Photography style and how I discovered it

JACK ROCKWOOD
Metro Parks Intern (Visitor Engagement)

Photography, like any art, is subjective, with each photographer trying to capture perfect instances of the world in their own style, but to do this you first have to find your style. Some are lucky, seeing something beautiful and immediately recognizing what their style is. For others, it is a grueling cycle of finding interests and learning lessons from the photos that just don’t… feel… right! This is where my journey into photography begins.

Actually, it begins at the 6th grade bus stop a block from my house, where little me tried taking photos of the sunrise and moonset from my first phone. They were, of course, not great, but I became infatuated with the ability to capture unchanging moments of the beauty around me. But I just couldn’t seem to take a photo that naturally felt like it was mine, so the quest to find my style began.

Throughout highschool and my college experience so far, I got better phones, better cameras, more skill and knowledge of their settings and what makes a good photo, but objective betterment alone means nothing to art, not without the subjectivity that makes people… peopley! I also learned how to trust my gut more. I got more confident in photographing people and doing what I had to for good shots, and I got comfortable with trying different styles and photographing things I didn’t think I would enjoy; I was getting closer to feeling like my photos were mine, but something was still off.

Somewhere along the way I made an Instagram account to use as a portfolio and to share my photography with friends, and years later this ended up being really important when I applied for an internship with Metro Parks. I originally interviewed for a seasonal ranger position, but after talking about my interest in photography and my portfolio (and a couple follow-up interviews), I got this marketing and communications internship in Visitor Engagement.

Looking back at the end of an excellent summer internship, all that I’ve experienced, and all that I’ve learned, I think I might have found my style. Metro Parks has given me a chance to document sunrises, sunsets, noon and night, in quarries, plains, forests, and roadways, alone, with groups, in the middle of nowhere, and just blocks from downtown Columbus. I guess that’s the beauty of the parks, there really is something for everyone.

When I scroll through my favorite photos from the over one-thousand I’ve taken in the past two and a half months, along with the countless I’ve taken since 6th grade, I’m able to see a pattern in them that I recognize as my own. It’s not night, or day, or plants or animals or people, it’s so innate that I’m not surprised I was able to overlook it for so long. It’s emotion.

I don’t look for blatant emotion or expression. I’ve realized it’s never necessarily been about capturing people experiencing emotion, it’s about capturing the emotions that people feel. The comforting orange radiating warmth under the setting summer sun, the melancholy of a fading rainbow, or the simple, pure, unspoken joy of spending time with loved ones; emotion is my style, and a single picture can’t only speak one-thousand words, but it can make you feel all this and more.

Without Metro Parks giving me a chance to run around and point my phone at people, I don’t think I would have realized my style, and I certainly would never have had a chance to take some of my favorite photos.

Being a local I’ve always loved the parks and Metro Parks for their mission and work, and now with finding my photography style, new knowledge of all sorts of plants and animals, more photography experience, a newfound confidence in taking photos, and a great experience doing meaningful and impactful work under a great team for a caring organization, I am more thankful to Metro Parks than I ever thought I could be.

To my coworkers in Headquarters across the Parks, my supervisor Jill, and Russell and JJ in HR who all saw potential in me and my work, and wanted to help me grow to be a better, more educated person and photographer with Metro Parks, thank you.

This hasn’t been just a summer internship to me, I see it as a necessary step to becoming who I am now and who I’m meant to be. So for all the memories, the photos, and giving me a chance in interviews and in this position, I am beyond grateful. Thank you.

As for me, once this internship comes to a close here soon I’ll be back at The Ohio State University in my final year working towards a B.A. in Psychology. I don’t know where graduate school or career beyond a bachelors will take me, but I know I’ll still be doing photography, in my style, every chance I get.