An Important Teacher I

This is Part I of a series of posts I will be writing about my first photography professor and mentor, Frank Hamilton.

Since starting the Master’s Program at SOU, I’ve had numerous classes where we’ve discussed our most important and influential teachers. We talk about the qualities those teachers embody that make them so unforgettable. Each and every opportunity I have to reflect on my favorite teachers, one always comes to mind and this teacher is Frank Hamilton.

Frank was my first photography professor. I enrolled in his Photography I class at Johnson County Community College in the summer of 1989. In June of that year, I’d made the decision to become a photographer. For good reason, I wasn’t certain how I was going to make this happen. Truly, the odds were against me but I’d made up my mind. So, with a 5 year-old daughter in my nest and $10 in my CapFed account, I enrolled as a full-time photo student at JCCC.

Walking into Frank’s classroom for the first time was like walking into sun after months in the rain. To this day, I still can’t explain the magic in Frank’s classes, but it’s there. After just one class, I was even more convinced that I wanted to be a photographer. However, I saw the commitment this dream required and after a couple of weeks of working full-time as a waitress, being a Mom to my daughter, Andrea, and taking care of my very ill mother, I had misgivings about my goal.

An Important Teacher I

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