Grad makes sunny memories with hands-on experiences in aerial surveying and photography

What kind of a mark do we leave on others’ memories of us? On the world we live in? What do we want that mark to be?

For senior Joe Potter, Earlham has given not only the opportunity to grow and thrive, but to change and focus on things that really matter, like time and memories with family and friends. And when you can take that time to focus on your loves and passions, new ideas emerge.

At Earlham, that meant combining his academic interests of photography and geological surveying.

The geology major and Belfast, Maine native has had the chance to spread his wings and focus on not just his major but also his art minor, which includes a concentration in photography, and how to holistically incorporate those into his life.

For this study abroad opportunity, Potter not only studied abroad in New Zealand, but also interned at Bushy Park, a forest sanctuary and historic homestead in Tarapuruhi, New Zealand and got hands-on experience in geologic aerial surveying. As Potter explained, the experience of practicing surveying was key for him deciding to pursue aerial surveying as a possible career option.

“I took aerial photos with a drone of the forest, I also did some video work. These photos and videos were used to both check up on flora and fauna already planted and survey areas for new planting, as well as promotional materials for the website,” he says. “I knew when I came to Earlham that I was going to major in geology and do something with art. A lot of my family have been geologists, and that fostered an interest in it for me.”

While not directly related, the drone surveying, in focusing on images, naturally led to his photography exhibit for his senior project.

“I feel like if you told freshman me what senior me is working on for my senior project, he’d be blown away,” says Potter. “My skills, my technical ability, have all expanded significantly. But I think also, my professor, Antonio McAfee, is highly experimental. Working with him has opened my eyes to different types of photography and alternative methods of doing photography, which has been really valuable as well.”

His senior project, a unique blend of nature and his love of photography, involves taking what are called “sun prints,” or cyanotypes. These are camera-less photographs that process using chemicals on paper. Potter’s photographs of his family and friends, due to the chemicals placed on the paper, produce a deep blue effect when developed. He says that the project has to do with memory and its impermanence. Images of his brothers, cousins, etc. are manipulated in Photoshop and overlaid against landscape imagery to create double exposures, then printed off onto special paper.

“Senior year, I was thinking about how I’m about to go through this big transition of leaving college. I was thinking of how it’s not really the big moments that make up who you are, but the small, intimate moments. Those are the more permeable memories. My project is trying to celebrate and honor that, and trying to get folks to think about their own memories. What new interpretations can happen when we reassemble memories?”

The senior will be carrying that life lesson with him as he crosses the graduation stage this spring.

Written by Jay Kibble, writer/editor for Earlham College’s Marketing and Communications Office.

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About Earlham College 

Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion foster a collaborative learning community that inspires and motivates students with transformative opportunities and experiences so they can become catalysts for good in a changing world. Located in Richmond, Indiana, Earlham is one of U.S. News & World Report’s Top 100 national liberal arts colleges and offers one of the top 20 classroom experiences in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.