So, today in my history of art photo class we watched this documentary on James Nachtwey a war photojournalist. I don;t know how but I was super fascinated in it. I know I certainly do not want to do what he does (in the sense of going beyond boundaries getting shots of horrible situations). I don't feel it's entirely wrong (well, the way he does it at least), but it's just not something of my interest. He did have this really great quote that I needed to get down. It's on his being in the middle of all the action of war, poverty, and famine:
"Fear is not what's important; it's how you deal with it. It would be like asking a marathon runner if they feel pain. It's not a matter of whether you feel it; it's how you manage it. It could happen to any of us, anytime. And we all know that this is a distinct possibility every time we go out, everyday it's what we face. It comes with the territory, it's part of the job, you go in knowing that from the beginning. Nobody feels sorry for themselves; it's just part of it."
I was so ready to just get out there and start making a career out of my photography. I feel like I've been so disenheartened because of how little challenge I've had so far. Plus there's the fact that I'm surrounded by people who don't care about photography, but need to get a studio credit. I'm also surrounded by people who shouldn't be in art photography, who think it's bullshit. It's so frusterating to have to deal with these people in class; one because they don't take things seriously, and two because they mess with things and get in the way of the people who actually want to make a career out of it. I don't have issues with non-majors taking the classes, that's basically what I'm doing in every other class of mine, but I feel like one should take everything seriously. Especially since we're in college now. We should take this as an advantage, that we have a saftey net and can make these mistakes now so that we know what to do in the future. I just feel like I need way more inspiration from insied the Syracuse Uni. climate. I do have a few people, but that's about it.
