Sewanee: The University of the South keeps on delivering. The January 17, 2012 New York Times Blog- The Choice  interview with Vice Chancellor,  Dr. John McCardell about the institutions tuition freeze on incoming students is just a reminder of how higher education can solve thorny problems. McCardell’s announcement last year of a 10% reduction in tuition and fees got lots of attention, but this new policy should make all institutions serious about the future of higher education in America to take pause.  YSR

The Swarthmore College admissions graphic on next year’s incoming class is nothing short of genius. It creates a wonderful picture of their admissions. If I was armed with one of these at every institution I photograph, it would be like having a road map for an admissions photo shoot.

A giant thumbs up!

Sewanee: The University of the South sent this greeting out last week. The camera made images for 10 hours as All Saints Chapel was decorated by students, faculty and community members for the 52nd Festival of Lessons and Carols. The music is by the University Choir.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

Paul O’Mara

Since Travel&Leisure, Forbes, The Best Colleges.org and MSNBC can declare the most beautiful college campuses, why can’t I add to the list? Just posted on the Behance Network is my humble addition: Beautiful Campus Series .

I have the good fortune to work with colleges that make those lists and while the focus of my visit may be for student/faculty interaction, I’ll always carve out time to find the beauty of a campus.

Understanding the little things; the details often taken for granted is what I like the best about my work. In this crazy world of following the latest trend, don’t forget about roots. What attracts a student has more to do with accumulated history. It’s called a reputation.  How that history is honored in the present matters both to the institution and future members of that community.

Sewanee: The University of the South, Berry College, Agnes Scott, Shorter University and Savannah State University.

And to add a bit of icing on the cake Sewanee was just featured in Travel+Leisure’s list of most beautiful campuses in America.

It’s just satisfying to take a hard look at my work and make changes. I’ve added some new work and also brought back some of my personal favorites, like the homepage image above. The Multimedia link is new and I hope will add a bit of visibility to that evolving medium. Enjoy

I’ve finished a multimedia project that is so different from what I ever imagined. I needed to explain brownfields, an EPA term for contaminated industrial property. Telling the story from a historical perspective became the best vehicle for explaining brownfields.

Instead of heading out to make photos,  I was visiting the local history museum, college archives and state on-line image library. Archive.org is an incredible resource for music. I was able to find songs that fit the time periods of the multimedia.

Multimedia is a strong platform for telling a story. I have chosen the still/audio combination because of the unusual power of still images and the spoken word. The fleeting nature of still pictures in multimedia draws the viewer into the story. Three to five minutes works well with the way viewers choose information today.

There are lots of great stories to tell.

I’ve just finished the installation of a multimedia center and illustrated map for the Eco River Center in Rome, GA. I commissioned Michael Karpovage of Mapformation to produce the illustration, which shows the topography and geology of the area. I provided aerial photos and photographed the dominant rock types that were then rendered into the map.

The multimedia center was built by local cabinet-makers, Coosa Valley Cabinets. A 40 inch, HDTV is connect to a media player and will be used to show multimedia in support of the Eco Center’s programming. I am now putting the finishing touches on two multimedia presentations to explain the Water Cycle and another to address Brownfields through a look at the industrial history of Rome.

My work in higher education was such an important element to the success of this project. I’d seen examples of Mapformation work with college campus maps. Berry College geology professor, Dr. Tamie Jovanelly provided guidance with the accuracy of the illustration and was a tremendous resource for the identification of the rocks I photographed.

This was funded through an Environmental Protection Agency, Brownfields Assessment Grant.

Terrible storms crossed the southeastern US this week.Northwest Georgiawas hit by tornados but thankfully nothing as tragic as ourAlabamaneighbors. For me it became a great opportunity.

I stopped by a local Starbucks yesterday.  Every table and chair was occupied byBerryCollegestudents studying for finals.  The storms left the campus without power but with exams beginning on Monday, they had to press on.  It was a chance to photograph students in the community.  Rather than dragging a group of kids out into town, getting them actually taking advantage of an off-campus amenity is too good to pass up.

A little later while visiting the campus, I found a biology class hovering around a downed oak tree.  The aftermath of the storms provided the professor with an opportunity for her students to better understand tree morphology and I jumped at a chance to show education in action.