Photographer John Sevigny Talks to Students

John Sevigny

Photographer John Sevigny visited COD’s campus today and spent a wonderfully informative hour talking about his experiences living and photographing in Mexico.
Sevigny, a former AP photographer, is interested in how his camera can be a tool for social education. Rather than taking the stance of an activist, Sevigny says that his work is intended to help him get away from reporting and has the objective of being more personal and more spiritual.
When asked what background a student should have to become a photographer, Sevigny said that making lots of images is key. “Set a goal of making a certain number of pictures in a finite amount of time… a month, say.” He went on to say that if you try to make 10,000 photographs a month, even if you fall short of the goal, you’ll have made a lot of images and will have started to refine  your eye and your taste in photographs.
John Sevigny’s website is at www.johnsevigny.com and his blog is Gone City. He has just recently published his first book of photographs El Muerto Pare el Santo.