This is because my ideas surrounding citizen journalism looked a lot more like Shaam than Seattlish.com. Not only that, but also not being a Seattle native, the story of the housing situation of Seattle did not appeal to me very much. My immediate thought was that my enthusiasm would have to be a secondary priority for this class, and I would just have to “power through” and pass. However, this course offered me an opportunity I did not know I wanted: a chance at becoming invested in this city, growing love and care for it. As the quarter progressed, I recognized a shift in attitude because of what I witnessed from my own project, and the projects of classmates. I interviewed people I knew and learned how much they have had to sacrifice to just live in the city they loved; I saw the stories of homes being torn down for the sake of newly wealthy Amazon transplants; I saw the stories of displaced and homeless …show more content…
While I love using my camera, I was not sure what to anticipate I would get from my work. However, when I began interviewing and shooting with the first person I worked with, her coworker, Hannah Danforth, informed me that she was a photojournalist herself. It was serendipitous because she answered a question I did not know I even had: can photography in journalism be very creative and fun? She was happy to be interviewed a couple weeks later, and she shared with me extremely useful information.
With 14 years of photojournalism under her belt, I asked her what the most important thing to do as a photojournalist is. I expected an answer like, “practice constantly,” or “never leave home without your camera,” etc. Instead, she told me this: “First thing you have to do is get a business license and keep good records of all your photo sales you make for tax purposes. She gave me lots of related information and advice before she got into the actual practice of photojournalism. What this taught me was how real this work was, and how seriously I must take it in order to