For my media participation project I had the privilege of following around Diamondback photographer Christian Jenkins as he shot a lecture being given by distinguished French neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene on "Reading: How literacy changes our brain." As far as the presentation goes, the topic was very foreign to me, so as Mr. Dehaene rambled on to a riveted audience who clearly were more intelligent than me, I followed Christian around observing as he tried to find different angles at which to take some pictures.
After he decided that he had captured enough images to run with, we packed up and left for the editing studio where I was able to ask him a few questions about what he does. Through our discussion I was able to learn that his job as photographer was very demanding, asking him to be at events at really inconvenient times, but also very rewarding, as he says it has taught him invaluable time management skills. All the work pays off however, when he sees one of his pictures published.
I felt like I gained a lot through the time I spent with Christian in that he showed me a side to journalism that, up until that day, I thought was rather menial. I was proven wrong however, as he sat editing six photos, of which only 1 or 2 would be actually make it in the paper. Although I didn't get to shadow him at a sporting event, which would have been my preferred choice, I was still able to have a good time, learn a lot in the process, and establish a new connection with an important person at the Diamondback. While I still don't see myself pursuing a career in photojournalism, it was great to see what Christian does.
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