A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words:
Photographer Will McIntyre
Profile by Rebecca Joye Reeves
New day — new challenge
“No two days are alike. Last week I photographed AIDS
researchers for Time magazine. For People magazine, I shot
the fellow who made the props for the Tom Hanks movie "Cast
Away." Yesterday, I did nothing but paperwork. That’s
not what most people think of when they think of a career
in photography, but it’s necessary to keep the business
running.”
Will McIntyre, one of Western Carolina University’s
most successful graduates, is now a successful photographer
who worked himself through college on the money he made doing
photography and playing in several bands. He and his wife,
Deni, travel constantly as they work as free-lance photographers
for all types of publications—from Time magazine and
People magazine to their own books. Their beautiful and diverse
work is visible on their web site www.macfoto.com.
While McIntyre was attending Western, he considered pursuing
a Ph.D. in English but was directed towards photography by
Dr. Terry Nienhuis. He attributes many things to his Western
education; learning to recognize “verbal garbage,”
to read critically (which is important to photographers and
authors) and to appreciate and recognize well-written stories.
As a world traveler, he and his wife have learned the importance
of communicating. When asked how important writing is in his
career, he returned, “Well, how important is talking?”
The couple must write everything from photo captions to entire
books. They must also work around schedules and plan photo
shoots.
Inspiring mentors
One of the greatest and most enduring things WCU gave McIntyre
was the inspiration he gained from so many of the faculty
members here at Western. Some of those who made a lasting
impression were Phil Wade, “whose sense of humor kept
me from taking myself too seriously,” the late George
Herring, “a brilliant eccentric who integrated Eastern
and Western thought,” and Jim Byer, “who made
me a much better writer.”
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