About
Tanya Moutzalias
[email protected]
1.734.306.0753
Detroit, MI
Tanya Moutzalias is a Detroit based photojournalist. She is a Multimedia Specialist for MLive Media Group and MLive.com in Detroit.
Tanya is a graduate of Central Michigan University’s photojournalism program. She was raised in Plymouth, MI, a suburb of Metro Detroit.
Aside from photography Tanya enjoys traveling, european soccer and her adopted stray cat, affectionally named Porch Kitty.
RECOMMENDATIONS
David Guralnick- Staff photographer
The Detroit News
“As a staff photographer for the Detroit News, I find myself running into Tanya all over town, and I am constantly impressed by the enthusiasm and fearlessness she brings to the job. Over the last several months I have become familiar with her work and can confirm that her photojournalism skills make her more than qualified for the position she is applying for. One of the most notable things about her is that despite often having less equipment and experience than her competition, she repeatedly produces work of similar caliber.
I saw a recent example of this during the Red Wings playoff run at Joe Louis Arena last month. Tanya, who had only covered a handful of hockey games prior to this, held her own against some of the best photographers in the state. I’ve been covering the Red Wings for fifteen years and I was surprised at how quickly she adapted to shooting the game, the hardest sport to shoot, in my opinion. Despite usually having a full shift of assignments from earlier in the day she also managed to do all of this with a positive attitude that is often missing from the other photographers I encounter.
Whether she’s creating photo galleries, video, or even writing the stories, her one-man-band work ethic has produced an impressive volume of content that belies the amount of time she’s been in her current position. In my mind, Tanya Moutzalias is the hardest working photographer in Detroit.”
Diane Wiess- Photo Editor
Detroit Free Press
Tanya is a talented photojournalist who excels at still photography and video storytelling. She is adept at seeing and communicating a story in creative, engaging and informative way.
Tanya is a self-starter, fast learner and hard working – always experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what she already knows in order to continue to grow.
Personable and friendly, Tanya’s capacity to put others at ease shows in her photographs. Those same traits make Tanya a great team player.
Eric Lacy- Entertainment reporter
MLive.com Detroit
“I’ve never worked with a photographer who loves Detroit as much as her. She NEVER complains and literally works to the point of exhaustion because she cares about journalism so much. I remember once getting a text from her apologizing for not getting some photos edited after a concert because she literally fell asleep in front of her keyboard at like 2 a.m. And how can I forget about her shooting video of that ESPN X Games skateboarding party downtown ON HER BIKE? I never thought of her as an intern and still don’t. Best of luck in the future, and I’m sure we’ll cross paths plenty of times in this crazy business down the road. And thank you thank you thank you for putting up with some of these crazy concerts like Metallica, Marilyn Manson and Korn. I know they weren’t exactly your style, but you worked like a true pro and gave your all, just like every other assignment. The media outlet that hires Tanya for a full-time gig won’t be disappointed. Journalism is the kind of business where you have to have enthusiasm and a passion for the job or else you’ll fail miserably. Nobody needs to motivate Tanya to do her job. She’s one of the most driven journalists I know and is bound to thrive. It was an absolute pleasure to play a very small part in helping you get some cool experience in Detroit, the best news town around.”
Dustin Block- Editor
MLive.com Detroit
“I know Tanya through her work as a photographer for MLive Media Group’s Detroit hub. She covered Detroit and the surrounding Metro area 40+ hours per week from December 2012 to December 2013, when her year-long internship ended.
Tanya is a talented, hard-working photographer capable of covering stories on the auto, crime, politics, business and entertainment beats. She also covered Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings games, including the Wings run through the 2013 NHL playoffs. Her photos tell stories and document events, enhancing, and often, leading coverage. Her photo skills are technically solid and she’s capable of writing and shooting video, plus she developed significant online reporting skills to build audience for her work. She was one the Detroit hub’s top performers, and was consistently among the MLive Media Group’s Top 20 pageview producers throughout 2013.
Tanya both works well with reporters and takes initiative to find her own stories. Her greatest strength is a willingness to find stories and be there to capture the action. One of her biggest stories for MLive was covering a fatal chain reaction of cars on I-75 last winter. Tanya worked her way to the accident scene and thoroughly documented the wreckage, creating compelling and well-viewed galleries that were highly competitive within the market. Other notable stories include a firefighter’s funeral, release of the 2014 Chevy Corvette, the Detroit bankruptcy filing, a series of arsons at a popular art installation and interior photos of a famously blighted building.
As an editor, I was most impressed with Tanya’s ability to work with staff reporters.”
John T. Greilick- Director of Photography and Video
The Detroit News
“I can attest to her professionalism and work ethic at these events and situations. She was always appropriate and respectful in her behavior while being aggressive about making pictures and shooting videos. She has an easy manner with her subjects as one can see from the picture stories in her portfolio. As the only M-Live photographer in Detroit for the past year, it seemed like Tanya was at every significant news or sports event that was top of the list that day. I was always impressed by how hard she worked at these events and how many assignments she covered daily in photos and video. Clearly she is a hard worker and very passionate about visual story telling. She communicated effectively with the M-Live reporters at these various news events.”
Kent Miller- Associate Professor of Visual Media
Central Michigan University
“With her leadership abilities, she did an excellent job in the roll of project manager for several group assignments. Her peers looked up to her as she selflessly guided them to be better visual journalists. Tanya’s photographs and multimedia are an inspiration to my current students.
Tanya is an easy person to know and like. Her strong ability to interact thoughtfully with her subjects is evident in her portfolio. She is a sincere advocate for the underdog. She bravely seeks out their stories with her compassionate visual talent.
Since her graduation in 2012, I have been delighted to see her excel as a visual journalist, expanding her expertise with compelling hard news and sports and continually improving her portfolio. “