I take pictures as if you were standing next to me and I wanted to point something out to you.  A tap on the shoulder and “hey, look at that!” moment.   If something makes me smile or catches me in the moment, snap, there goes another shot.  Maybe it’s a texture or represents something I learned that day.  And, of course, to remember what I’ve seen to share with the rest of the world that wasn’t there at that precise moment in time when I experienced something wonderful.

I am still quite timid about taking photos because there is this intrusive, mind-your-own- business aspect to it. In a creative writing class I took about telling stories out of photographs, I learned that it used to be a superstition that the camera would steal part of your soul and I, unfortunately for my photography attempts, tend to agree.

But I do love the challenge of trying to capture the scene and finding things that may have been overlooked by others, maybe even putting my own spin on a typical scene.  Since I am new to photography there is always something new to be learned from getting the settings right on the camera to a new technique.  My camera has been a great companion in all of my travels and adventures.  It gives me a purpose for being wherever I am, and makes me keep my friends and family in mind when they all are so far away–which can sometimes be a source of homesickness.

I first got semi-seriously interested in Photography last fall through our university’s newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian.  I was there Web Editor-In-Chief for a year and met some really interesting people in the Photo Department, so I was always jealous of their assignments and their expertise.   It was very easy to get involved because we always need bodies to put the paper out five days a week, especially with the over-scheduled lifestyle of Penn students.  They shoved an extremely fancy camera into our hands with the simple task of “take pictures of this event” and we were off.  I obviously have learned a lot since those first days of training, but I am still a toddler in the world of photography.

And in its own special realm of photography is photojournalism.  It is a different mindset than studio or artistic photographic because you must constantly be active; no posing or waiting.  Luck plays a huge role in success, as you have to be looking at the right spot at the right moment with your camera ready to get some of the most remarkable shots.  Thank goodness for digital photography to allow extremely fast, high quality practically unlimited images.  You need to be sentimental and able to capture raw emotion, but respectful so as to not make the subject uncomfortable or put yourself in danger.  You cannot be afraid of anything and the more daring, often the better.  Your mind should be open and your eyes always darting around, taking in the scene and both its trivial and important moments.  So there;s the mental peptalk of being a photog, as many call themselves.  Do that with some sweet gear and you are on your way!

With that said, I now feel justified for taking over 200 pictures the past 36 hours in Barcelona!  Watch out for those coming soon in a blog post at a computer near you.