Finally figured out, pitched and got my senior thesis project approved. Here is an excerpt from my proposal paper:
“Each place, like a person, is unique, with a style and a personality of its own…the photographer has only one job, to reveal that character and communicate it to the viewer.” Jay
MaiselIn travel photography, the most important skill is being able to capture the sense of a place. To become a great travel photographer, it is important not only to photograph exotic destinations such as Greece or Africa, but also to be able to photograph any location, especially those closest in proximity. So photographing where I live is a start in my journey to becoming a travel photographer.
My senior photography project is going to capture the unique “personality” of
Bozeman by photographing the people, the events, the details and architecture. I hope that this project develops my ways of seeing while exploring any destination. I am going to walk around
Bozeman and photograph familiar areas and unexplored ones. The most important goal of this project is that I capture a sense of place, as Jay
Maisel’s quote states.
This project is influenced by my intense wanderlust. I have always been interested in travel: Different cultures, food, people and landscapes of various countries. My travel magazines always inspire me to explore and photograph places my friends and family have never seen. It inspires me to capture these places in my own style and illustrate my own adventures. When in Greece, I saw a Georges
Meiss’s work that captured the iconic things he noticed while photographing in the Greek islands: Doors, bright colors, the older locals. I immediately was interested in how he documented his adventures and he has been an inspiration to me while traveling. Jay
Maisel came and gave a talk at
MSU and motivated me to look at a place with an open mind and to photograph everything. The very important piece of advice that he gave to his audience – make it your own. This is what I want to do when photographing
Bozeman (or anywhere for that matter).
So that ended up being much longer than I thought it was - but now you have an idea of what I will be working on all semester long.
Granny's Donuts in Bozeman has the best donuts. Ever. You may think you've eaten the most delicious fried piece of wonder, but unless you have been here, you haven't. Sorry. Robert, the owner and I am pretty sure the only employee here, makes this place what it is. He makes his fruit donuts with fresh fruit and pie filling, his orange cream donuts are better than you can ever imagine and he uses chocolate ganache as the frosting on his chocolate donuts. It's one place in Bozeman I am REALLY going to miss. We asked Robert if he has ever shipped his donuts anywhere, he told us he did once, to a guy getting heart surgery. Ironic, but funny. I think the first time I ever went to Granny's Robert was topping a maple bar with bacon (maple bacon bar...) and he paused, looked up, and asked us if he wanted the triple-bypass donut. Although tempting, the name made me reconsider. He gets special orders for these donuts; they are that good. Robert and Patrick have had some fun discussions about politics and science, I just revel in the fact that he loves making people happy by making donuts everyday. When I brought my mom to Granny's for the first time (she's hooked now), he gave her an old-fashioned donut and offered to make her a pot of tea (it was a really cute single serving pot that he made just for her). We're in love. With Granny's. And with Robert.
