Yuri Dojc Photographer – Blog

Letter from Japan

I got a letter from young lady in Japan who sent me questions about photography.

There is universal interest from young people about media and many have no place to turn for advice. So here are the questions followed by my answers.

Q. How did you get into the business? 
A. I got to business by opening the yellow pages and calling on ad agencies for jobs. There was no internet in 1973.

Q. Did you do any schooling before you started? 
A. I went to Ryerson in Toronto for 3 years. My only prior education in photography was a love for visual art. I was 28 when I graduated.

Q. Where would you suggest to go for an education in photography? 
A. I would suggest to study photography where you love the work of the teachers

Q. Do you know of any good photography schools in Canada? 
A. No.

Q. How long did it take before work really started to pick up? 
A. Work come from beginning. I was not fussy and took everything which came my way.

Q. Did you do any assistantships for photography? 
A. I assisted only for 2 weeks at beginning but got bored.

Q. And how did you find them? 
A. Another photographer called his friend to hire me.

Q. Which area of photography have you found the most success in? 

Q. Which area of photography are you most passionate and why?
A. I love photography in all of it aspects. The job I do at any moment is the one I love the most.

Q. Is there anything else that you would suggest I keep in mind when pursuing photography?
A. Make a decision then start your research.

Q. Do you think there are better opportunities abroad?
A. In the global village there is no abroad.

Letter from Kentucky

Dear Sir,

My name is Rosco Weber and I am a freelance assistant who's worked in Illinois and St. Louis for some time. Currently, I live in Kentucky and have just started a new position in a recording studio as an assistant engineer. I travel quite a bit and, as a personal goal, I try to meet as many new photographers as I can whenever I find myself in a large metropolitan area. 

I'm currently planning a trip to Vancouver, BC and have been researching Canadian photographers. While scouring about the innumerable websites and galleries online, I came across your page. Despite the fact that I'll most likely not be visiting Toronto anytime in the immediate future, I was so enamoured by your work that I felt compelled to send you an email. 

As a photographer, it's always refreshing to find photographs that speak to you on a personal level. Unfortunately, it is the nature of the craft that many talented people are lost in a haze of self-righteousness. It's not often enough that one finds a successful photographer who still has grace enough to admit that he or she is, in fact, human like everyone else. 

I must say, laying your weblog out in the open for everyone to see is a brave and commendable thing that most pros would strictly avoid. It's nice to see that you've not fallen into the same trappings as so many others and, what's more important, have a sense of humor.

Thanks for building this website of yours, for your wonderful photography, and for brightening my day in an otherwise drab search for new contacts.

Sincerely,

Stephen 'Rosco' Weber
freelance assistant

 "For the secret of man's being is not only to live...  but to live for something definite." 

-Fyodor Dostoevsky