Ashley and Joel Mendez walk through magical Storybook land in Albany last Wednesday night.

Train Conductor Bob sets up the mini village for the children to play with.

Mother brings her baby boy to see the Christmas train show.

Mother shows her son her favorite movie when she was younger, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Cindy gets the seasons first Candy Cane straight from Mrs. Claus herself.

Peer Pressure Photo Story

Savannah Adams trying to impress her friends as she wrongfully inhales a cigarette and coughs.

Cimantha Hormel secretly drinking for the first time to impress her friends.

Cimantha succumbs to the pressure of her friends to participate in a game of 'Spin the Bottle'.

Daveda Landcaster spreading gossip about Cimantha the next day during school.

Asia Flaska is too afraid to stand up for her friend in order to keep out of the situation.

Week 1 Forum
Three things I learned in chapter 1

"Writers and photographers should resolve conflicts between words and pictures before the story goes to the press" (15).

"The medium shot should tell the story in on photographer, shoot the picture close enough to see the participants action, yet far enough to see the participants action, yet far away enough to show their relationship to one another and to the environment" (16).

"Photojournalists must catch their subjects as unaware as possible to record real emotions...In a good candid picture, subjects never gaze at the camera. Eye contact tips off the reader that the picture is not candid and suggests that the subjects was at least aware of the photographer and might even be preforming for the lens" (21).




*I recieved 4/5 on this assignment and was hoping this would bring it to 5/5 taking my grade from a 78% to 80% with 40 points instead of 39.

My three goals of the term was to become more comfortable with taking pictures of people and talking with them, becoming a better photographer, and learning about professional photographers and their stories.

The most difficult task was getting more comfortable with taking pictures of total strangers however I soon overcame that feeling as I took more and more pictures. I think that as a photographer I improved greatly mostly because I got the chance to use a real camera as appose to my phone. I got the chance to learn about lots of incredible photographers through the Photographer of the Week assignment and readings in the textbook.

This is my favorite shot of the entire term because it captures the aesthetic of the store as well as the customers who shop in it. I think Sofia's style really comes out and overall it looks really cool. This photo reflects my learning experience throughout the term because I slowly began to feel more comfortable with taking pictures of strangers and asking them their names as well as other questions. I had a really great conversation with Sofia that night. I believe my photo skills increased with my level of comfortability with the situations I was apart of. In the future I plan on taking more photos of people and capturing their daily lives.

Arthur "Weegee" Fellig is an extremely simple and stylistic photographer. His work of the "real" New York City encourages many people to lift their idea they had on Manhattan and think about it differently. The dark and unseen aspects to living in a socially destroyed and crime ridden city are made apparent through Fellig's work. I loved the black and white still photos that capture evil endulgences such as the pictures of dead bodies on the ground and blood spatter. I love that he had a dark room in the back of his car so that he could get the printed pictures in the newspaper as soon as possible before any other reporter had the chance.   

I am going to shoot a photo story pertaining to the idea of an individuals struggle to gain acceptance into a social group. I plan to get pictures of teenagers doing things to gain acceptance such as bullying, smoking, sex, drinking and driving, and fashion choices. I will get an overall picture of a kid pinned up against a locker and bystanders just walking by. For the medium shot I will get a picture of teenagers in a car filled with alcohol and a visibly impaired driver. For the close up shot I want to photograph teenagers smoking and the subject looks ashamed. For the picture reguarding sexual pressure I will get a picture of a girl and guy in a car. For the fashion choice photo I will take pictures of girls at the mall looking at racey clothing.