POYi Reaction: Picture Story 2

The last week of POYi focused on multimedia and editing. I attended the Issue Reporting Multimedia category and was yet again impressed with many entries. Some entries were still images with audio, while others included video and music. Since this is a photography competition, I loved the judges’ focus on photography rather than video. One entry was about a job fair and done completely through video and audio. The economy was a common thread throughout the entries, but this story provided a completely different view. It used double frames to transition between the first character and second- something the judges commended. However, during discussions, the judges nixed the job fair piece saying the photography element was not strong.

Another economy piece thoroughly confused me. Opening with harsh music and for sale signs, it showed the transition between a once successful neighborhood and the present harsh times. The judges loved the music and photography. My confusion mostly stemmed from the music and the actual story being told. While this entry deserves to be commended, I did not see how the music did anything but dramatize the situation. I don’t consider myself an old school, by-the-book journalist, but believe if you do an audio piece with natural sound, putting unrelated music is a little jarring. The judges however, loved the music and kept coming back to the piece. I was shocked to see it voted out after the positive remarks.

The entry that won ("A Boy's Struggles") was the only story the judges watched all the way through in the first web-casted round. It brought tears to my eyes and is probably the single best audio with still piece I have ever seen. The story was about a boy who had been sexually abused by a tutor. What made this piece so amazing was the photography. The photographer completely avoided the faces of the mother and son. Showing the emotion of the situation as well as the character of the people without their faces is nothing short of artful. The comfort the subjects with the photographer were evident in the stunning audio produced in the piece. The entry was a hands-down winner, but at one point, the judges brought up the reasons why. Not only was the relevance of the issue apparent, but they story exhibited a deep understanding of the difficult topic. The limitation of identity perhaps caused the subject to open up more. Overall, the delicacy of the situation was handled perfectly.

Lastly, I want to mention second place. While an amazing piece, I have several personal connections that moved me. First, I frequently drive through and have several friends who live in Wentzville, Missouri. Seeing homelessness in such an area that resembles my town is striking. These are average, middle class families who have hit hard times and suffered the worst consequences. Second, the story showed the struggle of one husband finding a job to support his family. He attempted several fast food restaurants and only found success with McDonald’s. The fast food company is constantly ridiculed for its hiring standards as well as its effect on our nation’s obesity epidemic. In times like this, people need to appreciate the good that one of the world’s most successful companies does for the average person. The subject could have snubbed his nose at the job, considering ‘flipping burgers’ beneath them as most people do. They paycheck as well as the added help many owner/operators give to their employees will hopefully allow this family to get back on their feet. Throughout the recession, McDonald’s has not cut back on charity donations and has kept the same hiring standards. I know I’ve strayed from the POYi reaction, but this makes me extremely proud to be associated with an organization that does so much good with so little recognition.

POYi Reaction: Picture Story

The Pictures of the Year International is hosted at the University of Missouri and the most prestigious photojournalism competition in the world. I had the honor of working in the competition and also watched several of the categories. I was astounded at the amazing photography and broad topics shown in each category. For my Picture Story class, we were asked to write a reaction to a picture story category. I chose the Issue Reporting Picture Story by a Freelance/Agency category.

There were around 380 entries in this category and were defined as: A story or essay that explores an important social, economic, or political issue; twelve photographs maximum per story according to the POYi web site. While going through the entries, the skill of the photography was evident. However, more often than not, I did not understand what the stories were about. In the first round, there are no captions or text to explain the stories, so the pictures relied heavily on visual story-telling. I could not tell whether the story was about a person, place or idea. I also rarely saw the standard formula of scene setter, portrait, mid-range, transition, environmental portrait, closer, etc.

However, a few definitely stood out. The babies from nuclear mutations in Kazakhstan touched me as well as a simple story about two elderly people taking care of each other. However, the story that I understood and really just GOT was “Love Me.” The story ended up winning the category. I would describe it as more of a photo essay on the globalization of beauty and the high standards that come with society’s standards. I don’t know whether this story moved me because I am female and face the battle of being thin and attractive or because it was just that good. But by the third picture, I understood every concept of the story- and the global impact it had. The winner photographed 17 countries in 5 continents with subjects ranging from beauty queens to Iranian women to musclemen.

I was also impressed with the judges’ ability to sift through the graphic images to find good stories. I think one of the faults with our profession is the confusion between graphic and dramatic issues and good photojournalism. Is it good because the victim is deformed? Or because the photographer portrayed them well? The dramatic stories still need to be told with skill, but a lighter story can be just as good with excellent photography. That being said, I thought the dramatic stories that were selected for awards reiterated the point. The poverty in Moldova and drug struggles in Tijuana illustrated the struggles without going overboard on graphics to make up for poor photography.

Anyway, I’ll get off my soap box. Because I worked the voting box, I found certain images to be automatic ‘outs’ for the judges. Many of these images were pictures of pictures, unfocused images and very wide-open space images. When I am shooting my 30-day project, I will remember these auto-outs and hopefully not include them in my story. Watching this judging was extremely inspiring.

Picture Story - One Day Photo Story

For this assignment, we had to photograph a story- in one day. I chose the Albanian family who runs the restaurant Felini in downtown Columbia. Let me know what you think.

Alex Baumhardt serves Saganaki to a couple eating dinner at Felini in downtown Columbia. Felini is a Greek and Italian cuisine restaurant run by the Canhasi family. Saganaki, or ‘flaming cheese’ is one of the many traditional Greek dishes they offer. After the cheese is breaded and fried, it is doused with a mixture of Everclear and Brandy, set on fire for presentation, and finished with a yell of: “Opa!”

Leonora Canhasi prepares Spanakopata, a spinach-filled pastry in the kitchen of Felini. Leonora is one in the family of twelve Albanian refugees who escaped Kosovo in 1999. During the Kosovo War, NATO bombed their city and the family was trapped in their home for 19 days. Then, while they were eating lunch, cries came that the town next to them had been completely destroyed. The family fled with only small possessions in their hands. They traveled to the US, and were matched with a sponsor in Mexico, Missouri. One of the few possessions from Kosovo is a wedding portrait of Leonora and her sister, dressed in gold-threaded dresses. After fleeing, they were left with almost nothing.

Ilir Canhasi pours broth over lamb shanks. The shanks cook for one hour and then slow marinade cook for three. According to Ilir, “the kitchen is the heart of the restaurant. It sets the beat because you have to time the food perfectly.” Ilir and his family owned a restaurant in Kosovo named Felini after the Italian director of “La Dolce Vita.”

Grape leaves surround beef and rice as Leonora compiles the Greek Combo Special. Coming to the United States was starting over for the Canhasis. They got jobs in a factory in Mexico, Missouri working 84 hours a week. “We all worked and saved to rent an apartment and buy one Dodge Spirit, dreaming of rebuilding Felini,” said Ilir. After four years of hardship, the family saved enough to buy the restaurant without loans. Ilir, Leonora and her husband Bekim are the primary cooks at Felini, with cousins and nephews filling in as servers. Ilir has taught his two children to cook traditional Albanian and Greek dishes as well as speak Albanian. “They will grow up American, but it is important for them to know about our language and our old home.”

Ten years have gone by in America, with six of them wrapped in the dream of Felini. Some of the family still lives and works in Mexico, searching for satisfaction after the destruction of their home and former life. Felini, like many other businesses, has had to adjust their hours to comply with the economic recession. At the end of the day, Ilir counts the day’s wages, only totaling $300.

Picture Story Reading 5

Radio: Glass and Abel

This was my first collegiate reading in the form of comic book. Seriously, I felt like I was reading ‘Sally Forth.’ I loved it. The reading focused on collecting and editing good audio for a radio story, but was applicable to any audio interview. Glass and Abel said, ‘a story can be told as a sequence of actions,’ and that a character was needed to relate to people and tie the story together.

I agreed with their pre-interviewing tactics: to go in with a general plan with key plot questions and then obtaining details whenever possible. One thing I need to improve upon is asking the subject to create a visual picture: where they were standing, what they were doing before ‘it’ happened, etc.

Lastly, I had never heard of logging and audio interview. I thought editing was listening in Audacity and cutting out the parts that didn’t make sense/weren’t relevant and then ordering it so it told a story. The idea of a log simplifies the process and creates a story automatically. Thank you, comic audio lesson.

Sound in the Story

Not quite as entertaining, but still useful. The reading was a very strict, to-the-point commentary about what to do and not do in an interview. Necessary, but redundant of things we have covered in other classes. Still, the refresher was nice. The components a good audio can piece include: interview, ambience, natural sound, voice-over and supplemental music. I’ve never questioned ambient sound as being inauthentic. The thought that some audio shows may incorporate sounds not from the story is shocking.

Picture Story Reading 4

This week’s reading from Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird focused on character, plot and dialogue. While discussing character, Lamott requires answers to important character questions: why should we care about them? And what makes us want to know about them?

Especially in photojournalism, we strive to describe people without literal descriptions. Lamott gives the example of how teaching her son peace chants tells more about Lamott’s political beliefs than a more straightforward “these are my beliefs” description.

Also with characters, Lamott highlights on one of my weaknesses: not forcing your characters to be who you want them to be. One can’t choose what the characters do or how they act- they must be allowed to act on their own with you recording it.

Lastly, relating to plot, Lamott discusses a formula Alice Adams created for stories. The formula is ABDCE, standing for action, background, development, climax and ending. The similarities to the photo story formula (for lack of a better word) are obvious. A lede photo, detail scene setter, an interaction shot, a transition for development and lastly a closing. Both models are excellent starts to photo stories.

Picture Story Reading 3

The readings for this assignment were both a history lesson in photojournalism. Langton began by giving a brief history of the camera and it’s awkward start with slow shutter speeds and portraits. As technology advanced, the camera became smaller and more versatile. I found it unbelievable that photographers had to bring their darkrooms around with them. Life and Look emerged as the industry’s leading photographic outlets and soon they featured a different medium to tell a story.

Chapnik traces the modern picture story back to a German publication and two photographers who discovered a relationship could exist between two images. His chapter on great photographic essays illustrates examples several photographers and their adventures in photo essays. Chapnik closes his reading with requirements (if you will) for a great photo essay: time, cooperation, an abandon of preconceptions, detail and most of all, passion.

The message I took from these readings was simple: do what has not been done before. We see many photo stories on drug abuse, but Bill Eppridge was the first to do it, and do it well. Gene Smith developed the modern photo essay himself, leading to thousands of stories. Obtaining the access these photographers had with no precursor is just downright amazing.

Picture Story Reading 2

Lamott: School Lunches and Polaroids:

Lamott ties something as simple as school lunches into writing. Everyone had school lunches and using it as a writing start is an intelligent way to communicate. She writes with such common analogies, but really delves into the deeper meaning when relating them to writing. In writing these things, she finds truth. When first experimenting with photography, I would take the same picture over and over again. The things in the frame would be the same, but I would try it with different angles and distances.

Lamott describes writing a story like the slow forming of a Polaroid. I hope this is what my 30-day story will turn out to be. I see it forming, but then other components surface and the story may change, or become truer.

Hurn and Jay: Selecting a Subject

First of all, I loved their definition of the destination of photography: "to reveal what something or somebody looked like, under a particular set of conditions at a particular moment in time, and to transmit the result to others." Free from passion, but correct.

They pose questions that help to find a subject- something I definitely think will be useful in my quest for stories. Narrowing stories and relating them to something else, such as a moral has always been a struggle of mine. Hurn and Jay point out the struggle is universal. I don’t know if I agree with their claim that it’s necessary to incorporate photography into everything done every second of the day. Sometimes I enjoy not thinking about it, and I do not believe one has to be thinking of stimulating visuals all the time to be good.

Cabo San Lucas

My parents and I kicked off the new year on the warm, sunny beaches of Mexico's Cabo San Lucas. Sure to be one of our last vacations as a family, we spend the entire week lounging, eating and taking advantage of 2 for 1 happy hour.

The view from our condo

Our resort from the sea

We went whale watching one night and it was amazing. We saw 5 whales, and some of the other boats were tiny- I thought they were going to get knocked over.

Sea lions?

Moby Dick vs tourists

This is the famous arch that is Cabo's landmark. Nice, but no gateway to the west.

View from the sky pool, complete with aqua bar... legit

The return of the gnome... and time to go home.

Photographic Essay and Picture Story

Yes, I'm once again using this blog for a class. This is my last one, my capstone for MU people. Photographic Essay and Picture Story is a class on telling a story with a group of pictures; the final project being an in-depth 30-day story resulting in a picture story. I'll be posting assignments, reading responses and updates on my story progress.

Here is reading assignment numero uno!

“One of the gifts of being a writer is that it gives you an excuse to do things, to go places and explore.” Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott, xii.

I’ll start the response to this reading assignment with the above quote. While the same theory applies to photojournalism, I had never realized the truth in this career choice. People who report have a strong desire to experience, and then tell. I thought I wanted to travel through society and cultures because of photojournalism. The reality of the situation is that I am a photojournalist because I want to travel and explore.

Although this book is about writing rather than pictures, many things can be transferred. Lamott advises to write about everything. Start with your past, your memories, write about what happened to you on the playground while reading the Babysitters Club. The same can apply when learning to make pictures. Photograph your family, go to anything and everything and shoot a variety of sports, people and nature.

I think I’ll discover when starting a good photo story is that it doesn’t always turn out how it starts. Lamott says to start with a small piece and combine more small pieces to become a whole, rather than trying to photograph or write an entire story thinking of the entire story. She does an amazing job relating every day occurrences to writing and life: like Heidegger, she sees the bigger picture. When her throat muscles were cramping and closing due to the absence of her tonsils, the analogy of our psychic muscles cramping around our insecurities and pain was exceptional.

Lastly, Lamott engrained this into my skull: your work will not be perfect the first time. Most likely, the second time will still be flawed. But maybe, by the third or fourth time, satisfaction will settle.

Langton Reading: In Langton’s introduction, he describes newsworthiness and objectivity as it relates to photojournalism.

He points out sometimes costs effect the time and energy spent on a subject, rather than it’s actual newsworthiness. An example was a photographer who wanted to stay in Haiti to cover the peoples’ turmoil. He was told to stay if he could fund himself. Later however, Haiti’s government became international news with its corruption. What made it news one day and not the next?

Langton made me realize news photographs are more memorable and have a higher sense of purpose then other photographs. They affect the way people are educated and perceive the world. One of the duties photographers have is to show people the way they truly are.

Although I am spending the semester as a photo editor, one thing Langton said made me think about why I like shooting more than editing. The editor does not always know the story. Their perceptions and what they want the story to be can be different from the shots from the photographer. It is at this point, the photographer needs to clearly see what is newsworthy.

2009 in Review

Thought I'd do a little 2009 recap to help me figure out 2010.

I left for London Jan 9, 2009 and still haven't recovered. If 2010 brings a return trip or move back to capitol of Brits, I wouldn't be disappointed. Traveling around Europe also dominated the first half of the year and was the greatest experience of my life thus far.

I had my first serious internship at MSN UK. If I find work in 2010 as satisfying as the colored butterfly, I'll be astonished and beyond happy.

I spent the summer in Columbia, MO working as a staff photographer at the Columbia Missourian completed the first semester of my senior year in the fall.

One of the best classes I've taken, Electronic PhotoJournalism, required me to create a portfolio web site. I considered myself software retardant, but with enormous help, www.flaggphotography.com is now a reality.

In attempting to hold back my hostilities about graduating, I have begun the job search. Enough said.

2010 started off on the beaches of Cabo with my family (pictures coming soon). The week was a wonderful reprieve to the constant gnawing of absent life plans.

This semester I'm taking my Capstone as well as returning to theMissourian as a photo editor. While I have no idea where life will take me after May, I'm going to enjoy the last few pages of my MU Tiger chapter.

Flagg out.