Jonathan Hiskes | Dec. 9, 2007
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| Photo by Jonathan Hiskes |
| Photojournalist Gary Bogdon talked to senior Rebecca Treister and other students after his presentation about his work as a freelancer. |
Bogdon, now a freelance photographer, has worked at the Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel and the Louisville Courier-Journal.
“I really don’t think there’s a better training ground for a photographer than a newspaper,” he said during his talk to about 25 people in Ernie Pyle Hall, “because you get such a variety of assignments from day today. You never know what you’re going to be doing each day.”
Before starting college, he spent a year as a weekly newspaper’s sole photographer to make sure it was the right line of work for him. During college, he completed four internships in four different states. He encouraged students to do the same, so that they can approach subjects with fresh eyes.
“The further you can get from your comfort zone, the better,” he said.
He showed slides of his own work, which included photos of Olympic and professional athletes. After spending the bulk of his career at the Herald and Sentinel, he left six years ago to start his own business. As a freelancer, he’s added advertising photography to his list of specialties, and that’s meant more travel. Disney sent him to Italy two summers ago and to Spain and Germany last summer, he said. Two weeks ago, he was in Puerto Rico.
“That’s the best part of being a photojournalist, getting to meet people and getting to go places you’d never get to go otherwise, unless you’re independently wealthy,” he said.
Growing up in New Albany, Ind., he got to know associate professor Claude Cookman, who was then photo editor at the nearby Louisville Times. Cookman’s wife, Joyce, was Bogdon’s high school publications adviser and journalism teacher.
During Friday’s talk, Claude Cookman asked Bogdon how photojournalists were learning to shoot both still photos and videos at once, as some newspapers are now asking them to do.
Bogdon said it was easier for him as a freelancer, because there is often more time to prepare. Within five to 10 years, though, he expects switching from still to video cameras will be unnecessary: Photojournalists will use hybrid cameras that do both.
No matter the technology, he said being able to establish a connection with sources and earn their trust has been the most important key to his success.
“I’m a decent photographer,” he said. “But I’m a really good people person.”
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