Alumni Features: Samantha Falgiani
Samantha Falgiani graduated from the Biomedical Photographic Communications program in 2014. We knew she was living in Hawaii and thought we would ask what she was doing.
In May, when I graduated, I was not exactly sure where my education and the degree would take me. This was in part because I had been exposed to and learned such a range of subjects at RIT. The other part of my uncertainty was there are so many things that I still want to do in addition to photographic pursuits.
After only one month following graduation – and after endless applications and cover letters to anything photo, video, design, and medical related – I got a job offer to be a retinal angiographer in the Virginia, Maryland, District of Columbia trifecta. To tell the truth, I had no idea which practice was hiring me when they called me because I had applied to so many openings. I remember pretending over the phone to completely remember who NRI was.
Over the span of the next two years, I worked at the National Retina Institute which included providing photographic coverage to three different locations. The company had previously hired a large number of RIT biomed alumni who were so absolutely amazing. We did more fluorescein and ICG angiograms than any other ophthalmic photographers I had ever met. One day I performed twenty-five angiograms alone including doing the injections. That was nothing short of amazing. In my junior year when I studied ophthalmic photo at RIT, I was chronically frustrated with my ability and capability to make sharp pictures. Working steadily on improving, and by constantly practicing, I began to love the challenge and skills to placing the IV, plunge the dye, photographing the fill, and making massive montages with Heidelberg cSLO cameras. As fun as this all was, Virginia was never my plans for a life-long career.
One day, I got a phone call asking if I’d like an interview with a retina specialist in Hawaii. Without hesitation I said yes and surprisingly got an offer for the position at Pacific Retina Care. I worked in this practice for about 2 years as well. I furthered my knowledge about eyes and assisting. When I came into this clinic they didn’t have a lot of time to do angiograms. Seeing as this is my favorite part of the job, they were happy to order them as fast as I could do them. Towards the end of my career at PRC, I obtained my Certified Retinal Angiographers (CRA) title! This is something I always wanted to achieve but at the same time felt very intimidated about my chances.
Shortly after becoming a CRA, I decided it was time for me to move on from ophthalmology. As much as I came to love doing angiograms, I did not dream of coming to Hawaii for ophthalmology. So I quit my job.
I currently work as a camera specialist at Hawaii Camera. At the store, I am constantly doing different things that involve helping creative people. More importantly, I again have access to whatever gear I want to use so I can express my creative side. If you ever worked in the RITphoto cage, the studios, or produced creative and self-directed projects, I assume you can relate that to what I am doing now and the creative rush of new ideas that comes from being surrounded by creative people.
My main goal right now is to work on my scuba diving and further develop my underwater photography skills. I first started making underwater photographs as a course at RIT. I had put this knowledge on hold but once I moved to Hawaii, well need I say more. Now here, I began working at Waikiki Dive Center where I filled tanks and dove in my free time. I was also working on my certifications and photography. Now with this new knowledge and access to diving gear, I can practice a new type of fluorescence photography with underwater UV rich energy sources. My latest project will assist Sealife and Scubapro to showcase their photography gear across Hawaii in trade shows.
I am not exactly sure where all these new explorations will lead because I haven’t reached any conclusions yet. My experiences at RIT – and now – after RIT vary in so many ways although I apply almost everything in one way or another. The one conclusion I have reached is that my biomedical photography career has opened a number of doors because is emphasized diversity. I have found it be a degree that has been a launchpad to anything I have wanted to use it for.
