Thought Piece #1

This thought piece focused mostly on tips for being a prepared photographer and what picture stories and essays do. The first thing that caught my attention were idea logs. I had never thought of those before. I feel like it would definitely be an easy way to keep track of thoughts and ideas. Especially when looking at a story or series that goes for the time span of months or years. 

On page 59 it shows a lot about evolution. It is very interesting to see someone who is so in tune with what he does that he waits so long for the next step. I would like to think I could do that, but I honestly would probably forget after so many years and so many new assignments. 

In the second part of the reading it entered picture stories and picture essays. On page 102 LaBelle talks about how these kinds of assignments help photographers stay connected. When you spend so much time with someone you learn more about them and their lifestyle. While they are often good, it also makes it hard when they are sadder stories. Reading how most photographers try to avoid the sad stories makes me reflect. I do not think I would be able to cover something sad as it would make me sad. As someone who has experienced loss, covering someone who is about to go through the same thing, or currently going through the same thing would only bring me to a negative space. We have a career field where a lot of the times the mindset can be suck it up. You chose this career and you knew what you were getting into. However, it is also important to understand every photographer as their own person. 

When talking about personal ethics it relates back to the idea of staying around to show the evolution of a story. You want to treat others the same way you want to be treated and that is something I keep in mind when going to the same person several times to get photos or quotes. It is always important to be respectful and tell the story the correct way. One quote I like from this reading is “You may well be the only direct contact people ever have with the media” pg. 113. As photographers, journalists or any other aspect of media we play a huge role in how a story is told. Some people do not care as much to tell the full story, and leaving out certain details can lead viewers to assumptions and those are never wanted.

I really enjoyed that LaBelle provided some tips to be prepared. I have gone to events before and realized I forgot a very important thing that I needed like a second battery or a second sd card. Due to that, I made a list a few years back that I run down to make sure I have everything so it is nice to see that other people do the same. On the same topic, he talks about making sure to also shoot pics for fun. It is something I struggle with because I typically have fun regardless but finding the time and having the energy to go out when I may not want to can be quite difficult. LaBelle hit on a lot of really good points in this part of the reading, from the basis of what we will be doing in this class to different ways of going about photo stories and our jobs in general.