Wednesday 28 March Investigative reporting project

Investigative Reporting Project.
In groups of two or three (maximum), (you may also work independently...talk to me)your team will choose an investigative topic of national or local interest to report on. Each group member will equally contribute articles from a different angle or issue that is related to the overall topic.
Your group will then organize their articles into a minimum two / three page spread complete with headlines, photos, graphs, and statistics or information boxes. (The page number reflects the number of people in your group.) Lastly, the groups will complete a six to seven minute Prezi presentation that documents their findings and share it with the class. 
Summary / Checklist:
1.  Prezi Presentation: Only one prezi account is needed per group, although each person will work on the final product. This should consist of primarily images and selected, minimal words / quotes from your report. As in a good Power Point presentation, you are the speaker and the technology supports you. (Group Grade- if you are not available on the day of the presentation, but your contributed material is, you will recive a 70 for this part) These will take place the Wednesday after the break on April 18.

2. Printed Material: your group will hand in the your news that includes a minimum of one article for each member of the group,(make sure your name is identified after the article's headline)  an equal number of photos and one item from a statistical chart or graph. (group grade based upon effective use of publisher or comparable MAC program.) This will be collected at the beginning of class on Wednesday April 17.  NO LATE MATERIAL WILL BE ACCEPTED.

3. Printed Material: separately hand in your personal article that you contributed to the paper. (individual grade based upon grammar, punctuation, style and content) Due Tuesday April 3. If you have not sent it in, consider that you are now working independently. That means you are responsible for an individual prezi, and your partner (s) must adapt as well. Communicate with your partner(s). Length of each article: minimum 250 words. Make sure you acknowledge your sources and include quotes.

4.Grading each other: In order to promote work equitablity, each member of the group will grade the other (s). This will go in the 40% category. I will distribute the rubic.
FOR Wednesday: PLEASE POST YOUR GROUP AND TOPIC CHOICE (no duplicates within a class) Below are some ideas. Talk to me if you have something else in mind. Possible investigative reporting topics Surveillance issues: 1.airports, 2. traffic, 3. schools, 4. national borders, 5. satellite technology 6. Homeland Security 7. Head coverings for women 8. Interrogation techniques (www.us-government-torture.com) 9. Disaster Funds- think of natural disasters. 10. Bullying 11. Gang stalking /covert harassment 12. Space weapons ((microwave, electromagnetic, radio frequency, acoustic, infrasound, laser) 13. Condom distribution in schools 14. Experimentation on human subjects using various electronic devices and weaponry 15. feral animals in Monroe County 16. HIV and Monroe County 17. Hospital care – there are numerous angles here. 18. Poverty pimps: Nonprofit organizations seem happy and good from the outside, but from the inside, they can prove devious. 19. Jail occupancy 20. racial achievement gap 21. violent crime in Monroe County 22. Paying for an election 23. clinical drug trials 24. juvenile justice in Monroe County 24. local terrorism preparedness 25. prostitution in Monroe County 25. Food safety 26. Global Warming 27. College athletes and academics 28. nuclear energy 29. Fraking 30. coal as energy 31. alternative fuels 32. cost of flying 33. medical research 34. obesity 35 international sex trafficking 36 race and the media 37 charter schools 38. car safety


Thursday and Friday- March 29 and 30 and Monday and Tuesday April 16 and 17.  This is the time to do your individual research and take your notes, including source material and any quotes you may want to include. Plan so that you can send along your well-written article by Tuesday April 3. Remember that if it's not in, you are considered to be working independently and are responsible for an individual newsletter and prezi. 
 Tuesday Wednesday Thursday April 3, 4 and 5 Send along your work to a team member, who should put the newsletter together. Another member should start assembling the Prezi.
Monday and Tuesday April 16 and 17 ...last days to get everything together.
Wednesday April 18...every group or individual will turn in their completed newletters. Prezi's will begin.

Friday March 23 your photo presentations

Any "What We Eat" photo assignments that have not been received are zeros at this point....if you have any questions, check yesterday's blog.  Thank you to everyone who sent in their work.

Moving on...Today, Monday and Tuesday you will share your photo projects. While you will not be asked to analyze each one, be prepared to to talk about the ones I ask you to.  Make sure you have a theme,  and can discuss whether it is an establishing shot, medium shot or close up, what type and where is the lighting coming from, how you followed - or did not- the rules of perpective, any framing techniques and  how you created motion and drama. Bad shots are fine, but you should be able to articulate why.

Thursday March 22 Where We Eat photo assignment

In class project: due by midnight today (Thursday)
Please remember to bring your photo projects to class tomorrow. They should be on a flash drive.
Please read the material below and look at the pictures that follow.
Read the directions for the assignment carefully. Send along your responses.


Breaking Bread Everywhere, Plentifully or Pitifully
Imagine gathering all the food you plan to eat today. Now take a picture of it.
In an unusual project, Peter Menzel and Faith D’Alusio, a photographer and writer, traveled the world collecting photos and stories about what people eat in a day. They documented the meager meals of a Masai goat herder during a drought, the fast-food diet of an American long-haul trucker and a veritable feast of lamb kebabs and other foods set out by an Iranian bread baker.
The photos, first compiled in the book “What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets,” have been selected for an unusual exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. The result is an anthropological exploration of the culture of eating that is by turns mouthwatering, repulsive and surprising.
A mountain farmer in Ecuador offers tantalizing cheese empanadas along with roasted potatoes, barley soup and plantains. Meanwhile, a 21-year-old Mall of America worker in Minnesota is photographed with chicken fries from Burger King, tacos from Taco Bell and large cups of Dr Pepper and Mountain Dew.
Flanked by a herd of sheep, a fit-looking Spanish shepherd poses with his dog near a table filled with cans of beer, which he drinks with breakfast and dinner, as well as lamb, cured pork belly, fish and fruit. Several bottles of water and Gatorade dominate the photograph of a 20-year-old American soldier headed to Iraq.
“It isn’t so much to point out problems as it is to open eyes,” Ms. D’Alusio said. “We’ve been focused on food for a while because everybody has to eat. It’s a common denominator.”
David Rabkin, director of current science and technology at the Museum of Science, said the photo exhibit had been a hit with visitors and would continue at least through early next year.
“Food is a hot topic — people are interested in it and its many dimensions, from its health impact, to the experience of great food, to the bigger picture of our global food system and issues of social justice,” Mr. Rabkin said in an e-mail. “Food is personal. It’s a great topic for our museum because it’s so compelling to so many of our visitors and so rich in terms of the educational directions in which we can go with them.”
Each photograph is accompanied by a calorie count of the food displayed, but the authors warn that it’s not necessarily representative of the person’s average daily consumption. Still, the pictures do give a glimpse into how both hunger and excess coexist on the planet. The listed calories range from 800 to 12,300, beginning with a gaunt Kenyan herder and ending with an overweight British woman who claims to regularly binge on junk food.
Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, who wrote the book’s foreword, said the photographs were only a snapshot of how individuals from different cultures choose to eat. As a result, she notes, the reader can’t draw broad conclusions about the diet of the individual or culture pictured, but the photographs are still revealing.
“In some places the food looks extremely familiar, and other places it doesn’t,” Dr. Nestle said. “Clearly, everybody does not eat like us. There’s a college student in China eating Kentucky Fried Chicken, and there she is looking quite proud about it. It does make you worry about the influx of American fast food into these cultures, yet there seems to be much holding on to the traditional foods.”
Mr. Menzel and Ms. D’Alusio had documented food habits in two previous books. “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats” is made up of photographs of the weekly food purchases of families around the world. “Man Eating Bugs” documents entomophagy, the eating of insects, still common in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Another project, “Material World,” has photographs of families with all of their belongings, highlighting their most precious possession. “We present information to people rather than drawing conclusions,” Mr. Menzel said. “We’re trying to educate readers by show and tell.”

Your class assignment:

Objective: to understand what ordinary details of our daily lives say about who we are, where we’re from and what we care about?

On a word document list 10 things you remember eating yesterday. 

Next, compare your list with a partner or two and discuss these questions. 

1) What do you think these lists say about who you are, where you live and what you care about? 2) If, one hundred years from now, a historian or anthropologist was to come upon your lists, what might he or she conclude about you, your life and where you’re from? What questions might he or she have?

Now write out a personal response to the following. These should be sent along.

1. What photographs interested or surprised you most? Why? 
2.  What questions did those photos raise for you?
3. What can these photos tell you about the lives of the people pictured?
4.  What do you think they can’t tell you?
5. What does the photographer for the food series, Peter Menzel, mean when he says, “We present information to people rather than drawing conclusions … we’re trying to educate readers by show and tell”? How does this apply to these  photos? 

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By TARA PARKER-POPE, Editor

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March 19 and 20 photo analysis assignment

 

Monday and Tuesday March photo analysis 

Please read the following short essay. 

a Great Shot by Andrew Hudson

Photography is the perfect companion to travel. It encourages us - as travelers - to discover an area; it provides tangible memories of the trip; and it is an enjoyable way to express ourselves in art.
A camera is really an excuse to delve deeper into a place than we otherwise would. Looking for a good shot forces us to seek out the unique features and scenic beauty of a location, to explore further, and to interact with our surroundings. When you press the shutter release, you're making a personal connection to the place and it's people. You are there. Photographs preserve the memories of our trip. We can show others the exciting places we've been, the wonderful scenery, and the great people we met. Our minds are triggered by images and reviewing our photographs helps everyone on the trip relive its adventures and misadventures. Taking pictures is also a very accessible artform. With a little thought and effort you can create captivating images of your own creation and interpretation.
The Secret of Photography
Fortunately, taking good photographs has little to do with owning expensive equipment and knowing technical data. The secret is in seeing. Ask yourself: What do I look at, and how do I see it? A good photograph has qualities that display the skill, art, interests, and personality of the photographer. What Makes A Good Photograph? A photograph is a message. It conveys a statement ("Here we are in ..."), an impression ("This is what ... looks like"), or an emotion. You are an author trying to convey this message in a clear, concise, and effective way. But how?
Like any message, you first need a subject. This may be your traveling companions, a building, a natural vista, or some abstract form. The subject is the central point of interest and is usually placed in the foreground of the shot (towards the viewer). Now we compose the message by including a second element, a context, which is often the background. The context gives the subject relevance, presence, location, or other interest. It is the combination of the two elements - subject and context, foreground and background - that tells the message.
Just as important as knowing what to include, is knowing what to exclude. Anything that isn't part of the subject or its context is only a distraction, cluttering up the image and diluting the message. So eliminate extraneous surroundings - usually by moving closer to the subject - and make a clear, tidy shot. A painter creates art by addition - adding more paint - whereas a photographer creates art by subtraction - removing unnecessary elements.
The recipe for a good photograph is:
"A foreground, a background, and nothing else."
What Makes A Great Photograph?
A great photograph is piece of art. It captures the spirit of a subject and evokes emotion. Bob Krist calls it "The Spirit of Place." You are an artist that can use subtle tricks to appeal to your viewer's senses. Let's see how.
A picture is a playground, with places for our eyes to wander and investigate, plus spaces for them to rest and relax. When we first see something, we are defensive. Our eyes instinctually find light, bright areas, and look for people, particularly their eyes and mouth. Do we know the people in the picture? What are they feeling, and how does this relate to us? Are they drawing attention to something? If so, do we recognize it (a building, a landmark) and what does it look like? What is this picture about? What is the main subject or objective? How big is the subject? We determine scale by comparing elements to something of known size, such as a person, animal, or car. Once we've checked for people, we turn our attention to more abstract features.
We first notice the subject's color or tone. Firey red, calming blue, natural green, foreboding black. Then we see shape. Soft curves, hard edges, sweeping lines. How the light strikes the subject gives subtle hints as to its three-dimensional form. You, as a photographer, can manipulate this by searching for shades and shadows, shifting intensities of tone and hues. How is the eye drawn into the picture?
Form leads us to texture, how the subject might feel to the touch. Is it soft, is it smooth, hard, or rough? Does it have character and warmth? The way the elements are juxtaposed and affected by the same light, makes us consider their qualities and interrelation. Balance draws our eye from one element to another, investigating their unity, contrast, and detail, each item adding pleasure to the next. What is the relevance of everything?
The overall composition, the proportions of layout, denotes importance of the elements. As the artist, you can decide which features appeals to you, and how best to emphasize them.
The recipe for a great photograph is: "Consider how the parts interrelate with the whole".

ASSIGNMENT: DUE TUESDAY March 20 by midnight:

You will find 15 images below where you will demonstrate your understanding of photo composition and lighting techniques. In a word document, write a short paragraph for each of the 15 images. Begin with a description of what you see in terms of people, place, time of day. Be very descriptive. Taking your time with this will help you visualize your own photos. Next analyze the photo as to why it works. Note depth of field (what is in focus), use of a fast or slow shutter, fill in flash, shadows, focal points and how movement is captured on a flat plane. This is writing assignment, so take your time. Use any handouts I have given you. CHOOSE 10 of the photos only.

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Thursday 14 March photocomposition

Yesterday was the last opportunity to turn in your own ekphrastic photo response.
 This was the last grade for this marking period. The personal photo reponses, the ekphrastic writing assignments, are the best this year. They resonate authenticity and sincerity. As well, there is a sophistication of language coupled with a more mature syntactical style. These are a pleasure to read. Great work.

MOVING ON...today we are looking at photo composition with the objective of you creating your own photo narrative.
Below is a copy of the handouts. You will need this material for in class work on Monday and Tuesday

Rule of Thirds

You can use the rule of thirds as a guide in the off-center placement of your subjects. Here's how it works. 

Before you snap the picture, imagine your picture area divided into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The intersections of these imaginary lines suggest four options for placing the center of interest for good composition. The option you select depends upon the subject and how you would like that subject to be presented.






In this image the head of the subject was placed on one of the intersecting points – especially his eyes which are a natural point of focus for a portrait. His tie and flower also take up a secondary point of interest.

In this shot   the subject was placed along a whole line which means she is considerably off center and therefore creating an additional point of interest. Placing her right in the center of the frame could have resulted in an ‘awkward’ shot.




In a similar way a good technique for landscape shots is to position horizons along one of the horizontal lines.



We picked the upper-right position for this subject so that we could see the full shadow and most of the tracks that lead to the seagull.







You can also apply the rule of thirds guidelines to the placement of the horizon in your photos. Here the center position of the boat and horizon results in a static feeling.



Like this. We've moved the horizon line to the lower third. In general, place the horizon high or low in your scenics, but rarely in the middle.












How to Photograph AnythingBuildings
To minimize the angular distortions of looking upwards, always look for a high viewpoint. Ascend stairs, stand on top of another
 building or the crest of a hill. If you can't get high, stand far back.

Use the widest angle you have (24-30mm). Bright blue skies are to offset the gray of the building. A polarizer cuts down on window reflections. Try to include people for scale and human interest.

Look for interesting details, often around the doorway, columns or windows. Zoom in and isolate the detail. Here the diffused light of an overcast day works best.
Interiors
Stand well back or shoot from outside through a window. The low-light dictate a long exposure, so load up with fast film. Bring a tripod if they're allowed or, if not, find a support (a wall, your friends shoulder, or lean against a doorway). Use a cable release, or the self-timer to avoid moving the camera.

Remember to switch off the flash if it is not allowed. If it is, you can bring up dark areas by firing a hand-held flash into them while the shutter is open. Natural lighting casts shadows for a tranquil atmosphere. Expose for the highlights.

Landscapes
Always have something in the foreground. This gives depth and scale - using a person also adds human interest. Look for a high vantage point such as a hotel balcony, roof-top restaurant, or wall. Late afternoon is usually best. Use a polarizer to enhance the sky. Haze increases with distance and this aerial perspective gives a subtle impression of distance and depth. Ansel Adams declared landscape photography to be the supreme test of the photographer.
Water
With sprayed water, use side- or backlighting for a translucent look. This also works well with smoke, grass and leaves.

Experiment with a slow shutter speed, perhaps 1/30 to 1/4s so that the rushing water creates a soft, romantic blur. I like 1/8s. A tripod or other support is necessary. Be careful with a polarizer - it can enhance the colors but it also removes reflections that you may want.

Sunsets
The best times are when the sun is just about to touch the horizon, and the afterglow 10-30 minutes after the sun has set. Usually automatic metering works fine, but with high contrast, meter off the brightest part of the sky. Try adding a person in the foreground (they'll appear as a silhouette) for human interest, depth and character. Either include a reflection from the ocean, or eliminate the scenery and keep the horizon low in the frame. A zoom lens is useful and you'll need a tripod or wall for support as the shutter speed will be slow.
Dusk and Night Shots
Dusk shots are best about 15-30 minutes after sunset, when there is still some color in the sky. To add depth, shoot from one end of a bridge or find some other feature coming towards you. A tripod is a necessity. Auto exposure usually works fine but also try manual exposure using a cable release and the 'B' (bulb - open) setting. Take several shots with 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 seconds. Use an FL-D magenta filter to overcome the effect of tungsten lights on daylight film, and to add a pink to the sky.
In Bad Weather
Bad weather doesn't mean bad photographs, it just changes your options.

Overcast skies reduce contrast and are preferred for trees and foliage. Colors may appear cool and bluish so add an 81A, B, or C filter to warm up the image. If the sky is boring, disguise it with an overhanging tree, or exclude it completely by raising the horizon in your frame. When low clouds or rain reduce color saturation, try black and white film to emphasize the range of gray tones. You may need a faster film (ISO 200 or 400) since there's less light.

Storms and heavy rain add drama and power to an image. Dusk shots are improved with reflections of neon lights in puddles. Clouds create moving patterns of interesting highlights, particularly when a storm is clearing. Fog makes lakes, rivers and valleys look ethereal and primordial.

Rain or snow makes people, kids especially, wear colorful clothing. Cover your camera with a coat, umbrella, or even put it in a plastic bag. In snow, give a slight overexposure (slower shutter speed or '+1') to keep the whites free from appearing dirty gray.

How to Photograph PeopleThere are several factors to consider when photographing people:
Location
The first thing to do is find your location. Choose a spot with a simple, medium-toned background. Tree foliage, grass or the ocean works well. For darker skin, look for a similarly dark background to keep the highlight (and thus the camera's exposure) on the face.

Minimize patterns, shapes and colors. Keep that background simple, or include a famous landmark.
Lighting
Get the sun behind you and to one side. If it's bright, put people in the shade (harsh, direct sunlight washes out the face). If it's dark in the shade, use the fill-flash feature to brighten up the face.

The best time is the late afternoon as it gives a nice, warm, golden glow. At other times, with an SLR camera, you can simulate this glow with an 81B or C filter.

A popular technique is to put your subject in the shade, then use fill-flash to lighten up the face. Bring a small reflector or white card reflect sunlight into the harsh shadow areas.

Occasionally, having the sun shine from behind the subject (backlighting) looks good as it creates a halo through the hair, showing form and drawing the face out of the background.

If you're shooting indoors with an SLR, 'bounce' the flash off a wall or ceiling for more natural lighting. A separate hand-held flash is best and can be positioned far enough away from the lens to avoid red eye.

Lens
If you have an SLR, use a 135mm or similar lens for the most pleasing perspective. Use the widest aperture (lowest f-number) to blur the background and highlight the face for a movie-like look. If the background is important, use a small aperture (high f-number) to get everything in focus.
Positioning
Get close. Don't include their full body but zoom straight in to the face. For close ups, crop out the top of the head and overfill the frame. Being at eye level usually works best, so for children, kneel down.
Proportion
Generally try to keep the eyes, not necessarily the head, in the center of the frame. If the person is looking slightly to one side, add extra space to that side.

If your subject is to one side and there's a lot of contrast in the shot, you might need to control the exposure. To do this, zoom or close in on your subject (perhaps a person's face) then press the exposure lock button. Keep this button pressed down while you recompose and take your shot.


Relax Your Subject
Get your subject relaxed and happy. For friends or family, remind them of a silly event. With children, give them something to play with. For local people, ask them about the location, their job or skill, or complement their clothes. People hate waiting while you adjust your camera so always plan the shot and adjust your camera first, before asking people to pose.
Fun Shots
To add fun and action to a shot, hold the camera at an angle - 30 degrees with the right side up works well. It looks as though the photographer was caught off guard, emphasizing danger and action, and is great for parties! Stage a joke shot by pretending to interact with a statue. Or use a wide angle lens to distort the face.
Action
If your subject is moving (on a cable car or bicycle), deliberately blur the background to emphasize speed, excitement and urgency. Track the subject with your camera and, if you have an SLR, use a medium to slow shutter speed (1/60s). This will blur the background and, optionally, also your subject. Using the flash (particularly a 'rear-curtain sync' feature if your camera has one) helps freeze the subject in a moving background.

ASSESSMENT PROJECT: Due Thursday 22 March. SUGGESTION- Take your photos this weekend. You should put them into a power point to share--THUMB DRIVE NEEDED!
You'll have Wednesday in class to finish editing.
You are creating your own photojournalism project. There is no assigned topic, but your images should have a thematic or narrative unity. As well, they should demonstrate you understand the fundamentals of composition. You should have 12 photos. Keep in mind that with the computer, you have some flexibility to improve your images. However, limit this to cropping or simple light adjustments. Be prepared to explain your photos: what were trying to accomplish or even what did not succeed.
NOTE: although you are only showing the class 12 pictures, you may need to take significantly more.
Basic requirements: Your pictures should include at least two varying levels of establishig shots, two medium and two varying levels of close-ups.   What is meant by a thematic or narrative unity is that your photos should tell a story or reflect an idea, much like a thesis statement does in your writing. ON THURSDAY MARCH 22, everyone will turn in an outline that will be preceeded by a minimim 20 word reflective statement explaining the purpose of the photos, that is what was your objective in taking these particular pictures.  Discuss any obstacles or frustrations your encountered in terms of achieving this objective. These could be limitations posed by your equipment, weather, light or subject. Following the above, please simply list your 12 photos, labelling where and when each was taken and the type of shot.

Monday March 12 ekphrastic response

Marchal Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase and X.J. Kennedy's poem, which follows, by the same title is to illustrate how ekphasis is used in poetry.

enjoy

Nude Descending a Staircase

Toe upon toe, a snowing flesh,
A gold of lemon, root and rind,
She sifts in sunlight down the stairs
With nothing on. Nor on her mind.

We spy beneath the banister
A constant thresh of thigh on thigh--
Her lips imprint the swinging air
That parts to let her parts go by.

One-woman waterall, she wears
Her slow descent like a long cape
And pausing, on the final stair
Collects her motions into shape.

As stated last week, ekphrasis, which was created by the ancient Greeks,  uses one art form to respond to another, so as to envision the thing described as if it were physically present. In some cases, the subject never really existed, making the ekphrastic description a demonstration of both the creative imagination and the skill of the writer.  Sunday night was the latest you could turn in your response to Murray's The Stranger in the Photo. It's on last Thursday's blog.   This was the exemplar for how you would write your own response to the photo you were asked to bring into class today. Check it out, so you know what is expected in the following assignment.

 YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Everyone needs a picture of him or herself that is at least five-years old. You were asked to bring it in today.
Using the essay by Donald Murray as a general model, look at your photo. Take time to study facial expression, the body postion and gestures. What is the context? Project yourself back to that moment. Where were in your life? What were your expectations- for the moment for the long run? Maybe your long run was only a month away. Compare this to where you are now. This is not a goal oriented essay, as in what would I like to be when I grow up. Ask yourself honestly, who you were then? To make it interesting, use vivid imagery and other figurative language devices such as metaphors or similes. Make the reader connect with this photo, much as Murray did. Careful with the tone. Murray offers no regrets, rather he creates a world into which the reader may step. This should be about 400 words.  Grading: photo / language conventions / sense

When you have finished, create a caption. Submit it by mail, inserting your photo at the top. THE COMPLETED ESSAY IS DUE AT THE END OF CLASS Wednesday (Last grade for this marking period)    Send it as an attachment.  Nothing will be accepted after 5 pm Wednesday.Suggestion: some folks could not scan their picture, so they took a picture of it with their phone and then sent it to themselves.