Thursday/ Friday May 9/10 The Power of Photjournalism

                                     

The Power of Photojournalism

ASSIGNMENT: due by midnight on Friday, May 10
Ear buds needed!

1. Begin by reading the short article by Andy Garcia: the 10 Key Traits of Winning Photojournalists

..2.. In order to talk about images we need a working vocabulary. The rule of thirds, phi grid and Fibonacci should terms with which you are comfortable. If you are not, please review them from the previous blog. Today there are five new terms that you will apply to images you will both analyze and create: patterns, symmetry, texture, depth of field and line. Within a photograph their usage often overlap. Be very familiar with these definitions and look carefully at the examples provided. (patterns, symmetry, texture, depth of field, lines); You will be practicing these on Friday in class. 

3. After the definitions / images, please watch the two videos that provide an excellent overview of photojournalism 

4. Answer the accompanying questions that pertain both to the videos and the article.

10 Key 

Traits of Winning 

Photojournalists

           by Alex Garcia

1. A lone wolf orientation.

I emphasize lone rather than wolf, although there is that. Lone wolves seem to drift away, not content with hanging out with the pack. They roam the landscape with a restless hunger looking for photos and stories they can dig their teeth into. They may roam countries or communities alone for stretches of time, away from all creature comforts, in the pursuit of the hunt.  If you see them on assignment, they may flash their teeth enough to throw off your ability to concentrate. Coming on the heels of a pleasant conversation, their aggression may make you take a few steps back and wonder what just happened. But it's nothing personal. 

2. Single, or have a flexible family life.

Most winning photojournalists are single, or have a flexible family life. It makes sense. If you're creating serious bodies of work on people or distant locales, you can't be in two places at the same time. Divorce is a common theme as well. As I've heard more than one photographer say, "photography is my mistress". 

3. An Immovable Faith in the Power of an Image. 

I'm not talking a mustard-seed faith. I'm talking the kind of faith that moves mountains -- or makes you able to ride a burro for seven days in the driving snow through dangerous rebel territory over mountains. All in the pursuit of an image that will make a photograph that tells the next greatest story ever told. There is another side of this passion, however, and that is the consequences of the image, are usually thought of only in positive terms. Of course, if you really second-guessed yourself because of the negative consequences of an image, you wouldn't undertake the major effort to make it.  

4. Fearless

You know the scene in Apocalypse Now, where Robert Duvall as Lt.Colonel Kilgore strolls through a battle zone and doesn't flinch through explosions as everyone else cowers? That kind of fearless. You can have faith in the power of an image, but if you aren't fearless, you'll make a hasty retreat and hope no one else gets it. The reason why some winning photojournalists' images are that much more fascinating is because they have that component of "What the heck were you doing there? Are you crazy?!" I really think there is a physiological difference at work here..

5.  Fast and Decisive

In this business, you hesitate and you're lost. Maybe because of their aggression, their fearlessness and their conviction, winning photojournalists understand this. Actually, understand is a terrible word. That involves cognition. They act on instinct and emotion. An opportunity comes? It's seized. A door opens? They run through it. A soldier turns his back? Gone. Their photos have an edge because they know how to anticipate where the action will be better than the next person. And they unapologetically pursue it, even if by doing so they might offend someone's sensibility or get themselves shot. 

6. Ability to Self-Edit

When it comes times to transmit their images, or edit contests, more often than not, winning photojournalists can edit their own work extremely well. Ruthless in a good way. Their images don't typically have an ambiguous quality to them. The images and stories flow because of their decisive shooting and editing. Whereas other photographers might fall in love with some of their own lesser images for personal reasons, or have a contest entry get derailed in their editing, they don't. Photos either work or they don't. And more often than not, they do.

7. Competitive, Very

This should go without saying. There is an addage that the way you are with yourself is the way you are with other people. Competitive people are competitive with themselves first, which is why even if no one is around, they will be pushing themselves as far as they can go. But it can turn off others around them.

8. Clever

In every aspect. Photojournalists get a bum rap of being "shutterheads" (i.e., - "how hard is it to push a button?").  But the top photojournalists are actually smart, canny and very clever. So much of getting a picture is getting to the right place at the right time. On the way there are a host of logistical, technical, bureaucratic and personal issues that will trip many people up along the way. In the business world, they call this 'barriers to entry'. And they are legion. The photojournalist who doesn't take no for an answer, who out-thinks the rest, or outlasts the rest, is usually the one who prevails.

9. Relentless

Day in, day out. Year in, year out. Their relentless passion and ambition precedes them. They can't get an assignment to go somewhere? They'll pay their way. Use vacation. Shoot weekends, nights, and mornings. If you think their life is tilted heavily towards their work, it is. But if you look at any of the great contributions made to any field of endeavor, you will find someone who doesn't punch the time clock at work. It's because they don't have a time clock!  All their moments are either working ones, or transitional moments before going back to work. 

10. Anointed

I say this because I can't find a better way to put it. Luck doesn't describe the good fortune that winning photojournalists perennially enjoy. For every Nobel Prize peace activist accepting an award on stage, there are 5000 more in the bush disposed of by authorities. Likewise, there are many amazingly talented photojournalists you've never heard of. They either lost their way before anyone heard of them, or their careers were brought down by family concerns, illness, finances, or politics. Winning photojournalists are incredibly gifted, and they have made sacrifices most of us will never make. That alone sets them apart. Whether it is on the shooting field or in their home life, their life choices are ones that many people can only wonder about, or be envious of. But their success is not just their own.They have been the beneficiary of circumstances that seem to go their way, and this leaves the rest of us in amazement.

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Patterns are basically just repeated shapes, objects or colors either ordered in precise formations or just random designs scattered across a scene. The important thing about patterns is that they create images that are very pleasing to the eye and add a new dimension to your photos.

SYMMETRY refers to a line that splits an object in half and, if both sides of the object are an exact mirror image of each other, then this object is said to be symmetrical. The line that splits a symmetrical object is called the line of symmetry.

Texture is one of the fundamental visual design elements of photography. Learn how to use texture effectively to convey emotion and meaning in your photographic composition.

Depth of field  depth of field (DoF) is the distance between the nearest and furthest elements in a scene that appear to be “acceptably sharp” in an image.

LINES A very powerful method of improving the composition of photos is the use of lines. ... Second, they lead the eye through the photograph. By affecting mood, lines add emotional content to images. By leading the viewer's eye, they keep the viewer's attention focused on the image.

Questions pertaining to the videos and article. These should be sent along by midnight on Friday, May 10.

1. List the qualities needed to be an effective photojournalist.

2. Give three reasons how photojournalism differs from other types of photography?

3. What is an advantage of a still photograph?

4. What are some of the issues explored in photojournalism?

5. In 5-7 well-written sentences, explain how  a photographer become part of the story?

VIDEO 1
power of photojournalism (8:16)
VIDEO 2
power of photojournalism (10:00)

Monday Tuesday Wednesday May 6/7/8 elements of composition

OF NOTE:

 

Asia Bibi -- the Pakistani Christian woman who was once on death row after a blasphemy conviction -- has relocated to Canada. Bibi was forced to leave Pakistan after repeated death threats from religious extremists. Back in 2010 she was convicted of defiling the name of the Prophet Mohammed during an argument with Muslim colleagues. The workers had refused to drink from a bucket of water Bibi had touched because she was not Muslim. At the time, Bibi said the case was a matter of women who didn't like her "taking revenge." Her conviction and death sentence were tossed out last year, but the constant stream of threats finally forced her out of the country.

Learning targets:

I can respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives; synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of an issue;

I can propel conversations by posing and responding to questions that probe reasoning and evidence.

I can integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media .

I can present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective.

I can analyze nuances in the meaning of words (images) with similar denotations. 

I can make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. 

I can adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks.

Essentials for taking a good photo

Assignment: 

1.Take your time and follow along with the readings,understanding  and reflecting upon the image samples for the rule of thirds, phi grid and Fibonacci spiral. (you are responsible for understanding these terms!)

2. At the conclusion of the reading, there is a short video that will support the reading. I suggest that your review the reading, after  having watched the video.

3. Application of what you have learned: there are ten images that follow. For each decide on the compositional technique that is used and support your reasoning with specifics from the image that clearly demonstrates you understand the how the photo was organized. 

DUE BY MIDNIGHT Wednesday.

SO you want to take a good photo!

1. Think about your shots

Whether that’s physically looking at a sweeping view in front of you or visualizing an image in your head, this is the point when you should start asking yourself questions.

What has drawn you to this image? Why do you want to capture it? And what is it that you hope to achieve?

Photography starts with composition. How you frame a scene is the basic building block of taking a good picture.

What Is the Phi Grid?

A number of photographers prefer using a grid based on Phi when composing their shots. Naturally, this technique is called the Phi Grid. It’s a variation on the Rule of Thirds, one of the basic principles of photography.

The Rule of Thirds divides a frame into three rows and three columns of equal size, resulting in 1:1:1 vertically and 1:1:1 horizontally. The Phi Grid divides the frame in a similar way, but makes the middle row and middle column smaller according to the golden ratio, resulting in 1:1.618:1 vertically and 1:1.618:1 horizontally.

Here’s a quick comparison:

The intersection of the grid lines is where the eye is naturally drawn to, so use those to align your image. 

The horizon is lined up with the top line of the Phi grid. When you line up the horizon with a rule of thirds grid, the separation is too…obvious. I think it would leave a bit too much of what isn’t the subject in the image. In this photo, the sky and clouds are the perfect compliment to what is conveyed in the photo: The church on the bottom right, and the  street on the left. But with any more sky than is already present in the photo, the viewer might think the sky is actually the subject.

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The Fibonacci Spiral or the Golden Ratio

 The golden ratio existed well before the modern camera was invented. It pops up in famous art pieces like Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper and Michelangelo’s work on the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel.camera was invented. It pops up in famous art pieces like Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper and Michelangelo’s work on the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel.

But it does not stem from painting techniques. The golden ration comes from math. Don’t let that scare you off though! Using the technique doesn’t require any numerical calculations.

The golden ratio, based on the spirals seen in nature from DNA to waves, is 1.618 to 1. With two pieces, if you make one 1.618 times the size of the other object, the pair of them will be pleasing to the eye.
Painters have a bit more freedom to use the idea with perfect precision, but the same concept can help a photographer create a composition as well. Even those among us who hate math!

The Golden Spiral

If you were to place rectangles at that ratio, increasing in size, across an image, you would end up with a curve resembling the shape of a nautilus shell.
Sometimes called the Fibonacci spiral (after the guy that discovered the pattern), the golden spiral looks something like this:

The Fibonacci Spiral

In geometry, the golden ratio can also be expressed as a particular type of rectangle. Suppose you take the x+y line above, and turn it a rectangle, where the width is x and the length is x+y.

If you divide the area of that rectangle into a series of squares, it forms a spiral of the Fibonacci sequence, as LiveScience demonstrates:

If you’ve read The Da Vinci Code, you know the Fibonacci sequence: you start with the number 1, add the previous whole number, and make an endless series of numbers with that pattern. So the series looks like this:

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89…

Fibonacci discovered that this “golden spiral” appears in several places throughout nature, from DNA molecules to flower petals, from hurricanes to the Milky Way. More importantly, the Fibonacci spiral is pleasing to the human eye.

Adrian Bejan, professor of mechanical engineering at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, says the golden ratio is aesthetically pleasing because of the evolution of human vision.

Long story short, our brain has to process everything our eyes see. The quicker it can process something, the more pleasing it is. Any image with the golden ratio is processed faster by the brain, so it sends a signal that such an image is aesthetically pleasing.

How to Use the Fibonacci Spiral

In terms of actual photography, you don’t need to worry about the technical explanation. Fibonacci Spirals are useful for nearly every kind of photography, but they’re especially good for landscapes and wide shots.

Here is a  foggy, late afternoon during fall and you want to capture the colors of the sunset that are filtering through the fog as well as the beautiful crimson color of the fall foliage. You want to incorporate one person who stands out walking along the path, the fall foliage in the foreground, and the tree line as the central point of focus in the frame. To do this  position these aspects in the center of your imagined rectangle, knowing that it contains several of the key focus points associated with the ratio, and incorporate the fog into the scene along the wide arc of the spiral.

As you can see, the spiral basically has a way of leading your eye naturally from the focal point outwards. 

Here's two other examples:

In terms of actual photography, you don’t need to worry about the technical explanation. Fibonacci Spirals are useful for nearly every kind of photography, but they’re especially good for landscapes and wide shots.

Here is a  foggy, late afternoon during fall and you want to capture the colors of the sunset that are filtering through the fog as well as the beautiful crimson color of the fall foliage. You want to incorporate one person who stands out walking along the path, the fall foliage in the foreground, and the tree line as the central point of focus in the frame. To do this  position these aspects in the center of your imagined rectangle, knowing that it contains several of the key focus points associated with the ratio, and incorporate the fog into the scene along the wide arc of the spiral.

As you can see, the spiral basically has a way of leading your eye naturally from the focal point outwards. 

Here's two other example:

Please watch this 4 minute video to review composition techniques; this should help solidify your understanding of the phi grid, rule of thirds and Fibonacci spiral.

Golden Rule and Fibronaci Spiral 4 minutes

The golden ratio or phi grid, golden spiral and the Rule of Thirds are all three separate composition techniques. The ‘right’ answer as to which one to use depends on the subject and the look you are going for

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