🎓 Yesterday, I had the great honor of serving as the senior speaker for the Spring 2026 Convocation Ceremony for the Grady College of Journalsim and Mass Communication.
Three years ago, on a whim, I told my academic advisor that I’d like to give journalism a try. I thought it was adjacent enough to my English degree and a more practical way to pursue my passion of storytelling.
I could not have imagined that this decision would change my life forever.
From the large lecture hall with
@klherndon136 in Journalism 3030, Media, News and Consumers, being introduced to
@redandblackga , to, again, taking a shot in the dark, “it would be nice to take my own photos for stories.” So, I enrolled in Introduction to Photojournalsim with
@kyserl , and, though I thought, “alright, I can take a decent photo, good enough,” was convinced that I needed to keep going in Advanced Photojournalism with
@markejohnson .
It was in this class that everything came together for me. There was an unspoken “this is where I need to be.”
To make a photo is different from taking one, from simply pressing the shutter. Yes, there are technicalities like proper exposure, and various ways to compose a picture. But most of all, it’s about the moment.
What is this ambiguous concept of “the moment?” “The Decisive Moment,” was put into words by Henri Cartier-Bresson:
“In photography there is a new kind of plasticity, the production of instantaneous lines made by movements of the subject…But inside movement there is one moment at which the elements in motion are in balance.”
And, studying Cartier-Bresson’s work, meticulously and obsessively composed to perfection, this technical, objective moment, satisfies and succeeds.
But, more than that, I’ve always understood achievement of this moment through our mantra in the photojournalism department:
“Fill your frame. Control your background. Wait for moments. Care.”
To me this means: know what you want to capture, focus on the bigger picture, have trust and patience, to lead with love.
A good photo makes you feel something because the photographer feels. So feel. Experience. Share.
I make this promise every time I pick up a camera. #care
