Art Is A Window: If you walk across my camera

“If you walk across my camera I will flash the world your story.”

― Woody Guthrie

The First 10,000 photography blog's name comes from a quote by photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, “Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” The blog devoted a bit of space to consider what a photographer could learn from Guthrie.

There’s a simplicity and honesty to Woody’s work that isn’t such a bad quality to have if you’re a photographer. And a lot of the singer’s other qualities — the sense of humor, the willingness to collaborate, and an ability to get new things out of old subjects — would probably serve you well, too. But there’s another lesson lurking in all of this as well: perhaps the single most important thing to have in your kit isn’t your lenses, your flash, batteries, memory cards, air blower, or even your camera. Pack your curiosity first and you’ll be amazed at how much better the rest of your kit — whether it’s the physical one or the metaphysical one — works as a result.

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Photographer Jenna Pope is an activist and award-winning freelance photographer living in New York City. As a born and raised Wisconsinite, she became involved in the Wisconsin Uprising in the Winter of 2011, and spent many nights sleeping on the floor of the State Capitol Building. That was just her first taste of activism, and has been fighting for social and economic justice ever since. As she began taking photos at a very young age, there was no question that she needed to combine her photography experience with activism.

In 2011, Jenna began documenting the protests in Wisconsin's State Capitol. In November, she quit her job to work full time in support of efforts to recall Governor Scott Walker. Supported by donations from people who would like to support her efforts, she began her full-time journey to document social protest movements around the world.