Week 15: To End

I knew nothing about photography coming into this course in August. I had no idea what all the buttons on a camera even meant or did. Looking back, I truly have learned a lot. I know what those buttons mean and when to use them. I know the rules of dominance. I understand the intriguing aspects of a shot and how to frame them. I know how to use what our eyes see advantageously. I understand how to be critical of photos, academically and emotionally. I understand how photography becomes powerful.

I like being an artist as a photographer. I am an artist as a musician; I have been for a long time and will continue to be. But, I like the artistic territory of a photographer. It explores and connects me to the natural world. I like that 'getting out'-ness. I think it has grown me as a human being.

My favorite part of this class was the community we got to build. We learned so much about photography, yes, but we learned it all together. We got to make art together, helping each other, critiquing each other, supporting each other. Yellowstone wasn't fun because we got to take cool photos; if it were just that, we would have each gone alone. Yellowstone was fun because we got to try and take cool photos together. I have a feeling that in all of photography, the human factor remains at the heart of the success of the photographers and the entire profession.

I found a video from National Geographic about a project they launched a few years back interviewing 44 of their professional photographers on what they love about photography, what they've learned, and why they have never left. This piece of advice from the very end of the video makes me happy: "If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff."

Maybe we should all resolve, as students, as future educators, as pilots, as future nurses, as future entrepreneurs, and as lifelong artists, to go stand in front of more interesting stuff and click the shutter.


Here is our cute-as-a-button group, standing in front of some pretty interesting stuff.

 

Link to video: http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/15/the-photographers-on-photography/