Around a year ago I left my job at the Midland Daily News, moved to Southern Indiana and started working at The Herald in Jasper. The Herald was one of those elusive internships that I wanted but never got, it wasn't a job I wanted to pass up. I definitely had nerves going in, not just because of the completely new work environment and co-workers, but the fear of failure. The fear of not living up to the expectations I was placing on myself. I wanted to grow exponentially and pretty much expected that I would. How could a photographer not grow when they are constantly working on stories as well as daily work? I think some aspects of my shooting improve and some aspects of story work got better but not as much as I originally hoped or previsualized. I'd like to say it's ok but ultimately it feels frustrating and not uncommon. I think this is something every photographer experiences and struggles with. We want to continue to grow and take better, more storytelling images but don't always meet those goals. So I hope this next year I will be a little bit kinder to myself and a smidge more realistic about what I can accomplish in a year. Here are some of my favorite pictures from my first year in Jasper, about half are photos from daily work and the other half are from stories I worked on. Thanks for looking.
