Reader's Theme: Exploring and Experience

 When completing the readings this past week, I found that it is important to gain experience while also exploring for new ways to tell stories.

Even though we had already been told in class that Anne Lamott's book about fiction writing, Bird by Bird, would help us with our creativity in photography, I was still surprised with how much I have identified with it so far.

Lamott's introduction really grabbed my attention. In certain parts she discussed that no matter how much we hope and dream to be as good as we expect to be, there will be times where we won't be published and our work won't be great. The part where she pointed out how hard it is to produce at certain points in life made me think about how stressful it is to have story ideas that fall through, end short or completely don't go to plan after researching and preparing for so long.

However, there is also that time where there is an idea that completely works and the story progresses in such a way that wasn't expected.

In the introduction of her book, Lamott recalled telling her students that when her ..."writer friends are working, they feel better and more alive than they do at any other time. And sometimes when they are writing well, they feel that they are living up to something."

Last semester I found two stories that clicked for me, but it took some time for me to finally see what direction to take. Once I saw my direction, I completely felt obligated to tell both subjects' stories the best I could. I felt like I had to put my whole self into the piece in order to do it right. It made me feel like I had a purpose and to see the final result was incredible. Although the final product was wonderful to look back on, it was the experience that really did it for me. Actually being with the subjects and making photos was the better feeling. I could actually see the story develop in my head and I got excited at the possibilities the stories could turn out to be. Although I know both stories could still have been better, I believe this is what Lamott meant when she explained that getting published is not always the most important thing and that the work itself might be more rewarding.

Lamott's other chapters had a lot to say as well. I agree that some of the projects we attempt to tackle are so overwhelmingly big in the beginning that it is better to start out with just a little bit, or as she explained, take it "bird by bird." By producing work in a day or in just a couple of hours, that work alone pushes the story a little farther.

It is important to remember that we won't be perfect in everything we do. I feel that as students, when we produce stories, we feel the need to be perfect and to make every project like the ones we see winning awards. I admit to being one of those people and believe that is where I get most of my stress from when looking for ideas. Lamott's chapter about perfection is really true in that the way to produce new and great work is by making a mess and seeing what comes from it. It goes along with the idea of exploring and not being afraid to throw in something new.

 Authors Gross and Shapiro also bring up ideas in their book, The Tao of Photography, that encourage exploration and finding new ways of looking at life around us. By letting go of expectations of what we think we should be seeing and instead just embracing the moment, we can find stories and moments for what they truly are.

Along with finding spontaneous moments and taking fresh approaches to the shots we take, Gross and Shapiro also discussed different techniques for reconstructing stories. Changing prospective and rule-breaking are two of the four techniques that they found useful. When creating a new perspective by changing visual angles or lenses, we take on a new way of seeing the world. I also enjoyed that they encouraged readers to break the rules we have always known and using them to find a new way of seeing. It provides so many opportunities to see the world in a different way and is something to take advantage of.

The idea of experience is brought up in the Lenswork podcast, 10,000 Hours, where Brooks Jensen said that our abilities as photographers is based on the amount of time we are willing to put in. It takes time to explore and discover what works and what doesn't, and I believe this piece made a good point in that in order to be a photographer, one needs to practice photography for a great amount of time. It goes along with the idea that "you get out of it what you put into it," and by putting in the time and gaining the experience there is a greater chance at finding great work.

All in all, each reading gave a variety of ideas, which to me all seemed to come back around into this idea of exploration and taking the time to experience the explorations. It helped me reflect on some of my past assignments as well as mentally prepare on how to take on my role as a photographer in the future.

The Columbus Dispatch: Death Perceptions

Out of all the topics I brainstormed for multimedia pieces in the past, death was never one that had crossed my mind much. However, death found its way into multiple projects I produced last semester. My Boone Life transformed from being about a hairstylist living in Ashland, Mo. to being about a hairstylist in Ashland, Mo. who fixes deceased clients' hair for their funerals. Another long term story that I worked on dealt with the process of what happens to blood after it is donated led me to meet a cancer patient named Bekki. I ended up conducting a video interview with her for another project and she was so inspiring. Receiving the news from her sister that Bekki was going on hospice care was really hard to deal with. It was even harder when she passed away the day before I had planned to visit her for the last time.

Although the stories were challenging emotionally, I was really happy that I was able to tell both of the stories.

When I came across this piece in the Columbus Dispatch, I immediately became interested in how the photos and multimedia aspect would go about telling the story. The team consisted of six different people, Doral Chenoweth III being the photographer for the piece and Randy Walk as the video producer. The team took on many different jobs that deal with death and I liked how there were so many different stories to step into. The amount of access they was able to get with each subject also interested me.

With something as emotionally wearing as death, it also becomes something a lot more intimate. To have experienced death with two different projects in the same semester, I was also able to invest my whole self into them. I look back on both experiences and although they were hard, they also taught me a lot about myself and the stories that I can take on.

I don't know how much I will work on stories dealing with death in the future, however I was able relate to this piece and appreciate it for the story it told.