Welcome back to my blog. This post is for the second Action Project of the Humanities class, Journalism. In Unit 2, Image, we have been focusing on learning about photojournalism, practicing the skills of photography, and the critical thinking behind the images that shape the way we see the world every day. We examined the job of a photojournalist and what it meant to be objective versus subjective and the power behind certain images. Skills such as knowing how to adjust shutter speed, aperture, contrast, and using the rule of thirds are important for photography which we covered as well. For Field Experiences, we met with a photojournalist and visited the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. This Action Project asks us to find someone to interview and take a photograph of, all aligning with the question: "What is the meaning of life?" I have chosen to interview a neighbor of mine, Kevin Sur, who you will get to know more about in the following paragraphs. Below you will read Kevin's interpretation of the meaning of life and why he believes it as well as the photograph I took and its explanation. I hope you enjoy reading.
I began the interview with Kevin by asking the big question: “What is the meaning of life?” After organizing his thoughts, Kevin replied. “The meaning of life is different for everyone but for me, it's to go and help other people. It's not about making money or becoming famous but it can be super impactful when you can do the small stuff. I enjoy helping people out when people are not having a good day.”
All of Kevin’s jobs have contributed to his idea of helping others. Whether he is on or off duty, Kevin finds himself in situations where he is fortunate to know how to help others. One story he told me during the interview was about how he helped a stranger having a seizure on a flight coming from London to Cleveland. When the flight attendant asked over the plane’s intercom about anyone with medical training, Kevin stepped up. After assessing the situation, Kevin knew the passenger needed better medical attention as soon as it was possible. He advised a sooner landing and for the rest of the flight, he did what he could to help. After the plane had landed in Chicago and the passenger was handed over to paramedics, Kevin didn’t want to receive anything in return except to hear the stranger was well.
In Kevin’s profession, the situations you work in can become more difficult over time. Problems of natural disasters, violence, or things out of our control can get bigger and bigger. In the interview, Kevin told me how he is fortunate to have progressed from small- to medium- to large-sized problems. For others starting up in this profession or midway through, the process can be different, but spreading kindness and helping others will become more important in the future. “A piece of a motto from pararescue units is ‘so that others may live.’ People that go into this line of work all kind of fall under that one type of personality.” Kevin said to me.
The meaning of life can be similar for a lot of people and helping others may fall into that category. Even if Kevin’s meaning of life is the same as others, how he reached it is unique. “If you’re wealthy or able to give money you can contribute to helping people that way. There are other actions people can take in the field to help others,” Kevin said when I asked about a story that brought him to realize his meaning of life. “Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, multiple task forces were sent to look for and recover survivors, people that died, and investigate the remnants of communities. One assignment was collecting the bodies of people that had either died from the hurricane or had passed previously and were displaced from their burial sites. When we found those people we could notify their families and help them receive closure so they can grieve how they needed to without needing to worry about what had happened to their loved ones had they not been found. Out of the wreckage of an entire house, we were able to recover a wedding ring and a china set and return it to a family. In those situations, we were able to bring something back that would offer some normalcy to their lives again.”
It is important to note that many of the stories I’ve heard from Kevin, in this interview or with neighbors at other times, stay on a lighter note. Telling funny stories or those that end happily can be easier than telling stories of a sadder tone. As Kevin told me, every situation has not turned out well. There is a side where the responses have poor outcomes. This is the nature of the business and the people like Kevin that work in it are still dedicated to helping others.
The photograph I have taken to capture how Kevin applies his meaning of life shows him in his firefighter turnout gear: a coat, gloves, and helmet while holding a halligan. In this photo, I tried to capture much of the wear on the gear to show how it once was frequently used. On the arms of the coat, you can see red markings, showing the aging and repeated exposure to flames or other materials from fires. I also adjusted the image to highlight the creases and dirtier spots of the gear. Using the rule of thirds, the two ends of the halligan would be in the bottom left third and the top right third. Kevin's left eye is on the right third gridline to emphasize the line of sight to the halligan. I tried to fill most of the right side of the photograph with Kevin's body to create visual interest in two-thirds of the composition, while also balancing out the more empty space in the remaining third. The original photo is not overexposed but the light appears to hit more of the right side of the coat and the sun glare can be seen reflecting off the helmet which means the shutter speed is not too slow or fast and the aperture is mid-sized. The focus of the image is Kevin's face to catch the line of sight nothing is too blurry because of the solid background of a garage in our central driveway.
I would take my photograph to be more subjective than objective because this photo can be up to the viewer's interpretation. When I took the photo, I was looking to capture Kevin inspecting the halligan, making sure it was in good condition but the image could also be interpreted as Kevin remembering a specific event or times he used the tool in response to a situation. I intended to create a visual representation of a job that Kevin has had where he was committed to helping others to enhance his interpretation of the meaning of life.
Original Photo, GS, 2022
Edited Photo, GS, 2022
I hope you enjoyed reading about my interview with Kevin and seeing the image I took of him. This Action Project felt like a lot to do but I had fun working on it. I have known Kevin for a few years now and it has always been nice to hear his stories of responding to situations when off-duty or on duty. Helping others is something that anyone can do in one way or another and people like Kevin have committed their lives to help others. When I interviewed Kevin, I heard funny or meaningful stories that elaborated fully on his meaning of life. I also heard stories of times when the unexpected happens and has a negative turnout. After hearing these, I knew they also fit under Kevin's meaning of life, and instead of directly including those here, I made sure to note that it can happen because that is the nature of the job. I am very grateful to have spent the time talking to Kevin and thinking about what a good photo for this AP would be. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next post.
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