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10/03/2005 10:38:04 AM · #1 |
I just received the following email from my nephew...
Hey Uncle Scott,
I am taking photo class in school. I was given a assignment to right about a great photographer. I was debating between you and Ansel Adams. I picked you. I have to right a biblography on you and your life. If you have time it would be great if you could e-mail back with some info about you and your career in photos. Thanks uncle Scott talk to you soon.
lol "my career in photos" lol! That should be easy, hope it doesn't have to be long since it can be summed up as NON-EXISTANT. I'm a Navy dental assistant working as an administrative clerk, nothing to do with photography, it is a hobby I like. I'm very touched and honored that he has asked me, but to compare me with ANSEL ADAMS? Holy cow what a huge difference lol!
I should have him check out some of the greats on here and see how quickly he changes his mind. Mind you most of my challenge submission are not what I am used to shooting (or are like my gallery images on my website) and I have done better through the year I've been here but I am nothing compared to most of you.
Just wanted to share.
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10/03/2005 10:51:41 AM · #2 |
What a wonderful opportunity for you to share some of your world and your experiences with your nephew...it just goes to show how much influence we grown-ups have on the little ones around us. They pay attention to everything, whether or not we realize it. He looks up to you and that's such an important and magical thing. I say take the opportunity and run with it...share a few photos, share some stories, and create a memory he will have for a lifetime. :)
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10/03/2005 11:33:22 AM · #3 |
Scott, you may be a better subject for your nephew to write about than Ansel Adams becasue you can convey your love of photography to your nephew and his class. Your work is better than many (well, its better than mine :-) and you can convey a message to the class that 1) you don't have to be Ansel Adams to have fun with photography and 2) the average guy can take some pretty nice pictures.
BTW, some of the other threads on DPC point out that some amatures are better than some "pros". And up until a few years ago, 100% of the Olympic gold-medalists were amatures. |
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10/03/2005 11:38:00 AM · #4 |
| That's cool he asked you to do this. You should feel very honored. Be sure to share your finished product with us. |
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10/03/2005 11:43:40 AM · #5 |
Ok. Here goes my neck!
I'm guessing this nephew is somewhere around 12 - 14 years old...
He flatters you! (And that is really nice.)
Choice A: He could research and write (sp=right?) about Ansel Adams
Choice B: You could write about your life in photography and he could cut and paste it into a report. (Of course he hasn't asked any specific interview-type questions so the door is wide open here.)
Choice C: You could tell him about a "great" photographer you admire, pat him on the head, and send him off to do his school work. =)
(And yes, I am a cynic and especially mis-trustful of pre-adolescent boys most of whom would easily surrender the entire contents of their pockets to get out of anything remotely related to academics--especially writing.)
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10/03/2005 12:02:15 PM · #6 |
Thanks everyone for your nice comments, I do plan on writing up a nice bio for him and including some of my images (favorites and not so favorite).
KaDi, that was actually my first thought too and I laughed but I'm pretty sure his mom won't let him get away with that so I think it will be ok.
I am very honored that he thought of me and that he is probably taking this class because of images I have sent them in the past. I wish I had had the chance when I was his age to learn this sort of career option but I really don't remember every having this in school (and I'm really not that old, really) until I was in high school and was on the yearbook staff but that was even "here is a camera and film, go take photos".
Like Laurie said, you never know who is watching you and wanting to be in your footsteps.
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10/03/2005 12:07:39 PM · #7 |
I think that's really cool! Being an uncle myself, I would suggest "writing" him back (gently emphasizing the correct spelling) and encouraging him by getting him to ask you specific interview type questions, so that you can better describe your experiences to him in a manner that will help him write his report. It might take some leading by you to nudge him about defining terms, etc. (he may not know some basic definitions used in photography - a good place for his research to start). Run with it. You don't have to be an expert to be a great teacher or leader!
EDIT: And you don't have to write it for him - you can lead him through it by helping him write it himself. :-)
Message edited by author 2005-10-03 12:09:26. |
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10/03/2005 01:54:32 PM · #8 |
If the assignment is to write (for a photography class) a paper on a "great" photographer, it might be worth having someone check with his teacher to see if you even qualify as a topic... I mean, I suppose your nephew could enter into a DPC-style "debate" over who gets to define "greatness", but I'd be surprised if the goal of the assignment is not to get the kids to look critically at the lives & work of some of the acknowledged masters. So there's a danger that your nephew's paper would be seen by the teacher as an attempt to take the easy way out.
Depends on the teacher, and on the work. If your nephew is precocious and well-spoken he might be able to "justify" his choice by the quality of what he reveals in the paper, but he is definitely making the assignment tougher than it needs to be, for all that it's great compliment to his favorite uncle...
Robt.
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