Introductions are hard.
The changing of the guard is complete.
BIG shoutout and thank you to former ONPA President Josh Bickel, the board, and contest chairs for all their hard work in the previous administrations, as well as overseeing Contest Year 2021 judging, and administering the swearing-in of the new board, Sunday, Mar. 27!
Currently, we are looking to fill the position of Secretary on the ONPA Board, as Brooke LaValley has stepped down. Thank you Brooke, for your dedication. Please forward a résumé, and brief letter of interest to: Andrew Dolph, onpaprez@gmail.com.
The new board has conducted its’ first meeting (virtually) to address some exciting steps forward as we begin discussions about the ways in which we engage with you – the membership, our community of visual journalists – in meaningful ways. Without a doubt, the industry has endured difficult changes – some still being felt to this day. Those of us working within ‘legacy media organizations’ still very much feel the effects, and it is no less scary than when layoffs, downsizing, and furloughs began. Three of the current board members are currently employed by one such media behemoth. I can personally think of three newspapers that don’t know where a future brick-and-mortar office may exist as properties are currently up for sale, have already been sold, or preparing for such an inevitability.
Part of our growth is recognizing where everyone is – professionally, mentally, and emotionally. We cannot get a good read on the membership without hearing from you. One of the ways of maintaining and bolstering our relationship is through the annual ONPA Convention.
2022 is about embracing growth. So, we’re looking to connect with freelancers, students, staffers, and retired photographers statewide to make 2022 a reason to come back to the organization. Some plans are already in the works, and connections are being established with vendors as well some exciting presenters; so, please bear with us while we work through this time of change.
In the meantime, this monthly newsletter will also continue to grow, as a means to deliver industry news from within the state, visual inspirations, and other other things relevant to our community of photojournalists.
Please feel free to reach out any time, as we would love to hear your ideas and thoughts of how to bolster the organization – especially if you’re reading this and care to give a work/life update. We’ll keep it confidential, but want to update our internal database. Email Andrew: onpaprez@gmail.com. Finally, as the newsletter grows, the hope is to become even more local with news and inspirations. So, if you want something included, please reach out!
Inspirations:
1/ Sometimes the only way forward is to look back, by Naomi Ishisaka Seattle Times columnist.
2/ Southeby’s is auctioning Camera Work: A Photographic Quarterly (The Complete Set of 50 Volumes)!
Estimate: 180,000 – 220,000 USD
3/ I found two relics from the heyday of the print era in the darkroom at the Times-Reporter building in New Philadelphia, Oh. The power of a certain ability to linger with the printed image (and word) will forever outweigh the immediacy of today’s medium.
Outtakes was the brainchild of Peter Howe, a former director of photography at Life, among other top photojournalist roles in the industry.
Amazon has the complete paper run of issues 1-10 of Outtakes for 450USD!
4.1/ WaPo zooms in on Akron (and by extension – Gannett) for newspaper state of the industry analysis.
“My biggest concern is people equate a lack of a print edition on every corner, or in those news boxes, with newspapers going away,” Madick said. “And that scares me if they think we can function in a democracy without a Fourth Estate.”
4.2/ The Record-Courier, a Gannett publication, in Portage Co., has unionized. You can meet up with them Saturday, April 30. You can follow them, @PortageNewsGuild.
5/ Meanwhile, in other print news, proof reading is still just as important as it ever was. I don’t understand how this continues to happen. Shoutout to the excellent-as-always work from Bay Area News Group (BANG) staff photographer, Jose Carlos Fajardo.
6/ Have you seen the color works by Gordon Parks?
7/ Former Cleveland Plain Dealer photojournalist Dale Omori, is set to debut his new film, American Heartbreak, documenting May 4 at Kent State. It will be premiering at the upcoming Cleveland International Film Festival. WCPN’s Kabir Batia interviewed Omori, and Harlan Spector. You can listen to that interview in its entirety.
8/ A free signup is required, but it’s well worth it: How women photographers have changed how we see the world.
Thank you @NatGeo for a great article, and for including me among such incredible company! How women photographers have changed the way we see the world nationalgeographic.com/history/articl…via @NatGeo
9/ The sub-tweet below, after a Twitter Spaces session, struck a nerve. In light of the work we’re endeavoring to do as an organization, that of NPPA, Northern Short Course, and more, I’m not sure how I feel about the sentiment expressed – especially given the recent deep dive into the realm of the NFT marketplace by a growing number of well-respected photojournalists, and news organizations. Is this the newtrend, or another blip on the radar? Time will tell. If you’re into #NFT’s and the associated spaces created specifically touching upon those for photojournalists, I’d love to hear about it.
10/ WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT below.
There’s a lot to say and feel about the war waged by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine.
I leave you with two remarkable photographs made from the recovery of bodies out of Bucha. The pictures themselves are made by two photographers with very different backgrounds. I urge everyone as we continue to devour digital content to take a moment and look carefully at what you’re viewing.
How we choose to frame our images carries great weight. Understanding that person’s background helps inform the nature of the reportage being shared, especially as we are so overwhelmed by the visual content alone.
