Week Nine Blog

Topic One - Turning Pro

Having now been introduced into the wonderful world of photojournalism I can say that I am very hooked. Back in high school (over 20 years ago) I had wanted to enter journalism and having now taken this class I can see why. I really feel like that part of me was always there but never fully realized. If I was much younger I could see going that direction in my career. As it stands now I will definitely be increasing my photography repertoire but actually pursuring this as a career option seems overwhelmingly challenging to me. To get a job in this field I would need to get yet another degree and spend years working my way up the journalism ladder. The jobs are few and far between and you really have to live and breathe it in order to realize a lucrative career.

I learned a lot of great skills in this class that I am already using every time I pick up the camera. My composition eye has improved and I have learned to use many more features of my digital camera. I still need to work on stopping motion and finding that perfect moment to click the camera.

As I continue in my photography adventure I plan on starting a little side photography business where I am not necessarily reliant on the financial piece and can focus on improving my art of photography.

Topic Two - Photographer of the Week

The photographer that stood out to me was Arthur "Weegee" Fellig. I loved that he was willing to go the extra mile to stand out and get his pictures printed. When other photographers relied on other means to get the scoop, Arthur bought a police scanner and would just about meet the police at the scene. He was able to capture photos when other photographers were still finding their way to the scene. Even more inventive he packed a mini darkroom in his car and would process his prints immediately. Showing up at the newspapers with prints still dripping wet he was able to stay ahead of his competition. I found that level of commitment very inspiring.

Arthur's style was a raw, gritty photos of crime, death and urban life. I liked that he wasn't focused on making pretty pictures and was more interested in capturing the real city life as he saw through his lens.

I took away from that while it is important to consider all four corners of the photo sometimes it is more important to just capture the moment at the time it is happening. Sometimes people get a little too wrapped up in technique and taking the perfect shot and while they are doing all that work they miss the shot and mean while a photographer like Fellig has already taken the print, began developing it and is on his way to the newspaper to have it printed.