I have come to conclusion that I need a mentor.

You?! I hear someone asking unbelievingly.

You, who have education to fit just what you are doing, education that is both journalistic and photographic. You who have over ten years of experience in the first row of media professionals.

Yes, me.

But I didn’t say teacher, I said mentor. It’s different. Teacher is someone who is above, mentor is someone who is on the same level wit you. Teacher is someone who knows and/or can do something you don’t. With a mentor you’re equal, so that you can use your mentor as a kind of mirror to see more clearly where you stand yourself. Your strengths and weaknesses. In best situation this is two-way process, so that actually you are mentor for your mentor too. Win-win situation.

As a photo editor I might be making dozens of choices every day about which image to use and which not. But then I have a job to do. I’m given an article to illustrate, I know the story, I know what I’m looking for that story. A simple mission.

Situation is very different when I’m making choices with my own photographs. It’s emotional, I know situations behind every image – how, where, what, when – everything is much more complex. I feel I’m almost blind with my own images.

That’s why I need a mentor.