No Fear

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As Sara Krulwich walked toward the first row of students to show how close we should get to our subjects when taking photos, I could tell that she had a very outgoing and fearless personality.  She wasn’t concerned about getting close, and about doing something outside of the norm.  She was also able to connect with the class and create a comfortable environment, as she treated us photographers, and even complimented some of our works. Never in my life have I ever been complimented for my artwork, so when Sarah Krulwich, a renowned photographer for the New York Times complemented some of my photography I was both happy and surprised.  It is this personality that allowed Sara Krulwich to have a successful career as a photographer, as she took huge strides for women in what was at the time, a prominently male field.

During her classroom visit she showed us many of her photographs that she had taken or had been take of her.  One of the photos that stuck out to me was of her at the Michigan football game, where she is the lone woman on the field.  She was trying to take photos for the college paper, and in order to do so, she had disregarded the rules, which stated that women weren’t allowed on the football field.  This photo exhibited her as both brave and progressive. What I found most interesting about her was her ability to make the most of her opportunities.  When she first started off as a photographer, she was assigned to photograph sporting events.  She talked about the difficulties she dealt with in photographing sports, which included the lack of sports knowledge, and the criticality of timing.  If you are early or late, even by a split second, you will not be able to capture the moment you are looking for.  Although it was tough, she learned the ins and outs of photographing the fast paced action of sports.  Later in her career, she was able to bring this same style to theatrical photography, which has resulted in some fantastic, action-packed photographs.