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Home » News » Emily Chavarie Engages with Community as Intern for Tallahassee Photo & Frame

Emily Chavarie Engages with Community as Intern for Tallahassee Photo & Frame

Published November 25, 2019

from FSU Art BFA ’20 Emily Chavarie:

Over the course of this semester, I have been interning at the local photo store Tallahassee Photo & Frame. The store sells photo supplies as well as conducts services such as video transfer to DVD, custom framing, and other photo services. The department that I am working in consists of photo services. My daily responsibilities include processes such as digitizing images, retouching, and printing. I know, as a photographer, how photography functions for me and one of the reasons I hoped to complete this internship was to investigate how photography fits into the lives of everyday people. It quickly became apparent that for most people, photography functions to preserve memory. Clients bring in everything from color positive slides to have scanned, ripped darkroom prints that need to be restored, and even carte de visites from decades ago. For many people, these images may be all they have of a loved one or of their family together. It is really beautiful to be a part of the process of restoring pictures like these because they are so special and personal. I have also been able to gain a lot of technical skills over the course of this internship. It has allowed me to brush up on skills I have some experience with, such as retouching and restoration, as well as learn new skills, such as how to stretch a canvas. I was particularly excited to learn this because I know that it could become applicable in the future, as I would love to intern as an artists’ assistant. Another important section of photography is learning how the technology functions, especially since it is such a fast-moving industry. Through this experience, I have the opportunity to work with a large scale Canon printer, which can print up to 44 inches wide. I enjoy printing my work large and I now possess the knowledge to do so myself (in the event that I have access to one of the fancy printers). Working at Tallahassee Photo & Frame has given me wonderful hands-on knowledge, as well as introduced me to members of the Tallahassee photography community I might not have met otherwise. It has been an unforgettable experience!