Finding Success

This is my third year teaching at Kansas State University. It has been interesting to watch students I taught in my first semester graduate and move into their careers. Making the transition from the college life to career life will be an adjustment. But it has been been gratifying to see some of those who I worked with at the start of their long journey, meet with early success. The students I have seen take initiative to find opportunities outside the classroom are finding jobs. Getting better doesn't happen magically. It takes time and hard work. I believe there is always room for talented people. They have been passionate and have sought out people who can make them better. If they continue to push themselves, be curious and maintain their passion to find ways to get better, then they will flourish for years to come.

1. Be curious
2. Be passionate
3. Treat people with respect
4. Practice, practice, practice
5. Unplug and talk to people
6. Get out into nature
7. Keep learning
8. Be confident

Great Video

Here are some quality videos from the NPPA Best of Photography contest. These are examples of the best of the best visual storytelling. This first piece is just a superb piece of storytelling. Great photography and great audio help create an emotionally powerful story.

NPPA 2011 TV BOP Photography: In-Depth 1st Place from NPPA video contests on Vimeo.

This is a great example of video and audio working well together. The piece flows so nicely from beginning to end and shows the power of music to heal.


NPPA 2011 TV BOP Photography: 48 Hour Feature 1st Place from NPPA video contests on Vimeo.

This is another well-crafted piece on a NYC beekeeper. I especially like the audio of the bees.

NPPA 2011 TV BOP Photography: 48 Hour Feature HM from NPPA video contests on Vimeo.

Gus' First Time in the Rockies

AS a kid I spent many summers in Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado. They were unforgettable days spent walking the forests and climbing peaks. 

The lessons I learned from being in the wild, with friends, have lasted a lifetime. Lessons about pushing outside of my comfort zone to achieve a goal, working as part of a team and knowing to admit defeat and resolve to try again another day.

Those summers were the foundation for much of what I have pushed for in my life.

Gus will be going to wild places as he grows up. He will not be one of the millions of children afflicted with "Nature Deficit Disorder" and I can't wait to enjoy the journey down life's path together.

Night on the Konza Prairie

Growing up in Kansas affected my appreciation for the night sky as did summers as a kid camping under the stars in Colorado. I had at one time even entertained the idea of being an astronomer. 

The beauty of the stars, Milky Way and planets is incomparable. I have a feeling of smallness standing under the canopy of twinkling lights. I remember going out in the front yard as a boy just staring up into space.

A few nights ago I headed south to the Konza Prairie to seek out the best place to see the moonless night sky. I have wanted to capture the Kansas night sky since returning to my home state last summer and finally found the right night. I left home about 9:30 and drove to the Lower Fox Creek School about 20 miles south of Council Grove, Kansas. The old one-room school house is just off Highway 177 so was easy to spot even though the night was black as pitch.

   Lower Fox Creek School - Konza Prairie - Flint Hills, Kansas                                   Copyright 2011 Andy Nelson

And so here I was again, decades later staring up into the night sky filled with wonder. I shot for several hours and just enjoyed being "out there." In the background coyotes howled and owls hooted as the stars slowly drifted around the North Star.

Despite the sparse population in the area, the level of light pollution is still high. The orange cast in the night sky is caused by lights from Council Grove and other nearby towns.

I have plenty of good pictures from the night but I settled on posting a panorama that includes the Big Dipper in the left side of the photograph.

It was a fun night and I'm looking forward to more photographic exploration in the beautiful Flint Hills.

Time Flies

Since mid-January it seems like life has been a big blur.

We started the semester strong with visits from the incomparable National Geographic photographer and K-State alum Jim Richardson who visited my photojournalism class on January 25. His talk was excellent and emphasized how critically important it is for photojournalists to be great writers as well as great shooters. He talked a great deal about story generation and proposal writing. The take-away from the night was that you must be able to articulate clearly and concisely the concept of the story you are shooting. You must do the research and planning to be able to put yourself in a position to not make great, storytelling pictures. Great pictures start with great research. 

January 26 I hosted to K-State my former Christian Science Monitor colleague Dante Chinni. He is the founder of the Patchwork Nation Project. It is a fascinating look at the United States. Using census data on a county-by-county level, Dante has broken down the nation into 12 different community types. His work goes beyond the too generalized Red State/Blue State model.  He gives journalists a new tool to better understand the trends shaping the country. He gave a fascinating lecture and spoke to five different classes while on campus.

On February 9 Christian Science Monitor Weekly Africa Bureau Chief Scott Baldauf joined my magazine writing class via Skype from Johannesburg. Scott has been doing great work in Africa. It is always important for students to hear from professionals practicing their craft. Scott's latest work has been on foreign investment in farmlands in African nations. He also just published an interesting piece on stories in Africa you may have missed while the Egyptian protests where happening. This is the great thing about the Monitor. It always has had the ability to see the broad view of the world while much of the media is hyper-focused on one area or topic.

Pulitzer Prize finalist in feature photography Sonya Hebert joined the photojournalism class via Skype on February 10. Sonya’s story “At the Edge of Life” that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature photography.  This is incredibly powerful storytelling full of compassion and emotion approached with the dignity of the patients in mind. She reminded the class of the importance of finding stories with emotional resonance. You must be passionate about the work you are doing to make a difference.

Sonya's piece,  “Choosing Thomas," was awarded the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism in 2010.

A New Year a new blog

During the protest in Bangkok, May 2010

Back in August I started a new chapter in life as the R.M. Seaton Chair in the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications. I moved to Kansas from Bangkok, Thailand.

One of the great things about returning to my alma mater, Kansas State, is being in an environment where there are people who care about trying to get better at teaching and learning. Yesterday I attended a conference here focused on creating a community of learners.

But what does that mean exactly? 

I''m still processing everything from yesterday but I think I have a pretty good idea. 

When I was in college back in the 1980s, I worked at the K-State Collegian, the campus daily newspaper, as a photojournalist. Why did I choose to come to K-State? Because there was a dedicated, focused group of people who cared about each other and the work they were doing. The success of the photojournalists wasn't predicated on classroom instruction as much as it was on our ability teach and learn from each other as we worked on the Collegian.

The Photogs - circa 1982.

We were a tribe. The lessons passed down to me from the upperclassmen - work hard, build a portfolio, get internships, be professional - were the same lessons they had passed to them from their elders. As I become one of the old dogs, I passed the lessons to new photojournalists when they arrived. We were passionate and driven and brutally honest with each other – and it worked. Over the course of our college careers we spent hours together brainstorming ideas, working on stories, partying and celebrating our successes.

Many of the people I worked with have amazing professional careers. Robert Clark has been working with National Geographic for years. Jeff Tuttle, is now freelancing in Wichita after years at the Wichita Eagle newspaper. We were best friends in college but nearly got into a fist fight in the darkroom once over who should be able to get their picture out on the wires first. The competition was awesome. There are many who still make their living with a camera. Others have moved into management positions in the news business.

And others have taken new paths in life. My college roommate, Jeff Taylor, is one of the best coffee roasters on the planet and his company, PTs Coffee, was named the 2009 Roaster of the Year.

Regardless of where the path of life has led the K-State photo community, there is a still a connection back to this place. I can call a photojournalist from the 1960s and they will help me because we are part of the tribe. I have called photojournalists who came after me for help. We care, we learn and we succeed. We built a community of learners. 

As I prepare for a new semester, I've reflected on what I can do to try and build this feeling in my classes. I've got a few ideas and I will see how they work. 

I'll keep you posted.