My name is Helgi Olgeirsson and I am a Photography major. Being the media addict that I am, I first got wind of the CityPaper when reading and comparing papers shortly after moving here, it was there for no wonder that I jumped at the first opportunity to see a MICA talk by its staff photographers Joe Giordano. After his talk I approached him and asked him about Internship opportunities this coming semester and stated my interested, I must have typed his email in wrong for he never responded to my first email and 2 weeks later Nate, my photo teacher forwards me an email where Joe had been asking to get in touch with me regarding an Internship.Everything got Ironed out and I started my internship in February, then the paper was operating in the
old building, a cozy townhouse where every corner and closet had been turned into an office or and I
could have sworn that one office still had the bathroom tiles and mirror on the wall.
The City Paper is a small but tight knitted organization and everything is extremely personal, the close working quarters make for interesting employ conversations and email memos were nowhere as
frequently used as one would assume.
It was there for a strange feeling when one morning I walked in to learn that we had been bought out by Tribune, the owners of the Baltimore Sun and we were leaving the building moving to the Sun building within two weeks. But now the entire CityPaper was fitted within one newsroom and people were even closer and working even more efficiently then before and after having it confirmed that the new owners would not try to influence our content this buyout turned out to be a great thing.
My Boss was Joe Giordano, the staff photographer; his unique style is from my perspective as important to the paper as anything else. He also oversees the online media galleries and has taught me that a photographer cannot just be a photographer anymore, we need to be multitasking media machines capable of working audio, video and photo and preferably write and edit as well.
I am proud of my work for the paper and every picture published be it online or in print with my name as a “byline” brings a smile to my face, having had the privilege of working side by side with great writers and editors to create a full page story with a large image by me is even better, there is just something about being allowed to be a part of the entire process.
My time at the CityPaper has been great and it’s only confirmed what I knew already about my future that I want to work as a photojournalist and I believe the connections and the skills I acquired there have and will help me in my future.
