Panel discussion
topics, section 5:
MR. HOCKENBERRY:
Other questions? Over here.
QUESTION:
I have a question. As a beginner, what would you recommend as
equipment to start off?
MR. H:
That's a good one. Beginner. Traci.
MS. PARKS:
It depends on what you want to do. But as a...and I was the only person
in photography school that had never taken pictures before, so I ran
into this. No matter what kind of photography you do, I think it's good
to start with a basic 35-mm camera. All manual. None of the auto focus.
I think it's easier to learn when you only have to worry about the aperture,
which is how big the opening is. And the shutter speed which is how
long it stays open. And to only focus on those 2 things, I think, is
a great way to learn photography. Get a tripod. And the manufacturer,
in my opinion, doesn't matter any more. Nikon and Cannon and Rico and
all of them are so competitive now that I don't think it matters what
brand, just as long as it's something you are comfortable with. So a
flash, an all manual camera, and a tripod is the greatest way to go.
If you can't afford all of it at once, which you may not be able to,
go for the camera and work your way up.
MR. H:
Although there's a lot of used equipment on the market, particularly
with all the changing technology that's happened.
MS. PARKS:
Absolutely, yes. And it's good to...
MR. H:
Manual cameras, which used to be the most expensive, are some of the
most affordable.
MS. PARKS:
And find someone...you know, there are, especially if you're going to
find something used, find someone to go with you or find someone in
the shop that will take the time to explain to you what to look for
when you're buying a camera for the first time.
MR. H:
Any suggestions for a beginner, Joan?
MS. WEXLER:
I think I'll agree with Traci, to buy a 35-mm camera.
MR. H:
Will you ever get a 4x5 again?
MS. WEXLER:
I may.
MR. H:
Yea? You're getting close?
MS.
WEXLER: No, not yet. I might at this point go for a digital camera
rather than a 4x5.
MR. H:
Because...?
MS. WEXLER:
Because a lot of people have suggested it to me and I know some photographers
in Washington that have gotten digital cameras and just are hearing
good things about it.
MR. H:
You said you fell in love with photography first in the darkroom, if
I'm not mistaken.
MS. WEXLER:
Yes.
MR. H::
Do you still do darkroom work?
MS. WEXLER:
Yes. But I think now I like the shooting aspect of it better. I've gone
full circle...I've gone 180 degrees and liking, just liking the darkroom
work the best and just shooting so I can have pictures, negatives to
work in the darkroom. And now I like the shooting aspect of it better,
and I find darkroom work now less satisfying. And I have a bad back
and it really hurts my back now to work in the darkroom.
MR. H:
Other questions? Right over there.
QUESTION:
(INAUDIBLE) how important it was for you to actually (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
for its own safety, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or any effects whatsoever, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
MR. H:Well, I think in general we have 5 lovers of photography independent
of their disability to begin with. Go ahead, Traci.
MS. PARKS:I definitely, as you've heard, it started out as therapy. If
I...I think if I had not found photography, I might not be here today,
literally. I may have committed suicide. So it definitely started out
as therapy, but what was wonderful about it, when I took the first picture,
I fell in love with it so much. And I started pursuing it because it
was an art form, because.... My first job was public relations in a
Catholic high school, and I thought it was my dream job. I liked...
MR. H::
You were selling Catholicism? To the community?
MS. PARKS:
I was selling Catholicism.
MR. H:
That's interesting. St. Paul had that job, actually, if I'm not mistaken
(laughter).
MS. PARKS:
Yes. I think I got paid just as much as he did, actually.
MR. H:
I see, I see.
MS. PARKS:
We were on the same salary scale (laughter). But I thought that having
a job in education would be very fulfilling because education is important,
whether it's a catholic education or public school education, just education
in general. I expected it to be very fulfilling. And it was not. I hated
it. And that's when I realized that it was not created. I am not the
type of person that likes to get dressed up, although I did for you
today. I didn't want to be at a desk 8 hours a day. I didn't...I knew
what I wanted to do was create, but I didn't know what it was until
I found photography. And now I don't have a save-the-world job like
teachers do, or doctors, or surgeons, or journalists who are reporting
stories of war and famine and everything else. But I love it...
MR. H:
If we're lucky, if we're lucky.
MS. PARKS:
And I find it so much more self-fulfilling. And because I am a happier
person now doing that, I find that I can devote myself. My hobby is
working at Children's' Hospital in Columbus. And I work with infants
who are born very premature with all kinds of disabilities, tracheotomies,
shunts in their brains, g-tubes to feed them, sometimes all three of
those things. And because I'm self-employed and I'm very fulfilled in
my job, I can now have a flexible schedule and do my saving the world
in my spare time. Which is not exactly what I planned.
MR. H:
There's probably...there's undoubtedly a continuum there. Traci describes
an experience where at one point her photography was a form of therapy.
Who on the panel would say that [therapy] had nothing to do with
their photographic experience or would say significantly differently?
Anyone? Suzanne:
MS. LEVINE:
I would say it was, I mean I've always been interested in the visual
language. I think it might be because of my inclination due to my disability,
I don't know because I was born with it.But for me it's a form of
communication. And actually in the last couple of years I have shifted
away from the area of disability issues and I'm doing close-ups of flowers.
And I'm also a gardener, gardellias, and other types of flowers. So
for me it was just a communication. It wasn't so directly related to
my disability; it was just a form of communication and self-expression.
And sometimes it's compelled by needing to communicate the civil rights
movement, and sometimes it's needing to communicate the little fur on
the flowers, and seeing the humor in nature. So....
MR. H:
Angelo.
MR. SCIULLI:
I find that my photography is a motivator to help me get out of the
bed on those inevitable bad days. When I find I would rather just
lie there and rest when I am tired, I find that my love of photography
is enough to force me to get up and go find a bear to photograph.
