I did this a lot this week in order to maintain my equipment. We went shark cage diving and I kept my equipment inside the ship and only brought out the lens and camera body I needed in order to take the photos I wanted. I also did this when we went on a safari to take photos of elephants and rhinos. I took out only what I needed and put the rest back... and then switched lens with other interns in order to get a different style of shot.
There were also three days this week that we were not planned to do anything except edit- which is a seriously monotonous activity, so us interns convinced our field specialist to go out to eat with us- where we ended up taking photographs of a whale breaching!
This past week I learned I am actually sick and that I am ready to come home. There are only 17 full days left of being in South Africa, and I am ready for those to go by pretty fast. I have been learning to cope with my sickness and see to it, instead of complaining about it. I have also been learning to be happy about the little things- like having a home-made parfait for breakfast, or watching The Parent Trap.
I actually didn't seem to accomplish much this week, except edit photos and have them ready for our director to choose from. The reason I didn't accomplish much was because I felt as if I were in a daze this past week since I have been sick.
The challenges I have faced this past week have been homesickness and actual sickness. This in turn gave me negativity and a face that did not seem to find reason to smile unless something was funny. I overcame this last night by realizing the little things that were good, and also that the majority of the old interns here are also feeling exactly the same way- we're all ready to go home. Just knowing that I'm not alone in that fact is really nice, and that I can count down the days together with them :)
I have definitely initiated many networking opportunities in my internship. I have contacts here in South Africa now if I ever want to come back. I also have friends in food photography, photography business, and photography marketing. The result is that I have a bundle of people I can ask questions to- and learn from, so that back in the States I am able to use them wisely to become more of a photographer. These will definitely influence my future employment if I am to go into a photography business, I would have great references. If I am to go into photography as a freelancer- I would have great knowledge and help to do so.
The networking goals I have for the rest of the month is to honestly take advantage of their knowledge and learn from them as much as possible in the spare time I have here in the internship. I know I have the people, but before I leave- I want to learn what they know, so that I won't have to ask them so many questions from overseas. I also want them to get to know me better so that I can stay in better contact with them when I'm back in the States.
I intend to maintain the relationships I've made here by communication via skype, BBM, and facebook. Maintaining the relationships through constant communication will make it so much easier when I am ready to make a move in the photographer world. To utilize the relationship I have, I am planning on asking for advice and references when the time comes that I am photographing as a freelancer or as an employee.
Well, due to my sickness, I'm going to go back to sleep. If you have any more questions- just comment!
Cheers!
~ Sinikka