What started out as a simple hobby for Garrett Bock ’18 has recently morphed into a full-blown passion and creative pursuit. As a Wellsville native, Bock and his brother grew up skateboarding and snowboarding, all the while making videos to capture their experiences.
Bock was first drawn to Houghton because of the opportunity to learn more about film. As a communications major with a concentration in media arts, Bock has been continuously refining his creative style. “I was kind of the nature photographer at first. Now I’ve tried to find my style a bit more, which is more towards fine arts and conceptual works,” he said. Anything involved with the psyche, Bock continued, “is fascinating to me. I mean, we have this gift to think, so we should use it.”
Many of Bock’s photography classes have been formative in his maturation as a photographer, especially Introduction to Digital Photography with Professor Ryann Cooley. “I learned all the technical aspects, but it was also cool learning the formal elements of photography, like what should be in an image, what makes it meaningful, and how to create a concept,” Bock said. “Before, I would just point and shoot a camera at something because it looked really cool, but it didn’t really have a meaning. Now, I’m finding things that have meaning. It means something to me, but I also want it to have that same feeling for someone else.”
Bock’s professors and classmates have been extremely influential and supportive in all his endeavors. “Before I came to Houghton I was homeschooled, so it was a huge change for me because I had to go to class every day and communicate with these people all the time,” he said. “But it was actually really helpful because everyone has all these different ideas, so being able to get some critique on ideas steered me in the right way of my style which I’m still working on. I probably will be working on it for a long time,” he added. “You just never stop creating things.”
For aspiring photographers, Bock advised, “Bring your camera wherever you go. Shoot something every day whether it be self-portraits or nature, or something that really inspires you. Eventually you’ll find out exactly what you love to do and you’ll meet so many new people that way, and have all these new connections just through doing something that you absolutely love to do.”
Bock is also the president of the Houghton Ski Club, an adventurous crew that travels every Sunday to Holiday Valley for a day of skiing or snowboarding. Bock has been snowboarding since he was twelve years old and has always seen it a way to escape for a while from everything going on in his life by getting outside and enjoying nature with friends.
The Houghton Ski Club is open to anyone who enjoys being outdoors in the winter and is interested in either learning or improving in their skiing and snowboarding skills. “If you’re still not sure how to ski or snowboard, there are people will will help you,” Bock said.
Just like artistic sensitivity, Bock has found that these adventurous pursuits are best developed in tandem with others.“Spending time trying to figure it out on your own is difficult,” he said. “Honestly, it’s open to anybody who’s interested in those kind of activities. I highly encourage it.”