By EMILY PRESTWOOD
Ranger Reporter
Aim, click, flash, repeat. That’s how Timothy Feresten spent a lot of his time after he arrived in Amarillo Oct. 21.
Feresten, a professional photographer, spoke to Amarillo College students Oct. 24 during his week-long stay in the Panhandle. Having previously known Feresten, Rene West, a photography instructor, was familiar with Feresten’s work and invited him to visit AC. West said she believed his work met AC’s institutional theme, “Be the Change,” as he has photographed villages in Vietnam aiming to change and restore the natives’ environment.
“I was more than happy to come,” Feresten said. “I was an educator for a long time, but now I only get to teach once or twice a year.”
Feresten has pursued digital photography for five years and said he is by no means proficient in such photography.He said it is a learning process.
During his time in Amarillo, Feresten gave a presentation for anyone curious about photography and his work. “I hope I was helpful,” he said. “It is exciting to see how other people interpret the world, especially young people in photography, because it is a learning curve.”
West said Feresten’s talk encompassed some of his early work and how he got into non-government organization (NGO) photography. Feresten said he now is committed to helping small businesses aid broken-down villages through micro credits.
West described Feresten as truly a working photographer. “As soon as he got off the plane, he started taking pictures,” she said.
West said Feresten spent a lot of time with the photography students. “When students can meet a professional in their field, it is always a positive thing,” she said.
Feresten also taught a two-hour workshop while he was at AC. “A lot of missionary kids were in the class, and he helped teach them that they can use their cameras as a tool to help their outreach,” West said.
After attending Feresten’s lecture, photography major Travis Lindow said, “I got a better perspective of cultural differences between India, Africa, Korea and other places because of how he captured each image.”
Lindow explained that photography students always benefit from professionals visiting campus because students can ask for advice about work experience, selling oneself as a photographer or the technical side of photography. “Like all other visiting artists, the students can show their photos and get a professional opinion,” he said.
Pictures from Feresten’s visit to Vietnam will be on display on the first floor of Lynn Library through Nov. 30.
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