For this event, I had the opportunity to talk and shoot Miriam Edell and M'Liss Runyon who are both active members in the Veteran's Gardening Club. I found the meetup information off the bulletin board right outside of this exact photojournalism class as I was running into, late once again. While caught up in college life, I thought it'd be refreshing to visit one of my old hobbies I used to pass the time as a child. To revisit my roots of playing in the dirt, digging up the innocent earthworms, and admiring my mother's delicate flowers while also seeing a whole imaginary and unexplored jungle.
The smell of the freshly watered dirt was exactly the same and dragged me through a wormhole back to my childhood of vivid memories before meeting up with Edell and Runyon on LBCC campus in the community garden. I made a single phone call confirming the interview and the club dates. Edell was ecstatic to have me out there in hopes of spreading the word of the unfortunately withering club. I had gone out intending to discuss the club itself, who participates, and what happens within the club. I later come to find out the heartbreaking news that the club is on the line to be cut along with the horticulture program and the on-campus greenhouse. These cuttings have been in movement for a year now and is still a threat. I shifted the focus of my interview to why the club is being shut down, the efforts that should be made in order to keep it open, and the benefits of having the club. I hope to draw attention to the club through my upcoming article and spread the word about the unknown gardening club.
I knew the shots I was going for walking into the interview for The Commuter, and I knew the shots I wanted for my photojournalism class. Unfortunately, there were only two people that were out gardening until two more volunteers showed up just as I had wrapped up the interview. I shot a few photos of the director of the club working with those volunteers, but I wish I had gotten more. I told Edell and Runyon to do what they normally do and pretend I'm not even here. Those photos turned out how I wanted them. The green vegetation with a mix of the vibrant colors of the flowers and blue skies causes for a beautiful set-up. I do wish that I had gotten more photos of Edell's eyes as in most the photos she is, in fact, looking down at her garden "pretending I'm not even there." Other than my two regrets of not capturing a full face photo of my subjects, and getting more photos of the club leaders working with the volunteers, I think this has been my favorite and most successful photoshoot.
My favorite photo that I've shot has to be one of the few close-ups I took of Maruim Edell working in the garden. I am drawn to the detail in Edells features and the lighting of her hair that the black and white bring forward. I also admire her genuine emotion in the image as she looks down at her garden. I took this image to photoshop and played around with the coloring and the black and white features. To my surprise, the photo developed into a shot I'm very proud of. My worst photo, on the other hand, you could probably shuffle randomly in my camera roll, pause on a photo, and there's a high probability that it is my worst photo. I have taken over 300 photos at this point and have only touched and expanded my interest in about 20 of them. Out of focus, out of frame, too much blank space, irrelevant, too busy, not enough, bad lighting, awkward faces, horrible angles are all things I found through trial and error though each of my photoshoots. I have gotten over my discomfort with the camera and am more comfortable getting in there for the shots I want, but I need to get more action shots and should consider my surroundings in the frame. I also need to pay attention to the subject more rather than how the photo will look. I have to remind myself that I am taking these photos for a photoJOURNALISM class, not for a photography class. While I like the aesthetic of many of my photos, they won't suffice for the weekly assignment.
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