Earlier this week, I went to an event in downtown Greensboro featuring a jazz saxophonist named Ryan Long which got me thinking a lot about the importance of community and the people in it. Apart from what I saw with the jazz saxophonist, I also saw a lot of other people come out and enjoy this casual community event which I think helps a lot when planning things like these. As someone who photographs events a lot, one thing I look for when doing so is more than just the main performer. I enjoy seeing people of all ages at community events and I enjoy capturing fun moments like the ones in my photos. I have recently found that events like these can also be a very good way to unintentionally network with others as well. As I was taking these photos, someone from the city of Greensboro came up to me and started talking with me. He really liked that I was photographing his event and wanted me to send him some of the photos later which I ended up doing. Later, as I was walking through downtown, I met someone who was the brother of the owner of a popular bakery. He does photography as a hobby and I told him about a video that I had just shot at a nearby coffee shop for a different class and he was friendly enough to say that if needed, I could shoot a video at his brothers bakery. At a different community event, I had someone come up to me who recognized me from high school, although they were a year below me and I did not recognize them. They asked if I did videography and mentioned that they had a dog training business and may need someone to do some video work for them sometime. Overall, it has surprised me how simple it is to make connections with people just by doing things like going up to them on the street. That being said, I do enjoy having conversations with others and showing people some of the things I have worked on.
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