Two-time Arizona Press Association Photojournalist of the year Patrick Shannahan (pictured right) shares tips with Reynolds Journalism Institute participants
Being a former television photographer and now an avid photography hobbyist, I was especially looking forward to Patrick's session with us. I was not disappointed.
Patrick addressed many of the questions I had, especially those about camera operational modes. I am motivated to continue my mission of getting students away from shooting photos on “auto” mode and move them toward shooting in full manual mode. The tips Patrick shared were very valuable and I am excited to share them with my students when school reconvenes in the fall. I will especially focus my photography instruction on experimentation—taking multiple photos of the same subject with minor changes to the exposure using the manual controls of the camera.
Beyond the tips Patrick shared, I loved the photographs he shared with us. My experience as a television news photographer taught me a lot about having an “eye” for telling a story visually and I especially appreciated Patrick's work as each photo had a story to tell. I spend quite a lot of personal time searching internet sites for great photography. One of my favorites happens to be of a 20-year-old who won the 2006 NSPA Sports photograph of the year award. I have known Zach Hetrick for about five years and thoroughly enjoy his “Sportraits.” While in high school, he developed a significant side business as a junior and senior in high school, shooting these images for friends at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Tuesday’s photography session with Patrick Shannahan was quite moving for me. I was moved to tears while viewing his photo essay about the couple who chose the life of an unborn baby over the life of the mother. The story moved me so much because their reality is one of my greatest fears. Each year, I discuss fear as a motivator with my junior English class. I share with my students that my greatest fear is losing my wife and having to raise my kids on my own. I cannot imagine the heartache of telling my kids what happened to their mother and the overwhelming responsibility of raising them alone. This fear motivates me to purposefully try to enjoy every moment I have with my family.
Being a former television photographer and now an avid photography hobbyist, I was especially looking forward to Patrick's session with us. I was not disappointed.
Patrick addressed many of the questions I had, especially those about camera operational modes. I am motivated to continue my mission of getting students away from shooting photos on “auto” mode and move them toward shooting in full manual mode. The tips Patrick shared were very valuable and I am excited to share them with my students when school reconvenes in the fall. I will especially focus my photography instruction on experimentation—taking multiple photos of the same subject with minor changes to the exposure using the manual controls of the camera.
Beyond the tips Patrick shared, I loved the photographs he shared with us. My experience as a television news photographer taught me a lot about having an “eye” for telling a story visually and I especially appreciated Patrick's work as each photo had a story to tell. I spend quite a lot of personal time searching internet sites for great photography. One of my favorites happens to be of a 20-year-old who won the 2006 NSPA Sports photograph of the year award. I have known Zach Hetrick for about five years and thoroughly enjoy his “Sportraits.” While in high school, he developed a significant side business as a junior and senior in high school, shooting these images for friends at Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Tuesday’s photography session with Patrick Shannahan was quite moving for me. I was moved to tears while viewing his photo essay about the couple who chose the life of an unborn baby over the life of the mother. The story moved me so much because their reality is one of my greatest fears. Each year, I discuss fear as a motivator with my junior English class. I share with my students that my greatest fear is losing my wife and having to raise my kids on my own. I cannot imagine the heartache of telling my kids what happened to their mother and the overwhelming responsibility of raising them alone. This fear motivates me to purposefully try to enjoy every moment I have with my family.
Trampus Willis
South Side High School
Fort Wayne, Ind.
Posts
One of my favorite colleagues likes to say that good literature is not about the characters in the story, but the readers. We read it, and we see ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe the same thing is even more true for journalism, as we see ourselves in the shoes of real people facing real issues. Thank you Trampus, for your candid response revealing your reaction to the photo-story presented yesterday. I, too, experienced intense emotion.
Jill Bhowmik
Granite Hills High School
El Cajon, Calif.
It was a pretty moving segment in what was already a great session. He seemed very in touch with the world around him and you could see a piece of him in each of his pictures. I want to take photos like that, I want my students to do that as well. I hope that they see that they are not just capturing images, but they are pausing a moment in the life of people for all eternity.
ReplyDeleteAlma A. McDonald
Hattiesburg High School
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Patrick provided a fresh eye and made the world of photography alot more viable and important to me. I always stress the importance of good photos in my class, however, the elements discussed by Patrick were tangible and easily understandable by laymen such as myself.
ReplyDeleteEric Gutierrez
Cerritos, Calif.