Lessons

Lesson Info

Class Introduction

(clapping) Thank you. Thanks so much. Thank you, Kenna, and thanks so much for all of you for being here today. I'm really excited about the conversation we're about to have. You know, I'm gonna be, throughout this course, sharing stories, and tips, and lessons that I've learned through my career as a photographer, filmmaker, artist, and educator, and author, so I hope by the end of this class that you'll be able to find the confidence to trust your instincts, to push through creative challenges, and to move outside of your comfort zone, because I think that's where life and work gets really interesting. So, one of the most common things that people ask me is, "How did you get that job "as a White House photographer, right?" And usually I only have a few seconds to answer that question. But my story starts far beyond getting that phone call, you know, back to my path, which was not a traditional one. And I think that's important to share, is that I didn't go to a photography school. ...

I would've liked to, but I'm one of 10 children. Looking for those expressions, yeah. I'm one of 10 children, so I picked my college based on who would give me the most financial aid. And then I also worked three jobs to supplement what financial aid didn't cover. And so, although I couldn't get a photography degree 'cause it wasn't offered, I crafted my own degree in communications media as a major, with a minor in journalism, and a specialization in photography. So, I was even creative in that exploration. So, you know, when it was time to start to apply for internships, I couldn't compete with the kids that were coming out of photography schools. So, you know, but what I lacked in skill, I made up in perseverance. So, I reached out to a local paper that I knew ran photos really well. I admired the way they used photos and I asked to meet with an editor. So, she sat down with me and reviewed my portfolio and then delivered the news, "I'm sorry, "we've already given our summer internship "to someone else." I said, well, that's okay, I can do an unpaid internship. I just wanna get my foot in the door, I just really need to get experience. And so, she said okay, 'cause I don't think I gave her an option to say no. And so, I spent the summer working incredibly hard, trying to make the most out of all the opportunities. And so, I did another internship after that before landing my first full time job as a newspaper photographer. And so, from 2003 to 2008, I worked at a newspaper in Riverside, California, called the Press Enterprise. And you know, just, many of you know what newspaper photographers cover, all the things that you see in the newspaper. So, that could be, you know, anything from daily news, to food, to features, portraits, parades, fires, you know, anything, you name it. So, it was really great for me to able to build my foundation in photography, to learn how to troubleshoot on the fly, right? Because there's what you think is gonna happen, and then what actually happens time and time again. There's the plan, and then, you know, abandoning the plan and going with the flow. And so, that, you know, learning to do that over, and over, and over again really helped me in my career, you know, later on, and you'll hear about that too. So, we talked a little bit earlier about, you know, being drawn to certain subjects, maybe not knowing why at first. And so, in the earlier part of my career, I noticed that I was drawn to certain types of projects. You know, I really loved working on long-term documentary photo projects, so in addition to the stories, the photos I would shoot for the newspaper, I would work on projects. One thing that was interested in, interesting to me was the preservation of culture. So, I learned about a Purepecha community living in the Coachella Valley, and the Purepecha are an indigenous population of Mexico. And so, I was really interested in seeing how families tried to preserve their culture through generations. I was interested in finding out what was being preserved and what was vanishing. So, many of the Purepecha community have moved to this area for farm work. They, you know, just like everyone in American dream, wanted to make a better life for their family. So, I also wanted to look at why was this group of people being discriminated against? You know, how could we look deeper, challenge the eye to look deeper and make those connections? I also wanted to document moments where past and present converge. And, like, in this makeshift shrine where the community members were able to celebrate. In continuing to explore tradition, I wanted to look at similarities and differences as girls mark a rite of passage through different cultures. So, I'm just gonna show you, this was a series I ended up calling "Five Different Girls," and I'm just gonna show you a few images from that series. This was a young woman who was celebrating her sari ceremony, and friends and family came, and she wore her sari, and celebrated with fruits, and family members coming together with gifts. And so, this was a mark marking her transition from childhood to adulthood. Which also happens in a quinceanera, right? I love how pink. Could it get anymore pink, right? And so, you know, marking that transition from childhood to adulthood. The way this picture sorta speaks to me because, you know, I like seeing the teddy bears sorta just tucked in the closet, and you know, the posters. But then, also, like, contrasted with this really serious moment where she's focused on, you know, making sure she's prepared for this special day. And her practicing her dance with her brother. You know, I just love the expression on her face, you know, just such joy and innocence. And then, just knowing that, like, these celebrations are not just about the girl, but they're also about the parents, the friends and family, the community members. So, it was my hope that, through these stories of celebration, that we could see our own story of celebration, and maybe we could make those connections. I was also really interested in highlighting under-reported issues. Like, each year, thousands of farm workers flock to Mecca, a small town in the Coachella Valley, for the grape harvest. And this influx of people, there's not enough housing, so most migrant workers sleep in parking lots on cardboard, some stay in their cars, and some who are lucky enough to find a place are often in dilapidated trailers that are overcrowded. This man seeking refuge from working out in the hot desert sun all day bathes himself in a contaminated drainage ditch. And this man talks about the legacy of Caesar Chavez, and he wonders if anyone else will fight for farm workers. I'm also interested in documenting issues that are typically surrounded by stigma. I spent a year in a California women's prison documenting two inmates that were pregnant. This woman was hopeful that she'd be part of a new pilot program that would allow mothers and their child to stay in a secure nursery for up to 18 months after the baby was born. But, like with a lot of programs, funding stalled, and she was, she was almost convinced that she'd be part of the program, only to find out that it wouldn't be in place when she had her child. So, she had her child under the watch of this correction officer, and was separated quickly after the birth of her child, and then a few days later was back in prison. So, what was happening in the newspaper was, you know, the, we call it a shrinking news bowl. There was a need to sell more ads at the time, which made less space for us to be able to share stories and photos. So, you know, while that was a hard, challenging time for reporters, for photographers, you know, I saw it as a need for innovation. So, this was shrinking, the newspaper was shrinking, but then there was the internet, right? So, how could I find ways to train myself to be innovative, to tell my stories in new forms? Because obviously the first thing that's gonna lose space is documentary projects that need a lot of room to run. So, you know, I thought, well, I'll come up with a solution. So, in 2004, I did my first audio slideshow with a cassette recorder. And it was for a project about homeless youth, so we put this online, and you could see the photos, and you could click and listen to the voices of the interviews. So, in 2005, I went to a workshop and learned Soundslides, which was a new software program that allowed editing audio slideshows really easily. So, all of a sudden, there was this new software that made it really easy. And so, I upgraded my recorder to a little digital, like, Olympus or something, so it was only slightly better than a cassette recorder, because you know, technology was still evolving. But then, I wanted to expand this skillset. So, I wanted to find a story that could help me with these tools. So, I was looking for something that was really interesting visually and audibly. And I guess that's an important thing to point out too is, like, if you're, for me, I set goals for myself, 'cause, like, I want to make sure that I'm staying up-to-date with the trends, and that I'm expanding my skillset. So, I always said I wanna do one to two workshops per year, and one is gonna be like an intensive workshop that I might have to spend some money on that might be a week long where I'm gonna learn video, I'm gonna learn audio, or editing software, Final Cut Pro, or Premiere, or whatever you use. And then I would also say, I'm also gonna do something like a weekend workshop, or come to something like today at CreativeLive, or sign online to do a class, so that you are just staying up-to-date on the trends. So, I found a story that I was interested in. This was about a beautiful young girl named Alana who loved music and dance, and she also happened to be deaf. I was really inspired by the way that she heard the music, 'cause she felt the music through vibrations and through watching, and through the help of her classmates. Alana was innovative. Alana was using creative means to express herself to her classmates. She was writing, here she's writing on a notebook, sharing with her friends. (laughing) And her friends were innovative. Some of you might recognize this Game Boy, and they were writing notes to each other back before, you know, the iPhone existed, so. So, throughout my, (laughing) yeah, and just being expressive, right, and communicating? All the ways that we can communicate. And so, for me, I found that, you know, my willingness to want to try new things and being okay with not being good at those things right away, to be innovative, and to find solutions when there was a barricade, you know? I find that that has done a tremendous amount for my career. So, throughout this course, I'll be sharing stories and tips, and I'll also be challenging you and asking questions to push outside of your own comfort zone.