Photographer Sharon Hall always gets her shot. "There are no excuses in photography," says Hall, '80 BS Photojournalism and '93 MA Mass Communications, whose nearly 30-year portfolio proves her tenacity.
But Hall's ardent philosophy belies her methods: using humor and an occasional bit of stunt work to make even the most camera-shy comfortable. "I have a little trick where I climb up on my stepladder and then pretend to fall off," she says laughing. "People quit worrying about how they look when they're laughing at me."
With her personable style, Hall has documented the rise of Silicon Valley -- through tech companies like Apple and Hewlett Packard -- for public relations firms and magazines on both coasts. And in the heart of Silicon Valley, she has also captured through her lens the very best of San José State.
Since the mid-1980s, the university's publications, Washington Square magazine, "view books," and eventually its websites, have been brought to life with her photos. Although Hall insists she's not an artist, she's added color to the university. And with every shot, she tells the stories of San José State through its faculty, staff and students.
-- Jody Ulate, '05
Read Washington Square Fall 2009.
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