by Christina Heinle
Back in November I applied to be an Artist in Residence (AiR) at Hubbell Trading Post. I thought out of all of the National Parks and National Park Historic sites that had AiR programs, this would be the most likely. It’s not a huge site and a pretty remote location. My gamble paid off and I received an email letting me know that I was accepted.
May 13th to May 23rd, I’ll be living onsite Hubbell Trading Post in a small stone hogan. For a full week I can focus on photography! There are so many places to see around there. Canyon de Chelly being the most popular and closest. I’ve never been to the area before and am looking forward to exploring.
People have asked me what the application process was to be an AiR. Having worked in the corporate world putting together a statement of intent, a resume and gathering letters of recommendation was challenging. The easiest part was meeting with AHPW instructor, Suzanne Mathia and she helped me choose and edit my 10 pictures to submit with the application. My resume consisted of qualification summary, where I listed I knew Lightroom and Nik plug-in Efex, assisting with Photo 101/102 classes, winning the Az.Gov contest through the state fair and being a participant in PhotoForte, a photographer mentoring site. I listed all the photography classes I had taken along with my volunteer work with Arizona Highways Photo Workshops.
A few weeks ago an AiR from last year contacted me and he helped me understand what to expect during my residency. I’m so thankful we talked because I now know to look for brown recluse spiders (he found 2 inside) and I can eat fresh eggs every day.
Stay tuned for my follow-up post of my experience as AiR at the Hubble Trading Post.
To see more of Christina’s work visit www.christinaheinlephotography.com