Day Two

From VII, to Mediastorm to Getty the sentiment has really been the same. It's all about putting the work in, things aren't going to come to us. We need to go out and get it. It is all about being constantly looking for ideas and thinking them through. It is a matter of gaining trust from editors and subjects but most of all it is about keeping it.

"The best photographers are the ones who can manage to gain their subjects trust at their rawest and worst moments."
-Pancho Bernasconi

Day Three

"Always think about who you are going to be when you are 40. Your reputation is everything. Own up to your problems, own up to your mistakes."

The Wall Street Journal was honestly inspiring. I was not expecting it to be but what they had to say was amazing. They spent a lot of time on the photojournalists need to be able to problem solve and that reputation is everything. It is about detail, precision and heart. We need to be able to "marry our profession" and think into the future because we are only as good as our reputation.

The AP hit on some similar topics, the need to be a good team player. The assignments we get aren't going to be amazing, especially right away. Being a valuable photojournalist entails being able to take that assignment and do something with it. We always need to come back with something.

In the end, it is always about story. It is about telling the story in a unique way. The people who are able to do both, are the ones who can rise to the top.

"The language of photography is universal. What we have are different dialects."

Day Four
Sitting in one of the conference rooms at TIME was chilling. I remember flipping through the pages of the magazine in high school, tearing out pages and pasting them all over my walls. I've always wanted to be able to photograph like that, they were the images that always stuck in my mind.

"Always make the image."

We need to always make the images, even if we think they may not be published. If something in a conflict zone might be too graphic we still need to always make the picture. Leave it up to the editors to decide whether it needs to be published. We need to care enough with what is going on with the world to tell that story.

Sports illustrated had something very different to say than I expected. Moments for SI are all about "tears and cheers."

"Anyone can make a picture anywhere, you don't need a dugout credential."

That has kind of stuck with me. I have used that excuse in the past and hearing it said aloud makes me think of sports photography in different ways.

"Art director is the latin meaning for butcher."