A semi-retrospective.
2003 - Washington DC
At Presidential Classroom, an academic/leadership program for high school seniors. I chose the week themed “media and communication.”
I don’t feel old enough to write a retrospective. Most people don’t believe my age, so I guess I don’t look old enough either…I’ll take that as a compliment ;)
My parents have stacks of newspapers in their attic from my short career as a newspaper photog. They’re always asking when I’m going to move them to my house. I usually say they can trash the whole pile or burn them, because I won’t miss what I don’t know I’m missing. You know…ignorance is bliss and all. But I’ve been on a bit of a “spring cleaning” spree, following the holiday chaos and literal mess that Christmas activities leave in their wake. And archiving has been included in the cleaning spree. So when I visited my parents’ house last week, I grabbed a stack of papers to sort through.
While culling the papers down to a selection to save my better work, I found a paper from one of my first assignments shooting for my college newspaper. I didn’t notice the date at the time. But when I sent the clipping to a fellow photog to share a funny memory about the it, he replied, “2005???”
2005. Yep, I’ve been working as a photographer for almost 20 years.
It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. And I certainly don’t feel like I’m as far along in my career as I should be with 18.5 years of experience. Oh well…can’t change the past. I don’t think I would anyway, even if it was possible…or at least not most of it. I’ve always been in the camp of thought that changing your history would make you miss out on too many of the experiences and relationships that led you to today.
2007 - Prague
Bouncing around Europe with a camera, backpack and two friends before starting “real life” as a college grad.
I once heard someone say that moving up in your career was kind of like climbing a mountain…sometimes you have to climb down a bit (or even backtrack) and sometimes you have to make lateral moves to help you get to the top. I’ve always liked that, and it seems to play true for me. My path has taken me on a lot of different routes, many that don’t seem to point to a common career destination. But I’ve learned something on each of those paths, and I think the value in all of my experiences is that it has turned me into a versatile shooter. By setting up at 5 a.m. to photograph babies at a preschool or carrying massive zoom lenses (worth more than my car) on each shoulder for a veteran photog at the Super Bowl, or by shooting thousands of assignments as a “one-[wo]man-band” or collaborating with an entire creative team to create my first cover image — each experience has helped me collect “tools” for my photography “tool box” that I can use when needed.
2010 - Baytown, TX
My favorite photo shot for The Baytown Sun, and my favorite interview I’ve ever witnessed.
And just as good as the “tools” I’ve collected (or maybe even better) are the people I’ve met, the stories I’ve heard and the access I’ve had that only comes with a press badge and/or a camera. I mean, what other job lets you (and pays you to) hop in the front seat of an open-air biplane, hug a lion cub or a Budweiser Clydesdale, and have a front seat to Biggio’s last at-bat? How else would a shy person like myself get a chance to sit down for a chat and hear stories from WWII vets and a WASP (pictured), learn how young and old entrepreneurs have changed or will change the world, be a fly on the wall at fancy galas, or watch artisans from all walks of life create beauty in various forms?
I know my experiences are a drop in the bucket compared to many veteran photographers. But this blog isn’t supposed to be about comparing or bragging; it’s just me starting the year with a few thoughts reflecting and appreciating the opportunities I’ve had with a camera in hand. Who knew that “spring cleaning” to calm the chaos could turn into a nice little trip down memory lane through a stack of old newspaper clippings?
