JRN 445 – Final Project
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JRN 521 – Final
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JRN 445 – Mobile Reporting
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JRN 445 and JRN 521 – Extra Credit Webinar
The other day I tuned in for a webinar with Jasmine DeFoore where she discussed how to put together a professional looking portfolio. To begin, DeFoore discussed the importance of defining your target audience. To do this, you must define your niche and find your strengths. This means really looking through your photos and figuring out what trends are seen throughout. If you see several different trends that are equally strong you may have the option to make several different brand identities. Next, you need to get a second pair of eyes on your work. This is important because you may be hung up on a photo that you need to let go and that second pair of eyes can tell you that.
Next, DeFoore talks about how to put together a cohesive edit. The first step to this is gathering all your images into your favorite editing program and grouping them together to tell mini stories. This might mean editing out images that don’t go with the flow or aren’t adding something to your portfolio. Once this is completed, figure out exactly what you want in your job. This will help to decide which direction to go with your work. If you want to work in interior photography, then you probably won’t want to include a photo story on sports.
After all this, you’ll want to create a PDF. To do this you’ll need to really edit down. A tip that she gave for editing when you get stuck is to switch out of full page and go to thumbnail mode. This helps to eliminate based on overalls like too much of a certain color, too many babies, etc.
Throughout the webinar, DeFoore used case studies of different clients that really helped to explain the process. As viewers, we were able to actually see the products and how different it can be depending on the photographer and what field of photography they are going in to. This really showed me the importance to a good portfolio because obviously it varies so much depending on what concentration you want to focus on in photography.
-Leah Erber
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JRN 445 – Individual Video
Jonathan Vugteveen is a Central Michigan University student who is also an Intramural Sports Referee. He has recently been promoted to supervisor which expands his duties from reffing to also coordinating referees and making sure equipment is in place. He likes having control of a game but isn’t shy about the difficulties that come with the job. It’s hard to referee a game when players don’t want to listen to calls or continuously commit the same foul.
-Leah Erber
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JRN 521 – Final Project Proposal
For my final project, I’m doing a look at the Special Olympics of Michigan and all of the aspects that make up the organization.
1. My project will show all of the parts that make up the non-profit organization of the Special Olympics of Michigan. I chose this topic because it is something I am passionate about and I hope to get a career in the non-profit world. I think it’s important for people to understand non-profit organizations because almost all funding for these places comes from the community. Learning about the organizations make people connect with them more which means more donations from people will be available for use.
2. For my project, I will have three different videos that focus on different topics. The first will be the competition and lives of the athletes involved with the Special Olympic. This will include home life and participating in the athletics. The second video will be of fundraising techniques. This will include Water Warriors, Wertz Warriors, and Polar Plunges. All of these are fundraising groups that provide SOMI with a majority of it’s funding. The third video will focus on the inner workings of the organization. I will have interviews with the President, Lois Arnold, and several other employees about how the company is run.
3. I will capture all of this action by attending different events throughout the state, as well as setting up interviews with people outside of the events.
4. My main subjects for each video will be an athlete (first video), a main fund raiser (second video), and Lois Arnold (third video) who is the President. I will have all of these subjects obtained fairly easily since I have connections within the Special Olympic community already.
5. My camera interviews will play a small role in my videos. I will use more B roll since I have a very visually interesting topic but the audio from the interviews will keep the piece going and create a script to follow.
6. The structure of my project will contain 3 videos that work together to create a whole story about an organization. Each video will have a description of why that aspect is important to the organization as a whole and how it would suffer without it.
7. My shooting schedule will vary according to events and when athletes are able to meet. There are three state events scheduled before the end of the semester that I will be attending. This is where I will capture a lot of footage and be able to use that footage for my videos. I can also interview those at the events.
8. I hope that my videos will impact my viewers by making them think about helping out their community. Whether it’s joining in the Special Olympic movement or joining another non-profit, I hope to make people think about helping others who need them.
-Leah Erber
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JRN 445 – Polar Plunge
Hedgehogs have a notorious distaste for water, though attendees of the 2013 Mount Pleasant Polar Plunge saw that disproved on Saturday.
Two Claire fifth graders, Ben Yob and Ben Wilson, donned hedgehog costumes and submerged themselves in the subzero temperatures for the event.
“Coming out you were shaking,” Wilson said. “You couldn’t not shake.”
Wilson was participating in the polar plunge for the second time, though Yob was a newcomer. Both were quiet and reserved before the event, but afterward shared similar views.
“I’d do it again next year,” Yob said. “It wasn’t really that bad.”
Yob’s mother Cheryl also had similar fearlessness about her son’s present or future participation in the event.
“I have no reservations,” she said. “It’s for a good cause, and he’s 11 now, which is old enough.”
The Mount Pleasant Polar Plunge is put on annually to help raise money for Special Olympics Michigan, which supports more than 20,000 athletes. This year, Wilson, Yob and 113 other plungers have currently raised $16,800, according to the organization’s website.
As both Bens made the transition from the snow-covered ground to the red carpet rolled out onto Mount Pleasant’s Rose Pond on the campus of Central Michigan University, they became noticeably nervous. Their faces both conveyed a “There’s No Going Back” expression as the announcer and the crowd around the pond cheered them on.
Once they had closed their eyes and jumped into the freezing water, they clambered to the sidelines, exerting much more effort than the many adults to go before and after them.
“That was a $300 jump, buddy!” Cheryl yelled at her son after wrapping a blanket around him and pointing him in the direction of the hot showers.
Roger Yob, Ben’s father, is the Chief Financial Officer for Special Olympics Michigan, and has coordinated the Mount Pleasant Polar Plunge for the past few years.
“I had a unique perspective this year as a parent of a plunger and as a staff member,” Yob said. “I was very proud of my son for deciding to participate in the event and brave the icy cold water.”
Another administrator at Special Olympics Michigan, Erin Dougherty, oversaw the entire polar plunge in Mount Pleasant and coordinated staff and participants. She said that the biggest fundraisers and promoters of the event are police officers.
“For 30 years, law enforcement officers have been the largest fundraisers and awareness builders for Special Olympics,” she said, adding that they promote community runs as well as polar plunges.
Both Yob and Dougherty agree that the volunteers, law enforcement or not, are an invaluable part of the success of Special Olympics’ polar plunges.
“The polar plunge couldn’t happen without the efforts of the dive team and law enforcement volunteers that ensure the safety of the event,” Yob said.
Though more than 100 people were involved with Mount Pleasant’s polar plunge, overall it is a relatively small piece of the pie. Dougherty said that there are 28 total polar plunges planned for Michigan, and they will generate more than $1 million in donations for Special Olympics.
-Leah Erber, Matthew Erspamer, Taryn Wattles
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JRN 445 – Final Project Proposal
Michigan Farming – The Vast Differences
1) I believe that it is very important to understand the community you live in. What makes the members of that community who they are is often a reflection of how they were raised. For my project, I want to show the different farms of Mount Pleasant and how each family is different from the next. Some are small farms that provide just enough crop to feed their own families while others are shipping their goods all over the state. Being that Mount Pleasant is known for it’s oil supply, there are also several farms that are getting paid to have oil rigs on their land. I think that showing this difference between the families will help people to understand where their food is coming from and how many people in the community struggle to provide these goods.
2) For my project, my subject will be three different farm families. I want to focus on a small farm, a midsize farm, and more of a commercial farm. I want to research farms in the area and find out which ones would be the best to focus on. I plan on contacting a bureau that helps farm families to get ideas and once I find one family, hopefully they might know of some others willing to participate.
3) I would like to get interviews with the members of the families to get insight into their lives. I would also like to follow these families around in their daily life and get how they interact with each other. I think it’ll be important to get them comfortable with me so I can get intimate moments from the families.
4) I think with each family I will chose one main subject. This person will be the one who is most involved with the farm and is the most interesting. I will know more about this once I meet my families.
5) During my camera interviews I want to focus on getting emotion about their feelings towards the farm industry. I think that it is important to get on-camera moments of how they feel since most are very emotionally attached to the tradition of their farming life.
6) I want to start my project with photos of all the different farms intertwined and then start the separation of which family belongs to what farm. I think it will be cool to show the contrast to begin with. I also would like to get old photos of the farms to do comparisons to present day.
7) I will have more of a schedule once I contact farms but I plan on visiting farms on a weekly basis, rotating through the farms every three weeks.
8) I think this will impact my readers because it will show the people of the community and how not all farmers are the same.
-Leah Erber
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JRN 420 – Editorial Illustration
Beauty is Pain
For this assignment, I wanted to portray the pressure that females feel to use beauty products and dress in designer clothing. I feel like this topic is rapidly growing as youth are pressured more and more into feeling like they need products in order to be beautiful. I chose to portray the topic in two different ways. The first is showing the anguish of having to use beauty products.
Beauty can often mean pain. Whether it’s pinching your eye-lid in a curler, or plucking the eyebrows, females endure so much pain to fit into societies idea of “beautiful.”
For my second photo, I wanted to show how overwhelming it can be for a young girl to be forced to use all the products consumers put out on the market.
Every day, females have to climb to the top of their intimidating pile of clothes and beauty products in order to feel like they look good.
For this photo, I used photoshop to add my subject onto the pile of clothes. I made sure to light both scenes exactly the same so that they would match when pieced together.
I had several ideas but felt that my strongest was my idea for the pressures on a female. Here are my sketches from other ideas:
-Leah Erber
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JRN 422 – Poverty Story
Virginia Sheldon, resident of Shepherd, MI, is a woman who has always worked for what she has. Because of various medical problems including diabetes, she had to cut down her work hours at the Soaring Eagle Waterpark Hotel as a cleaning lady. This has put her in a financial bind. She is still managing to pay her bills, but rarely has left over money for many groceries or activities.
“I don’t do much because I live so far out in the country that I can’t pay for the gas to go into town,” Sheldon says.
To get by, Sheldon visits the Isabella County Food Pantry twice a month to recieve food. It helps to supplement the other few groceries that she can afford with money left over from her paycheck.
One of Sheldon’s daughters recently had a child and her other daughter is currently pregnant. Sheldon is concerned with her daughters bringing children into the world because they barely have money for themselves.
“We’ll figure out to make it work,” Sheldon says, “I just wish they both would have waited a bit longer to have kids.”
Virginia sits and talks about the family she left in Arkansas. She was the only one of her siblings to move back to Michigan after they made some money down south. She misses her brother the most because they were so close, but he plans to move back to Michigan around Christmas time.
Virginia Sheldon holds her granddaughter, Chevelle, while her mom is out shopping. Chevelle was born a week ago and this is the first time her mother has left her under the care of someone else. “I didn’t really raise my kids until they were older, my mom did all that stuff,” Virginia says, “so it’s different for me to be caring for babies.”
Cathy Sheldon sits and sorts through Christmas lights. She found out she was pregnant with her boyfriend, Aaron, a little over a month ago. “I’m pretty excited but my mom had different feelings on it,” Cathy says, “Being that my sister just had a baby, too.”
Virginia Sheldon helps her daughter Cathy and Cathy’s boyfriend, Aaron, put up the Christmas tree for the first time in years. “I never really did this stuff with the kids,” Virginia says, “that was more my mother’s thing.”
Virginia’s dog, Lady, is the sole protection in her house. “I don’t own a gun and I’m pretty far out here in the country,” Virginia says, “but Lady keeps me safe.”
-Leah Erber
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JRN 420 – Still Life
For this project I chose to work with glassware and experiment with colors. For my first set-up I used three wine glasses and red, blue, and yellow food coloring. I wanted to capture the spreading of the colors within the existing water.
Red, yellow, and blue food dye in wine glasses.
For my next set-up I wanted to stick with the same theme but experiment with a different substance. I chose to use wine because of it’s billowing effect within the glass. For me, I love the way this image reminds me of the story of Jesus when he turns water into wine.
Wine poured into water.
My lighting set-up!
One light bounced off the backdrop.
- I had a large soft box lighting the glasses from above.
-Leah Erber
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Painting with Light – JRN 420
For my first photo, I used Jordan Oster in her Pikachu costume to mimic one of the classic images of the character. He is often seen creating a “lighting bolt” that crashes down on him and protrudes light in every direction.
Jordan Oster seen here is wearing her Halloween costume, Pikachu.
My second idea for this assignment was to show an eeriness to be captured by a zombie or something of the like. I wanted to person running away to be sharp so that the arms reaching out seemed even more ominous with their blurry look.
Kristyn Ellis runs away from Hayden Conflitti’s arms as he reaches out like a zombie.
-Leah Erber
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Young Marriage – JRN 422 – Counter Culture Story
For Jordan and Daniele Jackson, being married young is so un-heard of. Daniele’s mother and father met when they were just 15 and married right out of high school. The couple is still happily married and provides an example of how marriage can work even when romance begins at a young age.
“I’ve always looked at my parents marriage and how it works and never thought it was weird,” Daniele says, “It wasn’t until I was older that I realized not everyone’s parents are like that.”
Daniele and Jordan met at Lake City High School after she moved there her Junior year. They began dating after a few months of knowing each other and hit it off great. They had a few bumps along the way, which comes with any young love, but always worked through their issues. Daniele came to Central Michigan University in 2009 while Jordan remained a senior at Lake City High School. He then joined her at the university upon graduation in 2010.
They now live together in Kewadin Villiage, which is married housing apartments for CMU. They were married in July of 2012 and have been working on getting to know how to live together as husband and wife.
Daniele Jackson washes dishes as her husband, Jordan Jackson, watches television. “This is normally how most of our evenings are spent.” Daniele says, “A lot of our friends don’t hang out with us anymore because they think it’s weird that we’re married.”
Daniele and Jordan Jackson do laundry together in the Kewadin Village complex where they live in married housing.
Daniele Jackson fills out the rent check for the month for their apartment in Kewadin Village. Jordan and Daniele fully support themselves now that they are married and receive no financial help from their families.
Daniele looks up a recipe for soup. In the background hangs the couples wedding photos from their July wedding. “I had so much fun but it was strange that a lot of Jordan’s family wasn’t approving of his drinking during the reception,” Daniele says. Jordan is only 20 years old and not of legal drinking age.
Daniele and Jordan Jackson prepare soup together in the kitchen. “Dani’s got a lot to learn about cooking,” Jordan says, “She thought the recipe meant to put the whole head of cabbage into the soup unchopped.”
Jordan and Daniele sit in their apartment doing homework. The couple is 20 and 21 years old respectively and have been married since July.
-Leah Erber
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Riverwood Bowling League
“We’re all pretty sarcastic here. We celebrate people’s failures but we think it’s hilarious.” Mike Torrento who attends Central Michigan University talks about the bowling league he is on with his roommates. Torrento and his roommates decided to join the bowling league after being approached at their house with a flyer. None of the roommates had ever been very active in bowling but they all thought it would be a great opportunity to do something as a team. Every Tuesday they gather in their living room and play drinking games before calling a cab and riding to Riverwood. Often, friends will tag along to take part in the beer specials at the bar section of the bowling alley. Once there, they warm up and then being bowling.
“I love being here with my friends and roommates,” Torrento says, “it always makes for a good time.” Torrento has said he isn’t very good at bowling himself but some of his teammates put up some decent scores.
They play three games on Tuesday nights and by the third game, the beer and liquor have begun to kick in and most of their scores show it. On most nights after bowling, the team will head back to their home on Franklin Street in Mount Pleasant and continue drinking. Sometimes, one of the roommates will cook a late night meal for everyone to eat.
Michael Torrento (foreground) and his roommate, Joe Pendergrass, play ÒShot FIFAÓ which is a video game after bowling at Riverwood on their team league. Here, Pendergrass has just scored a goal against Torrento, meaning Torrento has to take a shot of liquor. The drinking game is also played before they go to bowl on Tuesday nights.
At Riverwood, Michael Torrento talks with a teammate about last weeks scores. The team is currently in 5th place out of 10 teams. “We all normally have a really great first game,” Torrento says, “but then it usually goes downhill from there.”
Michael Torrento, right, gives a pep talk to teammate and roommate, Jon Motyka, right before he takes his turn bowling. “We’re all very supportive in our own ways.” Torrento says, “Some of us give pep talks and others talk crap. At the end of the night though, we all still love each other.”
Torrento high fives a teammate after getting two strikes in a row during the second game. “Strikes don’t happen very often after the first game so this is a big deal.” Torrento says.
Michael Torrento sits with his girlfriend, Kayla Wareham, while reacting to one of his teammates getting a strike. Here, his shirt is unbuttoned all the way because he has a tradition of undoing a button every time he gets a strike.
Torrento, jumping, is caught by teammate and roommate Ricky Paprocki, after Ricky gets a gutter ball. “We’re all pretty sarcastic here. We celebrate people’s failures but we think it’s hilarious,” Torrento says.
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Location Lighting Assignment – JRN 420
For this assignment, I was a little more comfortable with lighting since I’ve had a bit of experience at this point. My first subject was my nephew, Jonathon Schantz. I decided to do a fall theme because it’s getting close to Halloween. I found leaf props to make the image interesting but wanted a more “studio” look to the photo. I think this set-up was a great learning experience for me since a lot of photographers will go to the customers homes and set up their equipment there, much like I had to do with this shoot.
I chose a corner of my basement to set up the home studio.
The lighting set up used for Jonathon Schantz’s fall photo shoot.
Jonathon Schantz is now 6 months old.
For my second shoot, I decided that I would take my equipment outside. I went to the skatepark with my models, where they are comfortable and decided to try an capture their personalities while at the skatepark.
The set-up for the skate park shoot.
Hayden Conflitti skates at the skate park on the Indian Reservation.
My skate park shoot didn’t turn out as well as I wanted it to, due to the sun being so bright and overpowering most of my shots. Since I couldn’t use ambient light as a main source, it limited my options as to what I could photograph and how. Overall though, I think this assignment was great in teaching me how to use location lighting.
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Starrs Farm – JRN 422 Farm Family
On any given day, one can find Timmy Starrs in a field, wading through waist-high plants in order to find round, bright orange pumpkins. When he’s not yielding the crop in order to sell at the family stand, he’s helping customers to their car or pitching the pig stalls. Even though he is away at college now, Starrs finds time to head home on the weekends to contribute to the success of the family farm.
Starrs’ farm was first founded in 1875 when the first two barns were raised on the land in Linden, MI. It was Rosemary Starrs and her husband Tom Starrs that had the idea to sell their homegrown produce to the community. They raised a family and Tom Starrs II was one of the children who decided to reside on the land once he was married. Currently, the widowed Rosemary lives in the bottom portion of the large farmhouse while Timmy and his parents live upstairs. It allows the family to stay close and take care of each other when needed.
The farm grows all sorts of produce to sell including tomatoes, peppers, green beans, and squash. They also have a large assortment of pumpkins that are sold for decoration or carving. Along with their produce stand, the Starrs’ sell freezer beef. They raise pigs and cows in order to supply themselves with meat along with selling the product.
Although Timmy wasn’t always a huge fan of the idea of taking over the farm after college, he’s starting to come around.
“I’m starting to see the benefits of owning a family farm,” Timmy says, “and I could always do something like my dad. I could have a full time job and just work on the farm once I’m home.”
Timmy’s father, Tom Starrs II, is a co-owner of the farm as well as a realtor. With several extended family members working on the farm it is easy to hold another career and still maintain the family business.
Timmy Starrs scoops up green beans in baskets for sale at the family farm. The farm has a stand open from early September until mid-November. The first barns were built for the farm in 1875 and the business continued growth until 2005 when a portion of their land was sold for development. Starrs farm sells produce as well as freezer beef.
Timmy Starrs pets one of the newborn pigs that are raised on Starrs Farm. The farm sells beef along with several varieties of produce and pumpkins for carving. “One of my favorite parts of the farm is playing around with the piglets.” Timmy says, “I’ll admit it, they’re pretty cute.”
Timmy Starrs talks with his uncle, Pat Starrs, after picking pumpkins in the field to sell. They stand in the garage where bouquets are made for Timmy’s baby cousin, Isabella Ward, who was diagnosed with eye cancer. The bouquets are sold at the farm stand to raise money for her treatment.
Timmy Starrs of Linden, MI gives a customer their change back after buying produce grown by Starrs Farm. Timmy runs the stand when he is not doing chores on the farm. “It’s nice to get a break from pitching pig stalls,” Starrs says, “that’s for sure.”
Timmy Starrs kisses his grandmother, Rosemary Starrs, after visiting with her during a drink break. His mother, Laura Starrs, stands by and explains what she’s making for dinner. Rosemary lives in the bottom portion of the farmhouse while Timmy and his parents live upstairs. “We have a good arrangement living here,” Laura says, “because I can take care of my mother but also give her freedom.”
Timmy Starrs wipes dirt off homegrown green peppers with his aunt, Mary Starrs. Many extended family members of Timmy’s work on the farm and contribute to the success of the business.
After an early morning of chores on the farm Timmy Starrs pauses in the doorway of the barn and waits for his uncle to meet him. They are meeting to head into the fields to pick another batch of pumpkins to sell at the produce stand.
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A Day at the Holland Sentinel – JRN 422 Job Shadow Assignment
A few days ago I got the opportunity to job shadow Dennis Geppert from the Holland Sentinel. At the paper, Geppert is the photo and video editor. I first got ahold of him through email after I had looked through some of his work on the Holland Sentinel’s website. We talked on the phone and decided on a time that I would take a trip to Holland. It was a two hour drive for me but after hearing the enthusiasm of Geppert on the phone about my visit I was more then willing to make the trip.
The morning of, I climbed in my car after an 8 a.m. shoot in the studio for another class and just hoped that I could stay awake once I got to my destination. I found that my hopes were fulfilled once I pulled into Holland. I found a town that was bustling with the afternoon lunch rush and was very intrigued. It was a beautiful day out with clear skies and a cool breeze which made me even more excited to spend the day moving from one assignment to another with my mentor.
Now, for a little background on Dennis, just in case you were curious as to who I spent the day with and what he was all about. He didn’t start his college career at Central Michigan University as a journalism major but soon found his way to it. He spoke with me about one event that really pushed him in the Photojournalism direction which was when he shot some spot news and sold it to CMLife. The reality kicked in that he could get paid for something he once thought of as just a hobby.
Dennis Geppert of the Holland Sentinel talks to a subject from one of the photos he created at the Holland Gem and Mineral Show on Friday, September 14.
He soon realized the issues that he would encounter with being a photojournalist, but it didn’t turn him off from the career. During his first assignment with CMLife he was sent out to cover the “Coming Out Day” event on campus. He snapped a photo of a homosexual speaker with his hand poised in a controversial position and it ran on A3 the next day. When he arrived to the newsroom the next day he was greeted by 11 rights group activist sincerely pissed off about his “insensitive picture” that ran in the paper. It was a moment that stuck in his mind but he didn’t take it negatively. It just showed him how powerful his work can be and that it could affect people.
After graduating from Central Michigan University, he applied to several places for internship but after much persistence found himself at the Saginaw News. After three years there, he became the photo editor for the Holland Sentinel. Once in Holland, he also opened a photo studio with a business partner which kept him rooted in the area for a few years. Now, he’s headed back to school to earn another degree while maintaining his job at the Holland Sentinel.
Getting to know Geppert was informative for me because it gave me a glimpse of yet another photojournalist working his way into the industry. Every one of us has a different path we take to getting our career jobs and learning about his just gave me a few more tips of how I might be able to succeed.
When I first arrived at the office I learned that we were going to walk to our first assignment which was only a couple of blocks away. The event was being held at the Holland Civic Center. On the walk to the Center, I was informed that we were going to be photographing the Holland Gem and Mineral Show. Very intriguing stuff. Once inside though, I found it to be much larger and much busier than I had expected. We wandered the event and found moments that were photo-worthy (and for me, at least 40 frames that were not near worth snapping the shutter for. Gymnasium lights. Awesome).
Children from a local school took a field trip to the Holland Gem and Mineral Show in order to learn more about their science unit on rocks. Saturday, September 14.
I watched Dennis work quickly and efficiently, making his way around the event taking photos and meeting with the subjects for quotes and names. He stopped to talk with all ages of people, including an elderly man looking into a showcase and a young girl “ooh-ing” over a mineral selection. I was able to step back and observe his process. He would start by snapping as many photos as he could without letting his subjects know that he was there. Once they noticed, he would introduce himself and get their information in order to write a caption.
A mother and her two daughters look into a case filled with gems at the Holland Gem and Mineral Show on Saturday, September 14.
After roaming the event for awhile and talking to several people, we decided that it was time to head back to the office. There, Dennis showed me their papers process of uploading the photos to several different places and how he wrote and saved captions for the photos. The pictures we had taken at the Gem and Mineral Show were to be put on their website as a gallery.
One thing I learned about during the photo up-loading process was that their paper didn’t actually design their own pages for the paper. They send all of their articles and photos to a company that does all that work for them. I’m sure I should have heard of this happening before then but I hadn’t and it kind of bummed me out. The idea that the paper had no creative control over the design of the pages just seems wrong.
When the photos were finished uploading and we had discussed some logistics of how their paper handles submitting assignments, we were off again to the Hope College Men’s Soccer game. This time, we drove to the assignment since it was a bit farther away. Once we arrived at the stadium we sauntered in and walked the perimeter of the field to find the best shooting spot.
One thing I learned about shooting assignments was that you take way less time at an event then I normally do with other school assignments. I’m used to event photography that I do for the Special Olympics where I spend the entire day shooting one event. I’m also used to shooting for photo story projects where I can spend days on the same subject. At the soccer game, we spent a total of about a half hour shooting some photos to run next to the articles and then we were packing up. It showed me the dynamics of being a photographer for a paper where you have several assignments in a day and can’t spend a ton of time at a single event.
After the soccer game, we wrapped things up and I was headed back to Mount Pleasant from Holland. All in all, I feel like the experience I had with my job shadow was very successful. Dennis was very accommodating in that he didn’t mind that I tagged along with his every move during the day. I definitely learned things during my job shadow that I have yet to learn in the classroom or at my internship like the logistics of the news room and how to pursue an assignment.
-Leah Erber
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JRN 420 Studio Portrait Assignment
For my first JRN 420 assignment, I was required to photograph two people in which I showed their personality. When first given the assignment, I have to admit, I felt pretty nervous. I had never worked with strobes and the demonstration in class was quick and I felt like I didn’t really grasp the idea of setting them up. But on the morning of the shoot, which was pretty freaking early, my nerves calmed because I was going into the studio with some people from class. I figured with our young, agile minds we’d be able to figure it out and we did. First up was Danielle Duval who is a Senior at Central Michigan University and originally from Fenton, MI. I found it easy to shoot her because she has a very photogenic manner about her.
I used the classic lighting set-up that we used in the class for both of my shoots.
My second model is Terry Place, a sophomore at Central Michigan University and originally from Linden, Michigan. Again, I used the lighting from the demonstration in class.
I think now that I’ve become more comfortable with the lights I’ll experiment more with placement and get a little more artsy with the way it affects my models. Overall though, I think my first shoot went well.
-Leah Erber
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Teaching Carson Stewart
Carson Stewart is a student at South Lyon’s Hardy Elementary. He is diagnosed with Down Syndrome. The classroom he is placed in is 2nd through 5th and multiply impaired, where three para-educators are employed to help teach and take care of the students. He is the only student in his classroom who is verbal, which means that he can cognitively verbalize his thoughts. His teacher, Desi Mayner, takes on the challenge of teaching Carson while also having six other multiply impaired students in class.
Some days, it is difficult for Mayner to get one-on-one time with Carson because of other demands in the classroom. Mayner is also the only male in the special education program at Hardy Elementary, which means he’s often called out of the classroom to deal with physical arguments in other rooms. At any given moment, Mayner will be forced to drop what he’s doing and aid the other teachers in the hallway. Mayner has a way with being able to calm students. Some of his para-educators believe it’s because he is a contrast to the many female teachers that surround students all day long.
When starting the year in Mayner’s classroom, Carson struggled with his behavior. He was defiant to authority and wanted to complete tasks on his own time. Now, Carson is able to follow two-step procedures. This means he can be told to “throw out his plate and then wash his hands” and he would be able to complete those tasks in the right order. He also has learned his numbers up to 50 and the alphabet. Also, he has started to learn to read. Carson loves to play with cars in his free time and can always provide a laugh for Mayner and his para-educators throughout the day. He has an adorable attitude and was such a pleasure to spend the day with.
Next year, Carson will move on to another classroom where he can further his learning with more advanced students like himself. His move will take him across the hall where higher functioning special education students are taught by Ms. Bushey.
-Leah Erber
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The Egg-Tastic Egg Toss
Students from the RPL 430 class, which is a class at Central Michigan University that focuses on planning recreational programs and events, chose to raise money for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization in Mount Pleasant, MI. The group came up with the “egg toss” idea which is modeled after the “puck chuck” seen at many hockey games. There were several rounds in which the person with the egg closest to the target won a prize. Some of the prizes included signed Red Wings apparel, gift certificates to restaurants around town, and spa and travel packages. Overall, the group considered their event a success by raising over $3oo for the organization.
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Drop In Hockey at CMU
Terry Place is a student at Central Michigan University. He moved from Arizona his sophomore year of high school to Linden, Michigan in order to further his career in hockey. Once in Michigan, he realized that his dream of playing professional hockey was going to be a lot harder to obtain, due to the increase of talent he found himself playing against. Although he no longer plays on an organized team, he plays drop-in hockey and participates in “sticks and pucks” at the local arena.
-Leah Erber
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“God Gave Us An Inch”
Kathryn McGreevy is currently a Junior at Michigan State University. Two years ago she was involved in a serious accident in which the driver of the other vehicle drove off. She underwent surgery and spent weeks rehabilitating from the head injury and blood loss that occurred during the accident. Today, she is almost back to where she was before the accident but has to continue with a drug regimen for the brain trauma she suffered.
-Leah Erber
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Training to Fight Project Proposal
Working Title: Training to Fight
1) Working Hypothesis and Interpretation
In life I believe that it is important to understand and explore all different types of cultures. My project will show this in action by exploring the world of Mixed Martial Arts fighting (MMA). Ultimately, I want the audience to feel the hardships and struggles that come along with training to fight, as well as the victories. For my project, I will be following a few fighter’s as they train one being Nick Caldwell. Caldwell is a student of CMU who also trains to fight MMA. He is going to introduce me to some of the other guys who train at the gym and I will be able to obtain more information and interviews that way. I think that providing several fighter’s perspective on the sport will be able to provide my audience with adequate information about the culture.
2) Topic
The topic of my project will be the men who train to become fighters. Mixed Marital Arts as a sport has risen to popularity in recent years with shows like Ultimate Fighter Championship and Caged (an MTV production that follows aspiring fighters). The popularity of the shows on television have lead to young men, and occasionally women, to break into the sport. MMA consists of boxing and wrestling techniques. The fighter’s are typically in a cage, much like a boxing ring but with fencing. There are three rounds in which a fighter can win by judges decision or by knockout. All of this information on the sport will be presented through photographs and video in my project. I will show the setup of the gyms as well as the different techniques used in fighting.
3) Action
First, I will interview fighter’s. This action will help to get an inside view of the sport and some behind-the-scene moments. Secondly, I will show the fighter’s in training. The images of them practicing on each other will lend to the audiences understanding of the sport. Lastly, I will have some images of the fighter’s in every day life. This will show the audience that the men are just like normal people, who choose to do a very intense sport.
4) Main Subjects
Nick Caldwell is my first subject. He is a student at Central Michigan University. Although he has not had any fights yet, he trains weekly at the gym. He is 20 years old and got into the sport once he entered college. He is important to my project because he will lend to the “upcoming-fighter’s” aspect of my story.
I have not yet acquired my other subjects, but Caldwell has confirmed that he will introduce me to other fighter’s at the gym. These fighter’s will lend to my project because I will hopefully find all different levels of skill, showing all parts of the sport.
5) Camera Interviews
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I will get a young fighter who is just getting into the sport tell me about why they wanted to begin fighting.
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I will have an experienced fighter tell stories of training and of losses and victories.
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I will have several fighter’s give interviews about the inside world of fighting that many people may not know.
All of these interviews will seek to bring clarity to the sport for the audience and give an inside look to a world that many will never experience.
6) Structure
In the beginning of my project, I want to start out showing clips of fighting and training. I will then move to the fighter’s explaining the sport, and what it means to them and their lives. I will get inside stories and have intermixing video that helps to tell those stories. I will end my project with (hopefully) a fight that has some meaning to it and an interview with that fighter. I think that this type of ended will be the perfect climax to the build-up of all the training clips.
7) Shooting Schedule
I will be attended several practices throughout the next month or so. I will also be interviewing subject’s according to their schedule’s once I meet with them.
8) Resolution
I believe that my piece will impact viewer’s by showing them a piece of culture they may not ever be a part of. This sport is not available for all types of people and this will show an inside view of MMA. I think that viewer’s will enjoy getting to know the fighters and following them throughout their training.
-Leah Erber
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Video Shootout- War Veterans Library
I met Peter and Ann Rhially at the War Veterans Library in Mount Pleasant, MI. It was a Wednesday evening and the couple was on their daily visit to read the newspapers provided by the library. They both enjoy the diversity of the papers.
-Leah Erber
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Leah Erber 