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Final Inspiration Post

http://www.aimonephoto.com/explorations-chapter-iii

David Aimone is a photographer who works primarily with film, large format, and other historical processes. He uses soft focus, “imperfect lenses” by today’s standards, and the characteristics of pictorialism. He also uses pin hole cameras as well. Aimone grew up in a musical family, so he was no stranger to the arts. Using mostly natural light, he seeks to capture the true beauty of his subject, and not what society has deemed beautiful. Aimone is a well represented photographer; he has been published in many publications as well as been apart of a significant number of exhibitors. 

What I love about his work, is the softness of it. The softness of the image lends a hand to its timelessness and also ads a slight romantic touch to the images. His images are more about the feelings and emotions that they are evoking that rather the subject matter. There is an air of spirituality to the images as well. For me the subject matter is important, but similar to Aimone, I want it to be underrated yet still evoke emotion. Like I said earlier I love the softness of his images, and I think that this process will work nicely in contrast with my imagery which contains quite a bit of geometric structure to them.

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Inspiration Link

https://alice.cazenave.co.uk/essays/2014/07/liquid-light-photography/

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Video Story Write Up

For the first time getting back into premier it went pretty smoothly. Sequencing and piecing together clips was pretty easy. When I was recording I had the audio in camera as well as on an iPhone which helped a lot. I was able to then edit the audio a bit more to pull out some of the background static. For this project I wanted to create a video story on my Brother and his finance’s coffee shop. I wanted to focus more on them and give the viewer a snapshot of what brought them to where they are today, how they got started, and why they started the company. I think that what they are doing is great not only for them but for our small local towns of Cazenovia and Nelson, but Syracuse as well. I interviewed both Sam and Kelsey in their rooms because I wanted them in a personal space, while they retold personal stories from their lives before Peaks. I also interviewed them together as well within the coffee shop. When filming B-roll I was really looking to be thorough and film as much as I could so I could place bits and pieces into a sequence that would play over Sam and Kelsey’s audio. I think that I succeeded in in making a light hearted little information video story of them and their business. One thing/ problem that I ran into when I was filming Sam and Kelsey was I let them run the interview. This wasn't so much a problem with kelsey because she stayed on topic and touched the points that I wanted her to touch on. Sam on the other hand kept being weird and talking about aspects of the coffee business that were too detailed and nobody would understand. So moving forward, i think its important to have a casual interviewing space but still an element of strictness and you asking the questions to keep them on topic. I wanted this video to feel personal so that the viewer could connect to Sam and Kelsey and their stories, This was also a way to encourage people to support small businesses. The viewer can feel that they already have a relationship with them which shines a positive light on small businesses. 

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Shot of the Week

In the middle of her second semester at Morrisville College, Zoe Bender asks her brother Samuel Bender for his opinion on a research paper.

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Shot of the week

Kelsey Ball, owner of Peaks Coffee Company in Nelson, New York, remembers her battle with anxiety and how it now serves as her driving force to help others. “I remember how crippled I felt, so now I just want to create a space where people who are struggling can come and just breathe. Thats the amazing thing about coffee, it’s not just a drink, it’s a tool to help others that are hurting around you. 

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 Shot of the week

Five year old Ephraim Bender holds onto his Grandmother in the midst of the hustle of the Sunday Morning Church service at Living Word Church

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Shot of the week

Sydney Rienfield is the daughter of Joe Reinfield, owner of Joe’s Plant Shak in Chittenango, NY. “Ever since I was really little I remember running through my Dad’s greenhouses...sometimes I still do.”

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News Photo

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/26/us/united-airlines-leggings.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=225&pgtype=sectionfront

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Article by Liam Stack 

United Airlines cause a stir when they refused to let two teen girls board a plane. The girls were turned away at the gate at the Denver Interactional Airport due to the clothes that they were wearing, both girls were in leggings. This caused an uproar on social media as individuals were tweeting and posting about how unhappy they were with United Airlines. Jonathon Guerin who is a spokesman for Untied Airlines said that the girls were turned away because they were not in line with the company dress code policy for pass travelers. Employees of the company and their families/dependents receive discount or free seats but have to follow a dress code because they are in a way representing the company. United Airlines stresses that they still hold the right to have turn the girls away at the gate for not upholding company policy,

The image included with this article is a shot of planes the runway. It is a cropped image which gives us a nice sense of scale-reminding us of how large planes really are. Including this image is a abstract way of represent a company, and the scale of the places correlate to the respect and prestige this company holds, especially in a situation where they uphold a dress code policy not only for their employees, but for who their employees are related to or involved with as well. 

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News Photo

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/29/business/coal-jobs-trump-appalachia.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fus&action=click&contentCollection=us®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=122&pgtype=sectionfront

David Goldman/Associated Press

Article By Hiroko Tabuchi 

On his campaign trail President Trump rallied behind is own cry that he would bring back jobs and create new ones. One of the jobs is coal mining. The reality of bringing back coal miners and the coal industry is in question. Coal is on the decline due to the abundance of natural gas, and human miners have been replaced by trucks and drills that operate by themselves. Coal is only responsible for one third of the electricity in the United States, and coal exports are on the decline due to natural gas and the search for clean energy. When Obama proposed his Clean Power Plan the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned that it was a risk of losing more than 200,000 American jobs due to the shutting down and halt in the coal-fired production plants. President Trump has also vowed to dismantle this plan. Obama’s plan was set up as part of a treaty with Paris reduce the United States emissions by 26% by 2025. Environmental groups have countered the argument of American job loss by arguing that new ones will be created in the fields of clean energy, as many as 274,000 by 2020.

The first photograph contains two miners in Appalachia, one in the foreground, one in the background. Coal mining is something that the general public associates with being dated, and the location of the photograph is known to be a remote area. The miners are shown like we would picture them in our heads; dirty, tired, and sad. This job is hard work and physically exhausting, and we see that on the two figures pictured. The figures aren't the only things that are covered in dust, but everything with in the frame appears dirty, giving us a look at the working environment that comes with coal mining. Even if Trump tries to bring back the coal industry it is still on the decline do to other alternatives for power sources, leaving people who in the coal industry in an job that isn't secure. 

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News Photo

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/world/australia/cyclone-debbie-queensland-evacuation.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Faustralia

Peter Parks/Agence France Presse/Getty Images

Article by Jaqueline Williams 

Debbie, a category 4 storm swept up the north eastern coast of Australia. With the concern of tidal surges and 160 miles per hour winds tens of thousand of people left or were evacuated and around 48,000 homes were left without water or power. Debbie is classified as a slow moving cyclone, giving the store more time to cause more destruction. One of the concerns is for the Great Barrier Reef; the storm could cause more damage to the already fragile underwater environment. The northeastern coast hasn't seen a storm this big since 2011 with the storm name Yesi. 

The first image is both beautiful and ominous. The picture captures beautiful sunset tones in the sky, but what makes the viewer aware that something is not right is that the orange tones are continued throughout the whole scene. The image is dark, and the sky takes up the majority of the frame. Making the sky the focal point of the photograph was a smart choice because the sky is how were look at the weather, when something isn't right the sky isn't right. When a storm is coming ominous clouds and odd colors take over the sky and the environment around us. The picture captures the overall uneasiness of the situation. 

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News Photo

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/03/us/politics/north-korea-nuclear-trump-china.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fworld&action=click&contentCollection=world®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront

Korean Central News Agency- Getty Images

Article by David E. Sanger and William J Broad

Intelligence agencies from around the world turned there attention towards an online add that was placed advertising to sell 22 pounds of pure Lithium 6 from a port in China. The reason this caught intelligence agencies internationally is due to the fact that Lithium 6 is used to turn an atom bomb into a hydrogen bomb. President Trump is meeting with the President of China to sign aggressive economic sanctions regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons. Experts say that the add placed online is evidence that North Korea has produced excess of the material which has made it almost impossible to stop them from becoming a nuclear power. 

The first image included with the article has a beautiful pastel color palette to it; from the blues in the background to the more warm orange tones in the foreground. The figures closest to the camera appear small in scale compared to the large industrial buildings in the background. I think that it was important to include the cityscape within the background of the image because of the technological developments that are discussed within the article and the weight that they hold. North Korea’s nuclear advancements are a threat world wide and the scale of the buildings somewhat serves as a reminder. The figures in the foreground are conversing with each other and taking notes on what the central figure appears to be saying. They appear to be officials taking notes on what appears to be a man of money and society, probably regarding the issue of North Korea’s nuclear efforts. 

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Final Project Inspiration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRGT2-acR_A

This first video was produced and posted by PORT (Pediatric Oncology Research Team) This is one over several small videos that this research team have put together in their efforts to educate “the general public of profound loss on teenagers” As far as this videos from a technical view (not content) it is an example of just a one on one interview. I want mine to be more personal than that. I think that sitting down and having my subject tell her story first is good so I have that audio to carry throughout the video is a good idea, and I would do it similar to the way that they have done it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PH46MxWQYI

This is A video produced and made by BuzzFeed, who is a company who put together quite a lot of small video stories on any subject that you can think of, usually people based with a lot of people incorporated within the video. With this video I love how they switch between different individuals as they tell their stories of loss. I definitely want to incorporate that technique into my video whether it be with different people or the same person, just with different clips. I think that hearing more than one people talk personally about a certain subject or experience gives the viewer a little more to relate to, which is why I wanted to incorporate more people. Its like you're having this group conversation. I want the viewer to be able to connect with Maria, not feel sorry for her but connect with her and her story. The way that they have similar clips of people but they are posed and positioned slightly different works well within the the video as a whole. It keeps the video from falling flat. So I think that that is a good technique to use moving forward.

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Final Project Proposal

For the last project of this class I want to create a film about personal grief. My main idea is to primarily follow my cousin, who is 21 like myself, and how she is dealing with her loss. Maria Weimar is finishing up nursing school which is stressful in and of itself, and then over the summer we both lost people who were very young and very close to us. Both of us being in the middle of the grieving process handle it very differently and thats what I want to focus on. Her way of handling it is a lot more physically destructive. Maria turns so alcohol as a coping method with the pain. I have already talked to her about taking on a project that this and she is completely on board. I also want to incorporate other people as well maybe random shots of people on the street asking people what they think about grief and about an experience dealing with the loss of someone. I want to do this with random people and people that are around me such as family members, fellow peers, and teachers. I want to follow Maria through her daily routine, what she does when she gets up, her at Crouse School of Nursing where she goes to class, and what she does when she comes home. I want to film her in her room, her car, walking, or other personal spaces talking about her loss and how she's dealing with it. For me I don't think that how young people handle loss is really talked about or discuss, especially when they lose someone who is so close to them in age. Losing someone is hard, but when they are your peer, your friend, your lover, someone who you see yourself in, it makes it so much harder. I want to use this to gather information about the psychological effects of grief especially in teens and young adults, and what drives us to handle it they way they we do. I want to have clips were we are both talking to each other about loss, because I want to put myself in the video as well. 

In preparation for this video is going to be a lot of planning, and a lot of shooting. I really want to first narrow down what specific shots that I am looking for and start to build a story line to then shoot from. Preliminary research is going to be key for this, and as a spring board for my capstone. Maria is a nurse so she has taken classes on grief and counseling, families and loss, so definitely having her talking about being in that class and dealing with loss in the midst of it. I just think that teens are over looked when they lose someone. I haven't done research yet regarding that or statistics, I'm just basing that off of personal experience. Parents and adults by the next week kind of assume that you are fine when you might be really suffering emotionally, mentally, and physically. I just want to shine a light on the subject. 

I am also video editing Salat’s documentary, while Jamie Isaacs has done all of the camera work.

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Inspiration Post:Video Story

http://www.cullenstudio.com

This is a local wedding videographer who has built his client base from syracuse to all over the east coast, even filming a wedding for a friend of John Legend’s. What I love about these videos is the over all feel to them. They make they viewer smile, and feel good. They are clean not only in the way they are shot but in they way that they are sequenced. The light quality in all of the clips is beautiful. There is a good variety in the kinds of shots that are included, as well as variety in focus shifts as well. The audio is clear and crisp, and the background music does not over power the video and the fades are seamless.

I want my video to be clean with seamless transitions. I want to incorporate B roll of the surrounding environment as well as clips of Sam and Kelsey interacting with one another such as laughing, looking at each other, hugging, and other clips like that. 

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Proposal: Video Story

For the video story project I will be filming my brother and his fiancee talking about their coffee shop and roastery that they started together. This video will focus on the more personal side of the business; how they met and decided that this is what they want to do. I will have them talk about over coming the struggles of not only opening a brand new business in a small quiet town, but also their personal struggles as well. They both deal with anxiety and depression, and have a love for helping others regardless of their situation. This  is what really propelled them to open a coffee shop so that they can create an environment to not only help individuals but the community as well. 

Going into this audio is an important aspect. So I will film in camera like I normally would but also record on my iPhone so I have that extra bit of clarity. Setting a schedule and a lot of back up days for shooting incase one day falls through is important so you are not rushing at the last minute trying to capture footage. Shooting siblings is difficult because you are already comfortable with each other, and sometimes a little bit too comfortable; so keeping a serious “get to work” attitude and environment could be tricky, Tripods are important for video, but I also want to include hand holding as well, because there are some things or areas that I would be able to film with a tripod. As far a B roll footage I want to just film the inside of the coffee shop, some scenery in Nelson, and some close up shots of coffee or of Sam and Kelsey. I will also be filming them together and separately. Having extra batteries and S.D. cards as well will be important for being prepared. I just want this video story to be light and casual and to really illustrate them and their love for their business they have established and why they chose to do it. 

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Jeanne Birdsall is a well known photographer and author with a career spanning over 30 years. She took an 11 year break from photography to focus on writing starting in 2005, after she received the Nation Book Award for Young People’s Literature. Within her photography she has worked with portraits of not only people but also still lives of dolls and figurines as well. Her gum bichromate prints however are more portrait based.

When we look at the imagery of Birdsall’s work it is mostly female portraits from the bust up. Not only is the quality of the print soft due to the process but the image as well. The lighting she uses within this body of work is soft, with no strong shadows which makes the prints feels softer as well. There is a timeless quality to the photographs and they contain theatrical elements as well due to the pose and facial expressions of the subjects. Birdsall works with these emotional and theatrical elements to contrast with the softness and delicateness of the process. These three images work well with the subject, composition, and emotional content with the gum bichromate process. The simplistic compositions also elevate the timelessness within the print. 

http://www.rmichelson.com/artists/jeanne-birdsall/portraits/allyn-after-the-mumps10x8/

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For these four photographs I carried my camera with me everywhere that I went. These places included my home, my grandparents, and my church. Pictures not included also included car rides and my neighbors green house. My goal was just to capture people doing things and interactions with other people. I really wanted to photograph my dad in his makeshift workshop. Since being diagnosed with cancer, on days that he feels ok, he works down in his wood shop. I wanted to photograph him in the mess of it all because it makes him happy and takes his mind off things. I think that there is that basic interest in looking a photographs of people doing things that you don't see a lot. Or photographs of them working on their craft. There is also that interest that comes with older machines that peopler drawn to. For the two photographs taken at my church, I knew that I would get good interactions between individuals. After and before the service there is a lot of greetings, hugs, laughs, just a lot of quality interactions between people that a happy to see each other. I think that bring my camera to church more often is a good idea to capture more of those moments. The two photographs I chose were because of the interaction between two of the subjects. My mother had to “yell” at my nephew for running after the service had ended. There is a serious look on his face and direct line of view between my mother and Ephraim. That interaction between my two subjects sparks interest from the viewer. The viewer can ask what kind of conversation is happening between the two of them. What happened before this interaction to cause it and what will happen after? The Image of the two girls smiling was a nice shot. Amethyst had just asked Maria (who is holding the card) to be her a bridesmaid in her wedding. There is an equal display of joy and excitement between the two of them which I think is nice. It is just refreshing to look at a photograph of two people that are happy and are apart of an interaction that is bringing them joy. The photograph of the group of people was taken at my grandparents house at a family dinner. This picture I took during the family prayer. My grandmother always gets emotional when she is able to have everyone together and she talks about how thankful she is for this family. I like this image because you really get the sense of family. You have the connection between my uncle with his arm around my grandmother, and the care you can feel emulate from everyone in the room. Family is something that is important to me and its part of the human condition, the importance of family. So photos that show family and the interactions that families have appeal to everyone. This project was all about anticipating the moment. Really having all your settings set and check so that you are all ready and prepared to capture the shot when it happens, because you can't ask who your photographing to do it again.