I’ll confess. I shot a porn star last year.
I remember my stomach felt more upset than if I had eaten Panda Express for breakfast, Chipotle for lunch, and then ended my evening with a nice order of Mister Noodle. My hands were shaking, my mouth was dry, and my voice might have faltered slightly, but I did it. I shot her.
Well, more specifically, I photographed her. And to be even more specific, she was fully clothed, and it was for a Daily Bruin article profiling this UCLA student with an intriguingly unique extra-curricular.
But the Daily Bruin hasn’t just been about shooting porn stars ““ that’s just a cool story.
As I’m winding down my time at UCLA, I’ve been starting to reflect on my experience here, possibly even as much as the nostalgic Rick Neuheisel. No, maybe not quite that much.
I once stayed up staring at my computer far past midnight, wondering if it was worth an all-nighter to fill out a Daily Bruin application as a pre-medical student with almost no photography experience. A year later, I found myself staying up staring at my computer far past midnight, editing photos for the next day’s paper.
I spent so many late nights in this office that the staff at Sbarro knew me all too well (Thanks for the extra breadsticks, by the way). It took so much out of me ““ the Bruin, not the breadsticks ““ but I kept coming back.
I kept coming back because the Daily Bruin kept giving back. Sure, the opportunities were amazing: I got to sit on the court and photograph Andy Murray and Andre Agassi, two of my favorite tennis players; I got to be there at legendary coach Al Scates’ last game before he retired as coach of our volleyball team; I even got to photograph UCLA’s basketball team when it played St. John’s in Manhattan at the height of “Linsanity” (I was tempted to start a “Trapanity” chant late in the second half).
The shoots were great, but not because of the access. It was what they taught me ““ and the learning curve was more intimidating than my Chemistry 14CL class. Getting thrown into a situation, sometimes completely unprepared, and quickly figuring out not just how to capture the essence of what is happening, but to capture it in a way that’s never been done before. I had to look at seemingly boring situations and figure out how to make them visually interesting for the readers.
If I could go back in time and sit next to that hesitant sophomore staring at a computer and debating if the lack of sleep was worth the slim chance of becoming a Daily Bruin photographer, I would tell him the wise words that plague Facebook album covers: “YOLO” ““ which from its perpetual usage could stand for “Youth Often Lack Originality.”
Luxenberg was a senior staff photographer from 2011-2012, an assistant photo editor from 2010-2011, and a contributing photographer from 2009-2010.