Voigtländer Reflection

For this experience I learned how to use my Grandad’s old Voigtländer Brilliant film camera and learned more about the photography community. I did this by learning about and practicing 6 different photography topics, going to photography exhibits, going to a museum talk, and meeting with and photographing four photographers with a camera that holds significance for them. 

Never have I felt cooler than I did while completing this experience. Now this is not how I expected this reflection to start originally, but it’s true. It has been so empowering getting to think creatively. I’ve met amazing people I never would have crossed paths with had I not completed this experience. I’ve learned things about myself I would never have learned. I have loved every minute of this experience. Specifically, I learned what aperture, film speed, and shutter speed are. I learned how photos work. I learned some of the components that make a good photo. I learned how to take an occasionally good photo (and an often out of focus one). I learned that I can push myself outside of my comfort zone (like going to a museum talk by myself and introducing myself to the speaker following the presentation). I learned that I like the way photography has changed the way I see the world. I learned that the photography community is much more welcoming than I thought (everyone I talked to was so excited for me learning how to work this camera and was happy to help). I know that I only scratched the surface of how deep photography is and how much it can mean to me, but I’m excited to continue with this skill in the future. 

Through this process there were a couple of things that didn’t go completely to plan. I went to photography exhibits instead of a second photography event because I found most events were invite only for people in the community. I also only photographed four photographers in my final portfolio as opposed to my original five photographers proposed as I had trouble coordinating schedules and finding people. On the other hand, I didn’t plan to take any color photos or develop any film but had the opportunity to. Finally, this project took a lot longer to complete than I’d originally anticipated as I really wanted to take my time on each aspect, so as to get the most out of it. 

This experience has changed the way I think of a Global Citizen Scholar because it has changed my definition of a scholar. I used to define a scholar as someone who is always seeking to learn, and although I still believe this is true, I also believe being a scholar requires a cross-disciplinary approach. I don’t believe anymore that an effective scholar can learn about one focus area forever. There has to be diversification in order to fully articulate what one’s learned (as a key point of scholarship is sharing your knowledge), understand the context of what they’ve learned, and make people understand why what they’ve learned is important to them. As I’ve learned about the scientific aspects of photography and its rich history with environmentalism, I am curious about how I can combine the two to increase the impact I can have on current environmental problems and policy. Although it is cliché, a picture is truly worth a thousand words and can change the way you think. Photographs can change perception both of physical phenomenon and philosophical ones. This makes photography a perfect vessel to open a discourse around topics people are hesitant to talk and/or think about. 
I’m excited to share my findings with my fellow students through my share out presentation, to continue to use the Voigtländer for personal photographs, to continue interacting with the photography community through events and exhibits, and to experiment with the overlap between my environmental passion and photography. Although I am sure there will be many more blurry photos in my future, I am amazed at how much I was able to learn throughout this experience and how something seemingly completely different from Environmental Engineering was really quite connected.