Real-life experience.

Job shadow assignment, 422.
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We were given the assignment to job shadow a real photojournalist at a legitimate news paper. After much worrying, I was given the contact information of the photo editor of the Bay City Times, Michael Randolph. I picked up my phone, terrified that the person on the other end would be some big, hot-shot photojournalist who wouldn’t have much time to bother with some college kid that wanted to follow them around, much less a kid that had a partner who needed to follow a different photographer, simultaneously. As my heartbeat was practically making my hands shake, it was then that I remembered why I like to be behind the camera, not talking to important people I don’t know. But, I bucked up my courage and called. There was no answer.

I left a message explaining that I was a student photojournalist at Central Michigan University, and that I had an assignment for which I needed to job shadow someone. I left my contact information and waited for an answer. No answer came. So, I decided I needed to be brave, assertive and persistent. That’s how you get what you want, that’s how to be a journalist.

So I called back and finally got ahold of him. He was very cooperative on the phone. He helped me figure out (through several phone calls and messages on my part) a time when both myself and my partner could meet with him and another photographer. And it was settled.

I walked into the building with my partner on Tuesday morning, and we waited for our photographers to return from assignment. I was expecting to go out and shoot stories and find features. Unfortunately, it was a slow news day and there was next to nothing scheduled. I sat around with Mike as he edited photos from the shoot he had been on that morning. We talked, learned about one another and I asked as many questions as came to mind.

Mike began his interest in photography as a child. His father’s hobby was photography, and Mike spent a lot of time “tagging along” as his father drove around Northern Michigan taking pictures.  He said, like most photojournalists, he dreamed of shooting for National Geographic one day. However, he says he “fell into” photojournalism because realistically, it was more accessible.

The internship Mike held was at the Miami Herald. After that, his first staff position was at the Cadillac News, local to his hometown. In 1998, he joined the Bay City Times as a photographer. Then, there was a large staff of photographers. He said the biggest change was having a professional network to dip into their knowledge. Six years ago, he became the photo editor at BCT, and when they changed from a daily paper to less frequent and online, he became Chief Photographer.

I asked Mike which type of lens he preferred. His answer pretty much sums up my entire experience with him; a 16-35mm lens, because you have to get close to people. If a person is closer to the camera, it is more interpersonal. He said his biggest fear was talking to people and getting names, but was forced to get over it simply because he wanted to take better photographs.

Michael Randolph (right) talks to a road worker while out shooting ongoing construction Tuesday, Sept. 6 on Walnut St. in Midland.
"A big part of the job is just striking up conversation with people," Randolph said.

Because there wasn’t really anything on schedule, we went out to shoot some photographs of an ongoing construction site. It wasn’t anything spectacular, we just shot the men working and a gentleman watching. Unfortunately, he did not stick around very long, and the photos weren’t particularly interesting.

Laurence Wolfe, maintenance worker at Fabulous Fashions, 108 Walnut St., Midland, watches the construction in front of his workplace, Tuesday, Sept. 6. The construction has been going on since last spring, and should finish in November.

Workers continue to dig up the street Tuesday, Sept. 6 in a year-long construction project on Walnut Street in Midland.

We returned to the news room and I asked Mike to help me edit the photos I had shot, and for advice on how to improve my shooting. He explained to me the idea of “layering” your photos to bring three-dimensional reality into a two-dimensional medium. We compared my photos to his, and he showed me where he thought there should be more information in the foreground or background of various photos. He recommended always shooting in RAW, as it may some day save an image with the wrong exposure or white balance.

Cars are waved through the construction zone Tuesday, Sept. 6 on the intersection of Walnut and Midland Streets, Midland. Businesses remain open throughout the road work.

Laurence Wolfe, maintenance worker at Fabulous Fashions, 108 Walnut St., Midland, walks away from the construction in front of his workplace. He says business has been down since the road work began last spring.

The shoot itself did not teach me much I did not know, except perhaps another perspective of the same scene. However, the experience I gained from simply having a conversation and asking questions was nearly indescribable. Throughout my questions and observations of his work, not only did Mike answer what I wanted to know, but he gave me important life lessons, perhaps inadvertently. For example, he was a very pleasant, light-hearted kind of guy when we were talking, but I asked one question to which he instantly became solemn: Do you ever look at other people’s photos and think of what you could do better?

Mike became very serious and turned to me. He said, “No. Never.” I was admittedly shocked a bit. He looked right in my eyes, freezing even my pencil from scratching across my mini-notebook. He spoke, soft and serious, a voice that clearly showed personal experience. Don’t judge work if you don’t know every thing about it, he said. It could be the best of what the photographer had, in which case it would be good. Or, it could be great, but if great photos were happening, then maybe anyone could point a camera.

There was a moment of silence where I sat to simply think about what he had said, before I quickly scrawled it down, knowing it would be something to take away from the day.

When explaining what made a photo good, Mike told me the story it tells is equally as important as the interest of the composition. The elements in the photo should add context and make a story, but just as important, the photo should be interesting and true to reality. This leads me to the most important thing I have learned from the entire experience, the one lesson he felt most important; Shoot for yourself.

Mike said most photojournalists are shooting because they have a love of taking pictures. His advice: “Take that joy and fascination they have with photography and transfer it to work. Try to find the aspects of your photography.” He says photography should be a balance of art and information. One of his favorite photographers at the moment is James Nachtway “(His photographs are) everything all in one, the beauty in photography, but communicate serious ideals about the world.”

So, he concluded our session repeating this lesson; Shoot for the love of it. He said to always shoot personal projects that don’t have to do with work. Then take your own style and incorporate it into daily work. This is how to be great.

He gave me his card and told me to contact him if I was interested in an internship. Of course, many people try for internships, and many are rejected. However, it isn’t necessarily because you aren’t good enough. On the contrary, the internship is meant to teach you. Sometimes, they think your work is not right for daily news, that you could be “bored to tears.” Sometimes, they just don’t think you could learn anything from being a part of their particular team. But whatever you do, don’t get discouraged. Just keep learning, from everyone you meet and from every photograph you see.

I walked away from the day with a feeling of contentment. I thought about all of the things everyone tells you. I thought about the technical issues, the emotional issues and all of the clashing opinions people try to teach you. “Shoot this way, pay attention to this, pay attention to that. Don’t shoot this, don’t shoot that. Blahhhhhh....” I thought about how no matter what people try to tell you, the only real way to gain experience and figure out who you are is by doing it, experiencing life and talking to people to learn what they have learned.

I walked away and I thought about Mike’s advice. And I knew, I now am more reassured than ever, that I know a picture when I see one. I need to trust my gut, and do things my way. If I want to succeed, it will come with time, with work and with practice. I do shoot for me. I shoot because I love to do it.

And as I walked away, I thought to myself, ‘I can do this. This is what I want to do. It’s okay to do it my way, and always continue learning.’


~JD