One of our new staff members has some great news to share! From upstate New York, Elaine Sanders has been selected for the 13th annual New York Portfolio review. Sanders was one of the lucky 160 applicants who were accepted; In previous years, the applicant pool has been between 2,500-3,500 photographers from around the world. Sanders started as an intern last June, and after his final semester at the Craig Newmark School of Journalism, he joined our staff as a full-time reporter and photojournalist.
When did you start to Independent? What made you interested in journalism?
I had my first taste of writing when I was working on my undergrad paper The Daily Sundial at Cal State University Northridge. I was an art major with a focus on photography, and went into videography and graphic design. I ended up as a print production manager for a weekly newspaper. I loved the camaraderie of the newsroom and the adrenaline rush, but I lacked confidence in my reporting skills. COVID hit, the paper went online for a while, and life plans changed for everyone.
Fast forward five years later, and I found myself looking for a career, and I had fond memories of being in a college newsroom. I went back to grad school – the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in Manhattan – to get some reporting skills under my belt, and I got a summer internship at the school. Independent in June 2025. After completing my internship after Fiesta weekend, I returned to NYC to finish my last semester of grad school. I got a call from our Editor-in-Chief Marianne, and she offered me a full-time job as a reporter and photojournalist, and I started back in the paper at the beginning of March!
Tell me about the New York Portfolio Review. What is a portfolio review like, and what do you hope to get out of it?
It is a great honor to be selected for the New York Portfolio Review. It’s hard to put into words how exciting it is to be a part of this as a young photojournalist. I am one of the 160 selected; In previous years, the applicant pool has been 2,500-3,500 photographers from all over the world.
This is the 13th annual survey conducted by New York Times and alma mater, Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. The school hosts an event, and New York Times reviews applicants and selects organizers to review participants.
What is portfolio analysis? Each photographer will come prepared with a portfolio of their strong work and get the chance to sit down, one-on-one, with photo editors from publications from National Geographic in the Associated Press. Editors provide feedback on a photographer’s career and learn more about their interests and abilities. I’m excited to see more of my photos, get tips to help me improve my work, and meet other editors I might be able to work with in the future. My goal is to continue to develop my photojournalism to improve my documentation of the Santa Barbara community and maybe get local stories to a national news audience!
What was journalism school like in New York? What were your experiences like, and how did they help you grow?
I was really in the belly of the beast! There is so much going on all the time, and so many different communities to cover and so many journalists to cover! This made it very difficult to continue and, ironically, even more difficult to complete a good story.
During my graduate program, we saw Trump being elected for his second term, the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, the rise of increasingly aggressive Immigrant and Customs Enforcement tactics, and Zohran Mamdani’s incredibly powerful campaign to become NYC’s first Muslim and Asian American Mayor. These news events were combined with major threats to freedom of the press, mass firings of journalists from major media outlets, and the large amount of unplanned news and the decline of AI present in the current media.
All of this proved to be a wealth of lessons to be learned from my international studies in reporting and photojournalism. It was a real-time lesson in how important the jobs of journalists are, and some of the limitations of our job.
What are some of your favorite recent stories to tell? What story are you currently working on that you’re excited about?
I still have a lot of fun reading my colleagues’ stories as a photojournalist, taking great photos for live articles with local community groups and businesses like honey boy press, The Rack, and the Carpinteria mah-jongg club. Right now, I have a few stories I’m excited to learn, and I have a story about a family of seahorses at the Sea Center coming out soon!
It’s so exciting to provide local news to the vibrant community of Santa Barbara. I am always very happy when I see someone in the country with a copy of Independent in their hands; it is a great honor to report to such an engaged community.
What is your style of photography while in the field? What challenge have you found that might surprise people?
My first step is regular maintenance. I try to get to events early, or even drive over the day before. I want to see what the place looks like, and try to guess where the action will take place so I can be in the right place.
Often, I not only take photos, but also report and shoot video for our social media editor Maya to use in creative ways. It’s really a challenge; reporting and photography occupy two different parts of your brain. My eye wants to be shot, and my ears have to listen to the quote, and my body has to be in different places to do both well. So, when I’m in the field, I run a lot! You can see me climbing on top of something to take a photo, and the next minute I’m crouched down in front of the stage taking notes while trying to take a picture. I then went back to the office to review all the information I had just gathered to develop the story.
Right now, I have my limited equipment, mainly shooting my Canon R5 with an 85mm portrait lens. For those of you who are photographers with us, you know that this lens does not work in most situations. But I really like the border; it makes me think smarter, and I find it keeps me more engaged when shooting. And I can get good pictures, which I really appreciate because we are a paper about the community, for the community.
What are your favorite things to do in Santa Barbara when you’re not working?
I feel like I’m new to Santa Barbara in many ways; I was born and raised in Ventura and used to visit here for fun on State Street or to go on a whale watching or diving trip with the Island Packers. But it wasn’t until recently that I started exploring all that SB has to offer. I like to ride my bike around town, try a new coffee shop, or stop at one of my favorite stores, Lewis & Clark.
I would say one of my favorite things about the county is driving along the coast and into the Santa Ynez Valley. There is something special about the golden hills, the old oak trees, and the sound of the sparkling sea lapping against the shore, that puts me in a good mood.What are some of your favorite recent stories to tell? What story are you currently working on that you’re excited about?
I still have a lot of fun reading my colleagues’ stories as a photojournalist, taking great photos for live articles with local community groups and businesses like honey boy press, The Rack, and the Carpinteria mah-jongg club. Right now, I have a few stories I’m excited to learn, and I have a story about a family of seahorses at the Sea Center coming out soon!
It’s so exciting to provide local news to the vibrant community of Santa Barbara. I am always very happy when I see someone in the country with a copy of Independent in their hands; it is a great honor to report to such an engaged community.
What is your style of photography while in the field? What challenge have you found that might surprise people?
My first step is regular maintenance. I try to get to events early, or even drive over the day before. I want to see what the place looks like, and try to guess where the action will take place so I can be in the right place.
Often, I not only take photos, but also report and shoot video for our social media editor Maya to use in creative ways. It’s really a challenge; reporting and photography occupy two different parts of your brain. My eye wants to be shot, and my ears have to listen to the quote, and my body has to be in different places to do both well. So, when I’m in the field, I run a lot! You can see me climbing on top of something to take a photo, and the next minute I’m crouched down in front of the stage taking notes while trying to take a picture. Then I went back to the office to review all the information I had just gathered to develop the story.
Right now, I have my limited equipment, mainly shooting my Canon R5 with an 85mm portrait lens. For those of you who are photographers with us, you know that this lens does not work in most situations. But I really like the border; it makes me think smarter, and I find it keeps me more engaged when shooting. And I can get good pictures, which I really appreciate because we are a paper about the community, for the community.
What are your favorite things to do in Santa Barbara when you’re not working?
I feel like I’m new to Santa Barbara in many ways; I was born and raised in Ventura and used to visit here for fun on State Street or to go on a whale watching or diving trip with the Island Packers. But it wasn’t until recently that I started exploring all that SB has to offer. I like to ride my bike around town, try a new coffee shop, or stop at one of my favorite stores, Lewis & Clark.
I would say one of my favorite things about the county is driving along the coast and into the Santa Ynez Valley. There is something special about the golden hills, the old oak trees, and the sound of the sparkling sea lapping against the shore, that puts me in a good mood.
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