A week ago today I returned from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky where I participated in the Mountain Workshops photojournalism session.
The Mountain Workshops follow a similar format to the Missouri Photo Workshop that I attended last year. Both are focused on documenting the lives of people living in small town.
Instead of pounding the pavement to procure a story, as was the case in Missouri, each participant in Kentucky literally drew a story from a hat.
The week consisted of long days shooting my story, meeting with my team and coach and attending nightly presentations. We were also assigned a writing coach to collaborate with in writing stories and captions. My coach was Erika Schultz who is a full time photographer and videographer at the Seattle Times. Erika has a refined and keen eye and gave valuable feedback on my images, as well as suggestions on how to craft the most effective visual story.
Each photographer was given shot limit of 850 frames for the week. I really forced myself to be as economical and selective with my shooting and was pleased when I finished the week having shot just 219 images. I believe this disciplined approach really does hone my eye and helps with seeing then entire scene while anticipating key moments. Out of these 219 photographs, I collaborated with my coach to select 10 that captured the essence of my story. The photos were to submitted in color, but given the timeless feel and look of my story, most of my images seemed to work better in black and white. I’ll post a monochrome edit here this week along with a series of micro stories from the week.
My story was to cover Town and Country Minute Mart in the nearby town of Camargo. I drew my story at 12:30 P.M. on Monday and I was in the mart by 1:30. My initial impression of the mart was met with discouragement. The place looked and felt like an average, run-of-the-mill convenience store. After meeting and getting the green light from Penny, the mart’s office manager, I strolled the aisles and quickly discovered Town and Country Minute Mart is no typical convenience shop.
Here’s what I wrote for my lead in to my story.
Frog legs every Friday, sheets of plywood and 2x4’s, freshly stocked bottles of Ale 8 soda on ice, a tankful of gas, farm implements, green night-crawlers, ball peen hammers, and self serve coffee for 85 cents, you can find it all at the Town and Country Minute Mart LLC in Camargo, Kentucky.
Spend some time in the mart’s deli and you’ll be hard pressed to find a cell phone anywhere. Instead you’ll see people connecting with one another the old fashioned way; face to face.
Click below to see my story posted on the Mountain Workshops site.
