Photographers digital has divided us

Christians in Photojournalism July meeting in suburbs of Atlanta, GA

Staff photographers have always had a built in community through their work places. Freelance photographers in the days of film had some community through their professional labs and camera stores.

In the days of film even when you processed your own film as a staff photographer or if you were a freelance photographer dropping your film off at a professional lab you were able to interact with other photographers.

Just as indoor plumbing did to the watering hole and air conditioning did to front porches, digital photography eliminated the informal gathering of photographers.

Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. ...”

Most still photographers work alone as compared to motion photographers who work in teams of film projects.

When you work with freelancers you learn about depression. Once I have built a good relationship and can be open and honest with another freelancer many of them suffer from some sort of depression.

A lack of strong relationships is an acute risk factor for major depression and addiction. At a minimum, going into an office every day requires you to shower, get dressed, and at least nod to a couple of people. Freelancers are in danger of having less sustaining human contact.

Freelancers go through feast and famine periods. They have less access to the health, retirement, and insurance benefits that may help traditionally employed folks sleep a little better at night.

Jason Getz shares some tips and wisdom he has gained after the Atlanta Journal & Constitution let him go as well as Phil Skinner and Johnny Crawford when they downsized their photo department from 10 to 7 positions the end of 2013.

We had a meeting of Christians in Photojournalism at my house yesterday and three of the photographers who lost their jobs this past year at the Atlanta Journal and Constitution were there. We all enjoyed seeing each other's work and listening to how everyone is learning to adjust to this ever changing industry.

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

One of the things that Jason, Phil and Johnny talked about after losing their positions at the AJC was the loss of built in community. Now they must be intentional and reach out to friends.

There's an App for that

I think one of the reasons for social media to be so successful is because we all crave community. CIP uses Facebook to announce our meetings and I know some photo clubs that use an App for that called Meetup. Meetups are neighbors getting together to learn something, do something, share something…

I think the more things you have in common the better the community can be for you. Combining faith and work is a great way for freelancers to build a strong community.

Johnny Crawford shared with the group his new direction of pursuing teaching photography. He is working on his masters degree to open up more doors for him to teach.

Building the informal into the formal

I think one of the best things about the days where we gathered around the local lab and camera stores was the informal serendipitous moments. You may see a photographers work next to you on the light table as you were editing. I remember this often work spur conversations and I learned a lot during those moments.

One of the best things I enjoy about when the Christians in Photojournalism group meets is the 5—minutes we give to everyone that comes to share their work with the group.

Sometimes people are looking for help on a project and many times they are just sharing a recent project.

Jason Getz shares a pleasant surprise of getting to fly in a helicopter with the groom at a wedding in Savannah. 

Formalize the informal

I encourage you to find a group where you can be in dialogue with the other photographers. You need a place they accept you as a person and let you share your work and you get to see their work. You need to be able to ask questions and share your insights as well.

Check out our group as a possible group to join at Christians in Photojournalism.

12 week photography workshop for those who believe photography to be a calling

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/3.2, 1/280

Dennis Fahringer has been leading a photography program in Kona, Hawaii for more than 25 years. I first heard of the program back in the 1980's from my friend and mentor Don Rutledge.

Don was leaving on a trip to do work in Hawaii and at the time Don worked for the International Mission Board for the Southern Baptist. I joked with Don and asked what Hawaii had to do with international missions since it was a state.

This is when Don told me he was just teaching at the Youth With A Mission's University of the Nations campus in Kona, Hawaii.

Fuji X-E2, 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ4.8, 1/250

Some of the past guest speakers that Dennis brings in for every class have included Gary S Chapman, Louis Deluca, Joanna Pinneo, Don Rutledge, Patrick Murphy-Racey, Gary Russ, Anacleto Rapping, Ron Londen and many, many more.

Most of the students are just starting out. The ages range in the class from 17 to 69 for the class I am presently teaching. Most of the classes I have taught the majority are from 18 to 30.

Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/6.4, 1/25

Dennis has collected a large selection of books and videos for the students.

Dennis shares with his students many of his notes he has collected through the years on photography using Evernote app.  Dennis has shared some 3,700+ notes with the class that he has in Evernote: just short of 30,000(!) Just this alone is worth the price of admission.

If you are really wanting an intense photography program for twelve weeks then this is it. Before you can take this class you must do a DTS.  This is a 12 weeks lecture phase, plus 10-12 weeks outreach phase, thus 6 months total.  This is a Discipleship Training School where for part of your time will be a cross cultural experience. Many of these DTS groups go all over the world.

In my present class we have nine different nations represented. Those perspectives are great when learning photography.

Dennis has created a webpage for you to learn more about the program here.

Many who take the class go into business as photographers, other may use this in missions and even some just keep it as a hobby.

The Importance of a photography community--that you belong to one

Ben Gray, Visual Manager at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was our keynote speaker. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/6.4, 1/110]

While I have tried for many years to get a large group of photographers together for mainly social time to get to know each other, it has been a struggle. However, this weekend we had thirty-two people show up for our meeting of Christian in Photojournalism Atlanta/Southeast at our home in Roswell, GA.

I was talking to my friend Ken Touchton and he said he wasn't surprised because we had basically created a mini conference.

Berrie Smith, camera repairman, who works with Nikon and Canon on a regular basis was there cleaning people's camera sensors and doing some minor repairs. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 2500, ƒ/8, 1/125 with fill-flash set at -1 EV]

We had a keynote speaker, a devotional, camera repairs and complimentary lunch provided by Chick-fil-A.

Dorie Griggs, led our devotional time [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ƒ/9, ISO 12800, 1/100]

Dorie Griggs reminded each of us while our jobs may isolate us from one another that we do need to come together and rely on each other for support.

1 Peter 4:10
New International Version (NIV)
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

The Bible verse she used to remind us that we are to use our gifts to reconnect with one another was 1 Peter 4:10.

Craig Carden and John Bazee discover that they have a great deal in common. Both have worked for radio stations, love music and photography. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ƒ/9, ISO 12800, 1/50]

What was different from most photography communities is we encouraged spouses and significant others to come to the meeting. The reason is they are part of our support system. Those who support photographers have a lot in common as well they found out.

Also, spouses enjoyed meeting their spouses colleagues and getting another perspective on someone else who is also doing photography.

Peggy Frazeur and Carrie Carden spend some time getting to know each other for the first time at this meeting.  [Nikon D4, 85mm, ƒ/3.5, ISO 8000, 1/200]

Since I am a photographer more than a writer I am hoping that these photographs are helping you see the emotional connections that were being made and the enjoyment people showed in being in this environment. Most everyone commented how this was a blessing for them.

I think coming together and talking to others doing photography makes a huge difference in our emotional condition. Of course people were bringing their latest cameras to show to each other. We are all have to be a gear-head to be a successful photographer and finding something that is helping us do a better job is so exciting we enjoy sharing with someone. The big hit with most folks was pulling out their mirrorless cameras and showing all that these cameras will do that fit in a pocket.

[Fuji X-E2, 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.5, 1/50]

In December the Atlanta Journal-Constitution laid off all of their 10 photographers. They then gave each of them first shot at one of their 7 their new multimedia specialist positions. They no longer have just a photographer position anymore on their staff. Ben is also no longer just at the desk, he is out covering breaking news every day. In this role he is often the only AJC journalist on news scenes and is relied on to provide still photos, video, audio and reporting with accuracy and immediacy. He frequently contributes video to WSB-TV and audio to WSB Radio in the course of his work.

We asked him to walk through a typical assignment and how he gathers all this for all those outlets.

Ben's Breaking News Workflow:

• Get photos first: He arrived at airplane crash and knew from experience that he would be moved back by the police as they established the boundaries. "I can get quotes later, but I cannot get the photos later." He has an Eye-fi card in the camera. He just tags a photo and the camera is setup to automatically send the photo using his hotspot to send those to the newspaper/radio/TV station where they can pull those while he continues to work.
• Shoot Video on iPhone: He shoots 10 second clips that they post to the websites and WSB-TV can use as well. If they arrive with a crew he doesn't have to send the video.
• Reporting Role: He is gathering audio with his iPhone and then he sends these interviews by email to the assignment desk where they have a writer turn this into copy for the web. 
• Touches base with assignment desk: They may call and ask for more.
• Formal editing: He will do minor editing of image and captioning to add to the galleries online. He will also check the photos that were pulled from his photos that were automatically transmitted. He has pulled photos off the web that accidentally showed a dead person in a photo for example

Gibbs Frazuer is one of the people who shared their work. We have always given 2 - 5 minutes for anyone to share their work. This is a great way for all of us to see what each other is doing and also a great time for us to practice showing our work. [Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/8, 1/35]

[Fuji X-E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/8, 1/25]

Our First Project

I wanted to introduce the idea of shooting a project where we could each find a person and tell their story. To introduce the idea I showed Chick-fil-A's Every Life Has a Story.

We are all going to find a subject and put together a package which we will share at our next meeting. We are hoping to then find a space to hold an event where we can invite the subjects and the community to see the stories and maybe for us to leave an exhibit up of some prints from those stories.

Enjoying our Chick-fil-A sandwiches and getting to know one another. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ƒ/9, ISO 12800, 1/200]

When we all arrived everyone was meeting new people for the first time. In one way or another we asked each other, "So what's your story?" We all want to connect with each other. We not only want to connect through getting to know someone's story, we also want to share our story.

Dorie Griggs and Laura Espeut wanted a photo together. That is what friends do when they get together--smile. [Nikon D4, 14-24mm, ƒ/9, ISO 12800, 1/80]

Do you have a community? Look for a community to join and if there is not one you can find, then start one yourself.

Remember this is what God intended as we see in 1 Peter 4:10 "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms."

Once you understand God's grace you cannot help but want to pay it forward through service to others.

So, when are you getting together with some photographers?

International Missions Photography Workshop for Students

For many years a few of my friends have been talking about how to offer a hands on workshop for those who feel a call to use their camera in missions.

Jeff Raymond, ABWE Director of Visual Communications, called me and we talked for a while about our dreams.

There are a few things that needed to come together for this to work. Along with James Dockery, ESPN Video Editor, Jeff Raymond and myself we will be helping to train college students in storytelling for missions.

Next May we are taking 9 students to Lisbon, Portugal where each of them will work on a multimedia project telling a story about the missionary work in Lisbon.

The students will go through all the stages of the storytelling process. As they work on the project, each day they will receive instruction, opportunities to capture images and then receive critique so that they can then make adjustments the next day and continue to refine the story.

If you know of college students or are one yourself that is interested go to this link [http://www.abwe.org/serve/opportunities/photo-workshop] to learn more and register. We are taking applications and those who register prior to December 1st will be given priority. This is not the final deadline, but we encourage you to register early.