Introduction to Photojournalism

ASSIGNMENT: Nouns and Verbs

Mark E. Johnson — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:17:46 +0000

Here’s what you need to do for Wednesday’s class: Practice. Shoot. A lot. Then shoot more.

Find four nouns and shoot each of them in a couple of ways – at 28 mm and 75 mm. Shallow depth of field and stopped down. Play around, try different angles. Experiment.

Then, find four verbs – action things. Do these second as moving subjects are much harder than stationary ones.

Look for decent light. Stay away from shooting indoors or at night as you’ll run into low-shutter speed problems. (I know, the weather isn’t looking grand for the next two days, but this is doable.)

Mostly, get acquainted with your new best friend – that camera will be at your side for the next three months, you have to learn to get along well with it.

Questions? Send them in via whatever method you prefer.

If they relate to the camera, I’ve posted a PDF of the camera manual for you to download and read. (I wouldn’t bother to print it …) Has a lot of info on how the camera works if you want a refresher on it.

Outside Learning

Mark E. Johnson — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:32:43 +0000

Jan. 24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Resume Critique Day (1 point)

Jan. 24, 5:30 p.m.

Visiting Artist/Scholar Lecture: Liz Cohen

Liz Cohen received her MFA degree in Photography from the California College of the Arts. She holds a BFA in Studio Art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and a BA in Philosophy from Tufts University, both in Boston, Massachusetts. Cohen is a photographer and performance artist, whose multi-media work is exhibited both nationally and internationally. She is best known for her recent subversive project, “Bodywork,” in which she transformed an East German 1987 Trabant automobile into a 1973 Chevrolet El Camino. She has won numerous awards and grants including: a Studio Residency from The MacDowell Colony in 2001; a Studio Fellowship in 2002 from the Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany; a Creative Capital Foundation Project Grant in 2005; an Artist’s Project Grant from the Arizona Commission for the Arts in 2007; and a 2008 Traveling Scholars’ Award from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. (2 points)

Jan. 25, 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.
UGA Spring Career Fair (2 points)

Jan. 26, 3:30 p.m.

State of the University Address (2 points)

Jan. 26, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Seminar: Georgia Oceans and Health Initiative and Climate and Society Initiative (2 points)

Jan. 27, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m.
Lunch and Learn at GMOA: American Art and the Great Depression
Paul Manoguerra, chief curator and curator of American art, leads a discussion on ways in which the museum’s resources can be used in classes and research. This session will focus on American art and the Great Depression in special exhibitions and the collection of the Georgia Museum of Art. (2 points)

For the Outside Learning portion of your grade, you’ll need to attain ten points throughout the term. You can select events from those I post (or submit your own 72 hours in advance for approval) and you will need to send in a 200-300 word summation of the event within 24 hours. Your summation should be a synopsis of what your learned along with how you could apply the information to a photo assignment or photojournalism career.

Outside Learning: Resumes, Career Fair Prep, Waterborne Diseases

Mark E. Johnson — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:39:47 +0000

Jan. 17, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Resume Critique Day (1 point)

Jan. 17, 5:30 p.m.
Global Diseases: Voices from the Vanguard Lecture Series (2 points)

Robert Tauxe, Deputy Director, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will speak about his work in the prevention of waterborne diseases such as cholera. A reception will follow in Demosthenian Hall.

Jan. 18, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Resume Critique Day (1 point)

Jan. 18, 6:00 p.m. Resume Writing Workshop (2 points)

Jan. 19, 6:00 p.m.
Workshop: How to Prepare for a Career Fair (2 points)

ASSIGNMENT: Read, Think

Mark E. Johnson — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:06:18 +0000

For next Wednesday, Jan. 18, please read the introduction, forward and part one of the McNally book. That will start laying the groundwork of your technology knowledge. Some of it will make sense, some of it may seem confusing at first but we’ll get through all of it.

For this Wednesday, Jan. 11, please come in prepared to ask one question about photojournalism. Anything at all – technical, ethical, compositional, historical. What are you curious about? What questions did Monday’s class raise for you?

ASSIGNMENT: Portfolio

Mark E. Johnson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:30:00 +0000

You have enough time to watch one episode of Storage Wars, with the commercials, before you miss your deadline.

ASSIGNMENT:Portfolio

Mark E. Johnson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

One hour left … if you’re not here, I am very, very worried.

Unless you’re done, then, well … congratulations.

ASSIGNMENT: Portfolio

Mark E. Johnson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

As of this posting, you have two hour left until deadline.

If you’re done, you could go outside as it looks like a nice day … well, from the online reports it looks like it’s nice out. Otherwise, you could watch Blowup – an incredibly weird 1960s movie that many photographers say is a must-watch if you’re in the industry.

I think it is overrated, but it is the movie that convinced me I am a modernist and not a postmodernist. Also, that as much as I like some of the things that came out of the 1960s (the Ford Mustang, the Leica M4, the Apollo program), I’m pretty happy I didn’t come of age then. Just too unstructured for me.

ASSIGNMENT: Portfolio

Mark E. Johnson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Four hours. If you’re done, here are a few things you could do in four hours:

Take a leisurely stroll from Grady to Whitehall Forest and back
Drive to Statesboro and have lunch
Watch The Public Eye (99 minutes), Salvador (122 minutes), Dying to Tell The Story (95 minutes) and Under Fire (128 minutes)
Sit at the front of the lab and watch your classmates panic

Posting Slideshows Online

Mark E. Johnson — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:18:44 +0000

Have gotten several questions about this, so I’ll answer it here …

If you want to post your slideshow online, there are two routes you can go.

To post it as a slideshow, using HTML and the Flash file it generates, you need to upload the entire “publish_to_web” folder onto a web hosting server. (You have access to a web server here at the university.) Once you’ve done that, you can embed the file into a web page.

But all of that involved a not insignificant amount of geekiness. The less-technical way to do this is to take that same “publish_to_web” folder and compress it (or zip it, same effect, different terminology) then upload it into the Soundslides video converter. When it’s done, you’ll get an email and be able to download a video version of your project which you can then upload to YouTube, Vimeo or Blip.

The video files will be much bigger than the HTML bundle, but easier to share if you don’t have a web site already running.

Hope that helps.

ASSIGNMENT: Final Portfolio

Mark E. Johnson — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:59:46 +0000

Your final portfolio is due, on the server, by 1 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14. The server will be shut down at precisely 1 – the time will be displayed on the projection screen starting around 12 noon and will be announced throughout the day.

Your portfolio is to contain 10 images you shot this semester. They need to have full Associated Press style captions on them, including your credit and contact information along with the subject’s contact info. You can use the original names from when you shot the photos, they do not need to be renamed.

Those 10 images, along with the final version of your audio slide show, need to be placed in a folder named “lastname_portfolio” and dropped on the server. Even if you didn’t change your slideshow you need to put it in that folder.

For your slideshow, remember you’re submitting the renamed “publish_to_web” folder which should contain nine files, including an index.html file. Make sure it is all there and that it plays. (You can double-click on the index.html file and it will play in your web browser.)

Your 10 images should demonstrate a variety of subjects (I recommend no more than three images from any one subject), a variety of styles (long, medium and close-up), good moments, good light, good compositions and technical excellence (sharp, well exposed, well controlled and in the proper file format – jpgs). Captions count – proof read them and find a friend to proof read them, as well.

I am more than happy to take a look at what you’re considering, but in the last four hours on Wednesday I will only deal with technical problems in the lab.

Don’t wait until Wednesday morning, either. There are two sections of classes who need to produce their portfolios. Do not take a chance, do not wait. The Miller Learning Center has a media lab if you want to work on your photos there in the evenings. Audacity and Soundslides are available online for Mac and Windows but make sure your final show does not have the demo warnings on it. It is your responsibility to make sure it works correctly.

Your camera kit is due when you submit your portfolio (so no later than Wednesday, December 14 at 1 p.m.). If you fail to return your complete kit, there is a $50 per day fine. The kit should have the camera, lens, lens hood, lens cap, battery, battery charger, bag and card reader.

Questions? Ask, here, by email or in person.