Posted on Thursday June 17
Nine students from The Community School’s Passages Program for teen parents will graduate this Saturday, in the school’s third, and final, graduation ceremony of the season.
Tiphani Williams, Christian Roberts, Misti Norwood, Naomi DeWalt, Nicole Wallace, Renee Grey, Naomi Marr, Kristina Ott and Sarah Troxel will receive their high school diplomas on Saturday, in what is sure to be another emotional day of well deserved celebration for these young students.
The Passages Program is a home-based high school diploma program for teen parents, and in order to graduate, students must complete requirements ranging from traditional academics to parenting skills.
Students complete work in 23 core areas, including math, science, social studies, English language arts, nutrition, budgeting, and child development.
They do all of this while raising children, and sometimes, holding down jobs or internships at the same time.
Students must also complete a final graduation project, or “Passage”, which they present to a team of advisors before graduation. Each Passage project represents a particular passion, fear, goal or challenge for the student, and they typically spend many months working on their projects.
For her Passage, Naomi Marr is learning to play guitar, and has been learning a particular song her grandfather used to play for her, so that she can play it for her own young child as he grows up, and pass on an important family musical tradition.
Tiphani Williams is learning how to knit, and is making a hat and slippers for her young son. Christian Roberts is designing a computer game, and Naomi DeWalt is conducting a clothes and food drive for the homeless.
Misti Norwood is job shadowing at a local hair salon in preparation for applying to cosmetology school in the fall. Nicole Wallace worked with a nutritionist to expand her cooking options and she has put together a recipe book for her two young sons with special nutritional needs.
Renee Grey is starting a young mom’s playgroup to help young mothers break through the isolation of new parenthood. Kristina Ott is learning to bake with the help of a local pastry chef, and is creating a cookbook.
Sarah Troxel is learning how to drive, moving into her own
apartment, applying to culinary school and creating a scrapbook that reflects her experiences as a new young mother.
All of these students have worked hard to complete high school, and create a better life for their children.
When they graduate this Saturday, they will be giving their children the best gift they can give them- parents who have worked hard to create a bright future for their children.
Graduation will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, at The John Street Methodist Church in Camden.
For more information, call The Community School at 236-3000 or visit www.thecommunityschool.org.
Posted on Wednesday June 9
On May 28, over 120 people filled Hall Mountain Hall in Camden to celebrate the graduation of The Community School’s Residential Class of 2010. Students Tyler Sabattis of Indian Township, Khia Newell of Lincoln, Zech McIntosh of Gardiner, Billie Pirruccello of Benton, Ian Betts of Deer Isle, Eric Knight of Union, Karen Johnson of Lewiston and Natalie Paul of Freeport earned well deserved high school diplomas in an emotional ceremony that left hardly a dry eye in the house.
The celebration began with a Community Potluck at The Community School, and ended, several hours later, with staff and students embracing each other as they broke into an impromptu version of “Lean on Me.”
In between, there was a beautiful processional down Washington and Main streets, speeches, a video and slideshow, the awarding of diplomas, and a group dance.
Tyler Sabattis lead the processional with a Passamaquoddy honor song and drumming, and each student carried a colorful staff they had made themselves earlier in the week.
Each student was dressed in a different color cap and gown, and along with their colorful staffs, Sabattis’s drumming and singing, and the huge crowd of friends, family and supporters that marched alongside them, the students made a fabulous, traffic-stopping picture as they made their to high Mountain Hall.
Residential Program Director Joseph Hufnagel opened the ceremony by looking proudly upon the students and asking the crowd, “Have you ever had a dream come true? Because this is one of mine.”
Hufnagel then asked each member of the crowd to and acknowledged staff, board members, volunteers, student employers and co-workers, friends, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, former students, and every person who has supported the school and the students over the years. Hufnagel is fond of saying, “Without community, we’d be just another school,” and a quick look around the room on Friday night made that abundantly clear. The community support for these students was overwhelming.
Hufnagel spoke with pride of the students, their accomplishments, their new awareness, and their responsibility to themselves. He closed by telling the students that he loves them all, and it was abundantly clear just how much he meant it. Hufnagel has become a father figure of sorts to the students, while simultaneously becoming a new father himself. Hufnagel and his wife, Amy, welcomed a new baby in April.
Lead Teacher Carrie Braman was next to take the floor, as she spoke with pride about students Karen Johnson and Natalie Paul, citing Johnson’s kind heart and Paul’s love of magic and belief that anything is possible.
Residential Overnight Counselor Alix Gillian Martin spoke fondly about Billie Pirruccello and Ian Betts. She reminisced about swimming with fellow ocean lover Pirruccelli, and dancing “goofy” dances with Betts. She said her feet ached to dance with Betts one more time, and she read a poignant Mary Oliver poem to Pirruccello.
Residential Overnight Counselor Maureen El Hajj and Culinary Instructor Cathy Ames spoke of Eric Knight and Zech McInstosh. Ames talked with pride of Knight’s cooking abilities while El Hajj spoke of her love for McIntosh, despite what she called their equally strong “stubborn streaks.” She and McInstosh shared one of the most extended hugs of the evening.
Residential Overnight Counselor Scott McPherson took the floor sporting a suit and tie, along with a green Mohawk, as part of a promise he made to the graduates if they completed their requirements on time. Martin and Hufnagel made similar promises, and sported slightly more subtlety colored hair, although Hufnagel’s hands bore tell-tale and significant traces of blue hair dye.
McPherson, who was expecting a new baby any day with his partner, Caitlin, thanked the parents in the crowd for entrusting the staff with their children, and spoke highly of Khia Newell and Tyler Sabattis. He cited Khia’s acceptance at two colleges and Tyler’s holding of the Passamaquoddy language, and told them they can do anything they set their minds to.
After the awarding of diplomas, several parents, grandparents, friends, tutors and school supporters stood to congratulate the students. One volunteer tutor said she’d learned more from the students than they had probably learned from her, while one proud parent said, “If there were more schools like this one, we’d all be better off.” Several parents, teary eyed, thanked the staff, while one parent said, “You uncovered the diamond we always knew was there.”
Head of School Dottie Foote kept her closing remarks brief, but not before turning traditional commencement sentiment on its head. Rather than asking the students to make the world a better place for others, she asked the audience to “ferociously” commit to making the world a better place for the students.
After an enthusiastic response from the crowd, the kids tossed their caps in the air and broke into their favorite all-school dance, The Cha-Cha Slide.
Eleven Passages Program students will graduate in June.
Posted on Tuesday May 25
This month, eight students will graduate from The Community School’s Residential Program. These students have accomplished some amazing things during the past year, and one of those things was taking part in the school’s new Green Project Initiative.
In May of last year, the Green Initiative received start-up funding from the Knox County Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. Matching contributions from individual donors soon followed and by August, a dedicated team of volunteers was hard at work cleaning and “greening” the school in preparation for the arrival of new students in September.
By mid-September, the students were working weekly with the school’s primary partner in this endeavor, The Newforest Institute, based in Brooks, ME. Newforest staff worked with students to develop a permaculture plan for the school, which involves using every inch of the school’s campus in the most environmentally responsible way possible. From maximizing the school’s natural light, collecting rain water, gardening, composting and recycling, this plan will reduce energy consumption and costs, while teaching students important lessons and skills in alternative energies and sustainable agriculture.
As part of this project, students began a composting program for the school, they evaluated the school’s trash production and water consumption, they conducted soils testing, they planted lettuce, blueberries and garlic, they researched the feasibility of raising chickens, they helped local seniors prepare garden beds, they served a locally grown harvest lunch to local school children, they helped the Tanglewood 4-H camp clear trails and combat invasive aquatic species. They also worked with an organic chef to learn how to prepare locally grown produce, conducted surveys on how much money the school spends and store-bought produce, and more.
On May 13, students presented some of their findings and recommendations to school staff, board members and volunteers.
Student Zech McIntosh studied the fuel consumption of the school’s two vehicles and recommended securing internship placements for the students that are closer to campus, in an effort to reduce mileage to job sites. He also suggested securing a fleet of donated bicycles so that students could cycle to their job sites, and along with fellow student Ian Betts, suggested creating a system of physical education credits for biking or cycling to work. Betts and student Natalie Paul researched the costs and benefits of building a chicken coop and raising laying hens. Eric Knight made recommendations for reducing the school’s trash consumption and increasing the ease of recycling and composting efforts. Billie Pirruccello recommended reducing the school’s output of methane gas by reducing student consumption of beef. Karen Johnson conducted a second mileage survey, with conclusions similar to McIntosh’s. Tyler Sabattis researched the amount of money the school spends on store-bought produce and made recommendations for planting crops on campus.
Khia Newell studied the impact of global warming on Antarctic penguins, and had this to say in her final report:
“People had always talked to me about global warming and what the effects had on earth and other species on the earth, but to be honest it still didn’t phase me any; I still continued what I was doing and didn’t give it another thought.
When we first started talking about the green initiative project I thought it was kind of a waste of time. Why would you have to grow your own vegetables and all of that when you could just go to the market and purchase the things needed? I guess I understood the money aspect about it, but that’s all I thought it was about. Now I realize it isn’t even about the money. By participating in the green initiative, we’re going to be reducing our carbon footprint by a huge amount, we’ll be less reliant on fuel and electricity, we’ll have a compost on site, and future students, hopefully, will be more aware that human behavior is causing the death and possible extinction of these penguins.
Now I understand the whole purpose to this project, and I’m happy The Community School has decided to take this on. This project has taught me a lot. To know that helpless animals have to suffer because of our actions makes me want to make a change. And this green initiative project is a perfect way to start.”
All of the student presentations were thoughtful and well-researched, and created compelling arguments for continuation of the project. Pros and cons of each recommendation were carefully considered, and as these students prepare to graduate on May 28, they have left The Community School with a top-notch, student-inspired blueprint for the future.
Posted on Friday April 9
National Champions - Fastest High School Team
Currently, the C-School You Later toboggan team from The Community School of Camden, Maine is a member of an elite club of national champions, which includes the likes of the New York Yankees and New Orleans Saints. Yes indeed, we are national champions!
While the attendance at the National Toboggan Championships at the Camden Snow Bowl this past weekend may pale in comparison to the millions who tuned into the World Series and Super Bowl, the character it took to endure single digit temperatures over the course of a full weekend and to continually accept the reality of climbing onto a thin slab of wood with a few of your closest friends and being shot out of an icy chute at 40-50 miles an hour across a frozen lake with no clear way of knowing how or when you were going to stop at the very least provides the rest of us ordinary champions with a sound and deserving reason to feel proud of ourselves.
Ian Betts (a student at The Community School who did not participate in the race but stood chute-side all the while cheering on his classmates) explains, “It was a cold and long experience. It took a lot of guts for people to go 40 miles per hour and get shot out onto a frozen lake. However, I also questioned the intelligence of having that many vehicles on the ice.” Ian then went on to say, “I was definitely concerned for my friends. I mean it was pretty dangerous. But then I was really happy for them afterwards.”
Khia Newell (a member of the all-women’s, four-person, “fastest high school” team called C-School You Later) explained: “I guess I never realized that tobogganing was that popular. At first I was really scared. But it was so exciting. I definitely couldn’t have done it without all of my good friends around me.”
Natalie Paul (another member of C-School You Later) added: “It was so fun. I can’t wait to do it again. We were all almost seriously injured. But then we got better each time we went. I just buried my face in Karen’s back and held on with all my might.”
Tyler Sabattis (the front-man of The C-School Express, which finished second in the fastest high school category behind C-School You Later) offered his perspective by saying: “It seemed like we kept getting 8.8 seconds all day long. But there was so much competition there that my team (The C-School Express) just wanted to make the cut and get our name up on the Finals Board.”
Jake Schmidt, (an intern at The Community School and member of The C-School Express,) noted, “It was definitely a rush being thrown down a chute of ice at 50 miles per hour. I was pretty cramped. But it was so much fun.”
Zech McIntosh (C-School Express) agreed: “It was fun, scary, and dangerous,” he said. “And I’m glad I did it.”
Joseph Hufnagel (the Director of the Residential Program at The Community School and humble member of the less accomplished Mountain Donkey toboggan team) beamed: “I am so proud of these kids,” he said. “What a special group! When we first started talking about the idea of entering a couple of sleds into the National Toboggan Championships, I received some strange and peculiar looks. But then we watched a few You Tube clips and started getting excited about the idea of being a part of something that seemed just crazy enough to be fun.”
“Initially, our competitive juices were turned inward and against one another,” Hufnagel continued. “First it was the girls’ sled versus the boys’ sled and then it quickly turned into the students’ sleds versus the staffs’ sleds. Who knows? Perhaps it was the Legend of Granny’s Sled that served to unify us in a way once race day rolled around.”
What Hufnagel is alluding to actually emanates from a true story in which Jen Durato (a member of The Mountain Donkeys) purchased an old, creaky Sears Roebucks sled for $5 a few days before the race from a ninety year old woman who proceeded to explain to her how the last time she was on it, as a little girl, “the sled just kept going and going…down the hill, through the corn field, through the apple orchard, through the wheat field. It just kept going and going.’ Or so she said. Anyway, we all wound up sharing Granny’s Sled and it actually wound up being pretty fast,” Hufnagel explained.
Alix McLean (a Residential Overnight Counselor at The Community School and member of The Mountain Donkeys) shared, “There have been moments throughout this term when I have thought to myself, “I am doing something right now that I may never feel comfortable doing alone”. But in the presence of this amazing community of students and staff, I have felt surprisingly connected, comforted, and grateful to find myself surrounded by these great individuals and in the midst of this incredible adventure that we seem to be on together.”
Cathy Ames (the culinary instructor at The Community School and proud member of the C-School Express) observed: “That may have been the craziest 8.8 seconds of my life. As we were sliding and spinning around across the ice it was so quiet and intense, and I just kept hoping that nobody was going to let go. “
When asked what made them get back on the toboggan and do it again after they crashed so badly the first time, Khia Newell (C-School You Later) explained: “Cause we wanted to bring it home and finish what we started. I don’t think our school has ever had a trophy before and now we do. I guess I just wanted to be able to say that we won.”
Khia later went on to add: “When we woke up on Sunday morning we weren’t going to do it. But then we realized that there was no point in stopping there because we hadn’t really accomplished anything yet. I guess we just really wanted to finish what we started.”
Laughingly, Billie Pirruccello (C-School You Later) added: “It was so scary getting back on the sled again after we crashed the first time. We were all pretty sore and bruised, but then we thought, well it’s nothing that can’t be fixed.”
Karen Johnson (C-School You Later) recalled: “The scariest part for me was having to go down first before the boys’ sled. Go girls! It was exciting. It got tiring and we got pretty beat up. I was definitely happy to be done when it was all over. But now I’m thinking that we all need to meet back here again next year. Or at least all the girls are gonna have to come back to kick some butt again.”
Eric Knight echoed this sentiment. “Was it worth it?” he asked. “Let me put it this way, I think I got frostbite on my legs and I never even went down the chute myself. But I think it was worth it. Next year our C-School Reunion sled is going to have to come back to defend our title.”
Tyler Sabattis (The C-School Express) concluded: “All in all, it was a phenomenal experience. There were so many toboggans and interesting people there. My highlight definitely had to be the actual racing and the competition. I mean there were over 400 sleds in the competition and we had a legitimate shot at winning the whole thing. At least the other half of us won and we came close ourselves to bringing home the gold for the fastest high school.”
Posted on Thursday April 8
Music, dance, and a whole lotta laughter filled The Community School’s living room on Thursday night as students, staff and volunteers broke new ground on what’s sure to become a long-standing C-School tradition, the open mic coffee house.
Residential Overnight Counselor and event organizer Alix McLean spent much of Thursday decorating, preparing food and setting up the sound system, and by the time the event kicked off, the school had the feel of a funky art house/coffee house, complete with tapestries, white lights and a photo exhibit from the kids’ recent trip to New York City.
On that trip, which was extended by one day due to the breakdown of the school’s van on the drive home, students celebrated the crossing of each state’s border by singing the National Anthem. It seemed appropriate, then, to launch the coffee house with a lively rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, which had everyone singing to the rafters, and (mostly), on key.
The first individual performer to take the stage was C-School culinary instructor Cathy Ames-Cruz with a silly, rhyming ditty that showed off her inner-rapper and hidden talent for the stage. Who knew that in-between baking brownies and whipping up multi-course dinners, Cathy is a secret actress/singer/dancer/rapper/poet? Her performance of “Harry the Hairy Ape” set a great tone for the evening, and inspired the next act, an alarmingly good dancing chicken interpretation by student Tyler Sabattis.
How Tyler managed to wrap his red long johns around himself in a way that forced his body into an undeniable chicken shape and move around the room so gracefully, while still leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was, in fact, a chicken, will probably always remain a mystery. But his performance combined just enough over-the-top “wow” factor to send it from the silly to the (almost) sublime.
Next up was intern Jake Schmidt, and students Ian Betts and Erich Knight, with a baritone version of “I Feel Pretty”, complete with lipstick, heels and a dress worn by Mr. Betts. They got the well deserved laughs they were after, but they also pulled off a pretty (no pun intended) solid musical performance.
Betts, Knight and Sabbatis then took the stage together to show off their dance moves to “Yummy”, a performance that prompted Residential Program Director Joseph Hufngael to say, “We’re having dress rehearsal next time.”
The night took a more serious and definitively artistic turn with the next performance, by student and singer-songwriter Zech McIntosh. Zech took the floor with his guitar and wowed everyone to silence with his soulful strumming, vocals and lyrics. His untitled work left no doubt in anyone’s mind that this kid has got talent, and wondering how he managed to combine punk, folk, rock and pop all in one solid song.
Next up was Lead Teacher Carrie Braman, who read a funny, insightful essay about religion, politics, pop-culture and the power of chance encounters, and with her reading, reminded everyone about the importance of observation, and putting pen to paper.
Hufnagel and the students, especially Betts and classmate Natalie Paul, showed off their acting ability in a short video reenactment of an actual school-wide hiking trip gone wrong. On that trip, students hiked for about four hours in the Camden Hills, looking for an overnight cabin they never found. However, rather than complaining about their misfortune, the students took the whole thing in stride and good humor, and turned their experience in to a “Blair Witch Project” type video featuring shaky camera footage, ominous music, an odd encounter with a shady Park Ranger (played by Betts), and the eerily disturbing disappearance of Hufnagel and his unusual plot-unifying prop, a jar of jelly. Thankfully, Hufnagel was actually present at the coffee house to remind everyone that what they were watching was actually (mostly) fictional.
In the final two acts Betts and Knight took the floor again to show off their rapping skills with a rendition of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice, Baby,” and then joined the entire student body in an all school dance number, The Cha-Cha Slide.”
All in all, it was a great start to a new tradition, and a great chance for the students to shine, once again.
For more information about The Community School, call 236-3000 or visit www.thecommunityschool.org
Posted on Saturday January 30
Jane and her son
by Jane, Passages Student
I think the Passages Program through the Community School is a really great program. It doesn’t just teach you what a normal high school would. You learn real life experiences. I personally grew a lot in this program since I started. I have learned a lot and figured out what I want to do after high school for a career. I think I have become a better person in every way. When I first got pregnant I thought, how I am supposed to finish high school with three years left? and then a friend told me about the Community School. If it weren’t for this program I wouldn’t be getting my diploma.
Another thing I like about Passages is the teachers in it. Everyone is so nice and encouraging, especially my teacher. Andréa has done a lot for me. She took me to a lot of school workshops and listened to my excuses. She also did a lot outside of school including taking me to Timothy’s appointments. She did a lot more than what a teacher is expected to do. This is why I love this program.
For my passage I decided to raise money for the Children’s Cancer Program. I picked to do this as a project because I have always wanted to help and give children hope that are sick. I want to become a pediatric nurse, too. Our team goal was to raise 700 dollars and we did it.
Jane and her Team
I learned that in the future I would organize things better and stay on a stricter schedule. For example, I should have made a list of whom I needed to call when I was canceling the first bake sale. I also learned that I can plan something and follow through with it and have it turn out nice. In the future I might do another fundraiser for children. I also learned how to work with other people on a project. The team that I chose ended up being a good team that helped a lot. One of my teammates had a lot of good ideas but didn’t follow through, so my other team members took over for her. I learned from her that I will always show up or at least call if I am going to miss something, because not following through is frustrating for others. I think this was a good project for me because it showed me I could finish what I started and have it come out well. This project turned out to be rewarding and fun.
Posted on Thursday January 28
by Tiffany
Passages Student
“When I wrote these questions to Jamie I never thought he was going to answer them back. When Jamie did I was amazed by what a photographer could do. I have made my mind up I want to be a photographer.” – Tiffany
Dear Tiffany,
Thank you for your note. I think it’s great that you want to become a photographer. It’s an exciting time for photography. We had four or five years where digital was still in development and the cost was high. Now the prices have come down putting excellent quality cameras within reach from several brands.
With digital being affordable and accessible, there are more people entering photography than ever. The competition is harder than ever but the good news is, photography will always be in demand. A career in photography is within reach. How hard you work at it will determine your success. It’s not easy, but it’s very satisfying work. You can take inspiration from the fact that a woman from Camden, Samantha Appleton, is now the official photographer for Michelle Obama!
On to your questions.
What kind of school do you have to go to?
School can be a great way to learn basic skills and I recommend some classes to learn how to operate cameras, test new gear, learn about lighting equipment and get some of the technical know-how that is necessary to move beyond the equipment so that you can concentrate on the images.
A college degree is not necessary for most parts of the photography business; many young photographers find that an apprenticeship is a better way to learn both the craft and the business of photography. If you are going into a very technical type of photography, like biomedical photography or forensics photography, then I would recommend college. If you want to be a photojournalist or a portrait photographer then I would recommend following the path of apprenticeship.
What do you call a good photo?
What constitutes a good photograph can vary greatly. What you find beautiful I may find ugly. An image can be judged on its technical merits – well exposed, sharp focus, composed well, and those merits are often how we judge nature photography, but even those technical rules are broken in fine art photography and still be considered a good photograph. Does it taste good? You’re a good cook. Does it look good? It’s a good photo. Can you shoot photos under a deadline with an art director standing over your shoulder and a crew of models and make-up artists? You are a professional photographer.
Is this what you always wanted to be? Were you in yearbook in high school?
I knew that I wanted to be a photographer when I took an art class in 9th grade from a teacher named Mr. Prohaska. He taught me the technical skills of photography and inspired me by showing me the work of many great photographers. Mr. Prohaska kept pushing me, challenged me and gave me the confidence that I could succeed with a career in photography. I did work on the yearbook staff but it was the work in the art classes that really hooked me on photography. I had taken every photography class offered at school and since I had completed all my required classes, I convinced the school board to let me create my own photography course with Mr. Prohaska when I was a senior.
If I were taking a photo of my child, what would you suggest I do to get a good photo?
Photographing children is hard because getting them to cooperate is challenging but in some ways it’s easier because they have no preconceived ideas of how they should look. They are completely at ease in front of the camera. Getting a great image of a child means taking a lot of photographs and practicing. What will come with time is looking through the viewfinder and knowing that moment to click the shutter. Anticipating the moment takes time and is one of the things I love so much about photographing people. I don’t believe that some people are photogenic while others are not. I think there is a beautiful image of everyone, you just have to find it.
How long did it take for you to take the good photo?
How long? Like I said earlier, if you take a photograph that someone enjoys, then you can have a good photo. If you photograph your sister and she thinks it makes her look pretty, then it’s a good photo. Getting good photos and making consistently good photos can only come with hard work, time and experience. Within a few years you should feel confident enough to know that you can take a good photo, but it may take twenty years before you think you’ve gotten to a point where you can take a great photo. Only you will know when you’ve achieved that, and it’s not something that anyone else can take away from you if you feel good about the images you are making.
How much money does it take to get started (Camera , school, everything you need)
A good digital camera with interchangeable lenses starts at about $600. You can begin learning with a camera that costs much less. A course at the Maine Media Workshops in Rockport can cost $750, but working as an assistant at the Maine Media Workshops costs you $0 and might even pay you something, although I don’t expect that it would pay much. College courses at the Rochester Institute of Technology can cost you between $50,000 and $100,000 for a four year degree. If you decide that college is the best way to go, then you should have a plan to build a career on that expense. I chose the college route to learn photography. I learned from some excellent teachers, school provided many great life experiences and I met friends that I’ve had for twenty years now, but if I were to do it all over again I may have chosen a different path to a career in photography. I have a good friend that went to college for a career in photography and now he runs a successful advertising agency. While he does not work behind the camera, he oversees all the photo shoots and video shoots for television commercials. He’s an excellent photographer but doesn’t get paid to push the shutter. Keep an open mind about the many different careers in photography that don’t include you actually taking the photos. Here are other jobs that may interest you:
- Make-up artist for fashion photography
- Food styling for food photography
- Still image editor
- Photoshop editor
- Film/Video editor
- Multimedia developer
All of these require you to have some photography skills and understand what makes a great image, but not all careers mean you are the one pushing the shutter. If your dream is to be a National Geographic Photographer, then don’t let anything stand in your way, but if you don’t know exactly what you want to do, then keep an open mind about the other jobs that may make you happy.
And to expand on that last sentence, I would say the best thing about being a photographer is that you will love to go to work every day and that’s what makes a great career. I got to travel to far away places, climb mountains, snowshoe across a desert, ride in a glider plane, and sail from Maine to Florida in my career as a photographer and I have loved every minute of it. I now make my living working with photography to create a great magazine and that is just as exciting for me as all the adventures I found while clicking the shutter.
When taking a photo of a waterfall would you take it at sunset or sunrise?
As an outdoor photographer I can tell you that noontime I was rarely out taking photos. The best images come at sunrise and sunset. Generally speaking, you have about an hour after sunrise to get great images before the quality of the light starts to decline. The window of opportunity before sunset is longer. The great light can extend as long as three hours, but the magic light is always within the last thirty minutes before the sunsets and sometimes another fifteen minutes after the sun has dipped below the horizon. If you want to be a nature photographer you better be a morning person because that comes with the territory.
How much money do you get paid per job?
Looking at all the different types of photographers in a general sense, the average day-rate for a professional photographer is about $1,200 + expenses. Magazines pay less, some advertising clients pay more. Some photographers like Annie Leibovitz make considerably more. She might get paid $30,000 per day. Much of how that price is determined is based on your skills as a photographer and how the company will be using the images.
Let’s do some math. You need to advertise your work, discuss the details of the job, negotiate the price, account for the weather if you are an outdoor shooter and finally you get to shoot the photos and get paid. For every day of shooting you’ve got at least three days of preparation. That being the case, the maximum number of days you are actually getting paid is only about 85 in any given year. 85 x $1,200 = $102,000. Subtract out the costs for equipment, paying an assistant, office expenses, marketing expenses and you should be able to take home 1/2 of that. You won’t get rich in this scenario, but you can make a good living. That’s just one look at how a photographer makes money. You could resell images from your archive, sell calendars, postcards, you could offer courses to other photographers. There are many different ways that photographers price their work and how they get paid. If you want to know more I would be happy to expand on the topic at another time.
If you wanted to be a photographer, do you need to be a wedding photographer?
Wedding photography is just one option. Its biggest advantages are it doesn’t require leaving Maine to make a living and it’s fun. You photograph people on one of the happiest days of their life. There are over 10,000 weddings in Maine each year so you can usually find work right in your hometown. If you want to be a fashion photographer you will need to move to New York, Milan Italy or Paris to have the best chance for success and the most available job options (I can count the fashion photographers that I know of in Maine on one hand). If you want to be a National Geographic photographer the chances are good you are going to be on the road much of the year (my friend David McLain travels 150 days of the year as a Nat. Geo shooter). What kind of photography you choose will determine where you need to be to succeed. If you want to live in Maine (it’s a great place to live), then you can be a wedding photographer, or a nature photographer, or a photojournalist.
It’s all where you want to be and what you like to photograph. I did photograph weddings for a few years and they are fun but also a lot of pressure. You have one chance to get it right and no re-shoots. The center of the photography universe in the United States is New York City. I never wanted to live there but you will learn the most and find many photography jobs in the bigger cities around the country. You don’t have to live in NY to be a photographer, but if you think you might like living in a big city, you will find more career options.
I hope my comments were helpful and I wish you all the luck in the world in your pursuit of a photography career. If I can answer any other questions just drop me a note.
All the best,
Jamie Bloomquist
http://www.jamiebloomquist.com/
A directory of many Maine photographers on the web: http://jimdugan.com/maineph.html
Click on any of the photographers names and then on their website and you’ll be able to see samples of their work.
Posted on Thursday January 28
American Sign Language poems and “ABC Stories” are a traditional art form in Deaf culture. The residential students have been studying American Sign Language (ASL) and in the process have created and performed their own ABC stories. Traditional ABC stories use the alphabetical handshapes in ASL to create a story. The story starts with a sign using the “A” handshape and each sign thereafter follows in ABC order, ending with Z.
As you can see in the video, our sign language stories are a little unconventional. Not only are the students allowed to use each hand shape a few times before moving on to the next letter, the poems are original works by the students.
http://www.thecommunityschool.org/wp-content/uploads/eric_sign_languageflv.flvPosted on Wednesday January 27
by Carrie Braman, Residential Lead Teacher
One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about this first semester’s teaching is seeing students build confidence in their own leadership. It’s happened in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. By heading to their jobsites every morning, the students are able to see the not-insignificant role they play in the world, and by taking leadership over their own projects in the core subject areas, they are understanding just what initiative can accomplish.
Still, one of the academic projects that made me most proud this semester wasn’t originally part of our planned curriculum. In late September I took three of the students to downtown Rockland to look for jobs, and we happened to park right next to a big purple sign for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter. All three expressed interest in the program and asked if we could go inside to get more information. Since it seemed like a healthy curiosity, I said, “Sure, why not?” and we climbed the rickety stairs and introduced ourselves to the surprised staff. What emerged out of this initial meeting was the seed of a partnership between our two programs. The girls loved the idea of being mentors to troubled elementary school students, kids they saw themselves as uniquely qualified to help. Their excitement was contagious. They harangued their peers into attending the BBBS orientation. They filled out request forms and followed up with staff at both organizations. They took it upon themselves to call the BBBS office to arrange follow-up meetings and to discuss a workable schedule, and they convinced us all that a weekly commitment to a younger friend would be beneficial to their education.
In a matter of a few brief weeks, I found myself driving the nervous students to Appleton, where a gymnasium full of eager elementary-schoolers awaited their arrival. This trip has turned into one of the highlights of my week, a Wednesday ritual that the students look forward to.
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