My Time to Bid Farewell

It has been a long journey, full of triumphs and frustrations, but well worth my time and energy.  I have told the story many times that before I began the Photography program knowing next to nothing about the field only that I loved taking photographs and my dream job was to one day be a National Geographic photographer.  I may not be a published photographer yet but it is certainly in my future because I know that I have the determination, ambition, and talent to achieve my dreams.  It's going to take a lot of hard work and time, but over these last two and a half years I have understood all-the-more that hard work pays off.  

A lot has changed since I started school.  For the longest time I was decidedly a Nature photographer but through the experiences that each class and each assignment had presented me with I was able to explore my strengths and weaknesses as a photographer--not something you can easily do by learning to be a photographer by watching YouTube videos.  I still love Nature photography but I now call myself an Editorial photographer.  My goal is still to one day work for National Geographic but in the meantime I plan on working for smaller publications to get more experience, continue building my portfolio, and also build a reputation and credibility as an established professional.   

These things took two and a half years to cultivate.  My plans may change tomorrow but that's ok because in photography we never stop learning.  I had no idea what it took to be a successful professional.  Now I know that it is a lot harder than it looks and I have a more profound respect for those who have achieved success in the field.  Here are some of the best personal tid-bits that I picked up while attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh - Online Division:

My historic photographer counterpart is Eugene Atget.  

During Photo History we were presented with the notion that we are all inspired by someone from history but at the time I had actually never even heard of Ansel Adams.  I thought this was ridiculous because I didn't have any knowledge of photographers whom I might be imitating.  Through more research and study I found a photographer that struck me as so familiar in style and aesthetic and it was Atget.

You cannot teach passion or curiosity.

It has to come from within.  Instructors cannot instill these attributes.  If you do not have the passion for photography you will not learn how to be passionate about it.  The same goes with curiosity.  If you do not have natural wonder you cannot be taught how to derive a deeper inquisition.

Your demonstrated time management says a lot about your personal character.

I was only ever late ONCE.  It was a response to one of my peers almost two years ago but I have never forgotten.  It is disrespectful and negligent to wait until the last minute to post assignments and/or responses.  If, and inevitably when, something goes wrong you suddenly have excuses for your late post but ultimately you cannot blame anyone or anything but yourself for being a procrastinator.  Stop waiting until the last minute because it's not just instructors who notice and classmates like me, it's your employers, clients, and future clientele who are going to see how you not only manage your time but their time and yourself as a professional.

I am going to miss school but I am looking forward to stepping out on my own with the knowledge I have gained and show the world what a great photographer I am and will be.  Its been a pleasure meeting and working with you all.  Best wishes in your futures!

Works Cited

Atget, Eugène. "(1856-1927), Stubborn horse, 1898, France." Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 1 Dec 2014. 

<http://quest.eb.com/#/search/170_2983546/1/170_2983546/cite>

Atget, Eugene. "Chatillon, glycine, 1919." Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 1 Dec 2014. 

<http://quest.eb.com/#/search/109_165072/1/109_165072/cite>

Atget, Eugene. "Saint-Cloud, 1924." Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 1 Dec 2014. 

<http://quest.eb.com/#/search/109_165412/1/109_165412/cite>

Atget, Eugene. "Verrieres, coin...1922." Photograph. Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. Web. 1 Dec 2014. 

<http://quest.eb.com/#/search/109_165097/1/109_165097/cite>

The End is Near but it's Far from Over

As I approach the final week of school I am realizing how important some elements of these classes are in preparing us to be released into the wild, to make the transition from student to professional.

In the early stages of school I wanted to be a "well-rounded photographer" who was capable of photographing anything and everything so that I could appeal to more clients.  There are classes that force us to choose one specific area of interest and however frustrating it may seem to settle into one niche, it does make putting together your portfolio as well as learning how to talk about yourself as a professional easier.  Having more work and experience in a certain area of photography still allows you creative freedom while you build a larger collection of images.  

My newly-developed area of interest, Editorial photography, was actually a lot easier to put together into a portfolio than it was when I called myself a Nature photographer because the Photography program allowed me to explore other areas of the field that I would otherwise not get to try in the real world.  I found comfort in nature but found my calling doing environmental portraits and photo stories from the assignments I shot for class as well as for myself.

You may be taking classes that you have no interest in but you will also have classes that inspire you.  I had my fair share of snooze-worthy classes but I also had a handful that really opened my eyes to my own skills and talents as well as one special instructor who inspired me to pursue the editorial genre.  Accept challenges as opportunities to grow, ask questions for better comprehension, and never stop shooting what you are passionate about.  

I recently had an assignment where I was required to use my strobes--I haven't used those in months so I was both dreading and looking forward to packing up my studio and doing an on-location shoot.  I was anxious because I had no idea what the location was going to look like but I definitely knew how to use my lights.  I actually felt confident going in to the shoot--something I had never really felt before when I did any portraiture.  At the end of the program it feels good to finally have confidence, but it feels even better knowing I worked hard to get where I am.  None of it came easy, not even this last class where I felt more frustrated and misunderstood than I ever have before, but I am proud that I never gave up.  I didn't have the extra time to work on my projects as I have in the past, but every time I do a photo shoot I find myself saying, "I love my job!"

Next week will be my goodbye post, but in the meantime you can check out my Web portfolio here.  

What classes have inspired you?  Tell me in the comments or share a story about how you have developed as a photographer since you started school!

(All photos in this post are my own.)

My Last "Top 5" List

Greetings, welcome to another Terrific Tuesday!

This will probably be my last blog as a student of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division as I will be finishing my studies sometime this week!  Your Saturday Student Ambassador, Deva Mayorga-Malone and myself are doing our last presentation for our Portfolio on Wednesday and after that...we are graduates!

My name is Roberto Luis Gonzalez and I have been the ambassador for Tuesdays since the program began back in June of 2013.  It has been a great experience and I hope we have been able to provide some useful information here and there for our classmates and for those that are beginning the great journey in the field of photography.

I have decided to go back in time and share some of my classroom experiences in the form of "Top Lists", but this one will be a more personal one, so here we go!

Top 5 professors that I will always remember (learned a lot from them!):

1. Traeton Garl (PH 435 Fashion/Figure Photography) - After his first critique I felt like an amateur, but he brought out the best of me and from then on, my style was more defined and my vision clearer!
2. Maki Kawakita (PH 136 Lighting and PH323 Portraiture II) - Tough critiques all the time, elevated my technical aspects every single time.
3. Jill Mott (PH 342 Photo Essay) - I had other classes with her, but this one was a nightmare for me as I was never able to grasp the concept, her direction sometimes confused me and it was not until the end that I was able to see the big picture!
4. Damon Sauer - Once, I took two classes at the same time with him, I ended up posting assignments on the wrong thread in more than one occasion, he was always patient with me and encouraging.
5. Douglas Barkey - My last professor for my last class, had other ones with him but we never forget the last class and the last instructor.

Top 5 Photography classes that were difficult for me:

1. Marketing (PH 343) - A lot of reading, research, writing, exploring, re-doing, posting and re-posting while working two other jobs.
2. Business of Photography II (PH 332) - See above.
3. Digital Image Illustration (PH 134) - I remembered this one as the introduction to Photoshop, over 700 pages of information to be done in 5.5 weeks!
4. Portraiture II (PH 323) The concept of environmental portraits was a little weird for me at the time.
5. Photo Essay (PH 342) - For the longest time I kept thinking of photo story meets editorial photography and had the child of Photo Essay.  The concept and the timing of performing the assignments was not a good one for me!

Top 5 Personal Favorite Photography classes:

1. Studio Photography (PH 212) - New equipment to play with and the class only had two other classmates.
2. Lighting (PH 136) - Tungsten lighting and white continuous lighting creating shadows and cool contrasts!
3. Digital Image Management (PH 134) - Don't know, why but creating those contact sheets and learning about the management of images was something that stuck with me for a long time!
4. E-folio (PH 431) - Along with all the other portfolio classes, this was fun because I was able to start creating and establishing my website.
5. Thesis (PH 420) - This was one of those classes were I stepped out of my comfort zone and created a series on Boudoir photography.  This class was done around May 2013, and word of mouth since then has enabled me to make some profit in this genre.

5 Concepts that were "Easy to think about them, harder to accomplish" in no particular order:

1. Abandoned House Project - PH 412 Project Development
2. Gothic Magician - PH 323 Portraiture II
3. "Naughty and Nice" - PH 420 Thesis
4. The Retirement of Criska - PH 223 Magazine Photography
5. "The Duct Tape Dress" - PH 435 Location Photography

"Naughty & Nice" Photos by Roberto Gonzalez

"Gothic Magician"  Photo by Roberto Gonzalez

Abandoned House Project. Photo by Roberto Gonzalez

"The Retirement of Criska" Cover of Magazine Project

    























       Top 5 "I can't believe I actually enjoyed this class!" Surprise courses:
                               
1. ART 2100 The Afterlife in the History of Art - I had no idea what the class was about, but toward the end I was wishing it was a longer course!
2. FND 110 Drawing - Not part of the curriculum anymore but it was a good inspiring class that created a different perspective of how I saw objects in the open and in a studio.
3. ENG 2500 World Literature - The readings were extremely interesting!
4. BIO 2010 Nutrition - I learned a lot and still using the information I gathered from the class.
5. ART 1020 & 1030 - Art history course that helped with the photography history courses!

Classmates that I shared the most classes with, those in bold are part of my last course: 

Joe Mohn - "Keep On Firing" will always be tops in inspirational phrases.
Connie Rohne, Deva Mayorga-Malone, Doris Long, Rebecca "Peka" Simmons
Carolyn Lloyd, Lisa Bandy, Danielle Snider, Karen Sorby-Wirth, George Reis
Scotty McIntosh, Michael Barath, Ashleigh Shaeffer, Autumm Ginetti.

This has been a great experience and the learning that I have acquired is something that I will take with me forever, where ever life sends my way, I will be ready!

Thank you to all the professors and faculty for inspiring, pushing me while at the same time being patient adn always helping!

Thank you for all classmates that were part of my photographic journey, your critiques, comments and help was instrumental in finishing my studies!

In the words of our friend Joe Mohn, KEEP ON FIRING!!!

This is your Tuesday Ambassador, Roberto Gonzalez, wishing you a great pixel filled day!

Until we meet again, goodbye!!!

Boy am I Tired...

Good morning PSPN'ers.  Wednesday Ambassador here and I just wanted to say that I am tired.  It's been non-stop now for what seems like months.  Classes every day, full-time job, and family make it hard to find time to sleep let alone find a little me time...

In the past 2 months I have finished 2 classes, started 2 more, shot events on the weekends, and finally went off for 2 and a half days camping with friends and family for Independence Day.  That break was well deserved, but then I got home and had to make up for the lost time on Saturday and Sunday.  Ugh!

So aside from my ranting, there really is a point here...I promise.

How do I keep going, class after class; term after term?

Simple.  I have a goal.  My goal is to graduate next spring. 


                                                    Done.  Finished.  Graduated.



I like the sound of that...Graduated.  It's part of what keeps me going day in and day out with the break neck pace of AIPOD.  Every day I am challenged to come up with a new project idea, refine the ones I already have, find my voice, present my vision, and become a better photographer.  Truth be told it's not easy and it shouldn't be either.  But I have a goal and that keeps me focused.

What are your goals?  What motivated you to embark on this journey and what keeps you motivated as you progress further and further?

There are no right answers and there are no wrong answers, only what works for you...

Share some of your motivations on the right
side of this page... I'll be here waiting to chat about it if you like.  :)



                                                                                                              Works Cited
EDUCATION Graduation. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 10 Jul 2013.http://quest.eb.com/images/158_2464362

Eye Strain. Photography. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 10 Jul 2013.http://quest.eb.com/images/132_1271101