Top 5 Pictures from An Embedded Photographer Empowers the Poor

Link to Lens Blog

Our Top Photos

1. #4 - Playing a card game indoors
2. #8 - Children running on a beach
3. #14 - Ant carrying a grain
4. #22 - Child reading some papers
5. #21 - Women working on a garment factory

Multimedia Festival Poster 2

Multimedia Festival Poster

Photo League Questions

1. What was The Photo League's credo?

The photo leagues credo held that the camera was more than a means of recording reality. It was a device with a potential to change the world.

2. What organization did The Photo League separate from?

The Photo League separated Workers International Relief. They were originally known as the Worker's Camera League.

3. What was the workshop?

It was a basic documentary photography workshop where Sid Grossman taught advanced technique classes.

4. Who taught "the workshop?"

Sid Grossman.

5. If you were to devote one year of your life to one project, what project is worth your time and energy?

I would try to pick up a new skill, like learning a new instument and writing songs.

6. What was The Harlem Document?

The Harlem Document was a collection of portraits of Black urban American and the people, culture and lifestyles of Harlem during the 1930's.

7. Who started The Harlem Document?

Aaron Siskind started The Harlem Document.

8. A photographer discusses a photograph where "the children looked like they came out of a __________ painting. Who was the painter?

Caravaggio

9. Why did the photograph mentioned in #8 look like it was by the painter?

The sun was coming down and one kid was illuminated by the sun.

10. Who was Lewis Hine? (name two significant contributions)

He was an american photographer who inspired the Photo League’s collective portraits of urban life. He was a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee and he also worked for the Red Cross during the Depression to photograph the drought relief in the American South.

11. Who was Weegee?

Wee gee was the pseudonym for Arthur Felling. He was known for his black and white street photography and his quirky personality.

12. How did The League change when The Nazis took power?

The immigrating refugees from Nazi Germany and surrounding territories supplied an influx of new talent and faces to the photo league. Photographers like Laudi Jacobi, Erica Cocfer and Lizet Model were a few of the new photographers.

13. How did The League change during WWII?

Photo League members used their cameras in support of the war. Feature groups documented war production, parades and parties. Female members assumed a much larger role in keeping the League running. Trained photographers served in every branch of the armed forces.

14. How did Siskind change after WWII?

Siskind switched from documentary and realism photography, the type of photography he had championed before the war, to more abstract expressionism.

15. What was the Saturday Evening post?

It was a bimonthly American magazine that started in 1897.

16. Who was Barbara Morgan? What did she photograph?

She was a photographer from Kansas best known for her photos of modern dancers. She also cofounded the photography magazine Aperture.

17. What eventually undermined the Photo League?

The Photo League was listed on a government publication of subversive, communist, fascist and totalitarian organizations.

18. What was the "Growing Menace" mentioned in the film?

Communism

19. Who agreed to serve as President when The League was under investigation?

W. Eugene Smith.

20. What happened to the league?

Photo League Member and FBI Informant, Angela Calomiris testified that the League was a front for the Communist Party. Afterward, the membership dropped and members left and the Photo League disbanded in 1951.

Concert Poster

This is based on this poster.

Period 4 - Semester Final

Part 1 (75 points)

1. What is your favorite photo from this Lens slideshow? Provide three reasons that it is your favorite.
   My favorite photo is the 7th photo in the slideshow. It is a photo of an acrobat at a light show. It is my favorite because I like the vibrant colors, the silhouette of the acrobat against the vibrant balloons, and the fact that he's in motion. The blurred neon bowling pin gives the photo movement. The photo is very interesting and caught my eye immediately.
2. Which photo is the best from the slideshow? Provide three reasons.
   I believe the best photo is the 6th photo in the slideshow. It is a photo of a car crossing a dried-up lake. I believe it is the best because it follows the rule of thirds (the car is not centered), it has good lighting, and it provides depth of the sprawling desert landscape.
3. What is your best work this semester? Include the blog link. Give three reasons why this is your best work. If you had more time, how would you do to improve the project.
   My best work this semester came from the album cover project. It is my best work because the photo is extremely similar to the original, I used my colors well, and I edited it well (given the time provided). If I had more time, I would've found a better location off-campus to photograph my subject (we had to make do with a small window ledge instead of a bench), and I would've spent more time editing the album title. In my photo, the title of the album is too close to Haroon's face and it stands out too much, looking very obviously edited (on the original cover, the title is etched into the wall, although we obviously couldn't do that). I believe with more time, the title could have looked much more authentic.
4. You chose three rules of composition. What are your three rules?
   My three rules (which I share with the rest of my photography group) are: simplicity, depth, and aspect ratio.
5. Select one of your own photos that illustrates your ability to apply at least two of the three rules. Insert the photo into the post and label the picture. Clearly include the two rules of composition that you are using.
   
   First Photo Assignment, My First Rule
   This photo illustrates good use of aspect ratio and simplicity.
6. I have three rules of composition. I have explained one already. What is my first rule?
   Your first rule is to get closer.
7. What are the benefits of working in groups? Provide a list with five benefits.
   Benefits of working in groups include: -getting more work done in less time
   -putting less stress on the individual member as work is divided
   -gathering helpful insight and advice from trusted peers
   -bettering communication skills
   -receiving support and encouragement from interpersonal bonds
8. What are the difficulties of working in groups? List five difficulties.
   Difficulties of working in groups include:
   -arguing over whose opinion is right/best
   -facing indecision when we cannot decide whose opinion is right/best
   -trusting others to do their share, at the risk of them not completing their work
   -misunderstandings about responsibilities/assignments
   -personality clashes
9. What is your favorite work product produced by another person in this class? Provide the link to their work.
   My favorite work is Kaitlyn Shih's first photo in her Masters of Photography project. She reconstructed Karsh's photo of Jim Henson down to a T.

A little history (25)

10. You studied a master photographer and reproduced his or her work. Who was the photographer? What did the photographer contribute to the field of photography? List one significant contribution. (5)
My group studied master photographer Yousuf Karsh. He influenced the practice of portrait-taking greatly through his series of celebrity portraits. He paved the way for other artists interested in his field of photography.

11. What is Dorothea Lange's most popular photo? (Does the photo have a name?) Where was the photo taken? When? What agency employed Dorothea when she took the photo?
Lange's most popular photo is called "Migrant Mother". It was taken in Nipomo, California in February or March of 1936. At this time, Lange was working for the Resettlement Administration.

12. Who was the creator/founder of Life Magazine? When did the (photojournalism) magazine begin publishing?
LIFE magazine was founded by John Ames Mitchell. It began publishing as a photo-journalism magazine in 1936.

13. Robert Capa was a founding member of what organization? What year did the organization start?
Robert Capa founded Magnum Photos. It started in 1947.

14. Robert Capa took the photo known as "Falling Soldier." When and where did he take the photo?
Capa's photo, "The Falling Soldier", was taken on September 5, 1936, at Cerro Muraino.

Album Cover

Based on: James Brown in the Jungle Groove

M.C. Mendonca #17