It's true...shooting features 'is hard'

This weather feature photo was captured by Jessica, a student in the PHO245 course. She conquered her fear of strangers and shot this photo without a panic attack! Read about her panic attack experience in her blog: http://jessicaverhoff.blogspot.com

       Panic attacks. Excuses. Pictures of dogs, cats and decapitated toes.
       These are what the PHO245 students experienced or shot this week for the feature shooting assignment. One student summed up the whole experience in two words: it's hard!
       The working life of a photojournalist constantly consists of turning bad light and cluttered backgrounds into wonderful captured moments of time.
       Seldom do we show up on a scene where everything is picture perfect. It takes work. It takes knowing how to handle light, whether it be too much or too little. It takes being able to scan the area and instantly know which angle is best. It takes getting photo subjects to be comfortable enough to ignore you, and then get them to tell you their life stories. All of these things take experience and knowledge.
      Experience comes with time. Gaining experience is totally up to the will of the student photographer. But knowledge, well, that's currently my responsibility. It's my job as their instructor to give them the basic tools they need to go out into the community and tell stories with their camera. The tool kit includes, but is not limited to, knowing their rights, being ethically and legally aware, understanding how their camera works, and knowing how to shoot different types of assignments, like features, portraits, sports and photo stories.
      Doesn't shooting stories for a living sound like fun? Honestly, that depends on the photographer. One student admitted she suffered panic attacks when she had to approach strangers for a feature assignment. Another tweeted this comment on Monday: "I learned that when shooting in photojournalism...don't try to be creative."
     What? Actually, it's the complete opposite. You should be creative in photojournalism, but the integrity of the photo/story needs be the first consideration.
     Students, don't beat yourselves up. It will get more fun and a little easier as you add experience into your tool boxes. After all, isn't that why you took this class?

Addition of pages

   I just discovered blog pages, which are like chapters in a book! So, I've reorganized the class blog by adding pages in the tab bar. Now you can easily view the syllabus and the class blog roster without having to search for them.

Ready, set, tell stories!

One of my favorite feature photos I took years ago.

   It's finally time to pull out that camera and push the shutter button. You are ready to tell stories.
   You've been busy the past six weeks learning the journalism part, which concludes this week with lessons on how to write accurate, concise captions using the Associated Press Styleguide. Now it's time for the photography part.
   You're first shooting assignment will be hunting for features, an integral task of all photojournalists. What are feature pictures? Features document life around us in a positive way. They are the photos that make readers smile. They are the snapshots of people that end up on refrigerators and office walls.  Feature pictures also help take the sting out of the hard news photos, and that's why photojournalists like taking them - for the balance of good and evil.
   Keep these things in mind when I send you out there Monday to find people doing everyday things, like flying kites, fishing, enjoying an ice cream cone on a hot day, or fighting with a broken umbrella on a rainy day. Whatever the subject matter, try to remember that you're not just taking a photo for yourself, you're actually freezing someone's moment in time, and how cool is that?

Teaching what the heck reciprocity means

   We officially ended the law and ethics portion of study today with a fitting conclusion - a 40-point test. I'm happy to report everyone passed! So, with a basic understand of what news is and what their rights are, we are moving on to my favorite part of the course: explaining camera controls, exposure metering and compositional elements.
   This morning, when I asked the students what reciprocity means, I mostly got blank stares. I understand that, considering it took me a few weeks just to learn how to say the word. I know what they were thinking: what the heck is reciprocity? It's a math miracle! The concept of taking these weird sets of numbers (ISO, shutter speeds and f/stops) and making them work in unison is amazing stuff, and I love teaching it. OK, I admit the reason I enjoy teaching is because it makes me feel, well, smart.
   I started out as a journalist. I'm pretty good with words and have a knack for spelling. So, when I started taking photos for my stories (when I was a cub reporter), the camera controls were totally confusing to me. It wasn't until I was an assistant instructor at a two-week Army photojournalism workshop in the early 1990s that it clicked. I've had a yearning to be a teacher ever since.
   Maybe it's a good thing that a word person is teaching a numbers game...because I can sympathize with the blank stares and the resistance to memorize 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16 and 22. Brilliant.

Our First Amendment rights

The First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.


   The First Amendment is only 45 words, but among those 45 words are five personal freedoms that guide how Americans have governed our lives since 1791. 
   This first amendment in the Bill of Rights is uniquely American, though I think this world would be a far better place if it was a document that governed every nation on the planet. Can you imagine if leaders in Iraq, Africa and Syria were committed to The First Amendment of the Planet Earth? 
   The freedom of the press is especially valued by our democratic nation because it allows journalists to report on our own government without fear of being arrested or murdered. This is not a right we should ever take for granted, which is why the PHO245 students dedicated this past week learning and understanding what the First Amendment means to them, as scholastic journalists.
   Check out their most recent blog posts to see what they have to say about this very important subject. Links to all of their blogs are available at the top of this blog.

All blogs accounted for

  I'm proud to announce that all nine student blogs are available for your viewing pleasure. Just click on the links above. Thanks.

Let the blogs begin

   It's already Week 3, and the students are busy tweeting and blogging. I couldn't imagine teaching photojournalism without social media.We must adapt and embrace technology as the delivery system of the news changes. And it is changing. In fact, a few days ago I received the Buckeye Guard Magazine in my snail mail box. It came to me the old fashioned way, but on the cover was the announcement that it was the final issue. The hard copy of the award-winning monthly military magazine is going online. This sentence in the article titled Farewell to an icon: Buckeye Guard in transition on Page 4 says it all, "Please join us and engage in our social media space at...Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Flickr."

   I'm keeping this issue because not only does it represent the future, it reminds me of my past. I was a military photojournalist for that magazine for 13 years.
   Social media is not the future anymore. It's the present. It's here right now, and students need to be prepared to share their photography, stories and experiences anyway they can in order to compete in a point and shoot world. This is my justification for teaching them to be engaged in social media.
   As of late Monday night, there are only two students who have their blogs listed in the blog roll, but there will be nine by the end of the week. I can't wait to see what they all have to say!

Tip 2: shooting through fences

 This is the backstop fence at Fifth Third Field. String is medium thickness. 

    Tip 2: Did you know you can shoot through a fence as if it wasn't there? It's not a miracle; you just have to consider the following things:

1. It depends what lens length you're using. Wide lenses, like a 35mm, won't work, even at 2.8. Long lenses are the key. I recently shot these photos to illustrate this point:

16mm lens shot @ 2.8, 1/2700 of a second, 400 ISO

300 mm lens @ f3.2, 1/1600 of a second, 800 ISO

   2. It also depends on the aperture. Using a long lens, set your f/stop to around f2.8 and put it right up against the fence and focus on the subject on the field. The closer you are to the fence, the more invisible the fence will be. (Don't forget to set the shutter speed accordingly.) If the lens is not close to the fence, you will end up with faint lines, like on the photo below:

      This was taken with a 300 mm lens at f2.8, but the fence was about 20 feet or so from the pitcher.

   3. It also depends on the thickness of the fence. A thick fence might not be completely invisible, so you'll have to look through the lens and place your subject in the middle of the fence lines.
   So, next time you think a fence is an obstacle, experiment with different lens lengths and f/stops to solve this problem.
  

Tip 1: Grap that camera when you need it!

Sunset beyond the I280 turnpike (Photo by Lori King)

   Tip 1. This is a beautiful reason of why you should always carry your cameras with you. If you're worried about theft, keep the cameras in a camera case in the trunk, not in your front or back seat where they can be seen!
   Photographers never know when a moment will happen in front of them. For this shot, I was driving on the turnpike and noticed the sun setting rather quickly. I knew I only had a short amount of time to take this photo, so I pulled over and took the shot. Within minutes the moment was gone.
   Lesson here: Be prepared. This includes keeping a loaded, fully-charged camera nearby. That doesn't mean you have to have it hanging off of your shoulder every second. The trunk is fine, as long as you don't have vanity plates that give you away.
   Sunset pix metadata: Lens = 300mm  ISO = 640 / Aperture = 5 / Shutter = 1/1250  / Exp. Comp.: 0.0

  
  

Hear that? It's a tweet!

    It's a new semester, which means a new crop of students. There are nine enrolled in this course, which is nearly double from last semester!
    In a few weeks this blog will feature an updated student blog roll, as soon as they create their blogs. Believe it or not, not a single student has a blog they currently maintain. That has been the case for all four PHO245 classes.  
    In the meantime, yesterday they created Twitter accounts. They will have their individual accounts, but the primary course username is @PHO245, managed by me. All PHO245 tweets will be hash-marked with #PHO245. Have something to share with them? Drop them a tweet. 
    Next up:

• How to manage social media, which includes being ethical and responsible with these public, power communication tools;
• Learning about the history of journalism, and what news is.

Welcome back!

    Greetings scholastic journalists! 
    Prepare to be educated about the field of photojournalism and the growing role social media plays in our lives. Here are a few highlights from the course:

• Learn how to shoot feature, portrait and sports assignments;
• Know your law, ethics and photographer's rights;
• Use social media to share yours stories and lessons learned;
• Work as a team to document an event and produce a Soundslides story;
• Build a portfolio.

    New to the course this semester is the requirement to tweet. Blogging and tweeting are essential skills to learn in a very competitive market. 
    I struggled with the decision on whether to add Twitter to the curriculum, considering this is only an intro class. Since my goal as an instructor is to prepare the next generation of citizen communicators, how could I not include it? But tweeting is not an additional lesson; it simply replaces the discussion board, which students were required to use last semester. The discussion board is a good tool to practice writing skills, but their comments were enclosed in a bubble. That changes with Twitter, a micro-blogging tool that is a nice addition to the storytelling toolbox.
    So, let's get to work, shall we?

My aha moment

Click here.  
This is for all of the past and future students who make my classroom experience so enjoyable.

The End

   The semester is over and grades are posted.

The new poster for the PHO 245 class,
designed by CRT student Brian White.

   It was a wonderful class. They all worked hard, yet seemed to keep their sense of humor. You need that balance of work and fun.
   This list sums up what they've learned in a nutshell (which is actually a journalism term):

• What journalism means
• How to write AP style captions
• Learned press ethics, rights and the First Amendment
• Created their first blog
• Learned to capture live sound and how to edit audio using Audacity software
• Shot sports, feature and photo story assignments

     Three of the students blogged about their overall experience and offered advice to the Fall 2011 class. There is nothing like learning from your peers.
     I hope these students continue to respect truth in visual storytelling.
     This blog will continue in the Fall with a whole new set of student blogs.

Holly and Teri edits sound using Audacity

   These photos of the students (and Dave Cantor) in the classroom demonstrate teamwork in action.

   I couldn't be prouder of the students as they worked on the Bittersweet Farms multimedia project together. To recap - they all shot at the farm, which serves autistic adults. Back in the classroom, they took on different duties for photo editing, sound editing and caption writing.
   The final Soundslides project was amazing. I will post it here as soon as I figure out how to do it. I need a website (I don't have one) to convert the Soundslides Publish to Web folder into an embed code. Once I get over that hurdle, I will post the show.
   This team project helped prepare the students for their individual final project. They also learned they are not alone in the world. Learning to work with others is as fundamental as learning how a camera works.
   There is only one more week of school. I will cherish it while it lasts.
   I also want to take this opportunity to thank Dave for his assistance throughout the semester. His photo editing skills are greatly appreciated by the students!

Dave Cantor, back, assists Kathie, Katherine and Dennis with their photo editing.

Breaking News Pulitzer Prize 2011
This slideshow will not pass the breakfast test. In other words, watch it while not eating. Though grim and sad, these stories need to be told so the rest of the world can respond.

A thanks to those who came before you

    I want to take a moment to thank former PHO 245 students who took this class during its infancy. I also want to apologize to them, as well. There is no doubt this current class benefited from 'experimenting' on them with course content.
   The first class in 2009, initially designed by Margaret Lockwood-Lass, didn't offer blogging. It was more traditional by focusing on how to shoot different types of assignments, like features and sports. There were no quizzes or tests. They wrote very little.
   The second class (Fall 2010) was more modern. Blogging was introduced, but there was no team project like we did this semester at Bittersweet Farms. Still no quizzes. Tardiness and attendance were problems, but they wrote more, and NewsU courses were added.
   However, the Fall 2010 class offered great constructive criticism that I totally took to heart. Mentioned below are a few improvements this semester:

•    One student said a group project would have been appreciated. Thus, Bittersweet was born. They worked in teams to produce a Soundslides project with audio that will be posted on their blogs next week (read previous post). 
• Most of the students admitted attendance was a problem, and suggested I be more strict. So I adopted the sponge quiz, a concept I learned in one of my grad classes. Students who show up the first five minutes of class are given a simple 1-point quiz that counts toward their attendance. This works well because not only do they get credit for the day, I get to tap into their psyche a bit more.
• Quizzes were added to make them more accountable for their reading, and mandatory Blackboard discussion board posts allows them to share their ideas with each other and me).

   As I watched the students work as a team on the Bittersweet Farms project this week, it occurred to me that I owe part of the success of this semester to the former students. So, thank you for helping me improve this course. It wouldn't be the same without your honest input.

Student teamwork a joy to witness

Holly, right, shooting Bittersweet resident Danny and recording live animal sounds - at the same time! 

   Okay. I'm going to brag now. Oh, not about myself, but about my five Intro to PJ students. They make coming to class every Monday and Wednesday morning enjoyable and inspiring.

Dennis in the woodshop

   Their latest shooting assignment was a wonderful example of student teamwork. It was a group photo shoot Monday at Bittersweet Farms, an 80-acre farm that serves autistic adults. Students roamed the farm and captured the Bittersweet residents making artwork, tending to animals, cutting and splitting wood, planting vegetable seedlings and decorating cookies.
   But this assignment is more than just photographing subjects and turning in their best work for grades. It's a multimedia project that requires teamwork. Though all students shot, they had additional duties: Kathie will captions for the chosen photos; Kathie, Dennis and Katherine are editing the photos; and Holly and Teri collected the sound at the farm and are currently editing the sound using Audacity.
    The Soundslides project will not be completed until next week, but when it's done, I will proudly post it to this blog.
   Good job, students!

From left: Kathie, Holly, Julie Horn, Teri and Dennis

  
  

Slices of life

   I was once told that the difference between a good photographer and a great photographer is effort.
   It takes effort to learn the controls on a camera. It takes effort to take photos of total strangers. It takes effort to tell stories for the sake of journalism. So I applaud the effort put out by my PHO 245 students.
  I've chosen a few of their photos to share. The captions are attached to these copyrighted photos, which are posted on their blogs.

Feature photo by Holly Omlor

Sports photo by Dennis Oehler

   

Sports photo by Teri Birtwhistle

Photo by Katherine Cedoz

Weather photo by Kathie VanNess

    
    

Foundations of scholastic journalism

Scholastic Journalism Foundations = poster material
Thanks to John Bowen, my Social Media class instructor, for posting this on the JEA's Scholastic Press Rights Commission blog. Great resource material for every journalism educator and student!

Social responsibility at work

   I think the weather photo assignment was a good wakeup call to the students about how hard it is to document real people in real situations. A common question in class yesterday: Do our photos have to have people in them?
   Well, yes and no.
   This week's assignment required them to turn in two photos related to weather. One had to be a scene setter, or a wide shot. The other needed to be tight, to show detail. As in all photography, the subject matter depends on the subject.

Photo by Holly Omlor

   Holly documented a new sledding hill at an area metropark. All of her photos captured happy people playing in the snow, so they were all willing to supply their names for caption information. On the other hand, Teri shot an electrical outlet box in a building with rain water  "gushing" over it. Is that a major safety issue? If so, I doubt the janitor would dare pose by it for obvious reasons. Teri thought this was a powerful photo that she was compelled to take, but was reluctant to turn it in because the photos should have included people.

Photo by Teri Birtwhistle

   I approved this photo because journalism is a social responsibility, after all. If she was working for a community newspaper, that photo would make a powerful statement about the dangerous mix of water and electricity. Who is responsible for the upkeep of that building?  What if the electrical box caught fire and caused the deaths of residents (if it's an apartment complex), or students (if it's inside a campus building)? This is a wonderful example of witnessing a problem and bringing it to light.
    This is social responsibility at work. Journalism's first loyalty is to its citizens, according The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel. This photo could help save lives. But first we must verify that the electrical box is a fire hazard. If it's waterproof, then it would be sloppy journalism to assume danger when one doesn't exist. So the caption information she collects on this photo will be paramount to the success of this particular static photo.
    That photo makes for a great teaching moment.
    If you're wondering why these photos aren't posted here, it's because they aren't due for publication on their blogs until March 14. I will add them to this blog that week.