Team Okamoto

Yoichi Okamoto

Yoichi "Oke" Okamoto was born in 1915 in Yonkers, New York. He served as a visual correspondent in World War II, later joining the staff of a Syracuse, N.Y., newspaper. He later joined the Johnson Administration after the JFK assassination as the first ever Official White House Photographer. After leaving that post, he formed Image Inc., a D.C. based photo lab that he ran until officially retiring. Okamoto received numerous awards and was featured in "The Family of Man," an exhibition led by Edward Steichen. He had solo shows, attended seminars, gave a keynote address and was an instructor at the University of Missouri photojournalism seminar in the summer of 1961. He passed away on April 25, 1985.

Faculty Mentors

Melissa Farlow

Melissa Farlow is a freelance photojournalist who has worked extensively for National Geographic magazine on more than 20 projects in the American West, South America, Quebec, Alaska, the Alps and the Okefenokee Swamp.

Awarded a Pulitzer Prize with the staff of the Louisville Courier-Journal, Farlow received a National Headliner Award as well as Pictures of the Year portfolio honors while at the Pittsburgh Press. Named Distinguished Alumni by the IU School of Journalism, she was inducted into Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame in 2013.

In addition to projects for the Heinz Endowments, the Ford Foundation and Habitat for Humanity, her work is published in Smithsonian, GEO, LIFE, American Craft, American Bungalow, National Geographic Traveler and Sierra magazines. Farlow received a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. She teaches workshops and is a frequent lecturer as well as a photography consultant with The Photo Society.

Idris Talib Solomon

Idris Talib Solomon is an award-winning photojournalist and art director based in New York City. He has a versatile background in graphic design, photography, video, and art direction. He has several years of experience in advertising and is currently on contract at HBO as an art director. He is especially passionate about documenting communities that lack proper representation; sharing their stories, culture, and the beauty of their everyday lives.

He has photographed for The New York Times, Amazon Prime, HBO, ESPN, Reuters and The Drone Racing League.

He is the host and creative director of The Black Shutter Podcast, a series of conversations with Black photographers, filmmakers, editors and creative business folks.

Photographers