Noah Darnell identifies himself as a photojournalist and a wanderer. However, Darnell’s story requires more than those few words. When I met with Darnell, he was framing a few of his photos, which are now on display at Midnight Oil.
None of the photographs were taken in America and he wanted that to be apparent. The way he talked about his photographs indicated his passion for photography and an atypical past that led him to his place at Harding.
Darnell, a 2010 Harding graduate, served as an adjunct photography professor while pursuing freelance photography jobs and working part time with Harding’s international programs.
This semester, he will transition into a full-time position with international programs to replace Administrator of International Programs Jeremy Daggett, who is going to begin at the Harding School of Theology.
This semester is not the start of Darnell’s experience with international programs. As a student, Darnell signed up to go to Greece during his first week at Harding.
“I wanted to go not because I had the desire to move and travel and be antsy,” Darnell said. “I just wanted to go to Greece. It was my opportunity.”
At the time, Darnell was pursuing pharmacy. Before leaving for Greece, he bought a Nikon D80 and a regular lens.
He came home with 10,000 photos.
“Everything after that was changed because I went,” Darnell said. “Photography was a huge jump from pharmacy. It had a lot to do with my overseas experience. It gave me focus and something to do and put my mind on.”
Darnell met Jeffrey Hopper, the dean of international programs, when Darnell was asked to do a photo shoot of Hopper at his piano for the Petit Jean yearbook.
“Noah is artistic and creative and at the same time a gentleman and very thoughtful,” Hopper said. “It struck me to ask him to keep a photographic record of the coffee tour.”
Darnell documented the coffee tour for the international programs department as well as for the tea tour, which took place a few years later.
“By the time Jeremy [Daggett] decided to continue his graduate studies for a time in Memphis, I knew Noah pretty well; I had come to admire his skill and inventiveness,” Hopper said.
Darnell will continue to travel and pursue personal projects but will focus mostly on photographing students’ experiences overseas.
“You want to be remembered by something,” Darnell said. “I prefer to be remembered by something good, like photography or making someone happy with an image. That’s way better than the alternative.”
Galleries of Darnell’s photographs from the coffee and tea tours can be accessed on the Link.
