Last night a crowd gathered in the impressively lit studio at PSC and shared a celebration of the final year PJ students work.  Students, lecturers, and staff of PSC, mingled with invitees from the photography industry and some very relieved mentors! 

The walls of the studio were hung with captivating images taken from each student’s folio over the past year, while 2 computers with headphones were displaying the multimedia talents of Jason Retchford, Cameron Church, Kathryn Feldmaier, and Tom Pipella. 

On the cyclorama was a 45-minute slide show of all student work from 2011.  Series of work were entitled ‘In the Name of the Father’ – ‘Night Runners’ – ‘Senior Moments’ – ‘Little Abyssinia’ – ‘Servitude’ – ‘Brutes ‘n Utes’ – ‘Soup Kitchen’ – ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘The Mill’.

 With sponsorship from Grand Ridge Brewery and Domaine Chandon, the evening quickly became a ‘chat fest’ and the sounds of laughter echoed through PSC.

The indubitable Bill Bachman chaired the evening’s speeches and introduced the guest speaker Arsineh Houspian (ex PSC student + Industry External Assessor for PJ).  Arsineh emphasized the importance of working hard, saying yes to every opportunity, and seeing every interaction as an opportunity to sell.  She also highlighted the difference between the safe haven of PSC and the competitive world of photojournalism.  ‘Do or die!’ would aptly summarize Arsineh’s speech. 

Finally after thanks from students to lecturers – courtesy of Gary Trounson and lecturer to students– thanks Jerry – the PJ students  journey at PSC was over but another was just beginning. 

Sandra Davis