Asheville Art Museum
My last few weeks at the art museum were a blur of interviews, editing, and planning as I worked on finishing a video focused on the education program. Creating this video was something I was both excited and nervous about. I had never worked alone on something of this scale, and definitely felt the pressure to make it the best it could be. Dealing with sound issues, shaky videos, bad exposure, and slide placement was part of my daily routine. Having to work in a visual medium other than photography was something I had planned on completing this year, so finishing with the video was the most rewarding feeling. Here is a copy of the final product!
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project
Finishing up at ASAP was a very bittersweet moment for me. I had so throughly enjoyed coming in every day and working with the people in the office, but I was ready to take all that I had learned and apply it in my life. Instead of creating a final video like I had hoped, I set out working on a photo gallery for their website of all of my favorite photos from the summer. The gallery will forever be on ASAP's website, which allows me to leave a mark on their organization.
Photo Gallery
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Everything you need to know about Press Releases
One of the most beneficial things I have learned at my time at ASAP is the basics of how to write a press release. I thought it would be helpful for me to write a quick how-to in order for me to retain the information.
1. Keep It Brief: The point of a press release is to quickly some up any important news about the organization. This means delete all of the frilly wording, and just get to the bare bones of the information. The cutest can come out in the title of the article, if need be.
2. Write What You Want In The Paper: Anything you write is what the newspaper will print. Most journalists don't have the time or the interest in writing an in-depth story, or researching more than what you provide to them. This makes it extremely important to put anything and everything you would want them to know.
3. Talk About Your Organization: Don't forget to always add in a few sentences about the organization that you are represented. This will save the journalistic some writing, and give your organization a shout out. This means also including a link to your website at the end, as well as a contact to your PR or Communications representative.
4. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due: If you mention or quote any other organization or group, make sure to put a link to their website, and credit them within your release. This will give your organization more traffic, and create positive relationships with other companies.
1. Keep It Brief: The point of a press release is to quickly some up any important news about the organization. This means delete all of the frilly wording, and just get to the bare bones of the information. The cutest can come out in the title of the article, if need be.
2. Write What You Want In The Paper: Anything you write is what the newspaper will print. Most journalists don't have the time or the interest in writing an in-depth story, or researching more than what you provide to them. This makes it extremely important to put anything and everything you would want them to know.
3. Talk About Your Organization: Don't forget to always add in a few sentences about the organization that you are represented. This will save the journalistic some writing, and give your organization a shout out. This means also including a link to your website at the end, as well as a contact to your PR or Communications representative.
4. Give Credit Where Credit Is Due: If you mention or quote any other organization or group, make sure to put a link to their website, and credit them within your release. This will give your organization more traffic, and create positive relationships with other companies.
The difference between photography and video
So my newest endeavor at the Asheville Art Museum has been creating a video focusing on the education programs that they offer. This project has got me thinking about how vastly different video is from photography. Here are some things I've discovered thus far in my project.
1. It's a lot easier to "mess up" video than it is photography. When you take a photo you can almost always manipulate a photograph you take it. You can change the lighting, the cropping, or the contrast to make it seem more appealing to the viewer. However, with my subpar knowledge of video editing, it is much harder to do once you have already shot the footage. With this crutch, it requires much more focus and attention to detail when actually recording the video.
2. Considering most people don't like to be photographed, even more people don't like to be recorded. I think this goes along with the inability to show a persons "good side" when shooting video. Since it is live, even one weird movement is captured forever. This makes people even less willing to be recorded.
3. Bad sound can be the death of a video. That is one lovely thing about working in photography compared to video, you never have to worry about whether the microphone picked up that hilarious quote by the 5 year old who was critiquing Andy Warhol's art. A photograph speaks for itself, and gives the viewer the ability to make up their own dialog. Video, on the other hand, relies on the sound to make the story. Where the editing lacks, the sound makes up for it. This is a definite struggle I've had these past few weeks.
Overall, I have loved the learning process of making a promotional video. It is much different than anything I have done thus far, and I will carry the knowledge with me for the rest of my life.
1. It's a lot easier to "mess up" video than it is photography. When you take a photo you can almost always manipulate a photograph you take it. You can change the lighting, the cropping, or the contrast to make it seem more appealing to the viewer. However, with my subpar knowledge of video editing, it is much harder to do once you have already shot the footage. With this crutch, it requires much more focus and attention to detail when actually recording the video.
2. Considering most people don't like to be photographed, even more people don't like to be recorded. I think this goes along with the inability to show a persons "good side" when shooting video. Since it is live, even one weird movement is captured forever. This makes people even less willing to be recorded.
3. Bad sound can be the death of a video. That is one lovely thing about working in photography compared to video, you never have to worry about whether the microphone picked up that hilarious quote by the 5 year old who was critiquing Andy Warhol's art. A photograph speaks for itself, and gives the viewer the ability to make up their own dialog. Video, on the other hand, relies on the sound to make the story. Where the editing lacks, the sound makes up for it. This is a definite struggle I've had these past few weeks.
Overall, I have loved the learning process of making a promotional video. It is much different than anything I have done thus far, and I will carry the knowledge with me for the rest of my life.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Everything They Don't Tell You About Photography
In current times, pretty much everyone has a digital camera, and many of those people have a fancy DSLR versions. With so many professional cameras floating around, the idea of what makes a photographer is becoming increasingly blurred. Having spent so much time reading and studying about what makes a photographer, and working in the field in both of my internships, I have decided to make a list of everything they do and don't tell you about photography based upon my own experiences this summer.
The Do's:
-Understand what aperture, exposure, and shutter speed mean and be able to defend your understanding in any situation. There is nothing worse than being in a situation where your photographic knowledge is challenged. Not to mention, understanding these tools will help you to take a better photograph in any situation.
- According to Victor Burgin, a photographer is someone who can "manipulate the physical means of production of photography". This means more than just knowing how to press a button, but also understanding the meaning behind lighting, editing, background choices. During my time at ASAP I have learned something I never imagined I would need to know- how to take a good photo of a vegetable. This takes a distinct understanding of how the lighting, angle, and even cropping choices because, despite what you might think, those few blueberries that have effortlessly fallen out of the basket can be the defining factor between an okay and a beautiful photograph.
The Don'ts:
- Don't assume that just because a child is cute candidly, they will be cute in a photograph. Since birth we are instinctively taught to smile whenever a camera is pointed at our faces. This means dropping everything, including that extremely cute inquisitive gaze as the Cy Twombly painting, and giving you a cute, but cheesy smile. Since photojournalism is about capturing a moment, or a story, a child smiling next to a painting isn't necessarily believable. But don't worry, I've come up with a perfect solution to this problem- pretend to take the photo (or actually take it), and then continue to wait for the moment to happen again. Usually after about 1 click of the camera, the child gets bored and continues with what they are doing.
- Don't forget to ask permission! Having spent the majority of my photography career within the confines of Hanover college, the idea of a release form was foreign and mysterious to me. So when both the Asheville Art Museum and ASAP handing me a stack of forms and told me not to take photos of anyone without getting one of them signed, I was nervous to say the least. It wasn't as bad at the art museum because I could catch people as they were walking in, but ASAP was a different story. Since the majority of my photos are taken at market, I have to stop people during their shopping experience and ask them if they would agree to sign a paper for me. I will admit, the first couple of times I simply avoided taking images of people because I didn't want the awkward interaction, but after asking the first family to sign, I realized it wasn't as bad as I was making it. Now I have perfected the art of tasteful interruption if I do say so myself. This experience has taught me that it ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry, and a lawsuit is never worth one awkward conversation.
There you have it. Remember these few rules and you will be a confident and skilled photographer in no time!
The Do's:
-Understand what aperture, exposure, and shutter speed mean and be able to defend your understanding in any situation. There is nothing worse than being in a situation where your photographic knowledge is challenged. Not to mention, understanding these tools will help you to take a better photograph in any situation.
- According to Victor Burgin, a photographer is someone who can "manipulate the physical means of production of photography". This means more than just knowing how to press a button, but also understanding the meaning behind lighting, editing, background choices. During my time at ASAP I have learned something I never imagined I would need to know- how to take a good photo of a vegetable. This takes a distinct understanding of how the lighting, angle, and even cropping choices because, despite what you might think, those few blueberries that have effortlessly fallen out of the basket can be the defining factor between an okay and a beautiful photograph.
The Don'ts:
- Don't assume that just because a child is cute candidly, they will be cute in a photograph. Since birth we are instinctively taught to smile whenever a camera is pointed at our faces. This means dropping everything, including that extremely cute inquisitive gaze as the Cy Twombly painting, and giving you a cute, but cheesy smile. Since photojournalism is about capturing a moment, or a story, a child smiling next to a painting isn't necessarily believable. But don't worry, I've come up with a perfect solution to this problem- pretend to take the photo (or actually take it), and then continue to wait for the moment to happen again. Usually after about 1 click of the camera, the child gets bored and continues with what they are doing.
- Don't forget to ask permission! Having spent the majority of my photography career within the confines of Hanover college, the idea of a release form was foreign and mysterious to me. So when both the Asheville Art Museum and ASAP handing me a stack of forms and told me not to take photos of anyone without getting one of them signed, I was nervous to say the least. It wasn't as bad at the art museum because I could catch people as they were walking in, but ASAP was a different story. Since the majority of my photos are taken at market, I have to stop people during their shopping experience and ask them if they would agree to sign a paper for me. I will admit, the first couple of times I simply avoided taking images of people because I didn't want the awkward interaction, but after asking the first family to sign, I realized it wasn't as bad as I was making it. Now I have perfected the art of tasteful interruption if I do say so myself. This experience has taught me that it ALWAYS better to be safe than sorry, and a lawsuit is never worth one awkward conversation.
There you have it. Remember these few rules and you will be a confident and skilled photographer in no time!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Check out some of my work!
Sorry for the lack of posts. Last week was vacation week. Here is a quick run through of some of the stuff I have been doing. At both of my internships they have asked me to start writing blogs for them! This has been a new and exciting experience because it requires me to meld together my photography work and my own thoughts. Here is the link to the blog that I wrote for the art museum:
Asheville Art Museum Link
ASAP has asked me to write a blog about a trip I went on with them to a local farm. It was such an awesome experience. I have also put a link to the weekly blog that posts my photos along with the writing. They have asked me to experiment with writing some of these but I haven't done that yet.
Growing Minds Blog Post
From Here Blog
Asheville Art Museum Link
ASAP has asked me to write a blog about a trip I went on with them to a local farm. It was such an awesome experience. I have also put a link to the weekly blog that posts my photos along with the writing. They have asked me to experiment with writing some of these but I haven't done that yet.
Growing Minds Blog Post
From Here Blog
Friday, June 21, 2013
The Beginning
The last few weeks have been a blur of introductions, questions, figuring out how I fit in, and crafting my internships to get the best experience I can. I have spent my time archiving, editing, and uploading photos. It’s interesting to be in a career-focused environment where I can really get a taste of what it means to be a “photojournalist”. In the past, I had always thought of a photojournalist as someone who attends special events and walks around asking people to “smile” or “pose for the camera”. I never looked at photojournalism from an artistic standpoint. This investigation is going to be the center point for how I craft my internship this summer. I am going to use my experiences to come up with a better definition for photojournalism.
In the text, Visual Culture by Jessica Evans and Stuart Hall, photojournalism is defined as having the ability to present an image as “factual evidence of an actual state of affairs” (44). I think this is a pretty easy to agree with definition because most of us have looked at a newspaper or magazine and seen the cover photo that practically sums up the entire story below. The image is supposed to grab out attention, make us want to read more and discover more. As Evans and Stuart explain “all communication takes place on the basis of signs (44). The signs are the things that draw us in. We relate to something within the image, and want to further investigate.
However, I think there is something more to photojournalism then simply capturing the reality of a situation. In my internship with the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP for short), I spend a vast amount of time out in the field, or tailgate markets, speaking to customers, farmers and other interns. The majority of what I take photos of is based upon those stories that I am told. For example, at one market I began speaking to two older women who had a gorgeous display of recycled dishes that they had made into lawn ornaments. I asked them how long they had been making them (about a year), how they were inspired (a link sent to them by one of their daughters), and how they create these sculptures (with plenty of disagreement). Had I not stopped and talked to these women I more than likely would have thought the sculptures were kinda gaudy and not very artistic... that would have been my “reality”. So I think that when the text says that photojournalism is capturing reality, or “truth” they are overlooking how many different definitions of truth there can be, and how these definitions change as we get to know the subject.
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