|
Madame President, by J. Michael Short/Independent Journalist San Antonio. Tx -- Newly installed President Alicia Wagner Calzada has a message for all NPPA members: "NPPA is just as good as the people who get involved in the organization." She adds: "Everybody has ideas, but it takes a committed individual to see their ideas through to make things happen." For evidence of this, one needs look no further than Alicia's own involvement in NPPA. A few years ago, following stints as staff photographer at papers in Louisiana and Florida and work with Habitat for Humanity International, Alicia found herself a freelancer, or independent photojournalist, the label she prefers. "I saw a gap in what NPPA had to offer the freelancer. I thought, 'Hey, I'm a business owner now.' I also saw that the more successful shooters I went to school with at UT Austin were not the photojournalism majors but had majored in business. So beginning with posts to the NPPA list-serve regarding business practices, she joined the NPPA Business Practices Committee and went to work as an advocate for the issues important to independent photojournalists. Alicia spearheaded development of the NPPA Independent Photographer's Toolkit and came up with the idea to include the NPPA¹s Cost of Doing Business Calculator, and she contributed to the Best Practices for the Business of Independent Photojournalism. Her work with NPPA is really an extension of the advocacy and purpose-driven ideals that brought her to photojournalism in the first place. ³I think, like most people, I got in to photojournalism to try and change the world.² Wanting to be a positive influence on the world is not a unique trait. What is worth examining is how effective she has been by focusing on making a difference on a small scale, working with individuals and within communities to bring about positive change. Alicia was raised in a family that emphasized the faith, environmental, and peace and justice axis of Christian activism. She is involved with organizations like Habitat for Humanity International and others. She spent almost a year documenting Habitat's work in 11 Asian and Pacific. Later, in her work along the U.S.-Mexican border for the North American Development Bank, Alicia directed her client to look beyond the usual ³check signing² photos for their annual report. She persuaded them to have her document NADBank projects in border communities, and the impact of the projects on people living in those disadvantaged communities. Her photographs subsequently became a major part of the 2003 NADBank annual report, which received a Vision Award as one of the top 100 annual reports from the League of Communications Professionals. Along with husband Billy Calzada, a staff photojournalist at the San Antonio Express-News, they have photographed missionaries and their works for the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism in Bogota, Colombia. Alicia's eyes light up when asked how she maintains her enthusiasm and ideals when completing daily assignments for Rumbo, the 5-day-a-week, Spanish language newspaper where she is chief photographer. Alicia, a native of the state of Connecticut, learned Spanish when she and her old brother, David, became intrigued by it. Her husband's mother speaks only Spanish, and Alicia further works her Spanish skills by conversing with her. She seems a good match for the newspaper which started-up in July 2004 to serve the Spanish dominant populations of San Antonio¹s West and South side. "Rumbo¹s stories are real important to the people involved. The paper brings in-depth coverage of issues to a whole segment of San Antonio¹s population that was not previously served." Alicia believes the work that is done at Rumbo is the essence of community-based, grass roots journalism. How does Alicia feel with the added NPPA presidential responsibilities on top of her full-time staff job? Now that she is no longer an independent photojournalist, she acknowledges that it is a lot of work, but, ³ you get more than you give.² That seems to be her mantra, with or without a camera. Looking to the future, Alicia sees first amendment issues such as photographers¹ rights to shoot in public places as being a focus of her advocacy, protecting the position of the Press as the fourth estate and making sure professional photojournalists have the access and legal tools at their disposal to complete that task. A look at the career of the new NPPA president shows a consistent pattern of what one person, willing to see ideas through to realization, can achieve. And how NPPA offers help and a vehicle for change to a properly motivated individual. What ideas do you have? Are you ready to do a little more than just talk about them? Drop Alicia a line. She and the NPPA just might help you bring those ideas to realization. Reach her at president@nppa.org. 
J. Michael Short is an independent photojournalist and photographer
based in San Antonio, Texas. He has previously been a staff
photojournalist at the Laredo Morning Times, has done extensive photo
documentary work in Mexico, and has been a photographer and photo
collections curator working with archaeologists in his native
Washington State. He holds a M.A. degree in photojournalism and a B.A.
degree in anthropology from The University of Texas at Austin, and an
A.A.S. degree in commercial photography from Colorado Mountain
College. Photo of Alicia and Billy by J. Michael Short.
|