05/14/2020
How has the job of campus photographer changed since the coronavirus pandemic forced remote operations? Marc Studer answers a few questions from Laura Mansfield.
Q. What would you normally be doing now and where would you be?
A. I would normally be in my office on campus in LB2, answering emails鈥痑nd鈥痯lanning for shoots.鈥疨re-pandemic, I was averaging three photo or video shoots per day.鈥疧nce a shoot is finished, the job is鈥痮nly鈥痮ne-third鈥痙one.鈥疶here is a lot of post-shoot editing and archiving. As a campus photographer, I鈥檓 responsible for pictures taken today but also 20 years ago.
Q. How鈥痠s working from home going?
A. I鈥檓 up at 7 a.m. to鈥痗heck emails.鈥疊efore I left campus, I pulled all the hard drives from my office. I now have five hard drives connected to my home computer 鈥 over 18鈥痶erabytes鈥痮f images. I am missing the UW bandwidth. When you try to work with large images or video in the cloud, it slows down your internet. And that means no Netflix for anyone.
Q. What adjustments have you made to complete your work?
A. I鈥檓 on Zoom calls for much of the day. I鈥檝e made myself a Zoom fort (Fort Awesome).鈥疘 made the fort when I realized I would be spending lots of time here.鈥疘鈥痵tarted鈥痬oving things 鈥 and moving one thing led to five. Everything I need is in arms reach, and my lighting is optimized for video.
I am an essential employee, so I am making trips to campus. I have been filming some of the STEM faculty doing experiments so they can conduct their labs remotely.
Q. What are you trying to work on (or just do) today?
A. I鈥檓 producing a video to teach faculty how to make their own Zoom fort (a space set up for video teaching). It will include tips on how to improvise lighting and sound.
Q. What are you doing to care for yourself or for others?
A. I own a one-wheel scooter. I鈥檓 out on it every day. I hang a camera around my neck, and I鈥檓 ready to take a picture. The scooter allows me to explore so many nooks and鈥痗rannies that I never knew existed.
I always have little side鈥痯rojects going.鈥疻ithout鈥痑鈥痙aily鈥痗ommute, I have more time.鈥疎arly on, I made face masks. I have rebuilt my workspace. I went through my library and was shocked at the size of the paranormal section!鈥疘鈥檓 also binging some Netflix (鈥淲estworld鈥).
Also, I鈥檓 drinking coffee like a fish.
Q. Do you have a change of perspective to share 鈥 about life or work?
A. The status quo is a fragile thing. I鈥檝e鈥痟ad a lot of anxiety about this. The other lesson鈥痺e will all learn the hard way is, we will adapt.
You need to take care of yourself. It鈥檚 important to take a break from the news.
Q. What other thoughts or feelings do you want to share?
A. We鈥檙e鈥痝onna鈥痬ake it. There will be changes to the workforce; it is all going to change. It鈥檚 going to be鈥痵uper rough for a lot of people. Every day you hold out is a day closer to getting better.
Editor鈥檚 note: Marc鈥檚 instructional video on how to build a Zoom fort will soon be available on the instructional continuity website. There are videos and tips for all to optimize your online experience.
