"Close to Home was a great workshop for both nurturing and uprooting a story that I didn’t know I needed to tell. This was my first long-form personal project, as I’m so used to sprints, but this was a marathon, and Molly and Neal gave gentle coaching when I needed to push through my many mental blocks. Molly and Neal provided the perfect blend of guidance and inspiration in an almost-therapeutic environment! I loved getting to know my classmates through their work - it was an intimate look into the lives of their loved ones, and ultimately, a glimpse of each photographer’s heartbeat. I highly recommend this course to people who need to get a story off their chest! So grateful to you, Molly and Neal!"

Tiffany Luong, lifestyle and editorial photographer

 
 
 

An intensive 3 month Multimedia

Workshop

Designed to leave photographers with a new medium of storytelling - incorporating audio into documentary series, personal projects or client work.

 
 

If a photo is a moment frozen in time, sound is a fluid thing ...

 
 
 
... an invisible tug on memory with the power to transport a person back to a specific time or place or a feeling long forgotten.

The introduction of audio to a visual story creates an intimate space between the photo subject and the viewer. It allows someone else's story to feel familiar and helps the viewer connect emotionally to an experience that is outside of their own.
 
 

Join us this September for an exploration into storytelling

 
 
In this project-based workshop, we explore how photography and audio can be used to compliment each other and add complexity and depth to a narrative.

Each student will produce a 4 - 6 minute multi-media piece using photography, interviews and sound to tell the story of something "close to home."

This workshop is for intermediate to advanced photographers who are new to sound-recording techniques, editing audio and multi-media.
 
 

"Hands down my favorite workshop I’ve ever joined. It was exactly what I needed to feel a sense of community again after being out of the loop of the photography world for several years. It was a fun, exciting, and safe space where we were able to be open and become vulnerable together in order to produce the best possible projects. I’m incredibly proud of the work that I did during those eight weeks – not only for my finished multimedia piece but also challenging myself emotionally and creatively. Plus, it was an unexpected bonus to sort-of fall in love with audio… I can’t wait to do more and continue to use all of the skills I learned!"

Cindy Esquibel, family photographer

 
 

CREATE DEEPER NARRATIVES WITHIN YOUR WORK

WEAVE AUDIO INTO YOUR FAMILY OR WEDDING SLIDESHOWS

PRODUCE MULTIMEDIA WORK FOR BUSINESSES, NON-PROFITS AND COMMERCIAL CLIENTS

GIVE YOUR PHOTO SUBJECTS A VOICE

MAKE A DOCUMENT OF YOUR FAMILIES LIFE

 
 

DETAILS

6 interactive lessons

The workshop includes 6 live lessons that examine the different componets of producing a multimedia narrative. Lessons are filled with a rich dose of photo essay, documentary audio and multimedia examples. Each lesson is an opportunity for students to ask questions and dive deeper into their understanding of documentary storytelling, and will be accompanied by course material and an assignment for the following week.

9 workshopping sessions

Each week students discuss their projects, progress and challenges in a group setting. Every student will have time to share their work from the previous week, talk about the direction of their story, receive photo critique, draft revisions and guidance from Neal and Molly as well as peer feedback. The workshopping sessions are a valuable opportunity for supportive and exciting exploration into each students process. Workshopping sessions vary in time, you can expect anywhere between 2 - 3.5 hours per session.

 

A final presentation for family and friends!

Your final pieces will be showcased at a public listening party! Everyone is encouraged to invite family members, friends and the subjects of their stories.

This workshop does require a substantial commitment to attending the workshopping sessions in order to receive feedback on your project, as well as to support and build community with your peers. If you’re unsure about the time commitment, send us an email so we can figure out if the class will work with your schedule.

 

2 one-hour 1:1’s (one with Molly and one with Neal)

Each student will receive two private mentoring sessions: A photo review with Neal during the first half of the course, and a multimedia production meeting with Molly during the last two weeks of class. Molly and Neal will also be available for email support throughout the workshop.

Assignments

Assignments will include photo essays and documentary audio pieces to view and listen to at your own pace, as well as short story-development exercises specific to the lessons. As you move further into the course, assignments for each student will be based on individual feedback provided during workshopping sessions, such as themes to keep in mind while shooting and guidance on specific photos and recordings that need to be made for each project.

 
 
 

CLASS SIZE

This course will be limited to 15 students. In order to give adequate individual attention to each student, the group will be divided into two smaller workshopping groups that will meet on two separate days of the week. Participants are welcome to attend both Wednesday and Friday meetings, but will only workshop their project on one of the days.

INVESTMENT

Workshop fee is $1250 USD

$100 USD discount if you pay in full!

The deposit to reserve a spot is $400 USD with the remainder due one week before the workshop begins.

Payment Plan options available

One scholarship seat - please email for application.
 
 

SCHEDULE

Workshopping Sessions take place on Wednesdays at 4pm MDT and Fridays at 10am MDT. The class will be divided into two groups - a Wednesday group and a Friday group. On average, workshopping sessions are between 2 - 3 hrs long.

Lessons take place on Mondays at 11am MDT, and will be between 30 mins - 1 hr long. Lessons are recorded, but everyone is encouraged to join while they are live!

 
 
 

Wednesday Group Dates:

September 13, 4pm MDT
September 20, 4pm MDT
September 27, 4pm MDT
October 4, 4pm MDT
October 11, 4pm MDT
October 25, 4pm MDT
November 8, 4pm MST
November 15, 4pm MST - OPTIONAL CHECK-IN
November 29, 4pm MST

Friday Group Dates:

September 15, 10am MDT
September 21, 10am MDT
September 29, 10am MDT
October 6, 10am MDT
October 13, 10am MDT
October 27, 10am MDT
November 10, 10am MST
November 17, 10am MST - OPTIONAL CHECK-IN
December 1, 10am MST

Lessons:

September 11, 11am MDT
September 18, 11am MDT
September 25, 11am MDT
October 2, 11am MST
October 9, 11am MST
October 23, 11am MST

1:1’s will take place the weeks of October 16 and December 4, or can be scheduled as needed.

Final presentation will take place the week of December 11, Time and date TBD.
 
 
 
 
"Through one of the most impactful workshops I have participated in, Close to Home with Molly and Neal Menschel, I was encouraged to wrestle out loud with words and images to create a complete work. Molly, Neal, and the other workshop participants listened actively and questioned me respectfully as I processed and picked apart what I really wanted to say. With the goal of the workshop being to make what was in my heart to make, the support I received was invaluable and I am forever grateful."

Jacque Jackson, Documentary Family Photographer

OVERVIEW

 
 
Featured
Week 1
Week 1

Lesson - Storytelling with photography

Workshop - Conceptualizing projects and photo review

Week 2
Week 2

Lesson - Storytelling with sound

Workshop - Identifying themes and photo review

Week 3
Week 3

Lesson - Interview techniques

Workshop - Story development and photo review

Week 4
Week 4

Lesson - Script-writing and narrative arc

Workshop - Finalizing the story, audio and photo review

Week 5
Week 5

Lesson - Audio editing with Adobe Rush

Workshop - Script, audio and photo review

WEEK 6
WEEK 6

1:1 Photo Review Neal

Week 7 & 8
Week 7 & 8

Lesson - Sequencing photo stories


Workshop - Audio draft review

WEEK 9
WEEK 9

Workshop - First draft revisions

WEEK 10 & 11
WEEK 10 & 11

Optional Check-in & Catch up

Week 12
Week 12

Workshop - Second draft revisions

Week 13
Week 13

Individual final draft review with Molly

Week 14
Week 14

Presentation of final stories for family and friends!

 
 

“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.” - Murial Rukeyser

 
 
 
 
 
 

ABOUT molly & Neal

 
 

Molly and Neal, 1982

 
 
 
 
Teaching documentary storytelling together is the natural unfoldment of a mutual passion for photography and sound. Our first father-daughter collaboration began twenty years ago in a blue Volkswagon Vanagon headed south to photograph and record roots music in Mississippi, West Virginia, North Carolina and Louisiana. We still get super nerdy talking on the phone with each other about photography and we are so excited to share this workshop experience with you!
 
 

NEAL MENSCHEL

Neal has been a photographer for over 40 years, covering third world politics and development, environmental issues, domestic politics and humanitarian, social and cultural issues, always with a focus on people and “…matters of the human heart." His freelance work has been published in The New York Times, Newsweek, People, Geo, Front Line and Yankee Magazine, among others. Neal was the director of photography, senior photographer and photo editor for the Christian Science Monitor for 13 years, and worked as an associate producer and sound recordist on a series of award winning documentary films for WGBH-Boston, and WBZ-TV, Boston. He captured the fall of the Berlin Wall, photographed Nelson Mandela when apartheid ended in South Africa, spent a day with Desmond Tutu, has covered half a dozen presidential elections and accidentally hit George W. Bush in the head with a telephoto lens. Neal has taught photography at Boston University, spent 9 years as the director of photography and photo instructor at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies and currently teaches in the Continuing Studies Program at Stanford University. Above all, Neal is dedicated to storytelling.

 
 

MOLLY MENSCHEL

Molly is a writer and photographer with a background in documentary radio. She has taught audio production and photography to teens and adults and was a recipient of the best new artist award at the Third Coast International Festival for a radio piece that was featured on NPR, Living on Earth, Snap Judgement and Australia Public Radio. Molly fell in love with documentary photography during a 10 year collaboration with Neal, collecting photographs and interviews with families and musicians in Appalachia. She and her dad have been teaching together since age 15 when in another lifetime they offered private canoe instruction, led moonlight tours with thermos's of hot chili and ran environmental education programs for schools and summer camps. Molly has worked with photographers from all over the world, her philosophy of teaching focuses on guiding artists to connect with their own form of inspiration. She is a life-long documentarian, paying homage to the world around her through photography, writing and sound.

www.mollymenschel.com
 
 
 
 
 

Neal and Molly, 2000-ish

Molly outside a coal mine on a documentary trip in West Virginia

 

MORE KIND WORDS

 
 
 

"I thought I was taking the course to learn audio to expand my photography business but in reality I ended up breaking barriers with my father I didn't even realize existed and learning so much about him and the commonalities that we share. It was the best gift I could have been given in that time in my life as he passed away a week before my final edit of the project. Now, I use these skills to help nonprofits fundraise and share their mission with others. Audio enhances the stories I'm telling with photography; it's a beautiful blend that helps audiences understand and connect with others. Molly taught me how to ask deeper questions to better my stories as well as easily learn the technical work of production. Molly will always be the one who provided the framework for these personal and professional gifts in my life.

Leslie Truesdell, Photographer


"Learning to enhance my photo stories with audio during “Close to Home” with Molly and Neal was truly a revelation. I have always been a fan of podcasts that amplify their storytelling with immersive soundscapes, but until this class it never occurred to me that I could pair that practice with photographs to deepen the storytelling experience on a multi-sensory level. Molly’s deep knowledge of audio storytelling along with Neal’s experience as a photojournalist make them a total dream team as far as instructors go, and the time they took with each of us, helping us refine our audio-visual stories to be the best they could possibly be, really went above and beyond. This class is like no other out there - a truly original course in which you learn skills that can be applied in so many arenas: for family clients, businesses, personal stories, photojournalism and more. I highly recommend!"

Francesca Russell, Documentary Family Photographer

"Molly and Neal's Close to Home Workshop changed my life. I applied for it in hopes to learn some skills for a photo/multimedia project I had brewing in my brain, but it was so much more valuable than that.

Yes, I learned things. I learned about audio, and visual, and how to pair them together, and how to find the story, and how to tell it. But more than learn things, I lived things.

I lived in moments of togetherness with other artists where we worked together to help each other create our stories. I lived through the gifts that Molly and Neal gave me when they taught me about listening, and hearing and looking, and seeing. At its purest form this workshop taught me how to tell stories with photos and audio. But at its soul it taught me how to live. It rekindled my creative heart. Molly and Neal helped me tell the story of my community as a family experienced a loss. They helped me show the hearts of the people I love. They taught me how to see the life right in front of me."

Katie Toney, family and wedding photographer

"When I learned about Close to Home I knew the content was exactly what I wanted to learn, but I was wary; as a working parent with a full schedule I wondered if my money would be best spent learning independently, rather than giving my time to a group setting. I came out of the experience with a completed project, plenty of one on one time with Molly and Neal, and I still think about and refer to the work that I was privileged to see from the other participants. I highly recommend this format. It engaged both my creative muscles and has given me another avenue to move my professional work forward."

Kenzie Fields

"In 2021 I made the wonderful decision to enroll in the Close to Home course. I had been wanting to get more out of my photos for some time, to get more impact with my images. Thus, the photos with sounds, music, testimonials acquire new life, impact more. The fact that the person looking at the photos has to listen too sharpens their attention, so the images are seen more deeply. In these times where people on social networks can see dozens of photos in a few minutes, this type of multimedia work forces them to stop and pay attention. In addition, at a professional level it has taught me to practice narrative, learn to work with a new Adobe program, specify objectives, look for topics to discuss and get testimonials, etc. Starting and finishing a project has given me more confidence in my abilities."

Iratxe Álvarez, Freelance Documentary Photographer

"Close to Home was the best workshop I have taken to grow my skills and confidence as a photographer. Molly and Neal went above and beyond to provide detailed feedback and guidance through every step of the process. The story I created was for my children. To capture one warm spring of their childhood, to save all the moments, their little voices, their everyday. To show them how so much love can fit into a tiny home."

Rozsika Steele

"I was a bit apprehensive before taking the workshop as I wasn't sure how overwhelming it'd be to work with audio as a purely stills photographer, but learning from Neal and Molly made me so glad I did it! Their level of commitment to each of our multimedia projects, as well as giving their knowledge and guidance were invaluable. It helped me to appreciate and gain new perspective in editing and sequencing images and how to incorporate them with audio and interviews to have impact and emotion. It feels wonderful to be able to create a multimedia piece that I know will be a legacy for my family and an understanding of our Asian culture and identity. Thank you Molly and Neal for creating a wonderful environment for learning, support and encouragement."

Diana Hagues

"Childhood is liquid, it cannot be held for too long, its shape changes constantly and it is in constant motion. I learned this lesson well in the years since the pandemic; a period where time has stood still and moved rapidly at once. Three years where I've found myself observing my children closely, their physical and emotional transformation, the way their games have evolved, the manner in which their bond has become stronger. I also recorded their transition into adolescence, a huge explosion where I have been proud and terrified at the same time. Where I've had to trust everything we've built together in order to keep our heads above water. This is a story of love, of growth, of change, hope and fear. A story of motherhood. A story of life.

I’d like to thank Molly and Neal who have inspired me to look at the world and tell our story through new eyes."

Laura Gutierrez

“It was a privilege to work with Molly and Neal. They guide workshop attendees with such care and compassion. They helped me to become a better storyteller; I would HIGHLY recommend."

Carina Miller

"I learned so much about myself and my photography while working with Molly and Neal. Their insight, encouragement and guidance allowed me to finish up a story I was working on and incorporate sound in a way that I would have never been able to do without them."

Justin Ide

“I signed up for Molly and Neal's class because I really wanted to become a better storyteller. I love how Molly shoots and wanted to see if I could shoot like her. As it turns out I can't. But with Molly and Neal's incredible support and direction, I was able to find a way to tell stories, my way, and found that I absolutely love it. I really appreciated the critiques and the push in the right direction. I had no clue what story to tell, but in the end, it was the best story I could tell, one deeply from my heart, and I couldn't have done it without them, and the whole class I might add."

Beth Sanders

"I can’t recommend the Close to Home workshop enough. I felt immediately drawn to the class as soon as I read the description and knew it would be something to challenge and inspire me, especially after the 2020 doldrums. I hadn’t met anyone registered, including Molly or Neal, so I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect in terms of their teaching style or the experience level of the other students. However, all of my worries evaporated after the first class. The environment was warm and inviting and it was obvious from the beginning that we were all there to work hard to create meaningful art. Neal has so much to offer in terms of inspiring stories, encouragement, and putting things into the perspective of a documentarian. Molly has an excellent way of giving constructive feedback and catching the small details to push your work to a higher level, without being negative or intimidating. They both went above and beyond with their time to offer help whenever they saw the opportunity."

Cindy Esquibel, family photographer 



  
"Neal and Molly work seamlessly together as a team of photography educators, with their wide range of photographic experiences complimenting one another. With just one critique, they helped me fall back in love with photography and reminded me why I make pictures and how I can easily improve my craft with a few small changes. They convinced me to believe in myself and my photography skills." 
  

 Casie Zalud, family and wedding photographer 
  





   
"Neal is an inspirational teacher and my mentor. He connects with each of his students individually in order to help them work outside of their specific comfort zone when making photographs. His generosity of spirit has made me a better teacher and photographer, and his excellence in teaching is what I strive for in my classroom." 
 

 
Kate Philbrook, Chair of Visual Arts Department at EHS
  






  
"Working with Molly has been such a pleasure for me. I love her insightful observations and intuitive way of feeling what the students are trying to express, and asking the important questions to bring it to consciousness. I feel so accomplished after completing a multimedia presentation with documentary photography, interviews and even music- something I had never even considered attempting! I couldn’t have done it without her patient guidance."

 
Amy Lebovics, artist and photographer

  






  
"I first met Neal Menschel while attending the SALT Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, ME. He was, and remains to be, one of the best photography teachers I have ever had the pleasure of learning from. Neal's extensive background in photography gave me the working knowledge of the medium, while his unconditional support for his students gave me the confidence to pursue a career in photography."
  

 
 
Katie Hayes Luke, Photographer/Multimedia Producer at Katie Hayes Luke Photography

  






  
"Molly's wholehearted approach to teaching is everything I could ask for in a mentor. She offers insight that ignites and expands curiosity. I've never experienced anything like it. The time spent learning from Molly boosted my confidence in my unique voice which has been a true gift." 
  


 
Mary Moore, Director of Real Life Photo Conference

  






  
"Neal? Where does one begin? Thoughtful. Calm. Reasoned. Curious. Enthusiastic. Thorough. Engaged. Enlightened. Worldly. Proficient. Eager. Level. Ethical. Stellar. I worked with Neal at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies where he was Director of the Photography program for many years. He was a mentor to many, many students. Frankly, it's hard to find people of his caliber and character. Neal's one of the best."
  

 
 
   Rob Rosenthal, Producer, HowSound and Instructor at Transom Story Workshop 


  




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“Here are street noises at night, train whistles from a long way off, dry leaves burning, busy department stores, crunching toast, creaking bed springs, and of course, all kinds of laughter. There's a little of each, and in far off, lonely places, I think you will be glad to have them.” 
— Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth