Rabble, Rabble, Rabble.

Q. What professional associations are relevant to your subject matter?

A.
American Society of Media Photographers
National Press Photographers Association
Society for Photographic Education (while I'm still in school, at least)
Professional Photographers of America
Editorial Photographers
American Institute of Graphic Arts

Proposed Associations:
Square Format Imaging Association
Professional Trespassers of America

Q. What connects us to our subject matter?

A. I connect with subject matter that I perceive as beautiful. It all begins with that subject that, when I gaze upon it, I think it's something very special, something that is exceptional in some way. Going back to my previous post about the woman at Perkins, it's safe to assume that there is an element of humanity in what I find beautiful. I find myself empathizing with my subject matter more often than photographing it. Sometimes, that means empathizing with a man and his three-legged dog and sometimes that means empathizing with a a pueblo-style building in the middle of a commercial district. I don't find it absurd at all trying to understand the feelings of inanimate objects. We, as humans, build things with certain intentions, whether it be a building, a door knob, a trailer, etc. Perhaps, we intend them to be beautiful, or functional, or a combination of both. I believe that in trying to understand why things are the way they are, I can better understand my subject matter and why I connect with it.