The process of trying to get an internship for the summer of 2017 was a long and nerve-racking one. I knew I didn’t want to spend the summer in the panhandle of Texas but who else would take me? I spent three weeks applying to every magazine in different parts of Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, Arkansas, Colorado and New Mexico but the week after I only received two emails denying my application. My mind began to wander as the weeks passed by without any word from the different publications I applied to. On February 6th, I received an email from Texas Lifestyle Magazine saying they were interested in my work and wanted to interview me. My confidence began to grow as the next few days passed and I received six more emails with the same message but on the 10th I received an email from D Magazine saying the job is mine if I choose to accept it. I remember sending them an application but I really didn’t know much about the magazine much less even been to Dallas. After some careful research, I decided to go with D Magazine because I liked the editor and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and move to a new city. When I arrived to my tiny extended stay just a day before I started the internship, I noticed the huge difference in scenery from small town Canyon. I didn’t sleep that night, I made sure I had all my camera gear in order for the morning and tried as much as I could to prepare for my first day. The intern orientation started at 9 am the next morning and to make sure I made a good impression I thought it would be a good idea to arrive to the office an hour early. It was when I drove through the city and noticed the massive “D” on a building in the heart of the city I realized I might be overmatched. After waiting in the lobby for literally everyone in the company to arrive, I got to meet some of the other interns in the marketing and sales department. It turns out that the magazine I applied for was one of the biggest and most influential city based publications in the country. I was the only photographer out of the thirty interns so that made me feel a little better. After the intern orientation, the managers for their respective branch showed everyone around the building and then most of the interns when to happy hour across town. I say most because I was the only intern out of the thirty that had assignments to do that day, I thought “Hey at least you will be making waves the first day”. I was put in a sink or swim scenario for my first assignment which I have no problem with until I realized that I had to walk a mile and a half for my first photoshoot and my camera bag was full of every piece of photography gear I have ever bought. This is where I also noticed the difference in the humidity from the panhandle to Dallas, I met with the first client absolutely drenched with sweat from a mixture of nerves and having to carry around my 70 plus pound camera bag. The shoot went great until we got kicked off the building we were shooting on so I had to improvise for the next hour. We ended up shooting at a different location which we got some great shots but again, we got kicked out of the location but by that time we got what we needed so we called it a day. I arrived back to my extended stay and started editing the pictures I had taken from the day.
I must admit, the first day went smoother that I could have possibly hoped for so I was thankful for that. As I was lying in bed, I realized that I made the best choice of my life with picking this internship.