Day two at DC was our government day! Although I'm not the biggest fan of politics I was definitely excited to see the White House, The Capitol, and the Library of Congress. We all met up in front of the White House (of course in the wrong spot). Riley and I, as fashionable as we are were matching for the day. This photo is of us 'mean mugging' in front of the White House.
Unfortunately, when I arrived at the gate my ID did not match the application. So most of my White House visit was standing outside talking to William. Not that it isn't great to talk to William, because it is, but I was hoping to be inside for longer. We both got in eventually and I enjoyed listening to the rest of the intern panel answer questions about their jobs. We met with Polly Irungu, Yash Mori, and Jeremy Davis. I was a little disappointed about not being there at the beginning and I didn't know what kinds of questions had already been asked so I mostly stayed quiet. We then went on a tour. My favorite part was meeting Adam Schultz and Cameron Smith. I appreciated Cameron's excitement about her job and even though it was five minutes of speaking with them, I felt like that was when I learned the most about being a White House photographer. I think Ariana said it well that it's an act of service to document history. That really stood out to me.
Then we hustled through the rest of the visit, took some photos outside the White House, and rushed on bikes to the Capitol. That was a nightmare in itself, losing Dan, running red lights, and racing to the opposite side of the Capitol. We visited with four photographers, Louis Palu, Win McNamee, Drew Angerer, and Amanda Rhoads. They were great and I was very excited to meet with them however, I was disappointed we couldn't ask questions during their presentation about photographing the Jan 6 riots. I think it's a valuable conversation to have, but it didn't feel like a conversation and that's what I felt like I was missing. I would have liked to ask more questions about what their actual day-to-day is like. Touring the Capitol was something I had never done before. It was a beautiful building and I did find it interesting to be able to stand and picture all the images that were made on Jan 6 in front of me.
The next stop was The Library of Congress. Again, I feel like I wish I learned more about what they do and talked to more people there in the office. We spoke with Thomas Reiger and Matthew Breitbart. I appreciated Tomas's passion for the library however, I'm not sure it's the place for me.
The real highlight of the night was going to Mission and speaking with alumni and other freelancers. The beginning of the night I spent with Shuran Huang. She is a Syracuse grad and works as a freelancer. She is an absolute powerhouse. I eventually opened up and spoke with Eric Lee, Amanda Rhoads, and Sarah Silbiger. Again, they were incredibly resourceful, open, and friendly. I had conversations about where I might want to work, where I want to be located in the US, and what it means to be a woman in the industry. Every day I talk to a new photographer or editor of my senior I realize how close-knit this industry really is. I think I concluded it's the times when I can just be one on one with people that matter the most to me.
