I received several questons as a result of the post Moose Peterson did about my time with him during his Master of Light Program (MLP). Several of the questions I thought would be interesting to many of you so I decided to do a post with the answers to the top questions. Here is the link for the post on Vincent Mistretta – MLP.
1) How much work was the MLP?
The answer to this question is more complex than a number of hours. I will give you an example. In general, Moose sent me 1 major assignement a week. When I sent him the completed assigment, he would often either develop a new assignment based on some element of the work I sent him or ask me to redo the assignment with some new twist. This new work would be due in 1 week, in addition to the next regularly scheduled assignment. As you can imagine, I did have a few periods of time when I was juggling 5 assignments for the program.
2) How long does the program last?
It is 3 months long which includes a weekend shoot with Moose and attending a DLWS event. We went to Baxter State Park in Maine together after the Maine DLWS.
3) Did Moose really spend that much time with you?
Yes. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how generous with his time he was. I will make a confession here. As many of you know I have had a long career on Wall St. I am a fundamental trader/analyst by training. Very regemented in how I approach things and evaluate situations. I am known as a numbers guy and believe numbers don’t lie! One of the things that I love about photography is that it touches the other side of my brain, the creative side that doesn’t get used in a numbers don’t lie environment/lifestyle. However, this transition for me, made Moose’s job very difficult. It feels now like he spent the first 2 months training me to let go of my rigid self. I mention all this because I feel Moose went above and beyond what I think would be customary. He clearly did more than I think the “fee” associated with the MLP should have provided.
4) Did you learn everything you wanted to learn?
This is a really interesting question. I am going to answer it in a slightly different manner. The thing I learned the most from my time with Moose is what I didn’t know. This set the stage for me to learn in a more meaningful manner. Photography is an evolutionary process for many and the time it takes to improve is different based on aptitude, time spent in the field and frankly, attitude. I learned a lot, but I have also learned a lot since finishing this program. Put another way, I think the program has empowered me to learn at a faster rate.
5) Would you take the course again or recommend it to others?
Yes and yes, very much so! If you envision a career of some sort in the business of photography, this course is highly recommended. It is also excellent for just improving your photographic skills.
6) Can you complete the course while working another full time job?
I think this depends on the person and their resolve. I did it while working a full time job. But I admitt I did a lot of work on the weekends and at night. If that is too much for you then you might want to heed the comment Moose made in his blog post which was “Not everyone makes it through the program”! I suspect this is one of the reasons for past participants not making it through.
If you are interested in more information about Moose’s program, here is the link for the Master Light Program.