Kindness of Strangers, Part Two

Yesterday I wrote about a few people who really had an impact on me early on in my photographic life. I’ll pick up from there.

In November of 2005, I attended a lecture at the university I was attending. I was already having doubts about entering full-time ministry, and the talk that evening pushed me right over the edge. In 2004, ACU alum David Leeson won the Pulitzer Prize (along with Cheryl Diaz Meyer) for Breaking News Photography for his coverage of the invasion of Iraq. He spoke that night about covering the war, about the importance of local journalism, and how photos can change the world. It resonated deeply inside of me, in ways I coudn’t fully articulate. His words watered the seeds which had been planted. I knew I wanted to become a photojournalist.

I’ve since had the opportunity to meet David in person. He’s always been very kind, and willing to answer my questions and been very encouraging. Read this interview on The Digital Journalist. It’s chock-full of insight and wisdom.

Back to Flickr. A few years ago, a friend of mine asked me to help him make a presentation about the genocide in Rwanda. To supplement my own photos from his village, I turned to Flickr to find more for the slideshow. As I was browsing through the pictures, I thought I recognized someone in one of them. I clicked on it for a closer look, and it turned out to be a guy I knew, so I clicked around some more. That led me to the work of David DuChemin. DD has become a bit of a rock-star lately, churning out several amazing books on the craft and business of photography, as well as stunningly beautiful ebooks. Even before his books came out, David was stressing the importance of craft. He implored people to not be fixated on gear. Find your vision, and express it with whatever you have. Very important lessons, and it’s obvious he’s touched a nerve- his thoughts on vision and craft are very popular. He also runs a great blog.

In 2008, I started doing some freelance work for the Abilene Reporter-News. I was very raw, and knew next to nothing about photojournalism. I could take pictures, but I couldn’t really tell a story. I joined the NPPA (National Press Photographers Association) in order to network and take advantage of their mentoring program. Through the program I got in touch with Janet Worne, an experienced photojournalist who had just made the move to freelancing after a career as a newspaper staffer. I was drawn to her profile because, like me, her education had been in something other than photography. I thought she would be able to offer special insight on becoming a photojournalist without the formal training. Her comments and critique on my small and scattershot portfolio were so helpful. I could tell she really put time and thought into her emails, not just dashing something off. She encouraged me to pursue storytelling- finding a story I could really dig in to, not just the singles I had been filling my website with. I’m still not there yet, but I always hear her words pushing me in that direction. I’m incredibly thankful for her input. Janet also keeps a blog. Her story about her husband’s battle with cancer is one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen.

Last February, I attended the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference. I knew it would be a good time to meet other creative professionals, hear from some great speakers, and most important, the chance to have my portfolio reviewed. At the conference, Chicago Tribune photographer Scott Strazzante sat down with me and spent quite a bit of time going through my photos, offering honest critique. Up until then, I’d been moderately satisfied with my work. However much it may have stung at the time, hearing serious criticism of my photos from an award-winning professional journalist was one of the best things that happened to me. Without constructive criticism, you can never improve- and being told, kindly, that 18 of your 20 images suck, is a good thing.

At the conference Scott shared this amazing multimedia piece, Common Ground. It showed me that important and powerful stories can be found anywhere, right in your backyard, even. He also said something that has stuck with me: A good story = Time + Access.

Last year, I was looking through photography books at the ACU library, and came across this book titled “People’s Lives.” The photographs were beautiful and inspiring. I wanted to find out more about the artist, and was pleasantly surprised (actually, almost fell out of my chair with shock) to find out he was from Abilene. I took a wild shot in the dark and Googled him. I found an email address, got in touch, and soon Bill had invited me to his house for coffee. Bill is an amazing photographer, and was abundantly generous with his time. He also showed me that you don’t have to be a full-time “professional” photojournalist to make great images that can really communicate.

These are some of the photographers that have helped me along the way. In Part Three I’ll talk about the last group of people, those kind strangers, who have helped me become who I am today.