At North Central, a few dedicated individuals live their life behind the lens of a camera, capturing the highlights of other people’s achievements. They spend hours at events shooting photos and later editing them to satisfy others, often without anyone noticing their story or how they fell in love with their life through a lens.
Isa George is a senior photographer planning to major in multi-media journalism and minor in law at Taylor University. Growing up George was surrounded by photographers.
“My family travels a lot, and my mom always brought a camera with her any time we traveled, she always had a camera to document when we traveled,” George said.
This introduction to photography inspired her to ask for a Polaroid camera for her ninth birthday. It started with trips and has spiraled upwards into high school and collegiate opportunities.
“I started with wildlife photography and local birds,” George said. “Just going outside and sitting was nice and easy, but it takes so much more patience than people think. You have to have the ability to sit in one spot and wait for them to come to you.”
So far this year George has been focused on taking photos for North Central sports for North Central student media.
“As a photographer, you have to look at the world, not just through your eyes, [it sounds cheesy] but to actually look at the world through your heart. It’s way more than just clicking a button.You have to feel the emotion of the photo and relate to it,” George said.
More recently George has explored some of the careers photography has to offer.
“I’d love to just study photography, but most of the professional photographers that you will talk to say not to study photography. Because in reality you don’t need a degree to be a photographer, yes it’s more than lining up a shot but creativity is so important,” George said.
Although the field of photography is competitive George likes to take things slow and relaxed. One of her favorite photographers, Todd Haido, does just that.
“He’s very minimalist. The way that he looks at the world is very beautiful, and it’s very simplistic by focusing on light more which I find fascinating. I also love Chris Owens’ work. He does a lot of indie car sports stuff, which is super cool. But then he also does a lot of street photography,” George said.
Having that creative mindset or love for photography brings opportunities and joy to life. Starting with simple nature photos is a great way to get into the art of photography. Find your niche and play around. “It brings out more emotion in the stories that you tell,” George said.
