I'd be lying if I told you I'm exactly where I want to be. I'd also be lying if I told you that I'll find this place anytime in the near future. All I do know is that I'm in a great spot right now as I pursue one of the toughest careers to break into, so a little inspiration goes a long way as I start out into this brave new world.
One of the photographers I have followed of late has been Pete Souza. He's an amazing photojournalist that has just been named President Obama's White House Photographer.
Even the most talented and passionate photographers have to start out somewhere on the road to 'making it'. Souza just so happened to start out in a small town in Kansas named Hutchinson. Souza worked at The Hutchinson News from June 1979 through November 1980. So for a mere 17 months Souza trotted the same halls that I will be trotting for the next 5 months.
The old developing room at the Hutchinson News.
Red light, off.
Obviously things have changed a lot since then. The shift from film to digital, the struggle for newspapers to stay alive, and just about everything else in the world has changed substantially. It's nice to know that such an great photographer had his humble beginnings at the same paper that I am also starting to etch my beginning from. Granted, he was still souping his film and enlarging his prints, I'm just glad I had a chance to still do all the dark room work.
Tough to get that water to a nice 68.5 degrees.
Before being named Obama's Chief White House photographer Souza followed Obama from his humble beginnings in the Illinois Senate all the way to his rise to become the 44th President of the United States. He published an amazing book named The Rise of Barack Obama, it's an intimate set of images following an awe inspiring story.
From Hutchinson Souza went straight east.
I'm not quite sure where I'll be going after here, but I can guarantee it will be in one of these directions.
The direction that I hope to follow will lead to becoming a freelance documentary style photojournalist focusing on the environment and environmental interactions. This would include; environmental disasters, human conflict based around environmental resources, pristine and impacted ecosystems, use and abuse of resources, focusing on natural ecosystems dealing with human impacts, and other types of events based on people around the world and their unique interactions with the environment. The problems that need to focused on are numerous and vastly important in today's world.
Get inspired, I have.
Cheers,
Brad Vest
Absorbing inspiration in the old revolving dark room door.
Listening to: Masterswarm, Andrew Bird
