Overcoming the fear of approaching people

Tonya Russell in front of one of the eyeglass
displays at the newly remodeled Van Optical in
Sylvania, Ohio

When I walked into my optomitrist office yesterday, I realized this would work perfectly for my profile assignment in photojournalism. The owner of the store, Kim VanTulien, was at the front desk. I asked her if I could photograph the store, her employees and customers. She was very excited, since they were in the final steps of a remodel.

Russell helps customer Miah Ruij who is picking
up her new glasses today.

I was at the back of the store,when I started taking my pictures . The florescent lights and reflections from glasses played havic on my camera. This wasn't something I had taken into consideration. It was dark in some spots and even though I tried to open my lens up as much as possible I still couldn't get a good shot. I had to get more creative and talk to my subjects if I was going to be successful here.

Talking to strangers is always a challenge to me, but I took a deep breath and started chatting with them. I even asked Tonya to move to a desk at the front of the store. This enabled me to get a nice shot of her face in better lighting.  When I looked at the clock I noticed that it had been twenty minutes from the moment I entered the store until the time the photos were done. It's amazing how fast you can complete these assignments once you find your subject and overcome your fears.

A mission to find the picture

My assignment this week was to take pictures that would give the reader a sense of the weather elements. The most intimidating part of this was that it had to have a person in it and I had to talk to them. This was going to be a challenge for me. I put my camera in the car, because I knew this would be something I  come across while driving.

Tonya Lunners rakes leaves in the front
yard of her Millbury townhouse.

Nothing jumped out at me that really expressed what the weather was. I am realizing that it's harder than it sounds to get the pictures for some of these assignments. Photojournalists often have hours, not days, to shoot, and my deadline was soon to be over. I would've already failed if this wasn't for a class.
On Oct.9th I knew I had to get my picture that morning. I went up and down the streets of Millbury searching for someone in a coat, or on their porch, anyone who was outside. I turned off Main Street and saw a woman by a small tree.  She had a rake in her hands! This was my chance. I pulled over, grabbed my camera and got out of the car. I didn't give myself time for my fears to take root. After introducing myself, she was fine with me taking some pictures of her.

Lunners stops for a break.

The pictures seemed posed, at first with an unspoken tension between us. I realized I could change that mood so I started to joke around with her to help her relax. It only took about 15 minutes and I was done. After I got home with my pictures I realized how I had made the assignment harder by freaking out about talking to and photographing a stranger. It really wasn't so scary after all.

Millbury isn't always a quiet little town

Paul Fuller and Mike Krause prepare to
begin applying the new roof.

On October 11th I drove through Millbury, Ohio searching for people engaged in an activity for my feature assignment. Millbury is a typical mid western small town, if you blink you might miss it! I wasn't sure that I would find a feature adequate to shoot. I did notice the church was being re roofed when I was driving to the bank.
While I was at the Genoa Bank it was robbed! A woman gave the teller a note and though I didn't know what was going on, I did feel that it wasn't business as usual in there. This was confirmed after she ran out and the employees locked the doors. After talking to detectives I noticed the media arriving and asked if I could take pictures for my photojournalism class. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to. There went my feature assignment! I remember the roofers at the church and headed back down main street.

Holt Roofing tackles the high peaks of the church
as they tear off the old roof.

Holt Roofing supervisor Mike Krause and his foreman Paul Fuller were just hooking their harnesses as I arrived.With my heart in my throat I approached the church. I am usually not good at approaching strangers but after the bank incident I didn't feel it could get worse. During a brief conversation Krause said that it was the first roof in 35 years for the church and a rare opportunity due to the steep peaks and sharp valleys. I walked around the church taking the photographs trying to get an overview as well as close ups that would tell the story. After arriving back home and reviewing the last couple hours I'm reconsidering my theory that Millbury is a sleepy little town. The action is there, even when you're not really looking!

Logan Mann and Rory Trazleu rush
 to rip off the old roof
as their supervisor yells
"ten minutes, guys!"