Week Ten Forum

WEEK TEN FORUM

TOPIC ONE- YOUR GOALS

1. Learn how the heck to use my camera- I think I partially succeeded in this. I certainly learned a whole bunch about ISO, white balance and using my flash as well as shutter speeds. I still have a bunch to learn though.
2. Learn how to take beautiful news story photos- I think I made improvements! I don't think I'm quite at the beautiful level but I'm getting there!
3. Gain confidence in photographing strangers- I did this! My photostory only consisted of one person I knew!

TOPIC TWO- CLASS WRAP UP

 

Keep- Rob because he's awesome and great at what he does. Keep doing photographer of the week because I think it's so interesting and helped me find inspiration!

Stop- Maybe one day I'll come back to this.

Start- It'd be really cool if we spent time in class discussing more camera settings. I know this isn't a photography class but I think it'd help a lot!

WEEK TEN- PHOTOSTORY

PHOTOSTORY

The Story of Hands

Sharron "Rosemary" Mackenzie is 68 years of age and is a resident of the Lindenwood Apartments. Her nickname is Rosemary because at one point in her life she lived in Connecticut on ten acres of land. She produced many herbs and sold them on to the locals, earning her the name Rosemary. She calls herself an Alum Bum because she is a graduate from Oregon State University but is now retired.  She spends her days checking out what goes on around the Linn Benton campus. She moved to the area again after living in California because her apartment complex owners got sued for filing background checks. She refers to her hands as kitty paws.

Justin Herry is a Linn Benton Community College student in the Welding and Fabrication Technology program. This is his first year. He enjoys the classes and likes how hands on things are.

Starting from the hands on the left moving clockwise: 

Maresa Epperson has been working at the on campus coffee shop for a term (four months). She is dually enrolled in Linn Benton and Oregon State University. She's studying exercise and sports science and one day hopes to be a Physical Therapist. She likes Linn Benton better because it saves her a lot of money on her general education credits.

Tonya Johnson has been working at the coffee shop for 2 years but has only been a full time Linn Benton student for two years. She's studying social science and one day aspires to be a drug and alcohol counselor or "something along those lines".

Taylor Borntreger has been managing Hot Shots Cafe for only four months. She is seeking an associates in business and  one day aspires to own her own wedding planning business. She has been a Linn Benton student for three years.

Randi Harney is 18 and a full time cosmetology student at the Aveda Institute of Portland. She one day aspires to be a makeup artist for celebrities and plans on moving to California after school to pursue her career.  She is one third of her way through her schooling and will graduate in November of 2015. She has gone through a haircutting phase, chemicals phase and is now in her esthetician phase where she will learn how to do waxing and facials.   

WEEK 9 FORUM:

TOPIC ONE: TURNING PRO-

I don't believe this term will be the end of my photojournalism career. I really enjoyed taking photos and I actually have discovered a great love for photography and I want to further my skills so I'm thinking about taking a photography class soon. I want to become better at taking photos in low light and learn some creative angles. I also plan on seeking a career in journalism so I don't think my camera will ever be too far away from me. The only con I can think of would be that I have to spend more money and time on these classes but it'll be really useful for me in the end!
I think what I'd like to do next is find some videos on how to work a Nikon camera. My camera has thrown me through so many loops this term and has frustrated me almost as much as it has produced beautiful photos. I think if I can figure out some settings first, I'll be on the right track to taking amazing photos. I plan on doing so by googling it during my winter break and asking my dad for help since he's the one that gifted me the camera and he knows how to work them well.

TOPIC TWO: PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK-

Sebastiao Salgado made one of the biggest impressions on me. I love his work. His photos are breath taking and don't even need color to stand out because he captures the subject so well. He captures detail so well. The best of his photos are those of the expressions of people. The expression on peoples faces explain situations so well and his black and white mug shots are perfect. They seem so easy but it's not at all.
I could use his techniques of black and white photography. I love black and white but I'd love to be able to understand it more to create more shadows and highlights, I want to use his attention to detail and amazing focus in my own photography. I want to capture expression like he does.

WEEK 8 FORUM-

TOPIC ONE: TECHNOLOGY/INNOVATION

1. For me, the single most important photojournalism innovation has been the invention of the digital camera. More specifically, I think the most important part of the digital camera is the little preview screen. If the digital camera were to be made without that little screen, we would have no way of previewing our photo. I feel like this was a huge game changer because all of a sudden, photographers could adjust their image settings to come up with the perfect photo. It no longer became a guessing game. I know this little invention saves my life every time I have a photo assignment because I'll have my settings way too high or too low and forget. I would probably never get any decent photos without it.

2. The photojournalist I believe that stands above all other photojournalists is Ron Haviv not only because he's been Emmy nominated or has won multiple awards but because he captures amazing photos. He has covered many wars around the world and shines light on so many crazy scenarios. He raises awareness of conflicts and human rights issues from around the world. His photography shows the necessity for good photojournalism. A photo sometimes can speak and get its point across so much better than words ever could and his work encapsulates this.

Some of his work:

 Ron Haviv-Photojournalist-Photographer: Children of Darfur - Daily life at a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Selia, West Darfur, Sudan. © Ron Haviv - VII

Ron Haviv-Photojournalist-Photographer: Haiti: January 12, 2010 - Haitians after the earthquake that devastated much of the capital city of Port au Prince. © Ron Haviv - VII

TOPIC 2: PHOTOSTORY

WHO

Anyone and everyone!

WHAT

Hands- I have been obsessed with the photostory we looked at in class where the photographer too pictures solely of peoples hands that worked in different proffesions and I've been thinking about it ever since. I'd love to recreate this idea.

WHEN

Between now and the due date!

WHERE

Everywhere but hopefully in the environment that makes the hands what they are!

HOW

By total charisma and skill of making new friends. People are a bit more shy to have pictures taken of their face but hopefully not of their hands!

MEDIUM

For a medium shot, I hope to have someone holding their hands out far out but still covering their face with a close up of their hands but their face in the foreground. It'd be nice if it was an environment photo as well.

CLOSE

That'll be what most of my photos are! Close ups of lots of different hands!

OVERALL

I could maybe sneak in an overall of a bunch of different people holding up their hands in front of their faces, making their hands their 'identity'.

WEEK 8- ACTION/SPORTS PHOTOS

Close up of a post game smile from Trebriel Larry of Western Oregon University's Football Team. Larry is a sophomore cornerback for Western Oregon.

Western Oregon's Football Team gathers on the sidelines to discuss defensive plays to attempt to beat Simon-Frazier University from British Columbia, Canada.  

Western Oregon University hands it off and runs this ball into the end zone to win this game, 27-16, on October 25th, 2014. 

Week 7 Forum:

TOPIC ONE: Action/Sports Photos

1. WHAT? The Western Oregon University football game!
2. WHEN AND WHERE? Western Oregon's Football field this weekend!
3. OVERALL: Whole team on the field
    CLOSE UP: I have to get creative with this one... I think I'll try to get one of the ball on the field but I'm not sure.
    MEDIUM: Medium shot of the game!
4. WHO? Trebriel Larry, a CB for the Western Oregon Football Team

TOPIC TWO: TWITTER SHOUT OUT

https://twitter.com/PaigieHarkless/status/539252731823677440

Week 7- FREE SHOOT

Theater teacher Dan Stone did a camouflage makeover on a Linn Benton Community College employee's child for Haloween

Dan Stone works at his station, creating zombies and other Halloween creatures on peoples faces.

The Harvest Pie Festival is in full swing in the student union offices. Volunteers serve up a variety of pies ranging from apple, pumpkin to even pumpkin cheesecake. Student leaders handed out candy and dressed up in their favorite Halloween costumes.

Week 6 Photos-

My Neighborhood

The Lindenwood Apartment mailboxes get filled every day around 3 PM by the mailman. These are classic mailboxes with combination codes for residents. 

Giant Oak trees line the perimeter of the Lindenwood Apartments. These trees can be seen by students of Linn Benton Community College in the back lot of the college. The trees are old and a relic of the Lindenwood Apartments. 

Pictured above is Henry Lahti playing a round of pool in the Lindenwood Apartments recreation room. Henry is a full time student and freshman at Linn Benton Community College. Henry is often in the rec room playing pool and hanging out with friends.

Week One Forum

Topic One: GOALS

Now that I've committed to taking photojournalism this term my three goals for this class are:

1. Learn how the heck to use my camera
2. Learn how to take beautiful news story photos
3. Gain confidence in photographing strangers

Topic Two: PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK

1. Three facts about Eliot Porter:

1. He started by taking black and white photos but then moved into color
2. He traveled A LOT for his work
3. He was the first professional artistic photographer

2. Eliot Porter's 'claim to fame' I believe is his beautiful detailed photos for the time he was taking them. Not a lot of people back then took such amazing photos or even had the materials to.

Topic Three: LBCC PHOTOS

1. Two ideas for our next photo assignment:

1. I could just sit in the courtyard and wait for something cool to happen or
2. I could see what the volleyball team is up to.

2. For my first idea, it could take place at any time, any date, in the courtyard and anything could happen! For my second idea, the time would have to be while they're practicing sometime during the week in the gym.

WEEK ONE

WEEK ONE CAMPUS PHOTOS

A close up fabulous red pumps being fashioned by Linn Benton student Kamran Mirza. He is raising gender inequality awareness and collecting donations for a drag show put on by the Diversity and Achievement center. 

The oh-so fierce Kamran shrugs as he attempts to convince Giovanni Ontiveros to talk a walk in a woman's shoes, literally, on October 9th.

Kamran Mirza speaks to some women about their own experiences of gender inequality in front of the student union at Linn Benton Community College.

Week 6 Forum

Forum- Week 6

Topic 1- Guest Speaker

Karl Maasdam

http://www.karlmaasdam.com/photographs/qjzyhh5tfjrzinpitk6f3yqubxbzma

1. My favorite photo was of Tracy Daugherty. I enjoyed this photo a lot because I usually don't prefer black and white photos but this one still managed to catch my attention in a good way. The subject was still very obvious. I really liked his angle of the environmental shot. He really captured what he is all about and beyond just the book. It's obvious from the computer and all of the books behind him that perhaps he writes books himself. His subject was obviously comfortable with him. I like also that he got on level with his subject; he didn't shoot from super high or super low.

2. Three questions for Karl

1. How did you get into photography?
2. What was the hardest thing for you to improve on when shooting?
3. What's your best advice for someone that's new to shooting sports photos?

Topic 2- My Neighborhood 

1. One of the biggest challenges of shooting this assignment was getting people in the photos. My neighborhood wasn't that busy and the only time people are out, I'm not home. Lighting was also a tricky one. I had to mess around with the lighting a lot. Finding a landmark was a little tricky too until I went on a run and found my subject!
2. My favorite image was the environmental shot. I like this because I got to get creative with how I shot it. I like the angle from which it was shot as well as the focus. Planning payed of for sure because I was able to shoot it fairly fast and got a variety of shots.
3. If I was to do this assignment again, I would shoot my neighborhood back home. I like that one a lot more than the one I'm in here in Albany, I'm more familiar with it and I find it to be more interesting. I would also try to shoot during the prime photo hours, not at night or middle of the day. 

Photographer of the Week- Eliot Porter

Eliot Porter

             Eliot Furness Porter was an amazing American photographer that captured and produced both black and white and color photos. He was born on December 6^th, 1901 Winnetka, Illinois to an upper middle class family. Porter had four other siblings, one of which later became a realist painter. His mother and father both graduated from college with degrees. His mom was actively involved in liberal social causes and his father managed the family’s real estate. They gave Eliot Porter his first camera in 1911 and he tackled taking nature photos at the family’s vacation home on Great Spruce Head Island in Maine. These photos later on became his claim to fame.

                Eliot Porter followed in the footsteps of his mother and father and went to Harvard to seek a degree. He graduated with a degree in chemistry and was working for Harvard as a biochemist. Porter couldn’t shake his love of photography though and after encouraging talks with his family, he chose to seek a career in the art. He was the first American to hold a career as an artistic photographer. While black and white photos were the preferred medium of his time, Porter preferred color photography and often times had to battle his colleges over it. Eliot was also different from many other photographers. He got to do what a lot of people didn't do in this time; travel.

                Porter traveled long, far and wide for his photos. He took pictures of their architecture, famous landmarks and, his favorite, the wildlife. More specifically, Porter had a passion of shooting the birds of the region. He was good at it too. It’s amazing to think he could use such a slow and old camera to get close enough to get the shots he did of the birds. He traveled to places such as England, where his mother’s side of the family is from, Greece, Egypt, Baja, the Galapagos and many other exotic regions. His color photography was some of the first to represent these areas back in his day.

                The process of color photography in the early 1940’s was a strenuous one. This process involved Porter spending hours in a dark room, mixing his dyes, changing acidic levels and soaking different colored matrixes in dye baths. Once the dyes achieved his preference of color, Porter would have to write down the mixtures for future purposes of reprinting the image. It was hard work and involved a lot of time.

                Eliot Porter was married twice and a father of four children. His final and permanent home was in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Porter had published over 25 books and was working on more. He passed away on November 2, 1990.

This is my favorite photo Eliot ever took:

This is my favorite photo because even though Eliot Porter took very beautiful pictures of everything natural, I think this picture is amazing. There's so much detail, it looks like it could have been taken now with the technology we have now. It captures the child's expression well and the lighting is perfect. I like that it's in black and white because that's how Eliot got his start. This photo is a picture of his son Stephen Porter and was taken in 1946 in their New Mexico home.

A link to Porter's work:
http://www.cartermuseum.org/collections/porter/

Week 5 Photos: Sara Gelser

Week 5 Photos:

SARA GELSER

EVERYONE IS VOTING BY NOVEMBER 4TH SO GET YOUR BALLOTS IN!

State Senate Candidate Sara Gelser addresses students in a lecture hall at Linn Benton Community College on Wednesday, October 29th. 

Gelser answers questions from students in a Q & A session about a variety of topics, mainly measure 89. Measure 89 is to prevent gender-biased discrimination and equal work opportunities for men and women.

All of the lecture hall listens and focuses intently upon Sara Gelser's responses to their questions

Week 5 Forum

Week 5 Forum:

Topic One: Favorite Photo Story

1. My favorite photo story was Operation Lion Heart by Deanne Fitzmaurice for the San Francisco Chronicle. I liked these photos instantly because they were vibrant and seemed to tell the story all on their own. It's of a kid who was severely injured and impaired by an explosive device. The photos show just how lively his spirit is and that really caught my attention. The photos show just how much he lost and his experiences. 
2. It doesn't straight up state two struggles the photographer had to endure in order to get the photo but it's obvious to me that the language barrier would be one of them. Saleh is from Iraq and only spoke Arabic upon his first arrival to the children's hospital in Oakland. I believe a second obstacle the photographer had to overcome was making Saleh a friend and making sure he was comfortable enough to have his photograph taken, even in sensitive times. 
3. The theme of this photo story was not show how gruesome his injuries were, not how bad Iraq and the war is but to show an injured child and his recovery process from start to finish. The visual consistency in the photos is that they're always in vibrant color, mark a major step or struggle for Saleh and are usually focused on him, even when there are other people in the photos. The narrative of the photos is short but captures the who, what, when, where, why and how as well as explains his battle from start to finish.
4. A technique I could use is her visual variety of shots for my own photo story. Her photos aren't all taken from the same angle yet always show the subject. She did a really good job of capturing amazing moments as well, like when he saw his mom for the first time in a year. I really enjoyed this and hope to incorporate it into some of my own photos.

Topic Two: Your Photo Story

1. The first photo story I could do:

• Who: My dad
• What: Surprising people who give money to the homeless by giving back to them
• When: Hopefully in November but possibly in December. However long it takes to collect donations
• Where: Back home in downtown Portland!

In order to prepare for this, I will need to set up dates with my dad and figure out when we can shoot certain things. Documenting him would be a little hard because it's supposed to be a surprise but it's not that surprising if someone's around with a camera. That'll be something I have to think about how I'm going to go about doing. We also need to choose a good time to do it so the lighting is okay as well as a good place so I can hide.

    2.  The second photo story I could do:

• Who: Cristina Scrivner and OSU's Lacrosse team
• What: The team preparing for their season
• When: This month as well as the following
• Where: OSU lacrosse fields

In order to prepare for this shoot. I will need to find a lens that'll allow me to get a closer view of the players as well as practice my action photography. I need to think of a variety of shots that I can get so I'm not taking a picture of the same thing.    

Week 4 Forum

Week 4 Forum:

Topic One: NPPA Code of Ethics

1. The code that stands out the most to me is the first rule. "Be accurate and comprehensive in the representation of subjects." I believe this is the most powerful one and most important because it's our job to report on accurate and CORRECT news that well represents the story. Missing pieces or leaving important parts out is lying. If you lie to you public, you can never establish credibility. 
2. As far as the section "photojournalists should..", I like rule number six. It states, "Respect the integrity of the photographic moment". I like this rule a lot because I take it as you shouldn't doctor a photo to effect what it represents. Either you got a good shot or you didn't, you don't need to crop and frame it to what you need. You're not editing it to be something different either. I also think this means that you don't make it more than it was. Just report on the story. 
3. An example of the ethics rule I chose would be the photo of Martin Luther King in Principals of Pixels. The published version of the photo wasn't an accurate representation of what he was doing in reality. 

Topic 2:

Two Photos I've enjoyed from other students:

     The first one I liked was by Cat of three students on a balcony. I really enjoyed this because I don't think the flares take away from the photo, I think they make a cool effect and the kids are perfectly positioned. I enjoyed the overall effect and look of this picture.

      The second one I liked a lot was one Trotchie took of Kelsi Moon drawing a guitar. I really enjoy the focus of this picture and how you can really see her face and what she's doing while the marker is just out of focus.

Week 4

The Environmental/Mug Shot 

Environmental

Dual Enrolled student Jorge Banuelos sports his beaver gear in front of Linn Benton. Jorge takes both math 111 and writing 121 at Linn Benton. Jorge says maybe one day he'll become a doctor.

Mug Shot

OSU and Linn Benton student Jorge Banuelos smiles in a hallway at LBCC. Jorge is a chemistry major at Oregon State University. He is currently 18, a freshman and graduated from Philomath High School last year. 

Week 3 Forum

Topic 1:

     

      1. For my portrait/mug shot, I can shoot my friend Jorge Banuelos or Tate Braunum

      2. Tate's claim to fame is that he's a Dutch Bros Broista and Jorge is a dually enrolled student.

      3. I could shoot Tate at his stand and I could shoot Jorge at either school.

      4. Props: dutch coffee cup, school supplies, OSU gear, Linn Benton gear

      5. I plan on contacting them through text.

Topic 2:

      1. My BEST PHOTO is my favorite photo, a picture of a closeup of a snail. I like it because I didn't have to edit it, the colors are really vibrant, it took me a million times to get the shot and I think the photo just works.

      2. My WORST PHOTO has to be the one I just took in the lab for my overall of the girls. I didn't like this because of the lighting and I think it's boring to look at.

     3. I need to get better at taking interesting overall photos. I have such a hard time tackling this but my overalls are usually plain and boring.

Week 3

Week 3

Did you know Linn Benton has a dental assisting program? More so, did you know they have to wear scrubs every day? I caught up with two students in the program studying for midterms.

Pictured above are Araceli Ayala and Nayeli Herrera, studying hard for their exam in the Learning Center's computer lab on October 21st.

Araceli Ayala studies the powerpoint and organizes her notes in the Linn Benton learning center computer lab. 

Nayeli is seen in the foreground, behind her dental model

Week 2 Forum

Topic One

Finding Feature Photos:

• Shoot from a unique vantage point- This one is the most doable to me because it's where I need the most improvement and I'll force myself to do it. I have a hard time getting interesting shots so I think this would help the most.
• Examine extremes- I have a problem with this one as well. My photographs are usually taken from boring vantage points. I think it'd help to examine the extremes and explore new things.

Outline:

     I plan on attacking the challenge of shooting from a unique vantage point. I plan on doing so by exploring new angles and taking lots of photos. I feel like the more photos I take from different angles, the more I'll be able to learn. It's all about experimenting to find what does and doesn't work. Another thing that'll help would be looking at other photographers pictures to see what worked for them and what didn't.  

Topic Two

Jesse Skoubo

The above photo was shot by Jesse Skoubo for The Gazette Times of Corvallis. It captures 4-year old Cardy, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi being brought in by his owner Andrew Moursund for the Blessing of the Animals at the Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan. I picked this one because I like how it's a portrait but it was caught at a good angle. I love corgis so this photo sucked me in and with the way it was taken, you know it's going to be about something interesting. The techniques he used includes shooting from a side angle and the feature of the photo is off center but you can easily tell what the focus is. He didn't let the subject look at the camera but caught a ton of personality in the photo.

Questions:

1.) How did discover you liked photography and how did you get into it?

2.) How hard is it to get into what you do? Was it easy or hard for you?

http://www.gazettetimes.com/blessing--js-jpg/image_b37f808c-4d2d-11e4-96e7-033dd16bb53d.html 

Talking Water Gardens

Week 2

      Talking Water Gardens is a man made natural solution to water treatment of the water of the Albany-Millersburg area. Talking Water was once the Simpson Company Timber Mill but closed in 1989. These engineered wetlands receive cleaned water from the treatment plant. Water cannot go directly from the treatment plant to the Willamette because the used water is too warm. In order to cool it down and further purify it, it travels through three sets of wetlands, each with three ponds each. The ponds range in one to five feet deep with natural vegetation to help purify and cool the water before being put back in the Willamette.   

 This is one of the first ponds that the water travels through on its journey. The water treatment facility can be seen in the background.

This weeping wall is actually a part of the old foundation of the loading dock.

This small snail feeds off of the algae in the duckweed.