Week 4 Forum

In the "Code of Ethics" section, the item that I found most compelling was "Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects." The reason I found this one to be the most compelling to me was due to the fact that we live in a world now that we find ourselves questioning if and when we can really take anything we see, hear, or read as 100% factual. That is not to say that there are no sources of media that are factual, but that it is important, now more than ever, that we do our best to report our subjects with the greatest accuracy and comprehension.

Under the "Ideally, photojournalists should..." list, the one that stands out to me would have to be the one that says "Strive to be unobtrusive and humble in dealing with subjects." For me, this one stood out the most to me because when thinking of the photographs and subject matter that photojournalists often deal with, such as moments of sadness or of ceremony. It is important to keep in mind to make sure that you are as unobtrusive as possible, not getting in the way of an event that is taking place for example, and to also keep in mind that when dealing with subjects we can often have a disconnect between ourselves and our subjects, hiding behind our cameras.  

The way we can apply the principle of "Be[ing] accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects," would be if we were to cover a story on, say for example, a politician that is running for the upcoming 2018 State Primaries, making sure to report on the facts, not based of political views for or against the subject.

The first photo that I really appreciate is that of Darleea Names photographed by Sarah Melcher.

The reason I like this photo is because of the great angle that it is taken at and also how natural and at ease she seems in this photo. It makes me feel as if these two where longtime friends and Sarah happened to take this photo of Darleea while they were talking. Having all of the clothing and objects surrounding her as well give us a better sense of where this person works and what kind of work she does as well.

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The second photo I really appreciate so far is that of Kelly Skaer photographed by Samantha Wilson.

The reason I liked this one was the way that Kelly is contrasting really well with her environment and her great expression as well. If I had the chance to redo this one I would have tried to keep the bottom half of her legs in the frame as well, but even as is I thought this picture worked really well.

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Describe your favorite part of the book so far, identifying the page numbers of the passage; include a quote; why did this particular story stand out to you; what have you learned about photojournalism from Lynsey Addario?

So far, my favorite part of the book would have to be the story about trying to get a job at the Buenos Aires Herald on page 35 to 36 with the quote: "The photo editors made me a proposal: If I could sneak onto the set of Evita and get a photo of Madonna filming, they would offer me a job...My image of Madonna at the Casa Rosada made the front page of the newspaper that morning, and I got a job at the paper, where I was paid $10 a picture." I think this a perfect example of how if you really want something, you'll put in the work to make it happen, no matter what it takes.

What I have learned so far about photojournalism from Lynsey Addario is that if you really want the story or the photo, you have to be willing to sell yourself out to get there, be it making connections with local people or making sure you get an appointment with the subject for your story. I don't think I could commit myself as heavily to photojournalism as she has done, but I highly respect her for her work.

Environmental Portrait: Vincent Drew

Vincent Drew is a Garden Crew Leader at the Community Service Consortium Youth House in downtown Corvallis. As a Garden Crew Leader, Drew supervises disadvantaged youth and teaches them job skills to be able to prepare them to enter the work force. 

Besides his work at the CSC Youth House, Drew enjoys making art in the form of drawing and paper collage to video projects. Being a passionate outdoorsman, Drew also hopes to be able to visit the Rogue River and Crater Lake at some point soon.

Earth Day Fair at LBCC

Earth Day Fair - April 19th, 2018

   Brian Reed (grey shirt) explains the overall intricacies and features of his Tesla vehicle on display at the LBCC Earth Day Fair on Apr. 19th, 2018. Reed explains to passing students that the vehicle is fully electric and is just as capable, if not more so, than other gas driven cars, showing the capabilities of energy efficient.

Melinda Sorte (left) and Karen Bloom (back) chatting with a group of ladies. Melinda is part of the First United Methodist Church in Albany who collect well worn shoes for the purpose of recycling them to be repurposed into the turf that playgrounds are made with. Besides the recycling of shoes, Melinda also educates people on locations of where to donate clothes and recycle "unusual" items from appliances to batteries and even light bulbs that cannot be recycled through the cities curb side recycling program.     

 

At the Oregon Youth Authority Young Women's Transition Program table, the ladies describe how they work together with farmers to get hands on experience using farm machinery and equipment. For this upcoming Mothers Day, the ladies are putting together flower baskets, as can be seen on the table, with flower arrangements that match the local high school and college colors.

Week 3 Forum

TOPIC 1: TWO PORTRAIT SUBJECTS --  Write about TWO possible subjects for your Environmental Portrait and Mug Shot.  For each subject note:

1. His or her FULL NAME
2. Your subject's "claim to fame” (What is their passion? What are they best known for? Job? Creativity? Achievement?)
3. The best environment in which to shoot this person
4. Props that would work best
5. How you plan to contact this person

For this weeks photo shoot I had originally planned on trying to contact Mikel Letelier because I had remembered that he was apart of the Student Body Council at LBCC and thought that he could have been a great subject. For that photo shoot I would have had him most likely sitting, with some sort of poster or something that let the audience know his connection to the organization. A prop that I could have had him use could have been a clip board with a pencil or something similar.

Instead, while I was out taking photos at the farmers market on Saturday, at one of the booths I met a guy named Vincent Drew and he allowed me to take his photos right there. Vincent is a volunteer for the Community Service Consortium Youth House Gardens where they work to both help young adults to complete there GED and to also teach them skills that will help them to be ready to enter the work force in the future. For Vincent, I felt that the best environment was to be right behind the row of tomato and pepper plants on sale with the CSC banner in the background. Unfortunately they did not have a spade or something similar around, but I attempted to frame him alongside as many items, such as the scale and the plants, as possible to key the viewers into the identity of Vincent.

TOPIC 2: SELF-CRITIQUE --  Now that you've been committing photojournalism for a few weeks ...

1. What is the BEST PHOTO you've taken for this class, and WHY is it your best? (Post a copy of it! AND A LINK!)

• My best photo for the class so far would have to be the photo of Mikel Letelier. I really liked this photo the best because the expression on his face was so natural and I liked the overall composition as well.

1. What is the WORST PHOTO you've posted on your blog so far, and WHY did it turn out that way? (Post a copy, or not ...)

• My worst photo so far would be that of Gayle Rushing because of the way that I framed her in her environment and was not able to capture her best expression. Also the image felt very cluttered and I did not have her posed in order to show her in her environment.

1. What SKILL do you feel you have to improve the most to raise the quality of your photos?

• I think the skill that I have to improve the most to raise the quality of my photos is to take way more photos than I think I will need. So far I have been too picky with waiting or looking for the "perfect moment" and so that limits me by restricting the options of photos to choose from.

Humans of LBCC Round 2

Mikel Letelier

"I got [the poncho] in South America. I needed to buy gifts for people because I was coming back and I was like 'Oh, why don't I buy something for myself because I want a poncho,' and so I bought a poncho. I bought this poncho and I enjoy it thoroughly, it's good in the rain, it's good in the cold unless it gets soaked. Don't get your poncho soaked, friends. I'm not one of those people who wears those plastic ponchos. Who does that? Sub-par poncho. Get something nice and comfortable like a wool poncho. It's gonna break the wind, it's gonna break the rain for the most part....get a good poncho." 

Week 2 Forum

TOPIC 1: PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK -- After selecting your “Photographer of the Week” (instructions below):

• Name of photographer

1. Gordon Parker

• Gather and share THREE FACTS about that person.

1. Parks was an African American man, born into poverty and was inspired from a young age to begin taking photographs after seeing pictures of migrant workers in a magazine.
2. From the time he picked up a camera, Parks began to use his photographs to cover the social and economic impact that racism had on the time period.
3. Parks style of being able to capture the raw expressions of the African American community, such as in his 1967 photograph of a family at a welfare office.

• What most stands out about that person’s photos?

1. What stands out the most about Parks photos is the way that he is able to capture the raw vulnerability of individuals in their hardest times.  

• Finally, describe his/her “CLAIM TO FAME.”

1. Parks claim to fame was the work that he did between the 1940's to the 1970's, documenting racism and poverty while also taking photos of people like Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X.

TOPIC 2: LYNSEY ADDARIO

After reading the Prelude and Ch. 1 of "It's What I Do," what do you think of the book so far?

In a NARRATIVE that's about 200 words (or more?!) ...

--Tell what you think of the book.

--What has impressed you?

--What do you think of Addario's work?

--What lessons can you apply in Photojournalism?

--What's your favorite quote (copy and paste it!) and why?

--What's your favorite photo and explain why? ...

After reading the Prelude and Chapter 1 of "It's What I Do," so far I have been really compelled by the style of story telling that Addario has. It is unfathomable the experiences that she went through leading up to the point where she talks about her time in Libya. One of the things that stuck out to me was the image of 3 months after the time she was detained at the checkpoint at gunpoint, thinking that she was going to die. It is always so fascinating to me to think about how many stories are held in the most mundane places. Yet, for her to continue to work in the field of photojournalism, to go out and to try to get that perfect photo to tell the story after all she had been through, is amazing. The lesson that I can apply from Addario to photojournalism is to trust your gut and have the confidence to get out and get the photo you want.

Favorite quote: "...when I am doing my work, I an alive and I am me. It's what I do. I am sure there are other versions of happiness, but this one is mine."

Week 1 Forum

Week 1 Blog Forum - Due before the end of class Friday.

TOPIC 1: ABOUT ME -- Tell a little bit about yourself, your major, why you took this class, your photography experience ...

My name is Aidan Venegas, I'm a 19 year old transfer student, just moved from Hawai'i. I was born in Chile and moved with my family when I was 2 to Oregon. I moved to Hawai'i about 5 and a half years ago with my family, but decided that I wanted to come back to the Pacific North West. Right now I am working towards completing my AAOT degree so that I can transfer over to Southern Oregon University and finish with a degree in Outdoor Adventure Leadership. The reason I signed up for this class was to try to get a sense for what it is like to be a photojournalist and what it would take to do so. My photography experience so far has been limited to shooting sports mode at family get togethers and occasionally using manual mode for more staged pictures.

TOPIC 2: GOALS -- Now that you've committed to taking Photojournalism this term, what are your THREE goals for this class? (In addition to earning a good grade!)

Three goals that I have for this class are to get a better understanding of what it takes to be a photojournalist, to understand how to compose an image to tell a story, and to further develop my photography taking skills.

TOPIC 3: LBCC PHOTOS -- Think about taking news photos related to LBCC. What would make good subjects for an upcoming photo shoot?

Good subjects for an upcoming photo shoot would be:

Sports events: I do not know the schedule for the sports yet, but for example going to a baseball game and getting photos of the crowd cheering on the team or having the batter set up ready to hit the ball with a serious look on their face. 

Club meetings: Now that clubs are starting up, going in and taking a look at for example the anime club and take photos of people reading manga or discussion Naruto.

Art galleries that they have in SSH: I know there is one this week and next week, so having photos that show people looking at the pieces of art or having the artist there describing the artwork would look nice.

List THREE subjects or ideas, including a little bit about the subject. 

Here's an example: LBCC baseball -- The LBCC baseball team plays its next game on Saturday. I could shoot photos before, during and after the game, including shots of the action and crowd reactions.

Humans of LBCC

Cuauhtemoc

"I'm originally from Oregon, but I have moved around. I moved to Alaska for a few years with my family and then moved back. There were a lot of mosquitoes. The real thing that you have to worry about are the moose, they are dangerous. I once saw one in the parking lot. I also moved to New Mexico and lived there a few years too, but then I moved back... This is my second term at LBCC and I want to do Info Graphics... For fun I like to draw, I'm submitting a pen and ink drawing that I am working on for next weeks art gallery in [South Santiam Hall]."