by Pete Rosenbery
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The works of Southern Illinois University Carbondale photojournalism students will be highlighted in an exhibition and panel discussion later this month in Morris Library.
The free, public discussion, “Views of Cobden and Alto Pass from the 2024 SIU Photojournalism Weekend Workshop,” is from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24 in the library rotunda.
Photos of a Cobden Elementary School student in class and one of SIU Carbondale classmate Nicole Fox, both by SIU journalism student Amilia Estrada, are among the display in Morris Library’s rotunda. (Photos by Amilia Estrada)
The panel discussion is part of a display of 31 photographs taken by eight SIU Carbondale and four Eastern Illinois University students who participated in a three-day workshop in April. The SIU students were part of Julia Rendleman’s intermediate photojournalism class during the spring semester. The photo exhibition will be in the library’s rotunda through Oct. 31.
Valuable experience
Rendleman, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Advertising, said the workshop was a valuable experience for students. They were able to work with “seasoned journalists who have been in the field and have come across difficulties that come up in reporting and overcame them.” That allowed them to show students how to “navigate the sometimes difficult situations that this job requires,” she said.
Rendleman added the panel discussion is also about “community responsibility and showing the people of Alto Pass and Cobden how we covered them, the pictures we made and the stories we told. In a way, we are growing the relationship SIU has with the Southern Illinois community.”
The exhibition will also give students the opportunity to see actual printed work, Rendleman said.
Work.
“We live in the digital age, but there is something so cool and timeless about a tangible photo — something that you cannot swipe away, something that you have to look at and interact with even if for just a minute.”
Students pushed themselves
During the workshop, students received immediate feedback from some of the industry’s top photojournalists. Photojournalist and Pulitzer Center grantee Justin Cook, who will be part of the Aug. 24 panel discussion, was among the professionals who worked with students as part of the center’s Origin Photojournalism Workshop.
Cook said he will be curious to see how the students’ relationship with Alto Pass and Cobden has grown nearly four months later, adding that he felt “renewed” after the workshop.
“Watching the students push themselves and grow in skill and love for the craft of photojournalism was a jolt of energy in my own practice,” Cook said. “The environment of the workshop was unlike others that I’ve attended and coached: It felt collaborative and playful as opposed to competitive. During the panel, I hope to glean how the students have applied the lessons they’ve learned and what they are working on currently.”
The SIU Carbondale students who participated, with their majors, were:
- Carbondale: Amilia Estrada, sophomore, journalism.
- Chicago: Deangelo Handley, sophomore, art.
- Du Quoin: Lylee Gibbs, junior, journalism.
- Herrin: Enan Chediak, senior, art.
- German Valley: Nicole Fox, senior, radio, television, and digital media.
- Mount Sterling: Abby Harris, junior, journalism.
- Springfield: Dominique Martinez-Powell, senior, psychology.
WISCONSIN
- Green Bay: Cydnee Totzke, doctoral student, sociology.
Hopes to offer workshop in spring 2025
Rendleman hopes the workshop returns next spring and it can be expanded to include journalism students.
The event is similar to “A Weekend in …” workshops by now-retired SIU Carbondale photojournalism assistant professor Mark Dolan that started in 2009. Communities featured then included Alto Pass and Cobden; Carbondale; Murphysboro; the Tri-C communities of Cambria, Carterville and Crainville; Chester, and Harrisburg.
Rendleman, who is also an award-winning freelance photojournalist, participated in SIU’s first two workshops and was a student fellow at the Pulitzer Center in 2011.
For more information, call the library’s Special Collections Research Center at 618-453-2516.