My final project in my art photography class was a series of still life photos. Last week at critique for our portraits assignment my instructor called me a "professional photographer." Now it's true that I make my living as a journalist and photojournalist, but his comment was more than acknowledging that this is my job. He went on to point out that I "saw" and "knew" what would be the "perfect" picture. I was seriously flattered.
Photojournalism is seldom an art form. Mostly it's about capturing the action of the story. So you end up with a lot of well composed documentary shots that lend a visual aid to the writer's words. What I want to do is apply my artistic training to my technical skills. Photography plays so many different roles in our culture; it is a historic document, it is a souvenir, it is a memory, it is a record, it is a snap shot, it is journalism . . . and it is art. It can be many of these at once but for it to be art and these things as well is a seldom occurrence and is difficult to do.
I feel, given the input that my instructor has given me, that I am close to breaching this threshold.
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