Thoughts & Theory – Page 34 – Visual Journalism

September 13, 2011

What is Fine Art?

Over at Shutterfinger, Gordon Lewis has a take on how you define “fine art” these days. Using a list from Alain Briot, I think the first one eliminates all of photojournalism and documentary photography: 1. Fine art photography is first about the artist. I have no problem with art (aside from an inherent inability to understand an awful lot of...

Craft/Thoughts & Theory

September 9, 2011

Ten Years Later

Thomas E. Franklin made one of the iconic images from the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks of three fire fighters raising a flag amidst the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center. To mark the tenth anniversary of that horrible day, he has put together a short documentary that talks to several of the photojournalists who were there that day....

Advice & Learning/Business & Industry/Craft/Journalism/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

September 8, 2011

Finding Your Audience

All of the students in our (recently renamed) Visual Journalism emphasis are required to have a blog set up AND to post to it on a regular basis. Their target audience, though, is me. I read it, I critique it and I comment on it. The hope is that they’re sharing it with others, in which case this post by...

Advice & Learning/Business & Industry/Craft/Thoughts & Theory

September 7, 2011

More Signs You’re Really a Photographer

Peter Phun over at Black Star Rising has a fun post on 15 More Signs You’re a Real Photographer Now. I like number three quite a bit: It’s no longer enough to make pilgrimages to all the natural wonders of the world; you now obsess over being there at sunrise, sunset, moon rise and eclipses. And my wife is probably...

Craft/Thoughts & Theory

September 4, 2011

Prepping for a Career or Prepping for Life

Every now and then I have to remind the students in my photojournalism courses that I am not there to make them into photojournalists, that I am not giving them career training. They look confused until I remind them that the purpose of a university education is not to get you a job, but to make you into a productive...

Business & Industry/Ethics & Legal/Journalism/Thoughts & Theory

September 4, 2011

Totally Getting These …

PetaPixel is selling sheets of camera stickers … I just ordered mine. No idea what I’ll do with them, but they’re kind of cool.

Tech Talk/Thoughts & Theory

September 1, 2011

Sure, I’d Love to Volunteer, But Let Me Ask You This …

Emails, I get emails. And phone calls, too. Sometimes letters, but not often. Mostly emails. Dear Prof. Johnson, We are holding a banquet/function/event next week and would like to provide your students with an opportunity for experience in shooting this. We think it will be a great opportunity for them to learn more about photojournalism. While we can’t pay, we...

Business & Industry/Thoughts & Theory

August 25, 2011

Nothing Lasts Forever, Except for What You Make

Here’s a weird pairing of readings for your lunch hour … Scott Bourne over at Going Pro is talking about changes, things disappearing and what will last forever. Which, according to him, is not your business but what it produces. There’s some comfort in that. And once you’ve pondered that, take a run through Jonathan Blaustein’s tale of his visit...

Business & Industry/Journalism/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

August 12, 2011

The Apocalypse is Nigh

For years, I joked that the job I really wanted was Photo Editor at the Wall Street Journal because, well … they didn’t run photos. I envisioned walking into the daily budget meeting and the editors going around the table talking about their pitches for A1 and, when they got to me, I could just say, “Not yet.” Well, now...

Craft/Photojournalism/Thoughts & Theory

August 11, 2011

What’s Your Clipboard?

This is a stretch, I’m going to tell you that right up front … Skip Cohen, over at GoingPro, writes about the Key Traits of the Photographic Icons. He talks about how you need to build confidence, but not let people know that your confidence is a little shaky. It reminded me of this great scene from The Paper, a...

Advice & Learning/At Work/Thoughts & Theory

Category: Thoughts & Theory