Friday January 27th

Happy Friday!

I forgot to mention to you all yesterday, that a good friend of mine is selling his camera equipment for a great price! If you are planning on taking Commercial Photography next year, you MUST have your own camera. Everything is in great condition and is posted on my board at the front of the room. Let me know if you are interested. 

1) Please make sure you see the post below this for your yearbook assignment and get that planned out TODAY! 8 of you have cameras for the weekend so make sure you do this assignment in addition to your phobia one. 

2) Be sure to have your blogs updated on any missing assignments! Check the grade book or your neighbor if you are unsure. 

3) Now that we have taken some self portraits, lets take a look at the difference between a self portrait and a selfie. Is there a difference? Read the following articles and tell me what you think! I want AT LEAST 3 PARAGRAPHS! Title the new blog post "Self Portrait vs the Selfie"

What is a selfie?

What is a self portrait?

Is there a difference? If so, what?

What style do you prefer?

Is one more valuable/important than the other? Why?

http://www.howtotalkaboutarthistory.com/reader-questions/self-portraits-selfies/

http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/whats-the-difference-between-a-selfie-and-a-self-portrait/

In addition to this, I want you to post a selfie on the post (yes you may use your phone). Be creative, the sub will let you go out and shoot outside of the room or you can wait until after school if you are going for something in particular. 

Yearbook Assignment

In another couple of weeks or so we will begin working on the Yearbook unit in this class. The second part of the unit will require you to have a set of images that you take. I wanted to formally assign this early so you have plenty of time to check out a camera and get these images taken.

Here is the assignment:

You have been assigned to take all the photos for a yearbook spread that will appear in your school yearbook, The Lone Star. You get to choose the topic of your spread - it can be school related OR you can choose to do something student life related. I am granting you the freedom to choose your topic.

Your assignment is to either document an event from start to finish, to shoot enough images at some school-related event to fully cover one group/club/organization, OR you can choose to do something similar out in the world. For example, if you were at the Women's March last Saturday and document that event, or you could take pictures of an adventure you and your friends take to South Congress, or you could even take photos of your friends at the skate park or doing something similar out in the world.

You will need to have at least 15 photos and in some cases having 30-40 images will help you out. You should shoot photos both vertically and horizontally. You need to shoot in Manual and you need to work very hard to get your settings right so your images are exposed properly.

I would highly recommend that you DO NOT do a sporting event, or a group/club/organization here on campus that requires you to shoot in very low light settings because our equipment is not set up to do that yet (I promise we will do action/sports later). If you want to shoot action, make sure it is outside, during the day with plenty of light, then your camera can handle that.

These photos are all DUE by February 6. Cameras are available every single day, but the same requirements exist - you must return the camera the next day, unless you have it over the weekend, then you can have it multiple days. We have a late start on Feb. 2nd, where the sun will be out for a while in the morning and you don't have to be here till 10:15. So make sure you are coming by to get a camera.

If you have your own DSLR, you can do this anytime after today. You may not use photos taken before Jan. 16. Remember I can see the metadata, so I know when you took them.

If you want to talk to me about the assignment, and ideas you have, I am happy to talk. If you are unsure if your topic is acceptable, you should talk to me before you shoot.

Prompt Shoot #4

Some of you have done this shoot already, this is a reminder for those who are still missing it!


I am going to give you 7 prompts, you need to turn in 4, so pick your favorites and go for it - push yourselves. Make sure you look at the cropping requirements as some require vertical images!!

Here are the prompts:

Footprints
Yummy
Eight
Pause
Pose
Connected
The End

Here are the crop requirements for the 4 you must post on your blog:

One image must be vertical, cropped at 8 inches x 10 inches, resolution 300.

One image must be horizontal, cropped at 4 inches x 6 inches, resolution 72.

One image must be cropped at 5 inches x 7 inches OR 7 inches x 5 inches, resolution 180.

One image can be any size you like, resolution 240 (take advantage of this one to crop something fun, like a panoramic type look or even a super tall, skinny image)!!

One of the four images must be B&W.

Yearbook

Today you will be looking through a yearbook from another school. Our next big project will be learning how to create a "spread" for yearbook. I will also be talking about the courses beyond this class for those of you who are planning to stick with journalism next year as we ready for choice sheets.

When you get your book, please start from the beginning of the book are work your way page by page to the end.

As you are going, on your blog in a post called Yearbook Introduction, please list any elements you think that a good yearbook has in it. By this I mean, if I were to gather 25 yearbooks from around the country, what elements of the your book should I see in all 25 books. Here is one example: every yearbook should have the school name on the cover somewhere.

This doesn't have to be an exhaustive list, meaning I don't expect you to get all of them, someone else in class will come up with the ones you miss.

So how about this - find 25 things you think should be in every yearbook.

Then, answer the following questions:

1. What is the title of your book?
2. What school is it from?
3. What "thematic elements" do you see in your book? This means what elements are evident from beginning to end of the book
4. How many sections are in your book? This could be tough to figure out, but do your best
5. What is your favorite "spread"? A spread is 2 pages about the same topic
6. Is there an Index in your book?
7. Are there photos of groups of people, like clubs and organizations?
8. Is there a table of contents?
9. How many people go to the school whose book you have?
10. What state is your book from?

Next class we will go over the book in more detail and begin talking about how to create a spread.

CATEMA

For those students currently enrolled in Photojournalism,  I want you to know that you can earn college credit for taking your current class. If you take four consecutive years in this sequence you will also earn and endorsement in Career and Tech Education.

To "bank" your college credit here is some information on how and why it is possible.

"You are enrolled in a CTE course which articulates with Austin Community College. This means by completing the course, maintaining an 80 or above average and passing the ACC end of course exam you will receive college credit for free. To obtain this credit you would complete a course (any course, including an elective) at ACC. However, you can also take your transcript to any college/university and ask them to accept the credit and they will decide if that is possible. To enroll in the ACC articulation you need to sign up in a system called CATEMA. This is optional and not required to be in this course; however without enrolling in CATEMA you cannot receive the articulated credit. If you are not successful in the course there is no negative impact to your college transcript or financial aid options. We will complete CATEMA enrollment in class and all you need is your school ID# and school email address in addition to your name/class information. There is no fee and even if you don't think you'll attend ACC you should consider participating so that the credit is easily available to you. Any questions?"

This is the link to get to the sign-up system called CATEMA:

https://www.catema.com/acsys/login.php?sdb=capital

You can complete this task today and register for this class. I will approve you as soon as possible. You will need to search by class period (3rd or 6th). Enrollment will close next Friday, so please get this completed today if you want to "bank" your credit.

For more info click this power point and you will find helpful information on logging in:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4c0rrDiup76eHpfaDdwMXJOVVk/view?usp=sharing

You will need to scroll to SLIDE 16 for information about student log-ins.

The Program Preference is: Visual Communications

The rest is for me and what I have to do for you once you meet the requirements.

Mural Project

Okay,

Let's finish this project!!

Today you will get all the materials you need to finish your mural project. All photos have been printed, we will walk over and get butcher paper, and there is plenty of tape, scissors, glue, and markers for you to finish this off. On Friday there will be forms to finish and will be available on my desk. You have until Wednesday, Jan. 18 to finish all tasks listed below.

Create the Mural itself - you will get two pieces of large butcher paper - it will need to be taped together so you have enough room for all of your photos. Don't forget you need to have the name of your project and all of your team's names on the mural itself. This is will be graded 4 times in total.

If you haven't turned in your images or you cannot find them, you need to see me ASAP this morning to see what we can do to save you. There is NO WAY for you to pass this six weeks if you have not contributed to a mural project.

Complete a Self-Grade Form - this cannot be completed until your mural is complete and hanging in the hallway. Once you finish the complete project, you can ask me for a self-grade form. You can turn that in anytime before Friday. This is a minor grade.

Compete a Group-Grade Form - this cannot be completed until your mural is complete and hanging in the hallway. Once you finish the complete project, you can ask me for a group-grade form. You can turn that in anytime before Friday. This is a minor grade and will be factored as an average of what each teammate gives you for a grade.

Complete, AS A GROUP, the Mural Grade Rubric - this cannot be completed until your mural is complete and hanging in the hallway. Once you finish the complete project, you can ask me for a Mural Grade Rubric form. You can turn that in anytime before Friday. This Rubric will require you to decide how I will grade your project - the instructions are on the Photo Mural Culmination paper I gave you. This is a MAJOR grade and will be graded in this fashion: I will be able to give your overall Mural up to 50 points, your rubric will be up to an additional 50 points for a total out of 100.

Complete a Mural "Wonderings" form - Once there are sufficient projects hanging in the hallway you will be looking at a number of them and basically critiquing FOUR of them. The form is self explanatory, but you will be writing to another group about what you liked about their project AND some suggestions you might have to improve their work. Please be polite and professional when making suggestions. This isn't a place to say "your project sucks!!!" but instead offer constructive criticism and advice.

As a GROUP, turn in your Complete Project - this requires that you have completed three things: 1. a draft design of what you wanted your project to look like with boxes drawn indicating where photos will go, marks to indicate who will be taking what photos, and should include the name of your project with your teams names somewhere in the design. 2. everyone in your team's names on the outside of the manila folder. 3. the name of your team/project on the outside of the manila folder. 4. Place all of your documents in this folder as well, including your self/group grade form, your mural project rubric grade and your "Wonderings" form. Make sure your NAME is on everything you complete.

Phobia Project

Phobia - A phobia (from the Greek: meaning "fear" or "morbid fear") is, when used in the context of clinical psychology, a ape of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often recognized as irrational.

In the event the phobia cannot be avoid entirely the sufferer will endure the situation or object with marked distress and significant interference in social or occupational activities.

Research by completing the questions below: Answer the questions on your blog in a post titled "Phobia Project".

A. 1. What is a Phobia?

B. List and define 5 phobias from The Phobia List: http://phobialist.com

C. Brainstorm on your blog possible ideas for your Phobia photo.

Things to consider:

Figure(s) & Object(s) (which should reveal something of the phobia in the photo)
Format: horizontal vs Vertical
Subject Placement: Rule of Thirds
Background
Point of View
Lighting: create mood/feeling
Clothing: can suggest personal style/career profession
Subject: mannerism, reactions, expressions and body language

Plan three different shoots with three different phobias. What will you shoot, who will model, how will you show the phobia in the photo, where will you shoot these images? Please detail this out in a paragraph for each phobia (remember you will shoot and turn in three photos).

D. What photographic techniques can you use to help highlight your images? Come up with one idea for each of your three photos you will take.

Below you will find a couple of examples. Some of these are a bit....SQUEAMISH....so be ready.....

http://metro.co.uk/2016/01/20/got-a-phobia-then-stay-the-hell-away-from-this-story-5633919/

You will be assigned this shoot when Ms. Dobrzenski returns next week, after we complete the Mural Project.

Welcome Back!

Since its now 2017 I think its appropriate that we look back at the year 2016 and reflect upon the things that happened in that year. Title this blog post, "Welcome Back!"

First, lets look at some photos.

Go to the following websites and look at the photos there. On your blog post your THREE (3) favorites and tell me why it was your favorite photo of the year. I have included a few websites for you to look at, spend at least 20 minutes looking at these sites. You may have to wait for the images to load AND you may need to search out the images on Google as you probably can't download the image directly. You will also probably have a slideshow to look at - please make sure you are looking at more than the first photo. You should read the stories of those photos you find compelling if there is a link to do so.

http://time.com/top-100-photos-2016/?xid=newsletter-brief

http://www.nbcnews.com/slideshow/year-pictures-2016-n697021?cid=sm_fb

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/12/22/sunday-review/2016-year-in-pictures.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/02/world/gallery/year-in-pictures-2016/

http://www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/2016

Second, lets write about some things you found interesting this year. Below I have listed 5 prompts - on the same blog post, please find a photo (using Google, etc.) that goes with each prompt and then write a paragraph about each. Why did you chose that as your main choice, what things attracted you to that choice and why was it the best of 2016? To help you a little I have put a link below the prompt that may or may not help you. You are free to find your own sources.

1. What was the best song of 2016?

http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/2016-01-02

http://www.popvortex.com/music/charts/top-100-songs.php

2. What was the best movie of 2016?

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/?year=2016

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a47757/best-movies-to-watch-2016/

3. What was the most important news story of the year?

http://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/slideshows/top-news-stories-of-2016

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/2016s-top-10-news-stories-ranked-by-the-associated-press-2016-12-21

4. Who was the most important person of 2016 in your opinion?

http://time.com/4589502/person-of-the-year-2016-shortlist/

5. What was the biggest sports OR entertainment story OR sports/entertainment person of 2016 (you should google what is appropriate for your choice), I leave this one to you to find a photo for.

Finally, I want to know about YOUR holiday
 .
1. Tell me what is the one thing that happened on your holiday that you will remember? It can be a trip, a family visit, a present, something fun.

2. What are your resolutions for the 2017 year?

3. What are you looking forward to in 2017?

Next class we will be working on a quick blog assignment and then starting the mural project. We will spend the next 3-4 classes finishing the mural projects in teams.