OXFORD, Miss. – Two University of Mississippi photographers received
national print awards at the 47th annual University Photographer’s
Association of America Symposium.
Robert Jordan, assistant
director of Imaging Services, won first place in the Sports category
for his photo, “Eyes on the Ball,” and third place in Campus
Environments for “Globe Gazing.”
Kevin Bain, senior staff
photographer for Imaging Services, won second place in the Science and
Research category for his photo “Chemical Engineering Students.”
“As
a creative person, you have to believe in yourself even if your photos
don’t win,” Jordan said. “But when they do win, it’s even better.”
Both photographers attended the UPAA event at Auburn University in June. A unique feature of the event is the way the photos are judged: All photographers who attend the symposium cast votes to select the winning photographs.
“When you win here, you have been judged truly by your peers,” Jordan said. “Not by a committee, or a judge or the whim of one person. You are being recognized by other university photographers. It’s special.”
Each photographer can enter up to six photos in any of six categories: Sports, People and Portraits, Campus Environment, News and Features, Science and Research and Personal Vision.
“I feel like I have a little bit of an advantage in the Campus Environment category because we have such a beautiful campus,” Jordan said.
Both Jordan and Bain were surprised at the outcome of the competition.
“When I saw my photo hanging with the other science entries, I didn’t think it had a chance,” Bain said. “That was the last one I expected to win.”
The symposium itself featured interesting guest speakers. Steve McCurry, National Geographic photographer; Michael Grecco, celebrity portrait photographer; and Bob Rosato, Sports Illustrated photographer, all attended the event and spoke about their work.
Another benefit of the symposium is to network with fellow university photographers, Jordan said.
“Meeting other people who do the same thing and finding out that they have some of the same challenges is good because you get to hash it out and commiserate together,” he said.
“When you get to talk to other photographers, you find out that they have the same problems and the same ups and downs that you do. It really makes your job easier, to know that you’re not out there by yourself,” Bain said.
Jordan said that the most beneficial aspect of the symposium is the amount of knowledge you obtain.
“I hope that I’m a better photographer than I was yesterday, and I hope to be a better one tomorrow than I am today,” Jordan said. “I’ve been working for the university now for 24 years and I still love photography and I still want to learn.”
Jordan joined the UM staff in 1984. He is a board member of the UPAA and has won numerous awards from the College Public Relations Association of Mississippi, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, as well as the UPAA.
Bain has been working with the university since 1992. He is a member of the UPAA and has won numerous awards from CPRAM, Mississippi Sports Association and the UPAA.
For more about the Department of Imaging Services, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/imaging?services/ .