Advisory Committee Day

The Loyalist College Photojournalism Program has incredible industry support. The people who make up the Photojournalism Advisory Committee are from Macleans, the Toronto Star and CP (that's Canadian PRESS, not Canadian PACIFIC). These are the people who decide what the photojournalism program will be like, they make hiring decisions at news organisations and decide on a day to day basis what photojournalism in Canada is.
Last week, they came to school.
For me, the highlight of the day was the portfolio review, and this time, rather than showing four pictures and a contact sheet from an assignment, I gathered all my pretty pictures. I got some good advice, but the review was much tougher than the reviews from Great White North. No one offered me a job or the hand of their unwed sister. I got more good advice, however.
It was a long, tough day with a lot of waiting for the Advisory Committee members to come out of meetings. I am starting to learn that a significant part of photojournalism is schmoozing, and this was a good day to practice that aspect of the business. To do this, I went to dinner at Montana's with some of my classmates, instructors and Advisory Board members. Then I attempted to take a picture of one of the Advisory Board Member's picture as they brought out a cake for his sixtieth birthday.
The flash didn't go off.
The flash wouldn't go off.
The damn ground wouldn't open up beneath me.
This week's assignment at school is all about flash.