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.