Sunday, February 6, 2011
Daddy's Little Princess
After meeting with Erin Stubblefield over the weekend, we came up with an edit that we felt best told the story of a father involved with his daughter's beauty pageants. For the headline, we chose the phrase "Daddy's Little Princess" because it is something commonly said, however has a little different meaning in this situation. Below are the eight photos we chose in the appropriate order as well as a layout we designed.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Reader's Theme: Exploring and Experience
When completing the readings this past week, I found that it is important to gain experience while also exploring for new ways to tell stories.
Even though we had already been told in class that Anne Lamott's book about fiction writing, Bird by Bird, would help us with our creativity in photography, I was still surprised with how much I have identified with it so far.
Lamott's introduction really grabbed my attention. In certain parts she discussed that no matter how much we hope and dream to be as good as we expect to be, there will be times where we won't be published and our work won't be great. The part where she pointed out how hard it is to produce at certain points in life made me think about how stressful it is to have story ideas that fall through, end short or completely don't go to plan after researching and preparing for so long.
However, there is also that time where there is an idea that completely works and the story progresses in such a way that wasn't expected.
In the introduction of her book, Lamott recalled telling her students that when her ..."writer friends are working, they feel better and more alive than they do at any other time. And sometimes when they are writing well, they feel that they are living up to something."
Last semester I found two stories that clicked for me, but it took some time for me to finally see what direction to take. Once I saw my direction, I completely felt obligated to tell both subjects' stories the best I could. I felt like I had to put my whole self into the piece in order to do it right. It made me feel like I had a purpose and to see the final result was incredible. Although the final product was wonderful to look back on, it was the experience that really did it for me. Actually being with the subjects and making photos was the better feeling. I could actually see the story develop in my head and I got excited at the possibilities the stories could turn out to be. Although I know both stories could still have been better, I believe this is what Lamott meant when she explained that getting published is not always the most important thing and that the work itself might be more rewarding.
Lamott's other chapters had a lot to say as well. I agree that some of the projects we attempt to tackle are so overwhelmingly big in the beginning that it is better to start out with just a little bit, or as she explained, take it "bird by bird." By producing work in a day or in just a couple of hours, that work alone pushes the story a little farther.
It is important to remember that we won't be perfect in everything we do. I feel that as students, when we produce stories, we feel the need to be perfect and to make every project like the ones we see winning awards. I admit to being one of those people and believe that is where I get most of my stress from when looking for ideas. Lamott's chapter about perfection is really true in that the way to produce new and great work is by making a mess and seeing what comes from it. It goes along with the idea of exploring and not being afraid to throw in something new.
Authors Gross and Shapiro also bring up ideas in their book, The Tao of Photography, that encourage exploration and finding new ways of looking at life around us. By letting go of expectations of what we think we should be seeing and instead just embracing the moment, we can find stories and moments for what they truly are.
Along with finding spontaneous moments and taking fresh approaches to the shots we take, Gross and Shapiro also discussed different techniques for reconstructing stories. Changing prospective and rule-breaking are two of the four techniques that they found useful. When creating a new perspective by changing visual angles or lenses, we take on a new way of seeing the world. I also enjoyed that they encouraged readers to break the rules we have always known and using them to find a new way of seeing. It provides so many opportunities to see the world in a different way and is something to take advantage of.
The idea of experience is brought up in the Lenswork podcast, 10,000 Hours, where Brooks Jensen said that our abilities as photographers is based on the amount of time we are willing to put in. It takes time to explore and discover what works and what doesn't, and I believe this piece made a good point in that in order to be a photographer, one needs to practice photography for a great amount of time. It goes along with the idea that "you get out of it what you put into it," and by putting in the time and gaining the experience there is a greater chance at finding great work.
All in all, each reading gave a variety of ideas, which to me all seemed to come back around into this idea of exploration and taking the time to experience the explorations. It helped me reflect on some of my past assignments as well as mentally prepare on how to take on my role as a photographer in the future.
Even though we had already been told in class that Anne Lamott's book about fiction writing, Bird by Bird, would help us with our creativity in photography, I was still surprised with how much I have identified with it so far.
Lamott's introduction really grabbed my attention. In certain parts she discussed that no matter how much we hope and dream to be as good as we expect to be, there will be times where we won't be published and our work won't be great. The part where she pointed out how hard it is to produce at certain points in life made me think about how stressful it is to have story ideas that fall through, end short or completely don't go to plan after researching and preparing for so long.
However, there is also that time where there is an idea that completely works and the story progresses in such a way that wasn't expected.
In the introduction of her book, Lamott recalled telling her students that when her ..."writer friends are working, they feel better and more alive than they do at any other time. And sometimes when they are writing well, they feel that they are living up to something."
Last semester I found two stories that clicked for me, but it took some time for me to finally see what direction to take. Once I saw my direction, I completely felt obligated to tell both subjects' stories the best I could. I felt like I had to put my whole self into the piece in order to do it right. It made me feel like I had a purpose and to see the final result was incredible. Although the final product was wonderful to look back on, it was the experience that really did it for me. Actually being with the subjects and making photos was the better feeling. I could actually see the story develop in my head and I got excited at the possibilities the stories could turn out to be. Although I know both stories could still have been better, I believe this is what Lamott meant when she explained that getting published is not always the most important thing and that the work itself might be more rewarding.
Lamott's other chapters had a lot to say as well. I agree that some of the projects we attempt to tackle are so overwhelmingly big in the beginning that it is better to start out with just a little bit, or as she explained, take it "bird by bird." By producing work in a day or in just a couple of hours, that work alone pushes the story a little farther.
It is important to remember that we won't be perfect in everything we do. I feel that as students, when we produce stories, we feel the need to be perfect and to make every project like the ones we see winning awards. I admit to being one of those people and believe that is where I get most of my stress from when looking for ideas. Lamott's chapter about perfection is really true in that the way to produce new and great work is by making a mess and seeing what comes from it. It goes along with the idea of exploring and not being afraid to throw in something new.
Authors Gross and Shapiro also bring up ideas in their book, The Tao of Photography, that encourage exploration and finding new ways of looking at life around us. By letting go of expectations of what we think we should be seeing and instead just embracing the moment, we can find stories and moments for what they truly are.
Along with finding spontaneous moments and taking fresh approaches to the shots we take, Gross and Shapiro also discussed different techniques for reconstructing stories. Changing prospective and rule-breaking are two of the four techniques that they found useful. When creating a new perspective by changing visual angles or lenses, we take on a new way of seeing the world. I also enjoyed that they encouraged readers to break the rules we have always known and using them to find a new way of seeing. It provides so many opportunities to see the world in a different way and is something to take advantage of.
The idea of experience is brought up in the Lenswork podcast, 10,000 Hours, where Brooks Jensen said that our abilities as photographers is based on the amount of time we are willing to put in. It takes time to explore and discover what works and what doesn't, and I believe this piece made a good point in that in order to be a photographer, one needs to practice photography for a great amount of time. It goes along with the idea that "you get out of it what you put into it," and by putting in the time and gaining the experience there is a greater chance at finding great work.
All in all, each reading gave a variety of ideas, which to me all seemed to come back around into this idea of exploration and taking the time to experience the explorations. It helped me reflect on some of my past assignments as well as mentally prepare on how to take on my role as a photographer in the future.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Columbus Dispatch: Death Perceptions
Out of all the topics I brainstormed for multimedia pieces in the past, death was never one that had crossed my mind much. However, death found its way into multiple projects I produced last semester. My Boone Life transformed from being about a hairstylist living in Ashland, Mo. to being about a hairstylist in Ashland, Mo. who fixes deceased clients' hair for their funerals. Another long term story that I worked on dealt with the process of what happens to blood after it is donated led me to meet a cancer patient named Bekki. I ended up conducting a video interview with her for another project and she was so inspiring. Receiving the news from her sister that Bekki was going on hospice care was really hard to deal with. It was even harder when she passed away the day before I had planned to visit her for the last time.
Although the stories were challenging emotionally, I was really happy that I was able to tell both of the stories.
When I came across this piece in the Columbus Dispatch, I immediately became interested in how the photos and multimedia aspect would go about telling the story. The team consisted of six different people, Doral Chenoweth III being the photographer for the piece and Randy Walk as the video producer. The team took on many different jobs that deal with death and I liked how there were so many different stories to step into. The amount of access they was able to get with each subject also interested me.
With something as emotionally wearing as death, it also becomes something a lot more intimate. To have experienced death with two different projects in the same semester, I was also able to invest my whole self into them. I look back on both experiences and although they were hard, they also taught me a lot about myself and the stories that I can take on.
I don't know how much I will work on stories dealing with death in the future, however I was able relate to this piece and appreciate it for the story it told.
Although the stories were challenging emotionally, I was really happy that I was able to tell both of the stories.
When I came across this piece in the Columbus Dispatch, I immediately became interested in how the photos and multimedia aspect would go about telling the story. The team consisted of six different people, Doral Chenoweth III being the photographer for the piece and Randy Walk as the video producer. The team took on many different jobs that deal with death and I liked how there were so many different stories to step into. The amount of access they was able to get with each subject also interested me.
With something as emotionally wearing as death, it also becomes something a lot more intimate. To have experienced death with two different projects in the same semester, I was also able to invest my whole self into them. I look back on both experiences and although they were hard, they also taught me a lot about myself and the stories that I can take on.
I don't know how much I will work on stories dealing with death in the future, however I was able relate to this piece and appreciate it for the story it told.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Multiple Flash
For the multiple flash assignment, my group (Christina Manolis and Irene Rojas) decided to go to Studio B and take photos of two different dance classes. The room was hard to shoot in because there were a lot of mirrors as well as lights on the wall and in the ceiling that were in awkward places when we were shooting. We placed a strobe high up in a corner along the mirror and had one on the camera as well as a third one that one of us would maneuver and work with while others were shooting. Here is my select from the shoot.
These photos are from the flamingo classes. I had a harder time shooting that class because the mirror as well as the lights in the ceiling were distracting and it was hard to get the light just right on the women dancing. I feel like since there were three of us shooting and only two hours to get good content, we felt pressure to get things done quickly. I feel that if we had more time to experiment with the light and different angles, we would have been a little more successful. All in all, I thought this assignment was a really good way to learn how to deal with multiple flash and I will able to take what I learned from this assignment and apply it to future situations and hopefully be more successful with my photos.
Instructor Frankie Humphrey teaches his hip hop students the next move in their routine at Studio B dance studio on November 17. The class is an hour long and focuses on hip hop.
I shot this photo with an ISO of 200, an aperture of f/ 2.8 and shutter speed of 1/90. I had one strobe set up high in the corner of the room that is behind me, and Irene held the other strobe on my right side and held it near the floor and faced it up towards Frankie, which lit his face. I like this photo because it is capturing an interesting moment and students are visible in the background. The photo makes sense in that he is instructing and they are following him. If I could have done anything differently in this shoot I would have tried to get more interesting angles, although it was hard with the mirror and the terrible looking lights that were all around the studio. Here are some other photos that I took in the studio.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Fill and Balancing
This assignment wasn't as stressful as the color correction for me. I was able to take fill flash as well as balancing flash. My favorite of the two is the photo that I got with balancing flash. I was walking downtown and looking for shops with big windows when I saw a group of girls in the window at ACME t shirts. I walked into the store and they let me make pictures of them. This is my select for the assignment.
It was a little hard to shoot these girls because their booth was in the shade the entire time. I also wish that I had a different lens with me because all I had was an 18 to 55 lens that isn't full frame (it is from my older camera and isn't completely compatible with my new camera.)
All in all, I feel that this assignment was really helpful and it is something that I will definitely have to be aware of and use in the future.
Brianna Lawrence, Jodie Walker and Lyndsay Dickson look at examples of t-shirt designs in ACME t- shirt company on Ninth Street on Tuesday, November 10. "We're trying to design a shirt for students in the Ultrasound Program," said Dickson, who is also a part of the Ulrasound Program at Mizzou.
I shot this photo with an ISO of 200, an aperture at f/6.7 and shutter speed of 1/125. I really like this photo because it is pretty clear what they are doing. Their emotion also seems to work in this photo because they are all staring that the design and debating what they want to do for their own shirts. The only problem that I have with this photo is that the background is too light. I wish that I would have taken more with a darker background so that the buildings outside didn't look so overexposed.
For my fill flash, I ran into girls in Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority who were giving away pink lemonade as well as selling "I Love Boobs" shirts for their philanthropy that benefits breast cancer research. Here is my favorite take from the fill flash portion of the assignment.
It was a little hard to shoot these girls because their booth was in the shade the entire time. I also wish that I had a different lens with me because all I had was an 18 to 55 lens that isn't full frame (it is from my older camera and isn't completely compatible with my new camera.)
All in all, I feel that this assignment was really helpful and it is something that I will definitely have to be aware of and use in the future.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Multimedia Story- "When No One's Looking" (Reported by Ian Urbina)
When looking for a well done multimedia story, I found "When No One's Looking" on the New York Times website. This story is about the increasing number of homeless teenagers and the approaches they take on the streets in order to survive.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/25/us/1247465360380/when-no-one-s-looking.html
This story was produced by Lisa Iaboni and Amy OLeary. I thought that the introduction was creative and also felt that the audio ran really well next to the content of the photos. Both pieces worked together to keep the story strong and easy to understand. They have also included video, which helped enhance the story at certain times. I'm not sure how I feel about having the narrorator, Ian Urbina (who was also the reporter), narrating in certain parts of the story. I did feel like it helped at certain times, but it was at times hard to tell who was talking and text might have at times made more of an impact. Although there were some things that I feel could have been done differently, I really liked it overall. I think they told the story in a way that worked, and there is even a part two to the story below.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/26/us/1247465377685/when-no-one-s-looking-part-2.html
All in all, the way they reported this multimedia story gave a true look inside to homeless teenagers and told it in a way that will cause reaction to the audiences.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/25/us/1247465360380/when-no-one-s-looking.html
This story was produced by Lisa Iaboni and Amy OLeary. I thought that the introduction was creative and also felt that the audio ran really well next to the content of the photos. Both pieces worked together to keep the story strong and easy to understand. They have also included video, which helped enhance the story at certain times. I'm not sure how I feel about having the narrorator, Ian Urbina (who was also the reporter), narrating in certain parts of the story. I did feel like it helped at certain times, but it was at times hard to tell who was talking and text might have at times made more of an impact. Although there were some things that I feel could have been done differently, I really liked it overall. I think they told the story in a way that worked, and there is even a part two to the story below.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/26/us/1247465377685/when-no-one-s-looking-part-2.html
All in all, the way they reported this multimedia story gave a true look inside to homeless teenagers and told it in a way that will cause reaction to the audiences.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Color Correction
The Color Correction assignment was a challenge for me because a lot of different things went wrong. What made it harder was that most of the problems were my fault. We had completed the lab for this assignment a couple of weeks ago. At the time I was feeling really good about how the flash worked and thought I could get it down. However, when it came to do the assignment, there were many things that I forgot to refresh on, such as what white balance to use for the fluorescent lighting photo. When I first started shooting at Andy's Frozen Custard, I set it on the right setting the first time, however thought it looked too blue. Below is the photo I took in the correct setting.
I really wished that I had looked back over the notes before I went out and did this part of the assignment because it had been a long time since we had gone over it in lab. Andy's was also a hard place to get good shots with because of the set up. I kind of liked that it was a challenge because it made me look outside the box and find neat angles and different opportunities to make a good photo. However, the fact that all of them are in the wrong white balance makes me very frustrated. If I could have redone this shoot I would have made sure that I knew exactly what to do and try to take the time I need to instead of feeling like I have to rush through it.
I felt a little better about the Tungsten portion of this assignment because I was comfortable with the setting and was able to try a lot of different things to get a good photo with strong content. Below is my select for this assignment.
Andrew Luley takes out toppings for a concrete ordered by a customer at Andy's Frozen Custard on November 4. He has worked at Andy's for two and a half years now. "I really enjoy the fast pace and the people I work with mostly," Luley states.
This photo isn't the best content, however it was the only one I took in the right white balance. I wasn't sure if it was the right one because it looked to me like his face was a little to blue looking. So I switched it to daylight, which was a mistake.
I really wished that I had looked back over the notes before I went out and did this part of the assignment because it had been a long time since we had gone over it in lab. Andy's was also a hard place to get good shots with because of the set up. I kind of liked that it was a challenge because it made me look outside the box and find neat angles and different opportunities to make a good photo. However, the fact that all of them are in the wrong white balance makes me very frustrated. If I could have redone this shoot I would have made sure that I knew exactly what to do and try to take the time I need to instead of feeling like I have to rush through it.
I felt a little better about the Tungsten portion of this assignment because I was comfortable with the setting and was able to try a lot of different things to get a good photo with strong content. Below is my select for this assignment.
Ashley Cummins, junior, works on a project for her graphic design class on November 1. Cummins was assigned this project for the entire month of October where she had to design her own clip art from a real life image as well as their own font. By doing tracings, flattening the image and pairing it with typography, she was able to pull together her entire project to turn in.
I shot this photo with an ISO of 200, aperture of f/3.5 and shutter speed at 1/45. I like this photo because it looks at the subject in a different angle. Even though I am shooting up towards her through the table, the glass allows us to still see her face and what she is doing.
All in all, I would have felt better with this assignment if I had gone over the assignment details again before shooting. I was also nervous because several others and I hadn't had time to meet with David before the assignment was due, but didn't want to pressure him as I knew he was really swamped with everything. Although I made some mistakes now it definitely taught me a lesson so that next time I will be sure to do everything correctly. I am really hard on myself when I make mistakes so it is really hard for me to turn in this assignment when there are things I need to fix, but I am also glad that I can learn from this experience so that it will turn out much better from now on.
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