Multimedia Reporting Fall 2020

For my photo essay, i was very limited to many things because of the pandemic so, I’ve deiced to do something that would be safe.  I had this idea of photographing  me and my friend roaming through  a rich neighborhood.

Me and him are both immigrants and our parents came here for us to have a better education and a better future. Like most people, everyone wants to live in a nice neighborhood in a big house with nice cars, etc.

I wanted to photograph one of our dreams which is to live in a nice, safe neighborhood where our family could grow up. I think this would be very interesting because this is something  we really want to accomplish and since that we are immigrants, it was more meaningful.

For my photo essay, I will be focusing on the spectrum of styles present in East and West side Harlem. I would like to give an overview of how an essential part of society is the visual expression of its people and how fashion and beauty plays a major role in the way people convey their thoughts and emotions. I would like to try and capture images of the best non-verbal communication that exists in society. It is interesting to me how people’s clothing can leave an impression on people without even physically saying a word.

Such as the crossing guard woman who accessorizes over her uniform or the teenager who wears too much makeup to show off her personality or the mom who tried out a new braided hairstyle or maybe even your local tennis player who adds his own dazzle to his tennis outfit. I look forward to seeing the many styles of fashion and beauty actually present in the East and West side of Harlem.

For my photo essay I will be focusing on the South Brooklyn communities of Brighton and Sheepshead Bay. I would like to give an overview of the history of this community and discuss the rich nature of the people there while also exposing the blatant hypocrisy that currently exists there with regards to COVID-19 and the BLM Movement. I would like to attempt to capture images of some of the blatant illegal activities that occur on a daily basis and do a deep dive into how this community of refugees from the Soviet Union has turned into such a conservative group of people.

I would like to highlight some of the beliefs of the majority of immigrants in this community, as well as try to depict what it is like to be a progressive young person surrounded by Soviet close-mindedness. I will take pictures of the neighborhood as well as some of the people. I am hoping to try and get some people to do interviews and provide their opinions for this piece.

For my story, I had a lot of different ideas, but the one I settled on that may be the best visually would be covered next weekend. I plan on spending a weekend with my girlfriend for our anniversary, and we will have a city exploration day.

I plan on going with her to different restaurants, site-seeing places, and just traveling around Manhattan and Brooklyn. I hope to tell a story that revolves around love and exploration. So the visuals will feature us in a variety of places, in a variety of styles, from riding Citi bikes at a park to eating at a rooftop restaurant.

I think this story would be an interesting story considering the time we are in right now, under COVID restrictions, has limited not only plenty of human interaction but also for some couples a long time to be apart. Since she will be returning to NY from another state for the first time in months, I hope this story of our reunion, as well as hers with NY, will be a breath of fresh air from the ongoing unrest and sadness in the world, through strong and beautiful images.

The other idea I have also revolves around something taken away from us during COVID. Since social distancing was put in place, many people are limited in their recreational activity with other people outside, for example not being able to play basketball in the park with others in fear of COVID. Since my group of friends and I have all been cleared of COVID testing negative, I think a nice story would also be us reuniting with our pastime and capturing images of us playing ball for the first time in months.

I think this would be an interesting story because again, people have been stuck inside and limited to what they can do outside out of fear and restrictions. This may be a nice break from everyone just being on their phones or watching tv inside all day, and capturing my friends in motion playing the game they love may create some quality photos, both in motion, close up, and have nice lighting from the sun.

I really like both of these ideas, and I’m not sure if one has to be accepted for me to do it. If I had to choose one for the assignment I’d probably choose the reunion/anniversary adventure in NYC just for the variety of possible photos. However, I might end up capturing some pick up basketball games with my friends just for myself for fun.

For my photo essay, I plan to explore the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses in New York. My family’s pizzeria and Italian restaurant have been dramatically impacted by the pandemic. I would like to explore and document the specific ways that small businesses, especially family-owned businesses, have had to adapt to the constantly changing circumstances.

From my father wearing a mask more than 12 hours a day to my grandparents not being able to work during regular hours, I would like to photograph my family’s experiences over these past months. Westchester, NY was one of the first COVID hotspots, with my family’s restaurant shutting down during the first few weeks of the pandemic. The ways that small businesses have had to adapt in order to compete with many larger corporations have been crucial over these past few months. I look forward to exploring and documenting the struggles and adaptations that small family businesses have made in order to survive, both literally and figuratively.

For my photo essay I would like to focus on the MTA as a whole. While it might not resonate as the most appealing place in NYC, it used to be the most used means of transportation for New Yorkers before COVID-19, with 5 millions riders every day. Inspired by the project “Platforms” by Natan Dvir, I would like to photograph how the pandemic has impacted the subway and what our stations look like nowadays.

As a foreigner, the way I picture the MTA is almost like a city within the city where many stories used to get together for the time of a ride. However many people are now avoiding trains even though life slowly started again.  I believe capturing various stations and their riders, with different point of focus could be interesting to show how 2020 has changed our approach to public transportation.

For my project, I would like to focus on New Brunswick, NJ. I actually just recently moved here less than a month ago. I think New Brunswick is very vibrant. Because it is part of Rutgers University’s campus, there are a lot of things to do: bars, restaurants, performing arts centers, student centers, greek life, libraries, residencies, etc.

Like many upcoming places, there is an apparent divide between the new, luxury apartments and the older buildings. I think it would be interesting to do my project not just on the differences between new and old, but also COVID-19’s impact for both sides.

What I want to focus on in my photo essay are Bronx landscapes. There’s so much beauty in the Bronx that people aren’t seeing that I feel need to be highlighted. Growing up here I saw many landscapes that helped mold me to who I am and exposing these landscapes are very important to me.

This topic Is relevant because the Bronx is becoming more gentrified as the years progress. I want to show the beauty’s of it’s authenticity before it becomes a whole neighborhood built on rich comfortability.

Guest Speaker:

Photojournalist Natalie Keyssar

Discussion

Introduction to DSLR Photography

Unfortunately, with this semester being taught remotely, I won’t be able to sign out cameras for you to practice photography with. If you happen to have access to a DSLR camera, great! You’re welcome to use that for your assignments. If not, no worries; your photo assignments can all be done on your phone for this course.

Regardless, we’re still going to go over camera settings and a bit of theory so you understand how it all works.

The first time you pick up a DSLR camera, the sheer number of settings and dials can be a little overwhelming. You may be tempted to stick with Auto when you start out — and that’s totally fine while you’re getting the hang of it.

But to make sure you are taking the best possible pictures, it helps to have control over a few key settings: ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, which collectively make up the three pillars of photography. Tweaking these settings will allow you to take different types of pictures, and all of them essentially come down to one thing: light.

The Bucket

It may be helpful to keep this analogy in mind.

Imagine you are using a garden hose to fill a bucket to the top. Next, imagine that our end goal — a bucket filled exactly to the brim, but without spilling — equals a perfectly exposed photograph .

A few things control how much water goes in the bucket and how long it takes to reach the brim: the width of the hose, the water pressure, and how long you let the water run. You can achieve your goal using endless combinations of these factors. A very narrow pipe running at a steady pressure for a long time will fill your bucket as surely as a very wide pipe running for only a few moments.

A camera works the same way to let in the correct amount of light. Imagine that the width of the hose is the aperture, the amount of time you run the tap is the shutter speed, and the water pressure is the ISO.

ISO

Basically, ISO refers to how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to light. The lower the number, the less sensitive it is and vice versa. The ISO range in the DSLR cameras we’ll be using usually goes from 100 to 6400, doubling as it goes (100 to 200 to 400 and so on until it gets up to 3200 and 6400).

It follows, then, that you will need to adjust the ISO for the available lighting conditions.

In broad daylight, there is plenty of light to work with, so a low ISO will be all you need. If you let in too much light, the image will be overexposed.

If you are shooting indoors in artificial light, you will need a much higher ISO — but be aware that you sacrifice image quality as you get up to the highest ISO settings, where you will start to notice a grainy quality. So before you reach for the dial to crank the ISO up to 3200, try letting a bit more light into the camera using a wider (lower) aperture or slower shutter speed.

Shutter Speed

Shutter speed is probably the simplest setting to understand. It refers to how long the camera’s shutter stays open. The longer the shutter is open, the more light is able to come in, and vice versa.

Shutter speed typically ranges from about 1/1000th of a second (very fast) to a few seconds (very slow). Slow shutter speed allow for a longer exposure time, which allows the camera to capture more movement. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on the image you want to make.

A faster shutter speed would have captured the aqua-colored glove crisply. Using a slower shutter speed can create a sense of motion. Credit: Lindsay Armstrong

A long exposure can allow you to capture objects in motion in an artistically blurred fashion — or it can capture unwanted camera shake if you’re shooting without a tripod.

Slow Shutter Speed

Sports photographers trying to capture crisp images, for example, are likely to rely on a fast shutter speed because their subjects are moving so quickly.

Aperture

Aperture refers to the opening in the lens. The wider it is, the more light it lets in. Somewhat confusingly, smaller numbers equate to wider aperture. Aperture is measured in “f-stops” and lenses can have different ranges. The wide-angle lenses that come with the journalism department’s DSLR cameras typically range from about f/3.5 (the widest) to f/22 (letting in the least amount of light).

A low aperture, in addition to helping you shoot in low-light conditions, allows you to capture a shallow depth of field. This refers to the effect where an object in the foreground is in focus but the background is blurred (or vice versa).

This also allows you to play with the bokeh effect, as we discussed a little earlier.

A high aperture, on the other hand, allows to retain detail at every layer of the image, which can be vital in terms of storytelling. If there are protest signs in the background, for instance, and your camera lens is focused on a police officer in the foreground, a shallow depth of field means we may not be able to tell what the signs say. In such a situation, you might want a flatter image, with a deeper depth of field.

Hello, JRN 3510 students! This class blog is where you’ll pitch stories, submit drafts, publish your edited stories, and workshop each other’s projects and ideas. I will also post my lectures here so that you can refer back to them.

Welcome and introductions.

I essentially run my classes like a small newsroom. So for the duration of this course, you will be the reporters and I will be your editor. If you have any questions or run into any problems on your assignments and need a quick response, the best way to reach me is just to text me; my number is in the syllabus. For anything less time-sensitive, email is fine.

Review the syllabus:

Multimedia-Reporting-Syllabus-Fall-2020

What does “multimedia” journalism mean and how is it changing?

Traditional forms like writing, radio and broadcast have moved online and can complement each other when it comes to telling a complete, dynamic story.

Snow Fall was revolutionary in 2012; now this type of interactive multimedia-heavy layout is fairly common. More recently the NYT Magazine used this kind of scrolling presentation to great effect with The 1619 Project.

The old forms of traditional media still exist, but they have adapted to new methods of delivery and consumption.

Radio stories on the air –> downloadable/streamable podcasts and web versions of stories with photos

TV news –> online video (compositional framing changes, video length changes, formatting optimized for mobile)—and the bar for web video is getting higher and higher

Newspaper-style photography and landscape orientation –> Instagram and the rise of medium format (square) and portrait orientation (contains more information)

The availability of online multimedia content has also made aggregation easy (tweet roundups, etc.) and helped to create a click-driven economy. Twitter and other social platforms have changed the way news breaks.

Intro to Photojournalism

Here are some basic rules and guidelines of photo composition to keep in mind as you start developing your eye:

1. The Rule of Thirds.

If you pay attention to only one element of composition, the rule of thirds should be it. If you start shooting with this “rule” in mind, your pictures will begin to look a lot better immediately.

The general idea is to imagine breaking an image down into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. If you place the main points of interest in your photo where the lines intersect, or along the lines themselves, your image will be far more visually interesting than if you just put the subject smack in the middle. Studies have shown that composing photos this way draws the human eye far more effectively.

2. Use color.

Black and white photography is a beautiful art form, but in photojournalism, most of the time you’ll be shooting in color. It helps to know what combinations of color to look for if you want your images to really pop.

You probably recognize this photo. Known as Afghan Girl, it is one of National Geographic’s most iconic images and was taken by color master Steve McCurry. One of the reasons this relatively simple picture is so stunning and so well-known is the colors: red and green, which fall on opposite sides of the color wheel.

Opposite colors, paired together, can make each other look more vibrant. Notice how the green of the girl’s eyes is picked up by the wall behind her and set off by the rusty red of her scarf.

Images with variations on the same color, known as monochromatic images, can also be quite striking:

3. Capture the decisive moment.

“The decisive moment” is a term that was coined by renowned photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson. It refers to that fleeting instant that photographers love to capture: When someone leans in for a kiss, when a soccer player connects with with the ball, or when a protester throws a rock. If you aren’t ready with your finger on the shutter, you’ll miss the moment. If Bresson had taken this photo a split second earlier or later, it would have been a much more ordinary photo of a man splashing through a puddle. These moments don’t need to be that dramatic; for your assignments, it may be as simple as capturing the moment when the food truck owner you’re profiling flips some meat on the grill or hands the food to her customer. Action shots vs static shots tell more of a story.

4. Leading lines.

Leading lines are lines that move the eye from one part of the image to another part, or sometimes out of the image. They add a sense of drama and perspective, so it’s always good to be on the lookout for roads, bridges, fences, shorelines and the like.

5. Symmetry and patterns.

Symmetry and patterns exist everywhere, both in nature and man-made sights. Looking for repetitions and symmetries, while staying alert to things that then break those very patterns (especially on the thirds!) is a sure way to make an arresting image.

6. Layers.

Another great way to make sure your images are visually interesting is to keep an eye out for what’s happening up close, in the middle distance, and far away. Think in layers. If you can frame your shots so that interesting things are happening in the background as well as at your focal point five feet away, you’re onto something.

Layers will be one of your greatest tools as a photojournalist, because layers add context. They tell a story.

This is a famous photograph by South African photojournalist Kevin Carter. He won a Pulitzer Prize for this image, which showed the effects of the 1993 famine in Sudan.

“Photojournalism” means you’re telling a story, not just taking a picture.

Layers are also a great chance to play around with something called depth of field. This refers to the difference in focus between things that are in the foreground vs. the background—if there isn’t much difference, like in the Kevin Carter photo above, then you’re using greater depth of field. When that difference is dramatic, like when your phone is in Portrait Mode, it’s called shallow depth of field. Shallow depth of field also gives you something called bokeh, which turns background lights into warm globes.

Depth of field is affected by a few things: the focal length of your lens, your distance from the thing in focus, and aperture. We’ll talk more about that when we get into camera settings.

7. Light.

Light impacts everything we do as photographers. How much are we working with? Is it natural or artificial? What is the temperature of the light? What direction is it coming from? Is it harsh or diffuse? What time of day is it? Are you using a flash? Many photojournalists prefer to shoot with natural light as much as possible. Portrait photographers and fashion/fine art photographers often use studio lighting to create interesting lighting environments.

Different kinds of light will affect how different people look in photographs depending on their skin tone.

8. Get close. Then, get even closer.

Photographer Robert Capa famously said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” Proximity with your subjects makes for more powerful and intimate photos. Don’t be afraid to get right in someone’s face with your camera. It may feel intrusive and strange at first, but a huge part of being a reporter is engaging with people and making them feel comfortable.

What’s the process like? How do you go about shoving a camera in someone’s face?

For analysis: The Week in Pictures

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Ten-Minute Break