Hello from Sunny SWFL

My biggest apologies for not jumping on this earlier! I've been frantically working my behind off for the past few weeks to save up some money for the trip. I'm excited, anxious and nervous about the workshop but look forward to meeting everyone come Friday!

I've been out of school since May and officially freelancing since August. I've started receiving a fair amount of work from the Naples Daily News only a few weeks ago, and up until then, sort of lost my drive to shoot. I've figured out now, how to balance part time work with my shooting and I couldn't be happier. They're keeping me busy at the paper and I can hardly stand to keep my camera down.

I've always been big on workshops. I love the camaraderie, meeting so many new faces and the burst of enthusiasm people receive from the days spent shooting. Last year I was fortunate to attend the Mountain Workshop and Picture Kentucky. Here's a link to my Mountain Workshop story: Man About Town

I've also done a little multimedia. At Picture Kentucky I helped shoot and produce a video about a tiny community in the mountains of Kentucky called Rex Fox.


Black as Coal from Allie Garza on Vimeo.

Finally, a few photos from a recent shoot at a high school football game. I love fall and football and it's only as of yesterday that the temperatures are beginning to match the season down here.

Looking forward to meeting all of you and hope everyone has a safe trip to New York!

Hello from Washington D.C.

Hey everyone,
I wanted to come on this blog and tell everyone what I have been doing this past week.  My teacher William Snyder has hooked our senior class up on a tour of Washington D.C. to visit different publications and see first hand what everyone does in this business.  We have had the opportunity to visit many places this week but to name a few: National Geographic, Washington Post, NPR, USA Today, and White House Photography Office.  I have sat through many meetings and gathered a small collection of helpful critiques about myself and how to become something more in the future.  The amount of information I heard during this week is extraordinary.  I learned what editors look for in freelancers and also the amount of drive one person must have to make it in this business.  I have met some really amazing people in Washington D.C. this past week.  William plans to make this an annual event so every future photojournalism student at RIT can experience what I did this week.

I have more on my blog if anyone is interested in reading in more detail about what I do each day on the trip.

As for the workshop, I can't wait to meet everyone at the workshop and on the team.  I have heard from many people on my trip and in the past months how important this workshop is for all the students and how much I will take away from it.

Sorry for being so lame at blogging!  I plan on blogging during the workshop when I get time, if I have it? :)

-Chris