Daily Photo #12

Toby Harriman 

Toby Harriman is an aerial, fine art, travel and landscape photographer. He also works as a timelapser and content creator. Toby Harriman tries through his photographs to discover more about the surrounding world and document his adventures. His photos are really stunning even those black and white ones are also amazing and this is the reason behind making Toby Harriman’s work spread across the internet among all of those who like this kind of photographs especially his cityscape photographs.

Toby Harriman

Students do a daily "Bell Work" activity analyzing a significant or historical photo. They must make written comments about the composition, contrast, focus, balance, framing and statements each photo is making. This is our daily warm up exercise. This particular photo is meant to be inspiration for the, "My Rochester" photo essay project which includes cityscapes as one related assignment.

Daily Photo #11

John Paul Filo - 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Photography

John Filo's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Mary Ann Vecchio, a 14-year-old runaway kneeling over the body of Jeffrey Miller minutes after he was fatally shot by the Ohio National Guard

The Kent State shootings (also known as the May 4 massacre or the Kent State massacre)[3][4][5] occurred at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, in the United States and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. There were 28 soldiers who admitted to firing on top of the hill, 25 of these soldiers fired 55 rounds into the air and into the ground, two of the soldiers fired .45cal pistol shots, three into the crowd, and three into the air, one soldier fired birdshot into the air (James Russell was also hit with a shotgun's birdshot, some believe that some of the shot may have ricocheted off a tree and hit him).[6] The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis.[7][8]
Some of the students who were shot had been protesting the Cambodian Campaign, which President Richard Nixon announced during a television address on April 30. Other students who were shot had been walking nearby or observing the protest from a distance.[9][10]
There was a significant national response to the shootings: Hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools closed throughout the United States due to a student strike of 4 million students,[11] and the event further affected public opinion, at an already socially contentious time, over the role of the United States in the Vietnam War.[12]

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Students do a daily "Bell Work" activity analyzing a significant or historical photo. They must make written comments about the composition, contrast, focus, balance, framing and statements each photo is making. This is our daily warm up exercise.

"My Rochester" Fall/Winter Photo Essays & Portfolio

For all your major Fall/Winter photography assignments/projects, you will be creating a series of  photographic essay projects representing Rochester through your eyes. Over the course of several assignments you will photograph landscape photos, street photos, portrait photos and even journalistic photos to culminate in the creation of a Portfolio and Essay of your photographic work. You should photograph your neighborhood, family, sports team, favorite after school hangout, friends, neighbors, events etc., all with the purpose of developing your own creative eye for photography, light and composition. Take as many photos as you can! – the more options you have to choose from, the better! At the end of each project, you will post 10-12 photographs that you feel best show your vision of Rochester. Oh, and...along with that...a 250 word artist statement to your blog. Yay! :)

Today we will:

Introduce the new photojournalism Photo Essay project:  "My Rochester"

You will: Create a new Project Proposal blog post with the following:

A few sentences describing potential ideas and subject matter that you may want to photograph for landscape photos, street photos, portrait photos and even journalistic photos of Rochester for the My Rochester Photo Essay Series, as well as how and what you plan to photograph for these projects. You may post a few google photos of Rochester for your project proposal posts if needed.


I will:

Post a few sentences analyzing my current strengths and weakness regarding photography, and how I will use these to my advantage in my photo essay.

My Rochester: Landscapes

Project Requirements:

• 10-12 quality, edited (if necessary) Landscape photographs united by the theme “My Rochester”
• Photos must be in black & white
• Photos must fit all criteria of a good photograph discussed up this point (proper lighting; interesting angle; clear subject that is in focus; tells a story; background adds to, rather than detract from, the subject of the image)
• Photos should clearly label the vantage point used. (ie. worms eye, birds eye ect)
• 250 word artist statement in the same blog post as the final 10-12 edited photos

Any photos you took for previous assignments this year that you think may work well as part of your “My Rochester” photo essays. (You should plan to take new photos for the majority of your photo essay, but for now, it is ok to post 2-4 ones you may potentially use.)

Here are some examples of powerful photo essays:

• Halloween in Brooklyn
• A Tale of Two Flint, Michigans: The Most Violent City in America
• A Day in the Life of a Sengalese School Girl
• A Day in the Life of a Fashion Week Model

The Speech that Inspired the Project

Shortly after taking office in 2014, Mayor Lovely Warren referred to Rochester as “a tale of two cities.” Here is a brief excerpt from that speech (you can read the speech in its entirety here):

“In his State of the State address just a few short weeks ago, Governor Cuomo candidly and accurately described Upstate New York as being in a “cycle of decline” — and the evidence of this is clear to see in Rochester.  The Rochester of today is far different from the Rochester of just a generation ago. Rochester is a tale of two cities.  One city is vibrant, hopeful, wealthy, and highly livable. The other suffers from escalating poverty, dysfunction, unemployment that is higher today than it was during the Great Depression — and a deficient educational system.  This divide has both immediate human consequences and short and long-term economic consequences.

The Mayor’s challenge — our community’s shared challenge — is to bridge these divides so that all people feel there is hope for them and their children; and we all feel that we have an equal stake in the future.  A recent report by the Rochester Area Community Foundation outlined the harsh reality we face; and the findings are a call to action that cannot go unanswered.

Rochester is the:

• Fifth poorest city in the country among the top 75 largest metropolitan areas;
• Second poorest among comparably sized cities in those metro areas;
• Ranked third for highest concentration of extremely poor neighborhoods among cities in the top 100 metro areas;
• Poorest urban school district in the State.”

Artist Bio: Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams

As a class students watched and took notes on a documentary about the Iconic American photographer, Ansel Adams. This is the precursor to a series of projects related to Ansel Adams photography.

Ansel Adams, Photographer, Conservationist

“At one with the power of the American landscape, and renowned for the patient skill and timeless beauty of his work, photographer Ansel Adams has been a visionary in his efforts to preserve this country’s wild and scenic areas, both on film and on Earth. Drawn to the beauty of nature’s monuments, he is regarded by environmentalists as a monument himself, and by photographers as a national institution. It is through his foresight and fortitude that so much of America has been saved for future Americans.”

President James E. Carter

Presenting Ansel Adams with the

Presidential Medal of Freedom

Daily Photo #10

AP Photo / copyright-Alfred Eisenstaedt / Life Magazine

"The Kiss", On August 14, 1945, Alfred Eisenstaedt took one of the most iconic pictures of all time of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square, minutes after they heard of Japan’s surrender to the United States. Two weeks later LIFE magazine published that image. It became one of the most famous WWII photographs in history (and the most celebrated photograph ever published in the world’s dominant photo-journal), a cherished reminder of what it felt like for the war to finally be over. 

A sailor sweeps a nurse off her feet with a kiss in New York’s Times Square in this famous photograph taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt on the day Japan surrendered to end World War II.

Contact Sheet

George Mendonsa, now over 92 years old, still remembers kissing that nurse in Times Square. Born and raised on the water, Mendonsa grew up in a family of commercial fisherman in Newport, R.I., and decided to join the Navy once the Army started drafting men for the war...

Students do a daily "Bell Work" activity analyzing a significant or historical photo. They must make written comments about the composition, contrast, focus, balance, framing and statements each photo is making. This is our daily warm up exercise.

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Daily Photo #9

Josef Koudelka

Photographer, Josef Koudelka's early work significantly shaped his later photography, and its emphasis on social and cultural rituals as well as death. He soon moved on to a more personal, in depth photographic study of the Gypsies of Slovakia, and later Romania. This work was exhibited in Prague in 1967. Throughout his career, Koudelka has been praised for his ability to capture the presence of the human spirit amidst dark landscapes. Desolation, waste, departure, despair and alienation are common themes in his work. His characters sometimes seem to come out of fairytales. Still, some see hope within his work — the endurance of human endeavor, in spite of its fragility. His later work focuses on the landscape removed of human subjects. He is considered by some a master of street photography.

Students do a daily "Bell Work" activity analyzing a significant or historical photo. They must make written comments about the composition, contrast, focus, balance, framing and statements each photo is making. This is our daily warm up exercise.

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Assignment #5: Color

Essential question: How can I use the art elements of Color: Monochrome Color, Contrasting Color, Color Intensity, Neutral Colors to create interesting photographs with good contrast and composition?

You will take photos, trying to capture: Monochrome Color, Contrasting Color, Color Intensity, Neutral Colors in interesting ways. You must post your best photos to your blog AND write a reflection following the instructions on this blog post and you must have 1-3 photo examples in color of each category Monochrome Color, Contrasting Color, Color Intensity, Neutral Colors posted to your blog in order to receive full credit! Take your own pictures. NO GOOGLE PHOTOS!!!

Look for photo opportunities that already exist, but at the same time, be ready to stage photos if you get an idea that fits the assignment.

I will:

Take interesting photos of Monochrome Color, Contrasting Color, Color Intensity, Neutral Colors in color.

Post all of my photos to my Blog with the write-ups. 

I will: 

Create a new blog post with the following:

1-3 examples of each category with each photo labeled with the appropriate category: Monochrome Color, Contrasting Color, Color Intensity, Neutral Colors

I will:

Write at least a paragraph reflection on:

1) What are some ways your photography skills have improved over the past few assignments?

2) What are some things you struggle with in photo?

3)Which of the elements you photographed Monochrome Color, Contrasting Color, Color Intensity, Neutral Colors was the easiest for you? Why?

4) Which of the elements you photographed Monochrome Color, Contrasting Color, Color Intensity, Neutral Colors was the most difficult for you? Why?

5) Tell me what you feel you've learned from this particular project.

6) Is there a photograph or photographer we have looked at that inspires you?

Examples:

1) Monochrome Color

Photo that uses only one dominant color

  

• 2) Contrasting Colors

  

  Photo that uses opposite colors in contrast: red/green, blue/orange, purple/yellow etc

  
  

• 3) Colors of Similar Intensity
  
  
  

  

  Colors that appear as bright and vibrant as each other

• 4) One Color Against a Neutral Background

Neutral colored background with colored subject in foreground

Neutral colored background with colored subject in foreground

Daily Photo #8

Sam Shere : Hindenburg Disaster

In 1937, Sam Shere photographed the Hindenburg disaster while on assignment in New Jersey. The crash killed 36 people and ended the era of passenger-carrying airships, which were once hailed as the future of flight. "I had two shots in my (camera) but I didn't even have time to get it up to my eye," Shere later said, "I literally shot from the hip -- it was over so fast there was nothing else to do."

Students do a daily "Bell Work" activity analyzing a significant or historical photo. They must make written comments about the composition, contrast, focus, balance, framing and statements each photo is making. This is our daily warm up exercise.

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Assignment #4: Line, Space, Shape & Shadow

Assignment #4: Line, Space, Shape & Shadow

Michaël Luitaud

Essential question: How can I use the art elements of: Line, Space, Shape & Shadow to create interesting photographs with good contrast and composition?

You will take photos, trying to capture: Line, Space, Shape & Shadow in interesting ways. You must post your best photos to your blog AND write a reflection following the instructions on this blog post and you must have at least 3 photo examples in black and white of each category (Line, Space, Shape & Shadow) posted to your blog in order to receive full credit! 

NO GOOGLE PHOTOS!!!

Look for photo opportunities that already exist, but at the same time, be ready to stage photos if you get an idea that fits the assignment.

I will:

Take interesting photos of line, shape, and space in black and white.

Post all of my photos to my Blog with the write-ups. 

I will: 

Create a new blog post with the following:

3 examples of each category with each photo labeled with the appropriate category (line, shape, space, shadow)

I will:

Write at least a paragraph reflection on:

1) What are some ways your photography skills have improved over the past few assignments?

2) What are some things you struggle with in photo?

3)Which of the elements you photographed (line, shape, space, shadow) was the easiest for you? Why?

4) Which of the elements you photographed (line, shape, space, shadow) was the most difficult for you? Why?

5) Tell me what you feel you've learned from this particular project.

6) Is there a photograph or photographer we have looked at that inspires you?

Examples:

Line

   

Shape

  

Space

 

 

Shadow

Michaël Luitaud

Michaël Luitaud

Artist Bio : Sebastião Salgado

© Sebastião Salgado

Economics PhD Sebastião Salgado only took up photography in his 30's, but the discipline became an obsession. His years-long projects beautifully capture the human side of a global story that all too often involves death, destruction or decay. Here, he tells a deeply personal story of the craft that nearly killed him, and shows breathtaking images from his latest work, Genesis, which documents the world's forgotten people and places.

Students do a daily "Bell Work" activity analyzing a significant or historical photo. They must make written comments about the composition, contrast, focus, balance, framing and statements each photo or artist is making. This is our daily warm up exercise. We also watched a video on Ted Talks by this iconic modern photographer.

Interactive transcript





Sebastião Salgado
Photojournalist
Full bio