Monday, February 27, 2012

History through their eyes: White House News Photographers Association Judging


Due to my sisters relay team making states for swimming, I was unable to make it to the Saturday session of the White House News Photographers Association photo judging. So around 8 a.m. on Sunday, I pulled myself out of bed (no small feat) and headed down to the National Geographic building.
My timing was perfect, as I arrived just as the news picture story judging session was beginning. The other two sessions I witnesses were the sports picture stories judging and the political portfolio judging.
One thing I did notice was that judge Ed Kashi used the word picture repeatedly. I just found this noteworthy because Tim said that this isn’t something that professionals usually say.
The judges were very critical of the photos. Kashi was incredulous about what he called, “the lack of commitment to follow through on telling stories,” by most of the photographers.
He went on to question if there were any photographer’s left who were willing to go deep with a subject. He praised the few who spent the time and got the moments. To go along with this idea, the judges questioned why there was less focus on individuals in the submitted stories, and that it lead to a lack of intimacy.
The judges also questioned where the color was and why almost all the photos submitted were done in black and white. Judge Marcy Nighswander pondered whether this was in response to the wrong message being sent by the judging community. She also said that there was, “nothing wrong with real life.”
Another thing I noticed was that during the portfolio segment much emphasis was placed on the power of singles. The singles, said judge Bob Pearson, can change the perspective, and affects the stories around them.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the event. I was fascinated at how quick the judges could analyze the photo. They brought up things I hadn’t even noticed in the image even after multiple viewings. Most importantly, I learned valuable tips about what makes good photojournalism.

Mike Denison at the WHNPA

Due to some prior commitments, I was unable to attend the first day of the WHNPA judging. I didn't even get to the competition until about 1:30 on Sunday. I have to say, I wish I had been able to attend the first day -- the event was a bit of a disappointment.

One thing that did not disappoint was the photography. I was almost immediately struck by the incredible photographs throughout the lobby, and since I arrived when the judges were on a rather lengthy lunch break, I had plenty of time to take a look. In particular, an exhibit on Yemenese child brides caught my eye.

Unfortunately, the actual judging, when it finally got underway, was far from what I expected. I suspect the judges may have been worn out from all the judging they had done that weekend. The only category I saw judged, Political Photos, went by in a rush -- judges rejected or accepted photos for contention almost instantly. When they looked at the final 12, there was almost no critical discussion as to what made any photo better than another -- the decision to name a photo of Ron Paul the best political photo of the year was made with almost no deliberation. I thought there were plenty of other photos that deserved contention (there was a stunning photo of Marine One taking off in the rain where the helicopter was almost perfectly framed by mist, and another with President Obama standing in front of the presidential seal so that it looked like a halo), but I never really heard reasons why they were any worse than the Ron Paul picture. There was no fanfare to the announcement, nor the decision for Photographer of the Year, even though it came out of the first tiebreaker in the category's history. While I was impressed by the photographical skill, I didn't get any sort of sense as to what made a photo an award-winning photo as opposed to a pretty good one.

At the end of the judging, one of the judges stood up to make a speech that I found rather hypocritical. She called on the photographers present to stop submitting black and white photos in attempts to win the contest when "history is in color." And yet...this judge had voted to let a black and white photo win the Political Photo of the Year honors. If she really cared about the integrity of the contest that much, she shouldn't have let a black and white photo win at all.

All in all I was rather disappointed by the WHNPA judging for the time I was there. I imagine that it was a more entertaining and educational experience on the first day (or earlier in the second day), but I can't really say that I took much away from my time there, aside from a huge amount of respect for the photographers who took the gorgeous photos in the lobby.

Another picture on display in the lobby when I arrived, and one I found particularly compelling.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Allison's Experience At National Geographic

Upon arriving at National Geographic, we discovered the judges were on their lunch break, so we decided to eat as well. I originally just went with Adriana, but on the way there we joined up with some other classmates and we all went to Potbelly’s. Then we decided to check out the multimedia judging. Unfortunately, the judges were more caught up in whether a package fit into the “simple” or “in-depth” category rather than analyzing its content. Also, they only watched the first minute of each package, so right when you were hooked, they’d say, “Okay everyone got it?” and move on. Our group decided to move into the auditorium where another set of judges were critiquing still photos. This was much more exciting. There would be a category – the three I stayed for were sports, Washington insider, and presidential photos – and the judges would first select a number of photos they wanted to look at again (one judge needed to yes-vote it), the next round the photo would need two yes-votes to stay in, and then the judges would partake in a dialogue about what they liked and did not like about each of the remaining photos, finally picking a top three and assigning the rest “Awards of Excellence.”
Hearing this dialogue will be very helpful going into the photo unit because now I know what professionals look for in published photojournalists’ work. I picked up on some key tips, such as framing and cropping, and viewed real life examples that illustrated these skills. Some of the photos were funny, others were aesthetically pleasing, and others garnered fear or sadness. Now I know to try to capture emotion in my photos and make my audience feel something when they view my image.
After we stayed for a few categories we decided to head back. But before leaving we met Heidi, one of Professor Jacobsen’s colleagues, and she asked us about our opinion on the presidential photos the judges chose. “Which do you think would look best on a book cover?” she said. After a little discussion we chose a photo of Obama with his eyes shut and a halo-looking circle framing his head. Heidi agreed and explained how she had to choose a book cover by that night! We were all pretty excited about having helped pick out a book cover. All in all, I learned a lot by going to the photo competition and it was fun seeing the variety of entries. I never actually knew the National Geographic museum was there, so I will have to go check that out another time!

WHNPA judging

Scenes from the day

Saturday, February 25, 2012

White House News Photographers Association Judging Reflection

I enjoyed my visit to the White House News Photographers Association Judging on Saturday afternoon. It was a good experience to see what photography experts think makes a great photograph. I first stopped into the multimedia-judging portion on the second floor. When I was up there they were judging projects in the Simple Multimedia category. The judges debated a lot about what makes a simple multimedia project vs. a complex multimedia project. While it is not always easy to distinguish, I got some good ideas for different elements of multimedia that I can use in my final project. I watched pieces about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, a youth project involving building a boat, and a Muslim comedy tour. When I was there the judges advised the moderator to just show about a minute of each one. The reason for this was the judges actually had received the entries to watch a few weeks prior. My viewing of the projects was really just a teaser since I did not get to watch them in their entirety. The moderator suggested that in the past they did sit there and watch all of them completely but the judges insisted on just watching little bits to get a refresher, which I thought was a shame. My main takeaway from the multimedia judging was the variety of elements I can use in my project (still photography, video, narration, audio recordings, graphics, animations). After that I headed downstairs to the still photography judging. When I got there the judges were going through sports images. This was really entertaining because I want to be a sports journalist and it is the area that my final project will probably entail. When they talked about what they were looking for in the photographs, they used vocabulary that we had discussed in class like the rule of thirds, symmetry, and entry points. Emotion and color balance were also important things they took into account. They ended up giving first place to a picture of Redskins players and a coach celebrating a touchdown, which did very well with symmetry and showing jubilation. I thought the coach’s expression with a big smile and yelling really made the photograph. It was easy to identify the emotion and magnitude associated with scoring that touchdown. It really came through well while looking at this great picture. I am glad that I went to the photography and multimedia judging because it gave me some nice framework and ideas to know when putting together my own projects.

White House News Photographers Association Judging Info

If you didn't make it today, make sure to go to see the judging of the WHNPA tomorrow as Tim described in class yesterday. The event is at the National Geographic building, which is located at 1145 17th Street Northwest Washington D.C. (near a metro station). The judging tomorrow is from 9 am until around 3 pm.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Mia Zavalij: Food Recovery Network Cofounder (Adriana Scott)

The Ups and Downs of RA Life

Meet the Premier A Cappella Group

Bus Driver Profile

Bus Driver (mp3)

Equestrian team rider profile (sarah polus)

A Free Concert From DJ David Chorvinsky

A Free Concert From DJ David Chorvinsky (mp3)

The Musician Down the Hall

Making Music Out of Electronic Madness...Live

by Mike Denison

Managing Life: Mike Zawitoski Profile

An Inside Look at Gymkhana

A Home Away from Home - Greek Life

Friday, February 17, 2012

Homeword Details for Next Week: Produce Profile Piece

Audio Assignment #3 (100 points) – Audio Profile
* Produce a profile – w/ story pitch approved in advance.
* Must have at least 2 interviews, 2 ambient sounds.
* Must have hook and story arc.
* At least 2:00, no longer than 3:00.
* Post to the blog by 8 pm Thur (remember, Export from Audacity, post the .wav file to Soundcloud.com or Audioboo.com then Paste the Embed code into a blog item on the class blog)
* Make sure to write a headline for your piece.

Also, Watch the following two clips:

* Ira Glass on Storytelling, part 3
* Ira Glass on Storytelling, part 4

Links from Week 4 (Audio Pieces Played in Class)

* Ira Glass on Storytelling, part 1
* Ira Glass on Storytelling, part 2
* My Way or the FBI Way
* It's Another Tequila Sunrise.
* Dumpsterologist radio documentary: The Hunter

Slides From Week 4 -- Producing Audio Profiles

Spring 2012 Week 4

Vagina Monologue Cast: Beyond the Stage (Adriana Scott)

WHNPA volunteer contact info

Here is alternate contact information for the WHNPA volunteer opportunity next weekend. Shoot an email off to Heidi and also cc Pege. Let her know that you are in the UofM multi-media class and are excited about attending.
Here is Heidi Elswick's e-mail:
heidi@whnpa.org 

Terp victory over Boston College (Sarah Polus)

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Try New Foods From Around the World Without Leaving Campus

Audio Post Card: Secret about TerpZone

Audio Postcard: Adele's Is Still Alive and Well (Mike Denison)

College Apartment Living: The War on Your GPA

Intramural Basketball - Alana Yzola

Intramural Basketball - Alana Yzola (mp3)

Not a Game... SigEp's Talking About Practice

Not a Game... SigEp"s Talking About Practice (mp3)

Sounds from Maryland's Lady Terps: Women's Basketball Audio Postcard

Lady Terps B-Ball (mp3)

Easy Mac - Every College Kids Go To

An Afternoon at the South Campus Dining Hall

An Afternoon at the South Campus Dining Hall (mp3)

Hanging With The UMD Quidditch Team

Hanging With The UMD Quidditch Team (mp3)

Walking the National Mall--Regina Ham

DR000190 by sports_gal20

Friday, February 10, 2012

Sarah Polus- Raw Sound: Sounds of the Co-op

Slides From Week 3 - Gathering Ambient and Natural Sound

Spring 2012 Week 3

Homework Details: Audio Postcard

Audio Assignment #2 (50 points) – Audio Postcard

* Visit a unique place or event and capture it in a short produced piece mixing narration and ambient sound.
* No formal interviews needed here. But there should be voices -- scenes or moments of natural sound of people talking in whatever place or event you choose to focus on. Just find sounds that bring the location or moment to life.
* Post to the blog by 8 pm Thur (remember, Export from Audacity, post the .wav (or mp3) file to Soundcloud.com, then paste the embed code into a blog item on the class blog)
Make sure to write a headline for your piece.

Raw Sound, Meagan Todaro

Jace Evans and Ben Barr: Raw Sound Assignment

Tennis Sounds by Allison Gray and Regina Ham

Jason and Antonio Ambient Sound (In-Class)

Josh Axelrod and Adriana Scott go to the Co-Op

Josh Axelrod and Adriana Scott go to the Co-Op

Ambient Sounds- Arcade

Mike Denison Adam Kuhn Ambient Sound Exercise

Olivia Owens & Coryn Alvarez Sound Project

Female Athletes and Body Image

Female Athletes and Body Image

Friday, February 3, 2012

Apple Does Not Find Jobs Doll Fruitful

Homework Details for Next Week

Audio Assignment #1 (50 points) - Interview feature

* Conduct a short, newsworthy interview on a topic of your choice. Your interview subject cannot be a friend. It can be someone who is an expert on an interesting topic or someone voicing an opinion on an issue in the news. Make it interesting.
* Edit together sound bites from the interview with scripted intro, ending, and other connecting narration.
* Post to the blog by 8 pm Thur (remember, Export from Audacity, post the .wav file to Soundcloud.com, then Paste the Embed code into a blog item on the class blog).

REMEMBER: For the Title of your blog post, write a headline for your piece.

Slides From Week 2 (Audio Interviewing, Editing, and Scriptwriting)

Spring 2012 Week 2

Jace Evans Edit

Meagan Todaro Edited Interview

interviewing josh edited

Editing Adriana

Jason Benscher edit

Adam Kuhn Edit

Mike Denison edit

Ben Barr Edited

Sound Edit

Allison Gray Edit

DC Food Festival Interview Edit Sarah Polus

Antonio Franquiz Edit

Olivia Owens Edit

Coryn Audio #1 Edit

jeff young edit

Class panorama

Shoot with Photosynch app and uploaded using Blogger app

Camera and Equipment Options

Click on the link to view some camera options for this class. I will update this page periodically with other equipment options and ideas.


EQUIPMENT OPTIONS