The first six weeks of 2011 have been quite an amazing journey.  My 2011 New Year’s resolution was to improve my photographic skills through learning and doing.  Well, I held my nose and I jumped in feet first, right into a documentary  photography class at Loyola New Orleans – yep, me and the undergrads!  So far, so good.  Most days I’m just loving it and hate it when the teacher says “That’s all the time we have for today”.  “No, please, just one more story” I shout in my head, wishing I didn’t have to go back to the reality of my grown up life.  I just wish I could sit in that desk forever, or at least until I know everything about every photographer there ever was.  That ‘s what goes on in the classroom … and then there’s the project.

Welcoming Committee

For my project, I’ve chosen to document the work being done at the St. Joseph Rebuild Center.  The St. Joseph Rebuild Center, housed in the parking lot of St. Joseph Church, was opened after hurricane Katrina, as a place where the homeless and needy struggling to rebuild can come to find assistance with their daily lives and basic needs.  Every day approximately 150 – 200 guests come to be fed, to get a shower, to get mail, use the phones, to get their laundry done, to get legal and medical assistance – basically, to get assistance while getting back on their feet.   What I’m also seeing is that they come to get a hand held, a shoulder hugged and to find a listening ear.  The work of the staff and volunteers at the Rebuild Center is utterly awe inspiring.

The project is going well.  The photographic quality gets a little better every week and the content will continue to improve the more time I spend with my subject.  I’ve been at it for three weeks now and I find that I’m stretching and growing in ways that I never imagined.

James Rudolph

While photographing people still makes me squirm a bit, it’s getting easier.  I’m learning that if you respect people’s dignity and show them that you care about them, they are generally more than happy to oblige you  (although not everybody wants to be photographed and they will not hesitate to let you know it!) I’m learning that education does not always insure against homelessness, and that a storm, or a recession, or a lost job can bring people to the streets through no fault of their own.  I’m learning that a camera can be used as an instrument for change and if it is used correctly, can advocate for those who have no voice or stature  in  society.  And I’m learning that if I ask for God’s assistance in guiding my hands to tell the story of the beautiful work being done at the St. Joseph Rebuild Center, He’s going to be there for me.

Seconds

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you and watch over you.

~Psalm 32:8

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So in that vain, Shutterbug Diva’s three words for 2011 are Learn . Improve . Do.

Learn – I am a firm believer in the old adage that the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know.  In that vain, education in all aspects of my life, is top priority, but especially when it comes to photography.  There is still so much to be learned.  I started out 2010 with a wonderful educational experience at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, and noticed an immediate improvement in my photographic work.  Nonetheless, it also opened my eyes to how much better I can be!  2011 will definitely hold more RMSP weeks for me to learn new skill and technique …. and in Spring 2011 I will be studying documentary photography at Loyola New Orleans to help bolster my photographic content.

Improve – is just a natural flow from learn … if I go about the learning process fully applied and conscious, the result should be to improve … at least that’s the goal!

Do – and finally I end with “Do”, a directive to myself to stop thinking about it, stop talking about, stop waiting for everything in the universe to be perfect before I attempt it, but to just do it.

2010 was a great year – I have great expectations for 2011.

So what are your three words?

Photograph by Collin Richie

I’ve decided to keep the series going.   So I started working on my first Chalk Talk Project – “Chalk it up to Love, Messages for a Merry Christmas”.  The results were phenomenal – got lots of tears (joyful ones!) and the project seemed to be an overall success!  Mimaw loved the book and the participants liked seeing themselves in the book.  Stay tuned for other Chalk Talk projects because these are fun and sentimental!

You can check it out here: