Mark E. Johnson – Page 204 – Visual Journalism

December 6, 2010

Maybe It Is Time to Stop Teaching Photoshop …

Thinking out loud again, this time triggered by Andrew Goodall’s post on how photo editing (meaning, Photoshopping) is not a substitute for photography skills. Love this graf: I met a man who told me about his visit to Sea World. He took a bunch of photos of his wife, but he wasn’t happy with them because the skies were grey...

Advice & Learning

December 3, 2010

Superhero Therapy

On Thursday we watch the semester long “documentary” projects in my Advanced Photojournalism course. It was, by design, the most loosely defined project I gave them–shoot something, every week, post images online, make an audio slideshow at the end to turn in. Some did quasi-traditional projects, some went really creative, some scrambled at the last minute. But every one of...

Good Work

December 2, 2010

Channeling, Seeing and Growth

Last night was not an easy night. Lot of stress right now, a lot of things that are out of my control–the ends of the semester always seem this way. At the start, it’s trying to get ready, to be ready. At the end, it’s trying to get them ready. I headed up to my office when the house got...

Craft/Thoughts & Theory

December 2, 2010

Taking Ansel Adams With You

On my (ever growing) list of Photographic Things I Must Do, near the top is to see an exhibition of Ansel Adams’ work, printed by him. I learned his Zone System for black and white exposure when I was an undergrad and, while it’s not an active part of my daily shooting, it’s certainly a part of it, helping me...

Advice & Learning/Craft/Tech Talk

December 1, 2010

Who Says I Don’t Like Photos of Animals?

I know I frown on them, because, really, your aunt’s cat may be cute and all, but where’s the news value in it? What does it tell us about her community? Then, of course, after watching The President’s Photographer last week, I start poking through the White House’s Flickr feed and come across this … And, you know, I start...

Good Work/Photojournalism

November 30, 2010

What She Said

Melissa Lyttle, just go read it. NOW. Create a body of work that’s a collection of more than just daily singles, and NPPA clip contest categories. Find a theme in your work and a thread that runs through it. Find a way to present that larger body of work to make a statement about the place you live and the...

Craft

November 30, 2010

Twenty Tips to Improve Your Multimedia Piece

Of course, one 20 point list would be a little overwhelming, thankfully MediaStorm’s Eric Maierson split it into two … over the course of 18 months … The first list talks about dissolves, movements, letting your visuals breathe and a little on music. The second one starts with making sure your edits serve a purpose–and that sentence and graf are...

Advice & Learning/Multimedia/Tech Talk/Video

November 29, 2010

Discounting Discounts

Scott Bourne has an excellent post about why giving discounts is a bad idea over at GoingPro2010. (Wait … uh … will this disappear once we get to 2011?) It’s a timeless argument–that your work/product/service is only worth the minimum you will produce it for. Once you do a cheap shoot, all you can ever do for that client is...

Business & Industry

November 29, 2010

Arghhh!! How Can These be Sold Out?

I admit to having a small (and non-growing) collection of old cameras. Most of the ones on my shelf are cameras I actually shot with at some point, a few were gifts from folks. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a camera just to display it. (Though if I ever find a Speed Graphic at a decent price, I may.)...

Craft/Tech Talk

November 28, 2010

Reading to Get Ready

It was be very nice to be approaching the end of one semester and spend the remaining week concentrating on just these students, just these projects. But we wrap up, take a short break and then launch right into what comes next. Whatever that is … So I’ve been spending the last few days thinking and reading, trying to get...

Advice & Learning/Tech Talk/Thoughts & Theory/Video

Author: Mark E. Johnson