The influence of others
When reflecting on my brief but eventful photography journey, I have many people to credit for the opportunities that have been given to me. None more so than Gretchen Haien. She was my photo history professor at Belhaven University after I wasn't allowed in the photography 1 course.
During registration, there were more people who had signed up for photography 1 than ever before and the faculty thought that the class wouldn't run smoothly with such a large number. They art faculty advised our class that those who weren't art majors, or who didn't necessarily need this course should drop it out of respect for those who do needed it. Being a sports medicine major, I dropped the course. A few days later Gretchen contacted me asking me to take a photo history class instead. Her class was awesome to say the least. Gretchen would display old exposures on an old fashioned light projector on the whiteboard. These images were from a variety of famous artists from Alfred Stieglitz to Paul Strand. We progressed through the life of photography and how it developed into a popular art form.
Gretchen Haien's work is extremely candid, as she idolizes capturing the true value of unique aspects of everyday life. She always managed to create something out of nothing. Her exposures in her most famous collection of work, Incidentals, are simple but elegant. Many of her images are taken in her own backyard, and represented with perfect composition and high definition. She experiments with colours and many different forms of shade as she developed her work. She phoned me up one day to see if I would help her move one of her collections from Jackson State University to her home a few minutes drive away. I got to see her own studio which she build by herself. It was a large wooden building that was fresh and bright. It had a warm and comforting feeling to it. I can also recollect the shock that she expressed when I told her I was sleeping in the couch in my own apartment after my bed had been ruined. She couldn't believe it, and wanted to buy me a bed that very moment. I declined her offer but appreciated the thought. She'd probably have a heart attack if I told her about living in a two bedroom apartment with eight other lads and a dog for two months. After knowing my harsh living situation, she would bring our apartment banana bread and other sorts of scrumptious treats.
After I left the photography 1 course, Gretchen called me and told me that over 3/4 of the class had dropped the course because of the heavy workload and cost in the program. We both had little laugh as we both knew that being in the photo industry would involve a lot of work and heavy costs. In saying that, I was struggling for money at the time and couldn't afford a film camera of my own. Gretchen came to the rescue and generously offered me her Canon AE1 for the semester, on the condition that I would attend some of her photography lectures and attempt a few of the photo assignments. This sparked my curiosity with the camera and ignited my passion for capturing the world around us. Gretchen taught me that you can see more of the world when you imply carry the camera with you. I was looking everywhere for possible exposures. It would take me six times as long to walk to college that usual. It felt like the camera opened my eyes to the glorious nature of the everyday. And I have Gretchen Haien to thank for this.
Gretchen, you're one of my true inspirations in life, and I cannot thank you enough for everything you've done for me!
