Launch Photography Show

I have spent a lot of time at City Art this week. On Thursday night the gallery walls were lined with about 15 sets of work for from USC's Advanced Photography class. It's encouraging seeing my peers' work in a professional gallery. Each photographer had a different approach to their set. The biggest crowd gathered around a set of photographs of women paired with a letter from that woman of something they couldn't say out aloud. The photos and the letters had a deep sense of vulnerability that touched everyone in the room. Other photographers went with more of a political approach.

On Tuesday, I attended the Gallery Talk for this show. There was a man there that was a young art student's nightmare critic. In response to a set showing the dichotomy of the classes by showing a row of upper class and houses in shambles, he told the girl that she should work for ReMax. His critique completely disregarded the artist statement, he was more concerned with who would potentially pay her to take photos in the future. This reaction made the artist cringe, but the struggle for interpretation is continuous in art. Once exposed to an audience the artist's meaning becomes one of many. That is terrifying in art.

This show helped me to realize how very different photojournalism is from art photos. Photojournalism photos are supposed to answer questions, to inform the audience through exposure. Photography as art mainly raises questions and provokes further intrigue. Content should be manipulated and controlled within the shot. While photojournalism is looked to for truth and honesty, art photography can be manipulated to say whatever the artist wants.

Weekend in Charleston

I spent the past weekend in Charleston. Since owning a DSLR camera, I haven't had the chance to walk around historic Charleston with my camera. I found a friend who had only come to the city once as an excuse to walk around tourist style with a camera around my neck visiting all of the tourist highlights. Luckily my friend is really into photography so she wasn't too annoyed by me getting into weird angles to take photos. In return, I didn't gripe about her amazement when we turned every corner or her complaining about one way streets. Anyway, it was a perfect cloudy day for photography and I definitely took advantage of it.

Photo Assistant

Over the past semester I've had the opportunity to work as a photo assistant to my friend, Anna. We've made trips to Swansea, Bowman, and all over rural South Carolina. We've met people and seen some ridiculous things. I didn't take my camera on these trips in order to just help Anna out but it has really trained my eye and has taught me a ton about my photography. I've become more confident with strangers, as we walk right up to them and ask for permission to photograph their homes. I've also learned how to handle a twin lens medium format camera since these photos are taken for a film photography class in the art school.

NPPA TV BOP Editing Judging

Today, I spent the afternoon running technology for the NPPA TV Best of Photojournalism Editing competition. It was really great getting to spend three hours of one-on-one time with Shawn Montano and Matt Apthorp and eating lunch with the rest of the judges. Even though I'm not going to to a newsroom or working a video camera, I learned a lot.

Watching all of these videos, I had to train my eye to look past a great story or great photography and look at what the editor did. I learned about the differences good pacing makes. The best videos kept the pacing in tune with the storytelling. Interrupting a good story with choppy jump cuts and natural sound can distract you. There were a lot of videos that lost first place because of unnecessary footage or cheesy effects, even if the rest of their video was great. Including a bad effect is definitely memorable, but when you get them right it adds a lot to the video.

The story is the most important thing when it comes to video. Editing should enhance the story; it should reflect the people in it. If the people are ridiculous, you're allowed to go a little over the top with editing. If the people are showing their respect to an important figure in the video, calm down, use effects to also pay respect. Editing and storytelling should work together and from what I've seen today, when the editor lets that happen it turns out wonderfully.

Event Photography: Lowcountry Artist Market

On March 3rd, I attended the Lowcountry Artist Market at the Music Farm in downtown Charleston, SC. Crafters, designers, and restaurants from around the Charleston area gathered together to create a tangible etsy store.

http://lowcountryartistmarket.blogspot.com/

Invite Ideas

I have been asked by my brother and his fiance to design their invites and printed materials for their wedding. I am really excited about helping them out and getting more experience with clients, even if it's family. Kelon and Whysper are going for sort of a rustic look with green hydrangeas, lace, and burlap all over. To come up with ideas and inspiration I started a pinterest page collecting the best of the web. I looked for alternative save-the-date ideas, fun guest books and program ideas. One save the date doubled as a book mark and another invite tied an actual knot as you open it. I want to keep theirs creative and keep it traditional enough for a sweet Georgian wedding.  
http://pinterest.com/keanek/rustic-wedding-invite-ideas/

Sports Photography

This weekend I shot the USC/ECU Rugby game. After spending the afternoon learning the sport, learning sports photography, and getting a nice sun burn I lost my memory card. I finally found it last night and I am so excited that I don't have to reshoot or buy a new card. The game was pretty enjoyable. I learned that I shouldn't be surprised by two or three injuries when watching a typical match but these girls were rough! One girl covered the metal brackets on her cast so she could go in to play. That's an intensity I've never had and made me really intimidated by these girls. I did get a lot of pictures so I'm pretty excited to go through them and turn them in soon.