Lisa Hall – North Carolina State Organization
1) Briefly, tell me a little bit about yourself as an educator and as a photographer?
I am a lateral entry teacher in my sixth year of secondary education. I worked in marketing and advertising for over 15 years before making the mid-life decision to go into education. My mom is a retired middle school teacher and DKG member herself, and seeing the impact that she made on so many children throughout her 30 years of teaching served as my inspiration. I first taught CTE marketing education courses, as well as served as our school DECA advisor. In 2020, I transitioned into my current position of Career Development Coordinator, working with students daily to help figure out their post high school plans. I work one-on-one with students on career assessment tests, helping them select classes in high school and at our local community college that will put them on a future track for success in the business world.
I fell in love with photography as a hobby when my children were small. I wanted to capture as many moments and memories with them as possible. I invested in my first digital SLR camera and I was hooked! I enrolled in a beginning photography course at a local photography museum and educational center here in Charlotte, NC called The Light Factory, which was instrumental in teaching me techniques such as framing, the “rule of thirds,” and how to alter my photographic style by using different shutter speeds and aperture selections. After that course I knew how to really use my camera and I felt much more confident in my shots. I don’t go anywhere without a camera now. You never know when you will see the perfect situation, or when you will capture a special moment with a loved one. I think that I drive my children and my friends crazy sometimes when I’m on vacation and ask them to stop so that I can take so many photos. Yet when I print those shots, or make photo albums as gifts, they are always so thankful that I took so many photos as memories!
2) As a photographer, where do you find your inspiration? Do you search for a particular subject, or do you just have your camera ready? Do you use any special equipment?
My photographic inspiration is daily life. If we all take time to look around there is always beauty around us, no matter where we are. I’m never without a camera, even if it’s just my iPhone camera. I do have a couple different body styles of Nikon digital SLR cameras, along with different lenses, which I take to special events or if I know that I’m going on vacation where I don’t mind carrying my equipment with me. I also have a portable tripod that I use as well. However, camera lenses are very fragile and very expensive, and after having two of my lenses break while on location, I have learned to not bring that equipment everywhere I go. I upgraded my phone to the iPhone 12 pro last year, specifically because that model now allows for more light to come in for photography, and because the overall photo quality is very similar to my full size SLR camera now. It’s amazing how far cameras on phones have come! In fact, both photos that I entered for this contest were taken on my iPhone, mainly because I didn’t want to risk dropping my large camera while hiking out west this past summer. I do take a lot of photos of nature, but I also take quirky photos of things that many people might not even think are worth photographing. In fact, sometimes those are my favorite shots! I also take photos of those that I love. Nothing warms my heart more than looking back on photos of trips I have taken or special events with loved ones. The trick to photography lies in the eye of the beholder. It’s gives you a chance to make your own creative personal expression, which is what I love most about the hobby.
3) When you start framing your subject, is there a process that goes through your mind? As an example, your photograph, ‘Antelope Canyon’ is photographed from low to high and focuses on color as well as form.
Going to Antelope Canyon, which is located in upper Arizona, near the Utah border, had been a lifelong bucket list trip for me, mainly because of the beauty I had seen in photographs of this amazing natural wonder. I had read that there was no way to really take a “bad” photo in the canyon, because the lighting and natural curves of the canyon had been so perfectly created and etched. Having been there personally, I can say that is true. My photo, “Antelope Canyon” was the very first photo that I took when I first arrived. I had just stepped foot inside the canyon and turned to look outside. The view I saw, with the red rocks of the canyon juxtaposed with the crisp blue sky truly took my breath away and I had to capture the moment. I knew about the technique of framing from my photography courses, so it was just instinct to snap that photo. It took two seconds of my life to capture that moment, and this photo will probably be one of my lifetime favorites. Just looking at it brings back so many memories of that trip that I took with my children. My son, who is in college, says that seeing Antelope Canyon in person is the best thing that he has ever done.
I have always loved black and white photography. It’s timeless to me. Many of the photos of my children in my house are in greyscale because of that trait. For this particular photo, I originally took “The Rose” in color as we were touring through the canyon. However, when I came home from my trip and was editing the photo I found that the characteristics of the rose and its petals (as seen in the rock formation) were much more prevalent in black and white than in color. I had to enter this into the contest because of the symbolic meaning that a rose has to Delta Kappa Gamma!
5) Do you have any tips for others looking to take still photos?
My advice is that there are really no bad photos. Photography is a personal expression of the beauty that an individual sees in the world. Just get out there and start snapping! If you don’t capture a moment in time it will be gone forever. As someone once said, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” If you do start to get hooked, I would encourage taking beginner photography classes to learn more about certain photography techniques and to get you more familiar with all the tools that your camera can offer. It’s an addictive hobby that truly requires no real natural talent.
6) Have you entered your work in other competitions?
Entering the DKG Arts Galley was the first time I had ever submitted any of my photos for judging. I probably wouldn’t have even thought about doing this if a couple of my fellow DKG-Kappa Chapter members hadn’t encouraged me. However, around the same time I submitted these photos I did submit a photo that I had taken of my neighbor’s daughter, who helped me rake leaves in the fall, into a photo contest that was sponsored by the NC Power Cooperative Association. My photograph was selected as one of only 20 photos selected (out of hundreds of entries) that was published in the January 2022 edition of their monthly magazine, “Carolina Country.” I was deeply honored to have my photo selected, and I was equally excited to tell the little girl in this photograph that she was “famous” now! J Having my photo published in two online and print forums in the span of a couple months has definitely inspired me to enter more photo contests in the future. And I am already deciding which photos I want to submit for the next DKG Arts Gallery!
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