Magnum photographer Constantine Manos. Credit: Pauline Boldt
I have been a fan of Magnum photographer, Constantine Manos (Costa) for several years. Not just as an admirer of his work, but as a street photographer, I aspire to be as good at my craft as he is. His work is in the permanent collections most artists only dream of one day being featured in, The New York MoMA, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Houston, The Biblioth̬que Nationale in Paris, The Art Institute of Chicago Рto name a few. He turns the ordinary into extraordinary, uniquely blending the right moment with composition and a unique style. He has documented events all over the world, including a bone chilling ku klux klan series from 1959 and wrote the first anti-segregation editorial ever written in his segregated state university of South Carolina.
Constantine Manos exhibit at Burroughes Building. Credit: Pauline BoldtTwo years ago I made my way to a lecture Costa was giving through Magnum Photos during the CONTACT photo festival. At the end of his inspiring talk, I asked him how or at which point in his life he knew that he was good enough to be a professional photographer. His answer commenced with a perplexed look which followed by: “Know? How did I know? I never knew. I just did what I was passionate about. And I believe that everyone should find their passion and pursue their passion.”
At the time I had a secure job that paid well with great benefits. I liked it, kind of. But I knew that I was not put on this earth to be a “marketing manager”. And although I agreed with Costa’s simple answer to my question, and had always been encouraged by my family to do what I loved, life was “comfortable”. I took the job years before I discovered my passion for photography. But in recent years, I had found my passion. I had never loved something as much as I loved to photograph. I would lose myself in shooting. I would forget to eat. It was an obsession.
Credit: Pauline BoldtSo, no more excuses. I was ready to pursue my passion. Costa was right. It didn’t matter whether I was good enough to be a pro photographer, I had the passion. I had no idea where it would take me but I didn’t care. I just knew that my love for creating images would take me somewhere, somewhere great. And it just felt right; scary, too, but right. Months later, I made some sacrifices, some serious changes including resigning from my cushy corporate job.
Fast forward, only two years later where I was fortunate enough to co-curate and exhibit in a group photography show with the Greek America Foundation at The Burroughes Building for the CONTACT Photography Festival. We invited Costa Manos to be our featured photographer. Luckily for me and for all those who attended, he accepted. It was an honour to work with a master photographer and ever so sweet and interesting man. We exhibited two of his bodies of work; The Greek Portfolio and America in Color and he spoke to over 400 attendees at our opening night.
Constanine Manos photography exhibit. Credit: Pauilne BoldtIf someone had said to me two years ago that one day, in the not so distant future, I would be curating a group photography exhibit of 100 works including those of a mentor and Magnum Photographer, and that I would be travelling the world creating street scenes and selling my work for money and contributing to various magazines, I would have probably said, yeah sure, maybe in my dreams. Truth is, most days, my life seems like a dream. And it is, because I AM LIVING my dream. Don’t get me wrong, my life isn’t perfect but it is great! If you can’t relate, stop making excuses and start living your dream. If I can do it, you can too.
Constantine Manos with photographer Voula Monoholias.Thank you Mr. Manos for pursuing what you love, being the catalyst to my change, and for being a pleasure to work with.
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Voula Monoholias is a contributing photographer for Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter @voulavous.
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