Flint I

This is the first entry dealing with interactions with people I know from summer camp. I have attended the same summer camp for 8 years as a camper and for 3 years as a staff member. It is a sleepover camp which means that I spend 9-10 weeks working closely with the rest of the staff and develop close relationships with many of my co-workers.

One such person is Flint, with whom I have worked the past 3 summers. I must mention that at this camp the counselors do not go by their birth names but rather, a name that they have chosen for themselves. Flint recently graduated from Pratt Institute in New York for photography and now works at Delaware College of Art and Design in Admissions but will soon be teaching in their continuing education department.

Although we are close at camp, we have limited contact during the academic year. We mostly communicate via facebook and text messaging. I contacted Flint via facebook and he responded with a voice mail. In the voice mail he said that he would trade something that was not only dear to him, but also iconic of his point of view and representative of his body of work. He went on to say:

"If it was just a flat out trade what would I give you for a photograph? It would depend on what the photograph looked like. If it was something that I enjoyed, I would give you something of equal value.

My point of view of changed when you told me that it was for your thesis. I remember you speaking about it but when you asked me, I had forgotten. So, I think I'd be more apt to trade you almost anything for the progression of your thesis. I think that our friendship also speaks for a lot more. I'd be willing to trade you almost anything because I know you and I respect you and you're one of my friends as compared to if I had just met you and then traded you something. So, if you physically would like to trade, my favorite way to trade is a postcard of my work..."

I called him back and we arranged to do an exchange in person for this coming weekend. He would pick something that he feels is iconic of his work and I would do the same with no size constraints. I haven't seen his work in a few years so I'm really interested to see what he has been working on as well as talking more in depth about the value he assigns to photography.