hello foto
i’m at the runcible spoon. an unexpected breakfast because class let out early. i’m attempting to blog on paper. this week has gone by so quickly. all plans to be productive over t-day break were unsuccessful. so monday i hit the ground running and this is the first time i’ve stopped. though this week has been stressful, i’ve strangely enjoyed it, when your schedule is stacked, your priorities are very clear. know precisely what can be cut and what can’t.
this has been a great photo week for me. it is the first time i have felt ok and comfortable with talking to my subjects. one of my larger challenges as a photographer is warming up to my environment. some of my new found comfort is directly related to a conference i attended called ‘flying short’ put on by the npaa. this conference focuses on continuing education for photographers. there wasn’t much presented on the technology side that i hadn’t been exposed to already. what blew my socks off at the conference was hearing the behind the scenes stories of the photographers who presented. they talked in depth about how they approach a scene and interact with their subjects. i was encouraged to hear that even on a daily news assignment some photographers will spend hours warming up to the environment. several speakers addressed earning the trust of your subjects. this was the first exposure i’ve had to the idea that the photographers interaction with the subjects is integral to getting great picture.
i’ve gotten to utilize these ideas this week during my assignments for iucomm. my subjects have all been winners of the iu staff merit award. on tuesday i took photos of two iupd officers. as i began to talk with them i learned one worked for iupd for 20 years and the other one since he was a cadet which was 30 years ago. while most of the award winners were nominated for a job well (generally speaking), these two officers were nominated because they saved a woman’s, a student i think, life. one officer preformed cpr while the other administered the defribulator. i was in awe, and honored, to take photographs of these two life savers.
this morning i took the photo of an electronic engineer. i knew going in that she was very anxious about getting her picture taken. it was going to do us both good to take time and get to know one another. i learned quite a bit about her life and it was really rewarding. this is the first woman older than me i’ve spoken to who has worked in a predominately male industry. i enjoyed hearing her perspective about working with men. after she had been speaking to her success in her industry, she was sure to mention to me that she wasn’t, “you know, butch” and that she was married and had kids. i could relate to her need to point out that was a woman through and through she just liked working with her hands. i related to her more than she realized.
these interactions are inspirational to me and further fuel my new found desire to be a multimedia storyteller.
a sidebar to the above events is that i got to spend a little bit of time with an accomplished photographer who is seemingly not an ego-filled jackass (like many of the photographers i get exposed to hear in b-town). i was in my friend michael’s office and just as he was telling me that he brought his photographer friend into speak to his class, his friend walked in. i was able to chat with him for a bit and ask questions about his background and what he shoots now. as we parted ways i asked if he’d mind letting me pick his brain sometime and he agreed. so hopefully this will lead to a fruitful interaction or two. i need to continue exposing myself to photographers who are more interested in story telling than making money and fame.
