Profiles
Trantham's focus: Guatemala
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Sterling Trantham
Photo by Erica Mejia-Trantham
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When Sterling Trantham decided to travel to Central
America before beginning graduate school in 1995, he didn’t
realize a lack of money and a last-minute change of plans would
turn his road trip into an experience that would significantly
alter the course of his life.
His original plan of traveling to Ecuador was too
costly, so Trantham found himself in Guatemala, the farthest he
could get himself with $600. He has since returned four times.
The photographs taken there of San Simon, a religious
icon, and the ceremonies involving his worship, helped earn Trantham
a three-month stint with National Geographic this past summer.
He also won the Willard Van Dyke Photography Competition,
sponsored by the New Mexico Council of Photography. That win earned
him an exhibit in the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts in Santa
Fe, in April 2000.
“I knew after my first visit that San Simon
would play a significant role in my life over the next 10 or 15
years,” Trantham said. “I love the people and I love
the culture.”
Erin Waldron
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PROF’S EXPERIENCES ENHANCE PHOTOJOURNALISM
PROGRAM
A curandero from Todos Santos, Guatemala, prays at the altar
of San Simon. Shamans and curanderos (medicine men or healers) from
throughout the highlands of Guatemala and from throughout Latin
America make pilgrimages to the village of Zunil to worship, cast
spells and perform miracles.
© 2001 Sterling Trantham |
With a National Geographic Faculty Fellowship under his belt,
Sterling Trantham, assistant professor of journalism and mass
communication, is back at New Mexico State University and ready
as ever to continue building and improving the photojournalism
program.
Trantham committed himself to rebuilding the program from the
bottom up in 1995, when it became apparent to him it was in danger
of disappearing.
“Now it’s stronger than it’s ever been in the
history of the program,” he said.
Trantham earned his bachelor’s degree in individualized
studies in 1979, his bachelor’s in journalism in 1990 and
his master of fine arts in 1998, all from New Mexico State.
While he was in graduate school, Trantham said he realized the
potential of the photojournalism program.
“The next generation that graduates from this program will
do extremely well,” he said. “I think a good indication
of its growing success is Frames of Mind, the photography exhibit
displayed in Corbett Center last May.”
Twenty-three students, all members of New Mexico State’s
Photojournalism Club, displayed their work.
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Trantham is helping the program earn the recognition he believes it deserves
through his professional achievements. He was selected to participate
in the National Geographic Faculty Fellow Program this past summer. National
Geographic selects one photojournalism professor each year to work in
the magazine’s Washington, D.C., headquarters for three months.
Although it was a difficult transition coming back from “being
on top of the photo world for three months without any financial restrictions”
to facing the reality of budget constraints, Trantham said the knowledge
he gained can be passed along to his students. He said he brought back
a solid understanding of the corporate structure and project evolution
— how a story is pitched and planned.
Laura Grant, a senior majoring in photojournalism, said Trantham’s
genuine concern for students and his appreciation for each one’s
talent is a quality hard to come by in a professor. Grant also realizes
the value to students of Trantham’s experience at National Geographic.
“He returned with real-world knowledge from a topnotch publication,”
Grant said. “His fellowship at National Geographic refreshed his
understanding of writing, photography and design and how those elements
come together to create a distinguished publication.”
Trantham has been published in the Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles
Times, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated and other publications. He also
was selected by the American Society of Newspaper Editors for an internship
at USA Today this past summer but opted to work with National Geographic
instead.
Today, Trantham’s energy is focused on securing respect and recognition
for a photojournalism program growing in strength. As for his future,
he doesn’t know what it holds.
“I think some doors are going to open, but I love what I do here,
and it would take something extraordinary to pull me away.”
Erin Waldron
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