John
M. Grzywacz-Gray
Photo Lab
Phone 805.378.1442
John's
office 805.378.1400 x1875
Fax:
805.378.1499
My web Site: http://www.oocities.org/grzz4856 click on
Links for useful class links
Department
email: mcphoto@moorpark.cc.ca.us
Department
web page: http://www.moorpark.cc.ca.us/~mcphoto/
Required
Web site visitations: http://www.digitaljournalist.org
Course Objectives
Demonstrate an ability to work on deadlines..
Demonstrate the ability to make publishable photographs for editorial purposes.
Analyze Current photographs being used in newspapers, magazines and electronic
media, for journalistic, ethical and technical objectives.
Demonstrate the ability to use electronic flash, digital cameras, scanners
and printers.
Demonstrate sound compositional understanding.
Demonstrate the ability to make photographs in the traditional categories,
News, General News and Documentary, Sports, Sports Feature, Feature and Illustration.
Describe the role of the Photo Editor.
Crop, size and write captions for photographs .
Demonstrate an understanding of Visual Variety.
Operate Computers and demonstrate the understanding of Photoshop in a publication’s
environment.
Comprehend the Ethics statement of the National Press Photographer’s
Association.
Explain libel, invasion of privacy, copyright and model releases.
Discuss career opportunities in the field of photojournalism.
You
are expected to have your camera with you at all times on or off campus. Remember that this is a 3-unit
class. 2 hours of lecture and 3 hours of lab. The laboratory hours are by
arrangement because the events you will photograph will occur during a wide
range of hours and you need to meet deadlines.
*It
is assumed that you know how to process film and make prints.
*Most
of the time we will not make prints.
There
will be occasions when you will want to make traditional silver prints. You
might want to make a silver print of outstanding images that you might use for
a portfolio.
*
What kind of camera? It can be a digital SLR with full controls.
35mm
camera - Camera should focus, I prefer you use a camera with manual override.
Lenses
- Whatever you
have is fine. We will address the issues of lenses during the course of the
Semester.
Flash -
If you donÕt have one don't worry about it ... I prefer you use it sparingly
anyway.
A Tripod
is desirable if you donÕt have one we can loan you one on an occasional basis.
Guidelines for Digital Work Flow This is a good starting place for Digital Work Flow.
Paper
...Ilford MultiGrade IV RC or
Kodak PolyContrast 8 x10 glossy
Basic
Films: Kodak Tri-X (ISO 400)
Ilford
Delta 400
Kodak
T-Max P3200 (ISO 3200 for low-light-only photography)
Ilford
Delta 3200 (also for low-light-only photography)
CDs for storage of digital files
Required
Textbook Photojournalism ... the Professionals Approach Latest
edition by Ken Kobre. The book can be purchased in
our bookstore and at most bookstores or on line. check www.textbooks.com
Recommended
Truth Needs No Ally, Inside Photojournalism
by Howard Chapnick ISBN 0-8262-0955-6
http://www.mindspring.com/~frankn/photo/pj.html
- This is the best site on the web for students of photography. Frank
has done a terrific job of collecting and organizing information for you.
National
Press Photographers Association - http://nppa.org/
If you
have ambitions to be a photojournalist I recommend that you join the NPPA as a
student member. You will get a monthly magazine ... News Photographer and an
occasional f-10 forum publication that covers events in the western region.
Visit their site often.
ACCESS
Information:
"If
you have a learning, attention, or physical disability that may require
classroom
or test accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible.
If you
have not already done so, please register with ACCESS. ACCESS is
just to
the right of the Campus Center Building or you can call them at
378-1461. Verification from ACCESS Is required
before any classroom or
testing
accommodation can be made."
Grades
- Your grade is based on:
Attendance
---Photojournalists
must be where they are supposed to be. You cannot make a photograph on a
computer or by phone. If you know you are not going to be in class send an
email or work it out in advance. If you know you are going to miss an
assignment or appointment send an email to the photo editor, the page editor
and your instructor.
Participation
in classroom discussions. ---A journalist must
have strong interpersonal skills. A class like this will help you reach out to
people you don't know and communicate with them.
You
must complete 5 assignments for the Student Voice. ---this requirement will include an appropriate
number of enterprise assignments. Enterprise assignments are assignments generated
by you. We can work out alternative assignments. Some assignments are more
time consuming than others ... I am willing to negotiate. You should keep
a journal of ideas for stories.
A newspaper
on any level requires group effort if the publication is to meet its deadlines.
You will have to negotiate with editors in choosing photographs for publication.
You will have to determine the appropriate time, make contact with the subjects
of your photographs, process the film or digital files, make the prints and
get them to the editors on time.
---Turn
in assignments inside Manila folders that are sealed on the ends. Please make
any notes about special processes, techniques, events, etc. Please note your
name and the assignment it fulfills on the folder. Turn in proof sheets,
contact sheets whenever possible and if the assignment was printed in a
newspaper, turn in the tear sheet. The tear sheet is what we call a page torn
out of the newspaper or magazine. Please tear neatly with an exacto knife or a
sharp cutter.
Journal.[10] (scans: III-A,B,C IV-B,C,)
---Keep a journal of classroom notes and of pictures that you weekly clip from
publications as exemplary or
pictures you think are mistaken. The journal should include your response to
the slides and videos I will show as well as your thoughts about
photojournalism.
The
work will be evaluated on the following issues:
Communication/News
Value ... how
your image tells the story ... is it newsworthy?
Craftsmanship ... Technical matters
Quality
of Light....
Avoid flash as much as possible.
Reader
Interest ....
Creativity, innovation and attraction
Caption ... ). ---All photographs submitted
for assignments in this class must have a typed caption sheet attached to
the back of the photograph or printed on the laser writer printout, that identifies
recognizable individuals in the photograph and answers the traditional journalism
questions: Who? What? Why? When? and Where?. If you are filing your photographs
electronically, in Photoshop É you should write your caption in the Photoshop
File.
Writing
is important. The more information you can collect the more valuable your
contribution to the team. Often when photographers and writers are covering an
event they are in different locations and will have different experiences. By
collecting additional information you observe you will be contributing to the
success of the The Student Voice Team.
The
Student Voice, The Moorpark College Newspaper
There
is an advantage in working for the College Newspaper in that you will be reimbursed
for film and paper as is necessary. If we shoot film on an assignment we do
not necessarily make prints. We scan the negatives into the computer and save
them in an electronic format that can be placed into an In Design page for
the The Student Voice. Like most professional newspapers, just because you
complete an assignment does not mean it will necessarily be published. You
will get credit for the assignment published or not by turning it in to me
with the proof sheet and the captions. You may turn the file in electronically.
---Final
Critique --
You are
expected to turn in a portfolio of at least five mounted prints.
Categories:
You must have one photograph from each of the following categories
1. Spot
News or General News and Documentary
2.
Sports Action
3.
Feature or Sports Feature
4.
Portrait/Personality or Portrait
5.
Fashion, Food or Illustration
6. Picture
Story or Essay. A picture Story must contain at least 5 photographs and presented
either as a double page newspaper or magazine layout. It must include a headline
and text. Only the picture Story or Essay may be presented in electronic form
only.
Ethics
This class requires that you be ETHICAL and RESPONSIBLE journalists. I hope when photographing for this
class you will conduct yourself as a professional. Please dress and conduct
yourself in a manner that is respectful toward your subject.
Any
respect and trust enjoyed by journalists is earned. TRUTH is your ally and your
responsibility. Your readers will trust that any picture you make as a
journalist is an honest representation of a person or event. You will be
required to honor that trust by not manufacturing, altering, or unduly influencing
a photograph.
If you
alter an image in the darkroom or computer beyond industry standards, or
manufacture or reenact a seemingly spontaneous moment, YOU WILL FAIL THE CLASS.
Of
course there is room for manipulation in the area of Photo Illustration and I
encourage you to explore this area. But under no circumstances should you
manipulate a spot news, general news or documentary photograph. If you
manipulate any photograph you must include that information in the caption.
Working
journalists are bound by the ethical standards of their publication, and
failure to work within them would result in you being terminated and ostracized
from the profession. Note the case of Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post
reporter Janet
Cooke who created a false story in 1981. She was fired, forced to return the
award, and has not worked in the field since. There will be class discussion of
when it is appropriate to pose a photograph, and what degree of alteration in
the darkroom or computer is acceptable.
rights
Understand your
legal rights as a journalist, but please be considerate and compassionate in
their exercise.
You
have the right to photograph anyone or anything seen in a PUBLIC
place. The common defense cited
by photojournalists when confronted by a startled or unwilling subject is
Òif they are in a public place, anyone can see them. Therefore anyone can
photograph them. This is wholly true. But please be compassionate and considerate
enough to look through their eyes.
If you
were lying on a beach in a small bathing suit, you have probably reconciled
with the fact that a few dozen people will pass by and perhaps even stare
at you. But you have not gone out there with the understanding that a photojournalist
may steal up and freeze you to be stared at by thousands of readers of the
next day's paper. If a subject seems unwilling, and photographing that person
in particular is not the specific goal of the assignment, please defer to
their unease and go on your way.
In a
situation where you have been invited into their private world, please balance
your need to make a telling photograph with sensitivity to the subjects
feelings, privacy and personal space, and you will earn trust and intimacy.
Businesses,
even if they invite the public in to shop, do not necessarily invite you in
to photograph. You are legally required to have verbal permission to photograph
in malls, stores and business offices as well as someone's home. Do not be
surprised if the answer from a national business is no. They are watching
their liability as you are.
NO
LICENSE is required to be a journalist. You do not need a credential or
official approval to photograph a spot news story occurring in public, despite
what an uninformed police officer or official may think. But you do not have
the right to INTERFERE with the work of emergency personnel. STAY OUT OF THE
WAY while you photograph.
Police
do not have the right to CONFISCATE your film. A subpoena is required. This
does not mean an uninformed officer may not try to take your film. Be diplomatic
and polite when dealing with someone who can arrest you, and carefully judge
the value of resistance. It may be in your interest as a student photojournalist
to give up the film and call the officer's superior to get it back. If you
have nothing to do for the next few hours or days and want to stand your legal
ground, I applaud you. But always avoid reacting impulsively.
If you
make a photograph with the subjectÕs understanding that it is for journalistic
purposes, you cannot use it any other way without WRITTEN PERMISSION of the
identifiable subjects, or the owners of recognizable property.
You can
only shoot through WINDOWS if you are standing on public property and the scene
inside the window is easily visible from the street. Respect the privacy of
those on the other side of the glass.
---Extra
Credit: You are encouraged to earn extra credit for this class by turning in a
brief paper about a documentary or press photographer from a different ethnic
or cultural background.
You
will be given a specific assignment for the News Photography segment of this
class from the Photo Editor...
---The
final assignment for the class will be a PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY or picture story in
which a complex story is told through multiple pictures. Subjects can include such
things as the day-to-day life of an interesting individual, an event that is
multi-faceted and demands more than one image to be adequately documented, or a
process made up of a series of distinct events.
This
assignment will be due on the last regular class period but please start
watching for subject matter now. You MUST HAVE APPROVAL of the idea from John
Grzywacz-Gray before you start shooting to ensure that your essay project fits
the guidelines.
---EXTRA
CREDIT can be earned by writing a brief 2-3 page report (typed, double spaced)
on a BOOK OF PHOTOGRAPHS approved by your instructor. These books must be meant
to display photographs in the documentary tradition, and not be ÒHow-toÓ books
of photography. They are often monographs of the work of a particular
photojournalist or documentary photographer. I want you to give me your
impressions of the way these photographers approach their art and craft, and
the way they tell the story.
You may
do a maximum of two such extra-credit assignments. The grade you get on them
will be averaged into your final grade as an additional assignment.
On-Going
Assignments
You
should make these photographs as often as possible. It is essential that the
photojournalist keep an on open mind and eye.
weather
photographs
... prefer
photographs showing people reacting to the weather, though pictorials can
occasionally be appropriate
holiday
or special events photographs ... Anything that can be used to illustrate the holiday
or special event is desired.
wild
Art, Enterprise Art, Feature Art, Another important part of photojournalism is what we call the
feature photograph ...in some circles known as wild art. These kinds of
photographs are feature photographs that add visual interest and impact to the
publication. They generally strive to reveal something about the community they
are made in.
Look
for unusual situations and portray them visually as dynamically as you can.
A
definition of a feature picture from Cliff Edom: ÒA feature picture is a
human-interest shot representing an unusual situation. The feature shot is
often humorous. Too many times feature pictures are trite and contrived. A
seven-foot basketball player being guarded by a midget five-footer might make a
sports feature, but the photographer would have to work hard to come up with
something different. A feature picture, generally speaking presents something
different from the norm.
National Press Photographer's Association
Poynter online - Photojournalism