Through another lens

At Earth Day this week, I took a few pictures for the shells site while looking for a few extra sources or potential profiles. What I found, however, was a different perpective. I enjoy covering large events. And the Earth Day celebration is one of the my favorite events of the year. So when I went out there with an SLR, I had to look at things differently. I wasn't looking for sources, for people who knew what they were talking about. I was looking for action and interaction.

I took a few photo classes in high school and haven't really worked with a camera since then. But, like riding a bike, it's not something you forget really easily. Finding a focus, getting a different angle, framing the shot were three lessons that teacher drummed into his class. Most of the photos I took for that class were not of the type I was taking on Sunday. They were inanimate, artsy. While taking photos at Earth Day I realized you don't lose the artsyness while taking photos for the paper. It's all the more important. If the shot doesn't have a strong focus, events like Earth Day look like a chaotic mess on film. There are so many people, so many colors, so much movement.

I'm lucky I was really just focusing on taking pictures of the people we talked to. One of the guys I spent some time talking to and will make a profile of was in a booth discussing solar water heaters. He had serveal of the cells on display in a corner. They were a deep purplish color and looked like something from outer space. A gentleman from Quincy, Ill., who was visiting his daughter at MU was asking several intense questions about them. I used the solar panels to frame the photo of the two men talking. I'm proud of this photo and am looking forward to using it on the site.

I have a renewed appreciation for photographers and their jobs. I'm no where near a photo major in skill, but I'm not half-bad. I flexed a few different mental muscles. I had a damn good time. And I think it's a worthy hobby.