I am writing this to thank you for giving me hope and inspiring me to do more with my photography. I remember the first class I took. It was a night class and the room was filled with so many students with potential. The first day you had us all introduce ourselves and say what camera we use. I recall not having any fancy equipment and being shy about saying so. When you seen the simple snap and shot I had you didn't seem to amused by it. While everyone else had their expensive nikons and canons . I sat there with my simple camera.
Each week you would give us an assignment of 7 photos . You told us to explore and look around us. I looked forward to every assignment. I would take it as an opportunity to take it all in. While every week we showed our work in a anonymous slideshow. I would sit in silence watching all the photos one after another come on the screen. Waiting to see your reaction to the ones I have taken. To see if you enjoyed them. To my surprise I would always get a reaction , I would sit there proudly and kinda smirk. It felt great to know you noticed the pictures I captured over the others. I recall one night a student had went on vacation and took sunset photos. Amazing photos but they didn't get a reaction from you. I sat there and thought God, I've never been on vacation. I went to work full time and worked overtime but always made sure I was free for class on Wednesday night. While all the other kids were full time students and they were living a life of fortune. Most kids in the class had the blessing of their parents paying for all their classes. They had a carefree time in their lives. As I sat there wondering what that feeling would be like. Exhausted I would always get a second wind in your class. I was eager to learn more. You were doing something amazing and possibly didn't know it. You were fueling a fire within me. A fire that blossomed into a career. A career where I find beauty in others and get the joy of showing them how truly amazing they are in a memory to last them a lifetime. I hope one day you get the joy of reading about my accomplishments in a magazine or an article. Just know when you read it. You played a part in getting me to a place where many others thought it was impossible. You made me realize it was possible. For that I thank you.
Lights, Camera and Action
The lights gleam as you hear the click,
Its another day and another pic.
The shadow rest upon your face,
Its another dream taking place.
The wind is blowing near by,
Its your hair looking ever so fly.
Its the day I brought beauty to life,
Its someone seeing all I see in one site.
The day I captured you within a picture.
Kristina,
ReplyDeleteGood post. I really like the design and the photos that you chose to pair with the content of this assignment. Your letter is well written - almost story like in its relay of the events of your class. Your letter seems sincere, which is the entire point. Gratitude abound.
But the letter strays off into more of your experience - and strays away from the subject - your teacher. I'd like to see more about your interactions with that teacher, any advice they gave you, any inspiration. Those character traits and moments of connection do not seem to be the focus of this post. Instead, the lens of your writing is focused more on the background stuff: the assignments, the other (wealthier) students, etc.
Try to draw the focus back to your mentor, so that you create a portrait of your relationship, and not a landscape of the situation.
Overall, the writing is good. It has great flow, and you certainly know how to craft a story with lots of imagery and fine details (many people don't have that in their writing). You have great skill and potential in your writing. Be sure to keep the focus on you in this course, and not so much on others (unless it's this assignment, which clearly relates to a teacher).
Your poem this week is great. I like the flow, and your couplets are amazingly structured. My only suggestion would be to write more. Each poem, each week, should be about 16-20 lines in length. This poem is just too short. It's good... so the reader wants to read more. I'd like to see it expand and continue. Say more. Be more. It's there. Just keep going.
GR: 83