Alisha Photojournalism

The above photo of Joey Peterson who finished first place in the 4A boys cross country state championship is probably my favorite photo that I took this term. I really like how the background clearly shows that it is a meet with the crowd and the other runners but they don't take away from the main subject. The main runner's whole body is in the frame and both of his feet are off the ground so I did a good job of freezing the action which was the main goal of the assignment. It reflects what I learned in photojournalism by his expression. A huge part of good photojournalism photos is the expression of the subject. Not only does the main subject have a good facial expression but you can tell the other boys do to. It is also a good example of how to crop a photo for the paper because that is also super important. There is no clutter! And lastly, the main thing that I learned this term is that good photojournalism tells a story and I think this photo does that. I think the m...

“Photography has shaped the way I look at the world; it has taught me to look beyond myself and capture the world outside.” This is by far my favorite quote from the book “It’s What I Do” by Lynsey Addario. It immediately stood out to me because this is the way I strive to view photography. To see the beauty in everything, and not just the surface level. This is what Lynsey Addario does throughout the entire book. She has written a story of how the relentless pursuit of truth, in virtually every major theater of war in the 21st century has shaped her life. Each and every one of Addario’s photographs are captivating in their own way. I would say the main thing that separates Addario’s photos from other photographers are the stories they tell. She has a gift of seeing people and capturing them in her photos. A good example of this is on page 192 of Bibiane, a twenty-eight year old from South Kivu. The only physical indicator of her pain is her tears, but Addario makes it so much deeper....

In the second half of the book, I defiantly think chapters 7 and 11 are the most compelling. I think that both of them are filled with such raw emotion and they talk about things that we don't ever have to even think about. Chapter 7 stood out to me because of the way Addario described women. Even the title is "Women are Casualties of Their Birthplace." This chapter is about when Lynsey finally travelled to Africa to shoot the lives of the people there living in poverty and fear. Here she interviewed dozens of African women who have been through hell and back. The chapter ends with her describing different things that happened to each one of the women. From being raped to robbed, to beaten, to getting AIDS. Although it was very compelling to read, I ranked chapter 11 as number one for multiple reasons. Chapter 11 has been my favorite chapter to read. The reason being Lynsey Addario wrote it herself about a traumatizing experience that she went through. Because she exper...

19 year-old Caleb Carlisle enjoys a cup of coffee before work at the new café in town, The Dizzy Hen on Main Street. He says they serve the best coffee in town.  23 year-old Grace Safotu serves donuts and pastries at Nutcakes. She has worked there for a year and eight months and says her favorite part about working at the bakery is seeing people's reactions when they see their popular baked goods, such as their huge fritters and bacon maple bars.   Philomath's main attraction, the Art Museum. Inside you can find art done by almost anyone who has attended the Philomath Elementary School. It is also a place where they put on events such as retirement parties and town meetings. 

MY NEIGHBORHOOD/MY HOMETOWN I am going to photograph Philomath because that is the town where I currently live and where I grew up. For my photos I have a couple different options in mind. I was thinking one of my photos would be (if it turns out) a photo from the outside of the new cafe the Dizzy Hen with people sitting at one of the tables against the window. Another idea is of the Philomath Art Museum. I would take a very low shot of people walking in or out. I also think it would be a good idea to do someone working at Dairy Queen. I also might shoot the local barber cutting someones hair on Main Street. The cafe shot will definitely pose the biggest challenge because I have to have just the right angle and light to show the people inside and the sign on the window. PHOTO STORY IDEAS For my photo story I was thinking about documenting either doing a series of environmental portraits or the farmers market. For the environmental portraits I would do at least six portraits of pe...