Ben Fredman

E un coleg al meu de aici, pe care inca nu l-am cunoscut personal, pentru ca face un internship si nu e in Columbia. Am vazut in schimb povestea asta: http://www.missouri.edu/~bjf3z5/portfolio/story.html

Joel Sartore

Joel Sartore, de la National Geograpic, ne-a vizitat la curs vinerea trecuta, si ne-a zapacit cu povestile lui.

Ne-a zis de antrenorul lui de fotbal din liceu, in Nebraska, care spunea "you play as you practice". Ala a devenit motto-ul lui ca fotograf: "you shoot as you research". Incredibil cat se documenteaza omul asta. Saptezeci la suta din rezultatul muncii lui e documentare. Daca nu mai mult. "I like to document so well, as to get myself in situations where even my mom could take great pictures if I handed her the camera."

Foarte tare! Si, mai ales, foarte glumet. Nici n-as fi banuit cu ce se lupta in fiecare zi. Da' ne-a scris un e-mail, dupa ce a plecat. Si ne-a dat link-ul asta. Aveti scriptul emisiunii, da' povestea video este mult mai puternica.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/10/23/sunday/main2115594.shtml

Alison's story

Asta este varianta finala pe care colega mea Alison a prezentat-o drept "Classmate assignment". Am primit si DVD-ul cu toate pozele pe care le-a facut si am observat ca unul dintre principalele criterii de selectie a fost sharful. S-a apucat recent de fotojurnalism. Nu prea are experienta cu aparatul digital si a folosit auto, ceea ce explica multe. De asemenea, n-am vrut sa corectez caption-urile, desi o parte dintre informatii nu sunt tocmai clare, iar altele sunt scoase din context.



1. Andrei takes a test ride in a used Toyota. Since moving to Columbia from Romania in August, Andrei has been traveling by foot. Columbia is much more spread out than Andrei’s hometown of Bucovina, making it more of a challenge to get places. “I had a car back home, but I didn’t use it much.” Now it seems like a necessity.



2. Andrei begins his day with some yogurt while browsing the internet. Being an only child and far away from his family and friends, Andrei keeps in touch through email.



3. Most Sunday mornings Andrei heads out to meet some fellow journalism students for a game or two of soccer. Also know as “Church of Soccer” there is usually around ten to fifteen people that show up to play.



4. Andrei enjoys some post-game conversation with Kate and Jimmy. Those that know him best say Andrei has a very good sense of humor.



5. After checking the fridge for ingredients, Andrei makes himself a salad to refuel from a morning of soccer. He misses the taste of fresh vegetables from home, which have much more flavor than what he buys here.



6. Trying to decide how large his load of laundry is, Andrei is still getting the hang of living a single life.



7. Andrei often walks downtown to a coffee house to grab a bite to eat and work on his laptop. He likes the social environment and atmosphere they provide. “It’s not as quiet as being at home.”



8. Andrei visits with a familiar face at the pharmacy after coming from the Student Health Center. A self-proclaimed hypochondriac, Andrei likes to make sure his symptoms check out.



9. A stuffed monkey given to him from his girlfriend back in Romania keeps Andrei company in his new home.

Absolut

Cu ce ma distrez la cursul de lumina si culoare. Asta a fost ultima tema in studio. A trebuit sa pozez sticla. Orice fel de obiect din sticla. Le-am explicat ca, la romani, sticla nu inseamna beculetze si caluti transparenti. Sticla e sfanta! Am zis sa le dau un exemplu si sa imbin inutilul cu placutul la tema asta. Si-apoi, tot era aproape ziua lui Mihai Vasile, asa ca i-am dat o vodca electronic.

Slava Domnului, am scapat! De-acu', partea de lumina inseamna blitz afara, inauntru, peste tot. O distractie, la cat iubesc io blitzul. Da', ma rog, e bine sa-i stii toate cusaturile.

Jmecherie tehnica, daca intereseaza pe careva:

Am invatat recent cum corecteaza astia lumina a la Marriott: F-light (cica F e fie de la Fluorescent - adica neon - fie de la "Fucking annoying light"). Pun un gel verde (o folie subtire de plastic) peste blitz, ca sa fie totul in nuanta de verde, apoi redreseaza in Photoshop. Adica uniformizeaza verzuiul ala de kkt. E mult mai usor sa corectezi o singura culoare. Pe cand, daca blitzul iti da 5500K, iar neonul (in functie de fluctuatia curentului) iti da valori intre 3200K si 5000K, ai de redresat doua culori, deci in oricare parte ai incerca sa redresezi, strici cealalta culoare.

O alta solutie este sa pui timp de expunere cat mai scurt si diafragma inchisa bine, ca sa nu ajunga decat lumina blitzului la subiect. E cam de rahat ca pierzi fundalul, da' uneori merge. Ma rog, parerea mea e ca majoritetea fotografiilor in care blitz-ul e vizibil sunt de rahat, da' asta este ceea ce astia numesc aici o optiune stilistica :)))

Meet Will - my classmate assignment

Asta e povestea. Mai jos aveti ceea ce se numeste self-critique. Niste ganduri pe care tre' sa le scriem dupa fiecare tema.

The classmate assignment was not an easy one. However, the MPW experience has helped tremendously.

I tried to find out what the story was, or, better said, what story there was that I could do in a couple of days. The thing that struck me was Will’s loneliness. He seemed to be alone most of the time. It is true that his girlfriend was away most of the times when I met with him.

Anyway, I know how most of my colleagues feel about him. Some people suggested that it was up to me (through this assignment) to sort of get back at him for whatever it was that they didn’t like him for. I must admit I had my own prejudices about him and that I had to fight those prejudices the first time I went to his house. However, even though he hated being photographed and sometimes tried to elude me, he accepted me into his house. Being allowed into someone’s life, even for a day, should be considered an honour, not an opportunity to make them look bad. Therefore, I tried my best to disappoint most of my classmates and show them a side of Will that they had not seen. I don’t know if I have succeeded.

It was hard at times because he was trying to help me by creating photogenic moments. I insisted that he should stop doing that and I believe at some point he did.

It bothered me a little bit that there was no interaction. He skipped all five classes on Monday (the day I spent the most time with him) and hardly ever spoke to his roommates. I considered that accidental meetings with his neighbour in the street, or a short dialogue with a roommate were not relevant to what was actually going on.

It was also quite weird to be in a house that has no natural light at all. Will has taped all his windows, to create a sort of a dark room in the whole basement. It would have been nice to have more light. He also realized that. Every now and then, he would turn on a light he would normally not use. Again, I had to ask him to stop helping me.

However, all these conditions are only small details. They are not really relevant. I tried to treat him as I would any other subject. You work with what you have.

Magnum rusesc

In caz ca nu stiati deja despre filiala ruseasca a Magnum, uitati-va aici: http://agency.photographer.ru

Check out Elyse

Fata de care va zic a fost colega de grupa cu mine la workshop. A facut povestea cu titlul "Growing up and apart" in Moberly.

E cam de-o varsta cu mine. Azi am dat peste site-ul ei, din intamplare. Dati si voi o fuga pe site. www.solasea.com

MPW reflection paper

A trebuit sa pun pe ecran niste ganduri despre workshop, pentru un curs. Daca tot le-am scris, m-am gandit sa le impartasesc cu voi. Va rog sa ma scuzati ca le-am lasat in engleza. Sunt o putoare. Copy/paste e prea la indemana.

"The week I spent in Moberly has probably been the most important photographic experiment I have ever seen. It was extraordinary.

First of all, I was lucky to be a photographer there. Before heading out to Moberly, I was thinking perhaps I should have gone there as staff, to save some money. One day in the workshop, I realized it would not have been the same.

What made the difference in my case was the pressure. The short time and the frame count. Of course, the faculty's input was crucial. They guided us throughout the week, from the first story pitch to the final edit.

Someone asked me what changed in my storytelling techniques. "Nothing", I answered. That is because I didn't have any clue of what storytelling meant before I got to Moberly, so there was nothing to change. I could always pick one good picture out of a group, but sequencing is different. That was the reason why I came to study in the US. I feel really fortunate to start my journey in storytelling with such a strong foundation like the MPW.

I have learned about approach and access. The faculty was a hundred percent right when they told us that most times the best pictures would not come before the last days of the workshop. One of the photographers was complaining that she felt very bored, because her subject was not an active person. The time one invests with his/her subject pays off towards the end, once the subject has gotten used to the photographer and starts revealing his/her true self.

The same thing happened to me. The faculty and I could have drafted an edit out of Thursday's take alone. It took two days to break the barrier my subject was hiding behind. By Friday, she seemed to have accepted me in her life.

There were many other things that I got out of this workshop. I learned about the structure of a story and the importance of individual elements such as: opener, lead, transitions, visual variety, portraits, interaction, surprise, closer (ender) and so on. I also learned that it was important to analyze images according to the title or the main idea of the story and to be able to let go of your favourite images, if they don't support or add to your thread. I think I will always remember Kim Komenich's comparison: "Pictures are like a fistful of pearls. No matter how precious they are, they need a 5 cent thread to make up a necklace." So I did give up a few of my pearls to get a stronger necklace. "One has to press the button with the title in mind", someone else said during a presentation.

It was extremely valuable to meet so many photographers, from all over the world. We heard stories about what it is like to cover events in Brazil, Canada, Scotland, France, US, Holland and so on. Some of my favourite stories in the workshop came from people who live thousands of miles away from one another. I enjoyed very much the stories about Norman from Liverpool, the organic farm, the busiest mom in Moberly, the pains in mobile 24, the well-known Kenny or the baby doctor. These are only a few stories that come to mind. The fact is there were so many amazing photographers in this workshop.

I guess it all comes down to this: if there are stories in Moberly, Missouri, there are stories everywhere. If there’s a will, there’s a way."

gata povestea!

S-a terminat workshop-ul. Puteti sa il vedeti la http://www.mophotoworkshop.org

Merge doar cu Firefox. Il luati mocca de aici: http://download-firefox.org/free-downloads/

Cam atat. Nu stiu ce sa scriu. Daca sunteti curiosi, bagati intrebari.