Workshop Co-Directors

MPW.57 Behind the Scenes is coming Soon!

"Don't go for the easy story. Find something that challenges you, that scares you."
—Lois Raimondo / MPW.57

MPW.57 Rangefinder PDFs

Photo By Elizabeth Borda / MPW.57
PHOTO BY SAMANTHA CLEMENS/ MPW.57

"I'm real glad to have this job and be able to help people. I appreciate it," says Myrna Salmeron about her position as the bilingual customer service representative at Marshall Municipal Utilities with a smile as she fixes her two sons dinner. Myrna 22, her husband Jose 24, Jonathan 4, and David 2, made the move to Marshall two years ago from New York. To Myrna , it feels a bit like history repeating itself. More than twenty years ago, Mrs. Salmeron's parents fled the civil war in El Salvador and came to the US. In their native country, her father was a teacher and her mother was a nurse. Myrna remembers her dad telling her, "You were born in the US. You have the opportunity to become whatever you desire."

Married at the age of 16, having a child and then doubling up senior year to finish high school made life seem bleak to Myrna. She ended up graduating with a regent's diploma and has only looked forward by working hard towards her future. Myrna misses New York but has made Marshall her new home. The Salmeron family moved here to buy a house. "Houses here cost $40,000 instead of $400,000," Myrna said.

In town, many recognize Myrna because she works in a central location where all of Marshall's residents stop to pay their basic home utilities bills. Myrna's job beforehand was at the hospital's laundry room. She still holds dear her old friends and patients that she visits often. Due to the increase in Latinos in the community, (7% of the population in Marshall) bilingual positions have become necessary to serve customers. "When they come in they point at me 'Speak Spanish?'" Her co-workers say, "Myrna, it's for you!It doesn't bother me. I'm happy to help" explains Mrs. Salmeron.

Many Latinos seek work or are sought-after at Marshall's largest employers: Con Agra, Excel Corp, Fitzgibbon Hospital and Marshall Rehabilitation Center. Sometimes the adjustment is very difficult, as in Mr. Salmeron's case, where he helped manage a taxi service in New York and knows he can do much more than processing ham in the Tyson plant. He is grateful for his job, but he would like to put his managerial skills to use. Lunchtime and weekends are the only times he can enjoy moments with his whole family since Myrna and himself have opposite schedules.

Despite the obstacles, the Salmeron family have goals they want to achieve. Myrna and Jose, along with her sister, are in the process of purchasing a home to rent out in order to bring in another source of income into the household. In Marshall, things have changed a lot since the first Latino families moved in the mid-eighties. Many people like Myrna buy homes, move to other cities, or change jobs all for the ultimate pay-off of a better life. Myrna is planning to become a real estate agent. "There is only one Latino real estate agent in town. I hope to become the second," Myrna says.

Photographs from the 56th Missouri Photo Workshop are available available online through the Year-by-Year page, or through the MPW.56 homepage

History of the Missouri Photo Workshop

The roots of the Missouri Photo Workshop are embedded firmly in a half-century of rich tradition; current workshops carry on principals present from the beginning.

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When the late Clifton C. Edom of the Missouri School of Journalism founded the Missouri Photo Workshop in 1949, he too, looked to the past to map the path for photojournalism's future. Inspired by the gritty, content-rich photographs of the documentary photo unit of the pre-WWII Farm Security Administration, Edom promoted research, observation and timing as the methods to make strong story-telling photographs. FSA director Roy Stryker and photographer Russell Lee worked closely with Edom in the creation of the Workshop and served as faculty members during its early years.

In subsequent years, faculty members have been many of America’s leading newspaper and magazine photographers and photo editors; a roster of faculty and students reads like a Who’s Who of photojournalism. Faculty of today includes some of the most energetic, productive and articulate documentarians currently working. All are experts dedicated to passing on the fundamentals of photo research, shooting and editing to those who hope to carry on these values and techniques in the future.

The workshop still follows Cliff Edom's credo:

"Show truth with a camera. Ideally truth is a matter of personal integrity. In no circumstances will a posed or fake photograph be tolerated."

MPW.57 Participants

TEAM A

TEAM B

TEAM C

TEAM D

TEAM E

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