OK, an overwrought title for a post, perhaps, but in the last day or so I have been reminded (yet again) why I like working with photography so much.
...it helps you make friends! On New Year's Eve we went to hear the Champaign-Urbana Chorale at the Virginia Theater, our gloriously decrepit local vaudeville theater/movie house. After the intermission they did a singalong using the Wurlitzer organ and some of the Virginia's old glass slides to project the lyrics. Apparently they have a couple thousand of these in the theater's basement. Fascinated, I chatted with the slide wrangler, Bernie, after the program. He showed me their ancient projector and (randomly) offered me an old wooden developing tank that he was going to throw out. Because he could see I was a kindred spirit.
...it transcends disciplinary boundaries! Today I corresponded with three people interested in photography; they are scholars of American Studies, History, and Educational History, respectively.
...it forces you to learn stuff you never thought you'd need to know! Right now I'm reviewing a book about photographs made by Dorothea Lange in 1939 (written by a landscape architect; more boundaries crossed). I needed to figure out how to describe what in the photograph looked to me like the running board of a truck. But was that the right term to use? I emailed my parents - Depression-era babies both - who not only confirmed that what I was looking at was indeed a running board, but also pointed out that running boards can be handy when little girls need to jump away from scary dogs in a hurry. Good to know.
Comments