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In each issue of Enter, we put a set of near-identical questions to people who have taken part in a World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass.
These five-day events, introduced in 1994 to encourage and train young photographers, are normally held every November so that a dozen young practitioners from all over the world can meet and learn from some of the world's top professionals and each other.
The subject for this issue is Jesse Marlow, a 31-year-old documentary photographer based in Melbourne, Australia.
Over the last eight years he has worked for a range of local and international magazines, newspapers and commercial clients. His images are held in public and private collections across Australia.
In 2002, he was the inaugural winner of the Australian Hasselblad X-Pan Masters competition.
Jesse, how did you get started in photography and what was your biggest break?
At a young age, in the early 1980s, I began taking photos of the brightly colored graffiti walls that began appearing in Melbourne and most cities. My mother would drive me from wall to wall and I would jump out with her old Minolta, take a photo and hop back into the car and go looking for the next wall. This love of being out and about with my camera grew and after high school, I enrolled in a photography course. My biggest break was meeting and being mentored by a couple of really inspiring photographers at college. They set me on the right path.
What qualities does a top photojournalist need?
Passion, empathy and a never give up attitude.
What is your most memorable assignment?
The personal long-term assignments I’ve shot have always been my favorite. My Centre Bounce series, which documented the game of Australian Rules football being played in the Australian desert, was amazing for a number of reasons. Some of the people I met throughout that project have turned into lifelong friends. The locations I traveled to throughout the northern desert were breathtaking.
Are you – or will you ever be – fully digital?
I use digital for my magazine work and film for myself. I love the whole process of using film. From the suspense between shooting the photo and processing the film through to studying negatives on my light-box. It’s a process I know and love.
What essential equipment do you travel with?
A good set of walking shoes and a big x-ray proof bag of film.
What is your favorite camera and how do you use it most – do you prefer natural light, for instance, or artificial/mix?
For my personal work the only camera I use is a Leica M6 with a 35mm lens. I’ve always preferred to shoot in natural light.
How, when under pressure, do you try and make sure the image is as good as possible?
I’ll just shoot as many different variations of a picture as a situation permits. Sometimes this is one photo, other times it’s a 100. Being a photojournalist is all about putting oneself into pressure situations.
If there is one piece of advice you would give to a photojournalist starting out on a career, what would it be?
Shoot as much as you can and be as open to as many different styles as possible. I’ve found this to be a natural and organic way of working towards establishing your own signature style.
Which of the pictures you selected is your personal favorite and why?
They’re all my favorites. Shooting long-term personal projects is such a labor of love. Shooting photos on the street can be so unpredictable. These photos have all been shot in my daily travels. None are planned in advanced. The prospect of leaving the house with nothing and coming home with a photo that’s going to be with me forever is what drives me.
Next to whom would you like to sit in an airplane going where?
Jerry Seinfeld could make a long flight seem short but sometimes I do love sleeping on planes.
What ambitions do you have left?
My current aim is to publish a book of this work in the next 18 months.
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