The first was when I was still a student at RIT and took a class that brought us to NYC for a week. Throughout the week we met photo industry professionals spanning the range of the field. We went to advertising agencies, photographers studios, production companies, studio & rental houses, the New York Times, and heard from photographers, photo reps, editors, business owners and the various people who are involved in the photo world. That trip marked the reality of the industry to me and had me excited to graduate. Thursday night of the NYTrip is always, as far as I know, a gathering at 11th Street Bar of the students & teachers on the trip and the RIT photography alumni in the city. I feel like it was invaluable to me to meet people who graduated from RIT and were making it in the city, especially in such a laid back setting. The class/trip is an amazing addition to the RIT curriculum and is one of the experiences I remember most now.
It was nice to meet up with people I know in the city, alumni I hadn't previously met, teachers I had in college and the RITers about to graduate. I was impressed by the students that I met, not only for the work I saw and the enthusiasm to move here, but for the awesome April Fools prank they pulled on Doug, who was my teacher and adviser at RIT. They conspired with the bartender to give him a [fake] tab totaling around $723 and the reaction was priceless. My cell phone flash blew out the writing on the tab, which was numerous tally marks and a bill total, but here's a picture of Doug with his bill.
I can't believe I've already lived in the city now for almost two years. I wonder what my fourth visit to 11th Street Bar will be like!
