unforgettable experience. Ana Montoto
® Barbara Merlo
Waiting for the plane I feel a little like an orphan. It is a sensation that arises whenever I move away from people who mark my life deeply. I believe that every human being aspires to immerse himself or herself in the beauty of Life by listening to their own heart. Participating in the workshop for me has been the most brilliant occasion. In addition to this feeling, it is not easy to express the alchemy of the days of the workshop. They have been intense days of emotion, photographic work and rich opportunities of everyday confrontation with Ernesto and Tomasz. Your enthusiasm, patience, interest and respect for our work was greatly demonstrated during the severe daily editing sessions, and they have been very encouraging for me. I had the feeling of total openness, the fact that you have been fully available with your great experience by proposing to each of us, lucky students, suggestions, tailor-made advice. I admit that sometimes during the editing I got distracted from the photos to look at both of you; The intensity of your attention, the concentration on each frame, the pleasure that I, sometimes, captured in your eyes, our progress, gave me the certainty of being in a great opportunity to improve. This is a rare attitude and I will always be in debt. Barbara Merlo
® Daniele Alamia
My second workshop. always in Sicily.
Things have remained the same many others have changed: The beauty of my home country, its colors, its scents, its light, and its food.
My adventure companions have changed, loving people and talented photographers I did not know.
Ernesto’s friendship is always a great gift that life gives me and I take it with gratitude and never take it for granted. Knowing Tomasz, his great professionalism, his humanity, his attention to the students, his love for all-round beauty was the other great gift of this experience. He and Ernesto have complemented their teaching in a fluid way and we all have had a great lesson of life, respect and friendship. In an industry where competition often creates enmities, this is a very rare commodity.
And then I would like to remind all of my friends who participated with me: Margozata, Eva, Magena, Isabella, Barbara, Ana, Linda (whom I found after two years), Regula, Daniel, Francesco Pavia, German and American) Francesco Safina, Kris: Dear friends, this experience with you has been beautiful. Boys, it was great to photograph, eat, drink, and laugh all together. Thanks to each one of you.
And since my photos were not perfect, I learned that concentration and being guided by instinct are very important in photography, but also that sharing and attention to others are often more important than a beautiful picture. Being able to experience beautiful experiences with sensitive people leaves a deep and indelible sign in the soul.
Special thanks to Ernesto who pressed me to be present this year despite various difficulties.
Thank you, my fellow friend. Daniela Alamia
® Daniel Torres
Philosophers like Nelson Goodman have explained how there are many different worlds happening around us. To see them we need a way of access, a way of understanding, a way of being, and a guide that can let us in. One could go to Sicily and completely miss the magical world that only people like Ernesto know and have access to. One could walk the streets of Palermo or Trapani during Holy Week, and never be fortunate enough to enter this alternate reality full of poetry and chiaroscuro, devotion, faith, struggle, sacrifice and in sum, a microcosm of the human condition and our eternal search for the divine that the people of Sicily hold so close to their heart. No, to really put both feet in this world and be able to truly live it (and perhaps to photograph it) one must walk with Ernesto in his first island. Sicily is not an easy workshop: as you witness the challenges dictated by the faith and its followers, you too will feel inclined to challenge yourself. But don’t you worry: The new you that comes out of that world will be stronger. All of us who have worked with Ernesto know this much is true. Daniel Torres
® Ewa Szymankiewicz
One could think that shooting the same theme (i.e. processions) all week long could be somewhat boring at some point. Not at all! Each day brought novelty, another chance to get better and to change the way we shoot.
Both Ernesto and Tomasz were our guides, our challengers and the guardians of the highest photography standards.
They pushed us to surpass ourselves and to look for our own style. And the team, being supportive yet critical, completed the perfect setup.
It was an incredible workshop and I look forward to the next ones! Ewa Szymankiewicz
® Francesco Pavia
This Easter workshop in Sicily was very useful! For the first time, not one, but two masters of photography helped me to give the best and to pick the best photographs taken. The two masters, with their reflections – complementing each other – made us understand the difficulty of taking a beautiful picture and the necessary perseverance for obtaining it. At the perpetual pursuit of the processions, filled with exciting moments, there were intertwined excellent lunches and dinners based on Sicilian specialties! The group was big and of the highest level, a big challenge for each of us.
I would advise any aspiring photographer to attend one of these workshops to really understand what photography truly is. Francesco Pavia
® Francesco Safina
It was my first workshop with Ernesto and I was also lucky enough to also have Tomasz Tomaszewski to teach and share their knowledge.
The scenario was well known to me: Sicily, the place where I belong, so my challenge was to see differently what I was used to seeing.
The path was hard and intricate, but with the valuable guidance of our two teachers and thanks to the multitude of points of view offered by all students, I can say that I have come to a new vision of this world.
The workshop was also an opportunity to meet some beautiful people, to share both laughter and moments of introspection, to create new friends with whom I will continue to share experiences and projects.
Thanks to everyone for the experience! Francesco Safina
® Isabella Franceschini
The workshop is over! It was overwhelming, passionate, indescribable: the tears mingled with wax drops, among the statues, the sacred images, the prayers, and the music vibrating in the heart as the dancing steps were taken during the processions. I got lost among them, finding myself again.
I was fortunate to have two extraordinary teachers: Ernesto, passionate, and Tomasz, rational; one complementary to the other in a balance, to say the least, perfect. It was a very advanced workshop where the editing at the end of each session with the help of the two Masters was crucial to the progress of our individual’s path, thanks to the given advice, along with the many no that undoubtedly helped us grow.
Both have a unique vision, away from common photographic stereotypes, which were an added valuable along with their incredible generosity. The concept of reportage is personalized and geared towards a pure emotional sphere, seeking a universal language that exceeds any time limit, forgetting the journalistic aspect of photography.
It was a beautiful training trying to find order in the chaos of the processions by conjugating that ‘less is always more’. In the end I am always who I am, with all my uncertainties and limits, with my heart bleeding more: I have grown a bit, but the path is still long and the desire to continue is screaming ever stronger.
A heartfelt thanks to all my classmates who have made everything so special. Isabella Franceschini
® Krzysztof Przybylski
As it was my second time of Sicilian workshop organized by the great Ernesto Bazan. Let me express my gratitude for the effort he put in that project. I have to say that all the days of our common experience passed so fast that it was a big surprise when it all had ended. As Susan Vega said – how could anyone weigh the worth of something so rare… And all the surprises and amazing waves of emotions floating all around Trapani and the paths leading us into fantastic world of photography guided by Ernesto Bazan and Tomasz Tomaszewski were so unique and amazing experiences that hopefully improved not only our technical skills but also enriched our souls. This kind of workshops – combining the great experience of both Masters – Ernesto and Tomasz – really enriched the way that I see photography, its magic, its beauty, its uniqueness. Thank you both for that time.
Hope to see you soon again. Krzysztof Przybylski
® Linda Omelianchuck
This was my second photographic journey in Sicily experiencing the beautiful, spiritual processions of “La Settimana Santa” in the streets of Trapani, Marsala and Buseto. Ernesto continually encourages us to come back to the same location more than once, so that each time we can immerse ourselves more deeply into the culture, the people, and the place. I found this year that the experience of Holy Week was more emotional for me, yet I felt more challenged to capture new images that were different from before.
This year was very special, not only for the sixteen international students from Italy, Germany, Poland, Mexico, the US and UK, who were all supportive, fun, and talented, but also for the privilege of having two master photographers as teachers. Ernesto and his Polish ‘brother’, Tomasz Tomaszewski, created a complimentary, caring team as the two of them generously shared their passion for life and photography, and pressed us to become better photographers. I learned to become a tougher critic of my own photography, as Ernesto and Tomasz used their strong editing skills to eliminate many photographs during our daily critiques, giving insightful explanations as to why they were not good enough. I also gained new insights in sequencing, focusing again on ‘less is always more’.
Thank you Ernesto, for being a supportive mentor with a ready smile. Thank you Tomasz, for being a spirited storyteller with a crazy Polish sense of humor. Through your laughter and friendship, you both have given me a deeper perspective of life and photography that will remain with me, yet ‘non basta’ until we meet again. Linda Omelianchuk
® Malgorzata Wakuluk
For me it was a time of many mystical impressions, of discovering new spaces in photography, and a very inspiring time.
Thanks to all of you I met many wonderful and sensitive people.
I send my highest respects to Ernesto and Tomasz for guiding me so beautifully through the meanders of photography and teaching patiently how to capture some special moments in my photos.
I have understood very much in photography and learned about it.
And I know how much is ahead of me.
It was a great time! Malgorzata Wakuluk
® Marzena Safader
It was a great experience. The two masters shared their broad knowledge and experience in a fully professional and open manner. Ernesto Bazan and Tomasz Tomaszewski have completely different characters, but both have sensitive hearts, are extremely open minded and attentive to the world around them. It was a pleasure to have the chance to observe them at work and learn from them.
Also, it was great to be surrounded by so many participants from different countries. The possibility to learn different views and opinions was a great lesson to me.
Thank you all for an amazing time. Marzena Safader
® Michael Schoelzel
Ten years ago I bought a CD with the sad marches of Trapani, not knowing that I would take this time photos of them. The whole week was a special experience with all the processions, the abandoned small town, and all the wonderful food and drink – the Sicilian lifestyle.
The daily selection of the pictures with Ernesto and Tomasz was critical and very helpful, and the end result of the whole, wonderful group impressed me very much.
Ten days that have sharpened my view of photography, although we have taken a lot of blurred images! Michael Schoelzel
® Mike Holderness
Once again I find myself at home after one of Ernesto’s workshops and wondering if I had not really been away at all, but had actually been at home experiencing some kind of vivid dream – this time a Easter vision of Israelites, Roman soldiers, Christ and crucifixion acted out on the streets of contemporary Sicily.
The Sicilian Easter week, “La Settimana Santa” is a loud, colorful and rather surreal spectacle that by any measure we were fortunate to witness – that we were able to photograph so much of these amazing activities at such close quarters was an immense privilege and this of course was thanks to Ernesto. The entire week, beginning on Palm Sunday with the Procession of the Living Scenes at Buseto Palizzolo, the fascinating abandoned town of Poggioreale, through the rehearsals and preparatory processions and the ultimate performances at Marsala and the Misteri of Trapani was a series of wonderful, intriguing and moving experiences.
As with many of his workshops, Ernesto used the processions as a framework around which to build a rich and rewarding learning experience that encompassed much more than just photography: stuff like love, life, food, whiskey, wine and friends. To top it all, my fellow students and I were blessed in having a tag team of two marvelous mentors: Ernesto and his dear friend Tomasz Tomaszewski. It was astonishing how well Ernesto and Tomasz compliment each other; Ernesto as always brought the soul and Tomasz brought the jazz.
With Ernesto encouraging us to seek the moment that transcends the descriptive and Tomasz extolling us to tell a story within one frame, the review and critique sessions were fascinating and inspiring. I find that the daily reviews are where the real learning is done and my fellow students provided a wealth of wonderful images that invariably showed me either how I should have photographed those scenes, or things that I’d missed completely!
As for my fellow students and new friends, it was an absolute joy to be surrounded by such a group of wonderful human beings and this made the workshop very special indeed. Without exception everyone was warm, thoughtful, encouraging, supportive, generous…and fun. I found the days in the presence of this life affirming folk to be food that nourishes the soul. Thank you all, you lovely lot.
Oh, and did I mention the fantastic food? Oh my days! Mike Holderness
® Mike Lang
The workshop Easter in Sicily, 2017, was a special experience for me. We had two wonderful leaders, Ernesto Bazan and Tomasz Tomaszewski, who together provided valuable critiques of our work plus significant technical information, and an atmosphere of creativity. In addition to learning from two fine teachers and photographers, there was the added experience of working with the other workshop participants, exchanging ideas and seeing their unique visions. We experienced the same events, but everyone saw things differently. In addition to learning how to construct art photography, we were exposed to the deep religious experience of the Sicilians that goes back centuries. The workshop provides a unique opportunity to observe and experience this religious commitment up close. I shall value it always. Mike Lang
® Regula Tschumi
The workshop in Sicily had been an amazing experience. With his great connections Ernesto managed to open us many doors to let us see and photograph the Easter processions in a very special and intimate way. But although we got great opportunities taking photographs during the Holy week was far from being easy. So one of the frequently heard words of Ernesto when looking at our pictures was: “non basta”, not enough!
This simply meant we had to work harder, get closer and improve our work. It was a very interesting and healthy process that surely brought all of us to a higher level in
our understanding of photography.
What made this years Sicily workshop especially interesting was the presence of Tomasz Tomaszewski who was teaching together with Ernesto. The two of them were an ideal combination as Tomasz not only selected and discussed our pictures together with Ernesto, but also gave us many technical advices in the field and entertained us with his exciting stories when he worked for the National Geographic.
A very big thank you to both of them for their great teaching and the incredible effort they both put in this Sicily workshop. A big thank you also to the wonderful group of photographers who had come from all over the world and who were contributing so much that this Easter workshop had been also great fun. Regula Tscumi
