The MFJS Reporter — Winter 2020 T-R

Roddy MacInnes, an associate professor in photography at the University of Denver, has made a living teaching college students photography while simultaneously creating his own university backed projects. With a decrease of interest in careers in photography, MacInnes explains how he connects photography to a bigger picture. 

“I realize most of the people you come into my class are not going to be photographers what I have tried to do is connect photography to life and inspire people to be passionate about life,” said MacInnes. 

When entering MacInnes office you can feel the amount of passion this professor has for his projects and his subjects. The office is covered in pictures of people he has photographed through the years, which he refers to as his “family.”

MacIness was born in Scotland, but has traveled the world working a variation of jobs-and documenting the whole thing with his camera. The majority of MacInnes’s photos were self-portraits and through photography MacInnes has created a documentation of his life. 

“With minimal self-awreness, I put myself in many of my photographs. I now appreciate that doing so, produced evidence of where I had been and, to the extent that any medium can, confirmed my existence,” wrote MacIness on his website. 

MacInnes describes his job in three different parts: first teaching prospective photography students, second creating creative work and lastly fulfilling his services to the University of Denver. 

MacInnes work covers a variety of topics including self-image, mental illness and the idea of family. MacIness has published a photo book project called ‘Family Album’ detailing the relationship between his own family and the family of a North Dakota women through a series of photographs.MacInnes then explains how this album changed the way he viewed family. 

 “The photographs created a lens through which he could examine how family memories are constructed and reinforced, and allowed MacInnes to extend that understanding to my his experiences,” said MacInnes on his Website.

MacInnes then goes on to explain how in the recent years he been doing more projects focused on the idea of community and to fully explore this topic he was been bringing my students into his projects.

“What has has happened in the past few years is my creative work and my teaching has combined because what I do in my own creative work I now bring into the classwork,” said MacInnes. 

MacInnes has a MFA in Photography and Electronic media from the university of Colorado. He also has a BA in Photographic studies from Napier University.

MacInnes detailed how he never planned to pursue photography as a career, but instead he just fell in love with the medium. MacInnes dropped out of school when he was 15 and has since traveled the world, working odd jobs across the globe and documenting his experience through pictures. 

“When I first took a photograph I knew immediately that I was going to do that for the rest of my life, I didn’t even know what that meant but its one of the most consistent things I’ve done in my life ” said MacInnes.

MacInnes status as a photography professor has allowed him to pursue many personal projects. To get the funds for these projects MacInnes has to apply for a variety of grants which are often DU sponsored. 

Currently MacInnes is working on a project linking together three international communities. He explains how project like this can be daunting with many logistics trying to get the communities to agree to be photographed. MacInnes says that especially internationally it will be hard to get people who are willing to be photographed, 

“I will have to build up relationships with people,” said MacInnes. 

MacInnes then goes on to detail what his everyday looks like as a photography professor and creative professional. Aside from teaching his variety of classes MacInnes details how his his day consists of a lot of planning and organization.

MacIness talks about the “millions of different things” he has to do throughout the day including meeting for the university, applying for grants, creating connections for his classes in the community, submitting articles and organizing galleries.

MacInnes does admit that the rise of cell phones has drastically effected the photography industry, but he explains how cell phone users often do not want cell-cameras to have a lot of advances settings. Instead MacInnes explains how iPhone users often value simplicity over creative freedom. 

“The race is to make things more idiot-proof so people will be satisfied when they take photographs because it will look like what they saw, but going back to the darkroom it is kinda the opposite because they will have to be more engaged at a technical level,” said MacInnes. 

You can see MacInnes eyes light up as he starts to talk about advice he would give to young photographers trying to break into this oversaturated market. With a heavy Scottish accent he explains how he never would have pictured himself being a photography professor at DU but his passion for the medium allowed it to happen.

MacInnes explains how you just have to get as much experience in the field as possible, and never stop taking photos. Most Importantly, MacInnes claims that anyone could make it in this field, as long as you love the art.

“follow your passion, if you are not passionate about it you are probably wasting your time, but if you are really passionate… it would lead you. I believe it because it happened to be,” said MacInnes.