Artist Initiative

This project has significantly helped me further develop my skills in photography. I covered more than 20 events in the past year and took an average of 50 photos per event which gave me significant amount of experience in shooting subjects that are in motion, working with different lighting conditions, editing and storytelling. As I covered more events and improved my skills, I went back to my portfolio and re-edited and reformatted my photos every 6-8 weeks. I also kept a monthly journal outlining my strengths, weaknesses and short term goals and plans on how I can improve and learn from the events I covered thus far. In an attempt to improve some of my weaknesses, I was able to take some photography classes offered at the University of Minnesota. 2: This project documented less recognized rallies with an attempt to serve as the voice for Minnesotans that go unheard because they lack the platform to do so. When I first started covering events, I was very proactive in passing my business card to let people know where the photos would be available. However, as I continued to cover more events, more people were able to recognize me and approach me with their opinions and feedbacks. Half way through my project, I started incorporating social media which really helped boost my website visit per month from an average of 50 views a month to around 200 visits per month. Social media created a platform form for people to talk about and comment on each of the events. The photos from this project had mentions on Zenteotl Project, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha (The Center of Workers United in Struggle), democraticunderground.com and Minnesota 2020.