We at The Grinnell Magazine know good photography is an essential part of the experience of reading the magazine, and thus we take it very seriously. Photography allows you to see, as well as read about, the Grinnell campus as it exists today.
As we near the final stages of each issue, we bring freelance photographer Jim Heemstra to campus for one or two days to shoot the photos for the upcoming magazine. It's hard work -- for Jim, for us, and for the people who pose for the photos. They often spend as much as an hour and a half posing, smiling (well past the point where they feel smiling), and generally being scrutinized in the smallest detail. It's exhausting.
So when the hard work is done, sometimes we lighten up with a few minutes of silliness. Like the famous Life photographer Philippe Halsman, Jim Heemstra sometimes asks people to become airborne -- to literally jump for the last few shots. Halsman persuaded such notables as Richard Nixon and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to launch themselves into the air for his camera; the results were published in a 1959 book titled Philippe Halsman's Jump Book.
Other amusing things sometimes happen on Grinnell photo shoots; for instance, an adorable little dachshund in a flowered collar wanders into the frame and looks as if he were meant to be there all along. Or a family of four all crowds down the slide in a happy heap.
So we want you to know that while we do take our work seriously, and silliness is not always appropriate, every now and then we do lighten up. We hope you enjoy these "outtakes" from The Grinnell Magazine as much as we enjoyed taking them.
For more about Phillippe Halsman, visit When He Said "Jump...":Philippe Halsman defied gravitas.
