Connor’s College Essay: Storytelling Through Photography
Connor is an alum of our Yellowstone Photography program and wrote about the experience for his college essay, exploring the impact of photography and storytelling. This fall he’ll be attending George Washington University majoring in photojournalism at Corcoran.
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When I think about photojournalism, I think about capturing raw emotion in images to share a story and convey a message. With this in mind, I strive to use my camera as a microphone to broadcast the wide scope of shared human emotion. My hometown was recently hit by Hurricane Ian, which caused widespread tragedy. There’s something so unifying about disaster and tragedy. Despite our backgrounds, it’s human nature to cling to our neighbors in a time like this and find peace in something that withstands every storm: each other. Photography allows me to capture this rare phenomenon.
In efforts to improve and develop my photojournalism skills, I participated in a Putney Student Travel Yellowstone photography workshop along with 20 other high schoolers and National Geographic Explorer, Federico Pardo. I was able to bond with more than just my fellow classmates and lead instructor. I bonded with one of the assistants, Mimi D’Autremont.
On the first day of the workshop, Mimi gave us a presentation about her past work. I was fascinated by her work immediately and it continues to amaze me. Mimi is an alumni of Corcoran photojournalism at George Washington University. Her ability to capture human emotion is captivating, and I enjoyed learning from her techniques.
To jumpstart my photojournalism career, Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University would prepare me and better my skills of photographing emotion just like Mimi experienced. With access to global leaders, Corcoran offers endless opportunities. Becoming apart of a network of remarkable alumni including Mimi would be invaluable. One of my biggest dreams has been to become a National Geographic photographer, which requires some of the best skill. To become one of the best photojournalists, I need to be educated by the best. I need to be educated by Corcoran.