Today our class got the opportunity to visit the McClathy-Tribune and The Associated Press. This day was one of the better days of the week and was based on photographic wire services. At the McClathy-Tribune, I learned about their business plan. MCT is a wire service and operates 20+ newspapers in the US. I am interested in MCT because I want to freelance and possibly shoot for the wires.
In the afternoon we arrived at the Associated Press Washington D.C. headquarters. David Ake, Director of Photography in Washington D.C. gave us a grand tour of the offices and sat us down to talk about the AP and answer questions. One of the main concerns for the AP, especially for David, is finding photographers who are “hungry” and have the desire to become the best they can be, no matter what. David put the emphasis on a photographer to be driven and always pushing the limits. He doesn’t want photographers to take no for an answer. It was inspiring to hear such encouraging words about becoming successful and it got me really excited.
After the Associated Press we got the chance to hang out with Carol Guzy in her home tonight. She talked to us about the process of finding stories, what it is like to work constantly, and how she deals with mental strains of the job. I found it inspiring to hear her thoughts about photojournalism and the passion she has for story-telling. She mentioned, “Every time I photograph, even if it is a small assignment, I try to make a photo story every time, because I think in terms of a photo story.” The idea of constructing a story is essential in photojournalism, our class has heard it countless times on the trip, but to photograph each assignment as a photo story seems compelling and above and beyond. Her work clearly shows her passion for story-telling.
After talking with us, she had the chance to review my portfolio tonight. My singles need to be stronger and my shooting style on stories needs to change. I need to use more variety in my lens choices and cropping while shooting a story. I got the chance to show her a small edit of my Horse Show Mom story I am working on and she gave me some good insights for the future. I need to dig deeper into the story and show Beth at home interacting with her children and her horses. I need to photograph the family in a different environment like at home and find important details that relates back to showing, like a trophy room. Overall, she was happy with my work and told me to keep working hard.
During these last couple of days, I have noticed my love for photography is growing. I have become hungry and desire more in my work and studies. I want to become better. I want to dive into multimedia and work more with audio and video. I want to become a better story-teller! I have the rest of fall quarter to kick ass and polish my portfolio. I will spend winter quarter applying to summer internships so I have a job when I leave school! Here is to the beginning of a new, exciting life ahead of me in photography.
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