Monday, May 6 criminal terms

In class: we are finishing up the photo presentations, and reviewing marking period 5's grades. This last marking period will go very, very quickly.  

Short easy homework grade: please learn the following crime terms for a quiz on Friday.  They are words that are often bantered about, without a precise understanding.

A guide to crime in the AP Stylebook

People are arrested on suspicion of committing a crime. In some states, the district attorney decides whether enough evidence exists to charge a suspect with a crime. If someone is arrested on a charge of murder, be sure the district attorney has charged the suspect. Otherwise, you'll be talking about libel to the suspect’s lawyer. This is a distinction from the AP Stylebook, which suggests the wording “arrested on a charge of.” This may be legal in some states, but not all. “Arrested on suspicion of” avoids the issue of whether someone has been charged with a crime.

Assault: Technically, an assault is the threat of violence, such as pointing a gun at someone or yelling “I’m gonna kill you!”

Assault and battery: When someone is actually touched by the assaulter or his agent (stick,knife, gun, etc.), battery has occurred.

Burglary: Entering a building (but not necessarily breaking in) with the intent to commit a crime is burglary. Even if the criminal is scared out of the house before swiping the jewels, the crook has committed burglary. However, if you mistake someone else’s house for your own – perhaps you are too drunk or tired to tell the difference – you have not committed burglary.

Larceny (legal term for stealing and theft): This is the wrongful taking of property.

Robbery: Used in a legal sense, it is the use of violence or threat in committing larceny. “Giveme your money or I'll shoot” is a threat to a bank teller. If I brandish a gun when I take your wallet, I am using the threat of violence. If I throw you against a wall when I take your wallet, I am using violence. Used in commonly accepted broader sense, it means to plunder, which means a house can be robbed when a person is not present. You rob a person or house, but you steal the jewels or money.

Theft: Larceny without threat or violence is theft.

Homicide: This is the legal term for slaying or killing.

Murder: Malicious, premeditated homicide is murder. Unless police say premeditation was involved, don’t say a victim was murdered until someone is convicted in court. Instead, say the victim was killed or slain.

Manslaughter: This is homicide without malice or premeditation.

Assassin: A politically motivated killer is an assassin.

Killer: This is a generic term for anyone who kills with a motive of any kind.

Murderer: Someone who is convicted of murder in a court of law.

– Compiled by Dr. Deborah Gump, Ohio University (gump@ohio.edu)

Thursday / Friday, May 2 and 3 sharing out your photos

 Sharing your photos!


GRADES CLOSED!     Only one marking period to go.

Wednesday, May 1 WHERE WE EAT photo assignment

TURN IN YOUR PHOTO GRAPHIC ORGANIZER NOW!
Where We Eat photo assignment

1) Read the short essay.

Breaking Bread Everywhere, Plentifully or Pitifully
Imagine gathering all the food you plan to eat today. Now take a picture of it.
In an unusual project, Peter Menzel and Faith D’Alusio, a photographer and writer, traveled the world collecting photos and stories about what people eat in a day. They documented the meager meals of a Masai goat herder during a drought, the fast-food diet of an American long-haul trucker and a veritable feast of lamb kebabs and other foods set out by an Iranian bread baker.
The photos, first compiled in the book “What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets,” have been selected for an unusual exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. The result is an anthropological exploration of the culture of eating that is by turns mouthwatering, repulsive and surprising.
A mountain farmer in Ecuador offers tantalizing cheese empanadas along with roasted potatoes, barley soup and plantains. Meanwhile, a 21-year-old Mall of America worker in Minnesota is photographed with chicken fries from Burger King, tacos from Taco Bell and large cups of Dr Pepper and Mountain Dew.
Flanked by a herd of sheep, a fit-looking Spanish shepherd poses with his dog near a table filled with cans of beer, which he drinks with breakfast and dinner, as well as lamb, cured pork belly, fish and fruit. Several bottles of water and Gatorade dominate the photograph of a 20-year-old American soldier headed to Iraq.
“It isn’t so much to point out problems as it is to open eyes,” Ms. D’Alusio said. “We’ve been focused on food for a while because everybody has to eat. It’s a common denominator.”
David Rabkin, director of current science and technology at the Museum of Science, said the photo exhibit had been a hit with visitors and would continue at least through early next year.
“Food is a hot topic — people are interested in it and its many dimensions, from its health impact, to the experience of great food, to the bigger picture of our global food system and issues of social justice,” Mr. Rabkin said in an e-mail. “Food is personal. It’s a great topic for our museum because it’s so compelling to so many of our visitors and so rich in terms of the educational directions in which we can go with them.”
Each photograph is accompanied by a calorie count of the food displayed, but the authors warn that it’s not necessarily representative of the person’s average daily consumption. Still, the pictures do give a glimpse into how both hunger and excess coexist on the planet. The listed calories range from 800 to 12,300, beginning with a gaunt Kenyan herder and ending with an overweight British woman who claims to regularly binge on junk food.
Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, who wrote the book’s foreword, said the photographs were only a snapshot of how individuals from different cultures choose to eat. As a result, she notes, the reader can’t draw broad conclusions about the diet of the individual or culture pictured, but the photographs are still revealing.
“In some places the food looks extremely familiar, and other places it doesn’t,” Dr. Nestle said. “Clearly, everybody does not eat like us. There’s a college student in China eating Kentucky Fried Chicken, and there she is looking quite proud about it. It does make you worry about the influx of American fast food into these cultures, yet there seems to be much holding on to the traditional foods.”
Mr. Menzel and Ms. D’Alusio had documented food habits in two previous books. “Hungry Planet: What the World Eats” is made up of photographs of the weekly food purchases of families around the world. “Man Eating Bugs” documents entomophagy, the eating of insects, still common in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Another project, “Material World,” has photographs of families with all of their belongings, highlighting their most precious possession. “We present information to people rather than drawing conclusions,” Mr. Menzel said. “We’re trying to educate readers by show and tell.”

2) Your class assignment: this is due by midnight
Objective: to understand what ordinary details of our daily lives say about who we are, where we’re from and what we care about?

a) On a word document list 10 things you remember eating yesterday.

b) Next, respond to the following:
1) What do you think these lists say about who you are, where you live and what you care about? 2) If, one hundred years from now, a historian or anthropologist was to come upon your lists, what might he or she conclude about you, your life and where you’re from? What questions might he or she have?

c) Now write out a personal response to the following. These should be sent along.

1. What photographs interested or surprised you most? Why?
2. What questions did those photos raise for you?
3. What can these photos tell you about the lives of the people pictured?
4. What do you think they can’t tell you?
5. What does the photographer for the food series, Peter Menzel, mean when he says, “We present information to people rather than drawing conclusions … we’re trying to educate readers by show and tell”? How does this apply to these photos?

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By TARA PARKER-POPE, Editor

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Monday, April 29, personal ekprastic writing response

REMEMBER: everyone is to turn either the graphic organizer that includes an explanation of the theme or narrative of your photos and a list with a brief (no need for complete sentences) analysis at the beginning of class on Wednesday. (This is the last grade of the marking period.)  Don't forget to put your photos on a thumb drive. As we will not have a chance to look at everyone's work by Friday, your photos will go into the last marking period.

Marchal Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase and X.J. Kennedy's poem, which follows, by the same title is to illustrate how ekphasis is used in poetry.

Nude Descending a Staircase

Toe upon toe, a snowing flesh,
A gold of lemon, root and rind,
She sifts in sunlight down the stairs
With nothing on. Nor on her mind.

We spy beneath the banister
A constant thresh of thigh on thigh--
Her lips imprint the swinging air
That parts to let her parts go by.

One-woman waterall, she wears
Her slow descent like a long cape
And pausing, on the final stair
Collects her motions into shape.

As stated previously ekphrasis, which was created by the ancient Greeks, uses one art form to respond to another, so as to envision the thing described as if it were physically present. In some cases, the subject never really existed, making the ekphrastic description a demonstration of both the creative imagination and the skill of the writer.  Last night was the latest third period could turn in the responses to Murray's The Stranger in the Photo.  (this was because the class lost 25 minutes on Friday.) This was the exemplar for how you would write your own response to the photo you were asked to bring into class today. If you did not complete the assignment, please check it out, so you know what is expected in the following assignment.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Everyone needs a picture of him or herself that is at least five-years old. You were asked to bring it in today.
Using the essay by Donald Murray as a general model, look at your photo. Take time to study facial expression, the body postion and gestures. What is the context? Project yourself back to that moment. Where were in your life? What were your expectations- for the moment for the long run? Maybe your long run was only a month away. Compare this to where you are now. This is not a goal oriented essay, as in what would I like to be when I grow up. Ask yourself honestly, who you were then? To make it interesting, use vivid imagery and other figurative language devices such as metaphors or similes. Make the reader connect with this photo, much as Murray did. Careful with the tone. Murray offers no regrets, rather he creates a world into which the reader may step. This should be about 400 words. Grading:  language conventions / sense / beautifully and articulately expressed.

When you have finished, create a caption. Submit it by mail.THE COMPLETED ESSAY IS DUE AT THE END OF CLASS on Tuesday. 

Friday, April 26 ekphrasistic writing

TODAY: Make sure you have a photo of yourself that was taken at least five years ago. It may include other people. At the beginning of class, I'll check that you have one. Homework grade of 100 or zero!

Ekphrasis is using one art form to respond to another,much like Murray does in his essay The Stranger in the Photo.

DUE IN CLASS TODAY: Please read this essay by Donald Murray and respond to the following based upon the reading and send as an attachment. These fully, fleshed-out respones are due by midnight.  Read the questions before the essay.

1. What textual and contextual elements indicate this column's particular audience?


2. Identify what you believe to be Murray's central argument.

3. How does Murray's comment on our "ability to stop time in the way" mesh with the inclusion of the photograph? How does the comment deepen our understanding of his argument?
4. Examine the photograph. How does the presence of the photograph itself contribute to Murray's effort to communicate? How, if at all, would the absence of the photograph change the essay's argument?
5. Speculate how would the absence of a caption alter your reading of or response to the essay?
6. Respond: how would replacing the existing caption with each of the following captions affect your reading?
a. "Paratrooper Donald M. Murray, 1944"
b. "The Stranger in England, 1944"
c. "A soldier in rakish disregard..."

The Stranger in the Photo Is Me by Donald M. Murray

I was never one to make a big deal over snapshots; I never spent long evenings with the family photograph album. Let’s get on with the living. To heck with yesterday, what are we going to do tomorrow? But with the accumulation of yesterdays and the possibility of shrinking tomorrows, I find myself returning, as I suspect many over 60s do, for a second glance and a third at family photos that
snatch a moment from time.

In looking at mine, I become aware that it is so recent in the stretch of man’s history that we have been able to stop time in this way and hold still for reflection. Vermeer is one of my favorite painters because of that sense of suspended time, with both clock and calendar held so wonderfully, so terribly
still.

The people in the snapshots are all strangers. My parents young, caught before I arrived or as they were when I saw them as towering grown-ups. They seemed so old then and so young now. And I am,to me, the strangest of all.

There is a photograph of me on a tricycle before the duplex on Grand View Avenue in Wollaston I hardly remember; in another I am dressed in a seersucker sailor suit when I was 5 and lived in a Cincinnati hotel. I cannot remember the suit but even now, studying the snapshot, I am drunk on the memory of its peculiar odor and time is erased.

In the snapshots I pass from chubby to skinny and, unfortunately, ended up a chub. Looking at the grown-ups in the snapshots I should have known. In other snapshots, I am cowboy, pilot, Indian chief; I loved to dress up to become what I was not, and suspect I still am a wearer of masks and costumes.

It would be socially appropriate to report on this day that I contemplate all those who are gone, but the truth is that my eyes are drawn back to pictures of my stranger self.And the picture that haunts me the most is one not in costume but in the uniform I proudly earned in World War II. I believe it was taken in England from the design of the barracks behind me. I have taken off the ugly steel-framed GI glasses, a touch of dishonesty for the girl who waited at home.
My overseas cap with its airborne insignia is tugged down over my right eye, my right shoulder in the jump jacket is lower because I have my left hand in my pocket in rakish disregard for the regulation that a soldier in that war could never, ever stick a hand in a pocket.

The pockets that are empty in the photograph will soon bulge with hand grenades, extra ammunition,food, and many of the gross of condoms we were issued before a combat jump. This GI item was more a matter of industrial merchandising than soldierly dreaming—or frontline reality.The soldier smiles as if he knew his innocence and is both eager for its loss and nostalgic for those few years of naiveté behind him.

I try once more to enter the photograph and become what I was that day when autumn sunlight dappled the barracks wall and I was so eager to experience the combat my father wanted so much for me. He had never made it to the trenches over there in his war. When that photograph was taken, my father still had dreams of merchandising glory, of a store with an awning that read Murray & Son. I had not yet become the person who had to nod yes at MGh when my father asked if he had cancer, to make the decision against extraordinary means after his last heart attack. When this photo was taken, he had not yet grown old, his collars large, his step hesitant, his shoes unshined.

Mother was still alive, and her mother who really raised me had not died as I was to learn in a letter I received at the front. The girl who wrote every day and for whom the photo was taken had not yet become my wife, and we had not yet been the first in our families to divorce two years later.I had not yet seen my first dead soldier, had not yet felt the earth beneath me become a trampoline as the shells of a rolling barrage marched across our position.

I had no idea my life would become as wonderful or as terrible as it has been; that I would remarry,have three daughters and outlive one. I could not have imagined that I actually would be able to become a writer and eat—even overeat. I simply cannot re-create my snapshot innocence.I had not had an easy or happy childhood, I had done well at work but not at school; I was not Mr. Pollyanna, but life has been worse and far better than I could have imagined.

Over 60 we are fascinated by the mystery of our life, why roads were taken and not taken, and our children encourage this as they develop a sense of family history. A daughter discovers a letter from the soldier in the photograph in England and another written less than a year later, on V-E day. She is surprised at how much I have aged. I am not.I would not wish for a child or grandchild of mine to undergo the blood test of war my father so hoped I would face as he had not. In photos taken not so many years later I have a streak of white hair. It is probably genetic but I imagine it is the shadow of a bullet that barely passed me by, and I find I cannot enter the snapshot of the smiling soldier who is still stranger to me, still innocent of the heroic harm man can deliver to man.

—The Boston Globe, August 27, 1991

Wednesday /Thursday April 23 and 24 photo analysis exam

Graphic Organizer for your own photos. (project details were on Monday's blog). You have a class handout, but here is a copy. You may use this or simply create your own word document and send along. The graphic organizer is DUE next WEDNESDAY, May 1 at the beginning of class.

DUE ON Wednesday, May 1      

Photojournalism project   graphic organizer                          Name____________________________________

Note:  For each of your ten photo, 1) describe your photo 2) name the type of shot 3) explain one aspect of good photo composition with your picture.

Explain your project’s theme or narrative structure
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5
Photo 6
Photo 7
Photo 8
Photo 9
Photo 10

Important: everyone needs to have their personal photo for class tomorrow. I'll check at the beginning. Homework grade of a 0 or 100. The photo must have been taken at least 5 years ago. It may include other people.


The High School SGA has two items we will be working on in the next few weeks.  The first item will be a clothing drive next Monday through Friday.  SGA will collect clothing items in the front of the building by the box office before first period.  Items can also be dropped off in my office A179 or Mr. Tillotson’s room A175.  On Friday items will be donated to the VOA.

School of the Arts
Student Government Association’s First Generation Scholarship
Receiving a college education is a very important step to help secure and enhance one’s future. For some, college is inevitable because it is expected by their parents or family members who them their selves have attended and received a college education; but for others it is a courageous step because they have no one in their immediate family/extended family to emulate. With this in the forefront, Student Government Association has created a "First Generation Scholarship"- a scholarship designated for those who are the first to attend college from their family. Student Government Association hopes that many will apply who are eligible and hopes that this can be an annual scholarship distributed in School of The Arts for the years to come. Requirements  Must be the first person from their immediate family who will attend college and will enroll full-time in the fall of 2013 or spring of 2014. 
Must have a 3.0 unweighted GPA or better 
Must have an official copy of their high school transcript 
Must include a resume 
Must have ONE letter of recommendation 
Must submit a copy of Student Aid Report 
Must submit a 500 word essay *Completed applications must be submitted to Mr. Murphy by May 15, 2013. The Scholarship winner will receive a check for $250.00 at the awards ceremony at SOTA on June 5, 2012 Essay Question What experiences in your life have inspired you to continue your education.
 

Photo analysis exam...due at the end of class on Thursday. Please send along. This counts in the 50% category. Please take your time. Proof read for language conventions.  You are not writing an opinion piece- liking the photo is not your concern- but demonstrating through your writing, as you did previously in your presentations, that you can read the picture. This should help in taking your own photos.

At this point in time, everyone should understand what it means to "see" a photo and articulate how the photographer has made this happen.

1) Please read the following short essay first.

A  Great Shot by Andrew Hudson

Photography is the perfect companion to travel. It encourages us - as travelers - to discover an area; it provides tangible memories of the trip; and it is an enjoyable way to express ourselves in art.
A camera is really an excuse to delve deeper into a place than we otherwise would. Looking for a good shot forces us to seek out the unique features and scenic beauty of a location, to explore further, and to interact with our surroundings. When you press the shutter release, you're making a personal connection to the place and it's people. You are there. Photographs preserve the memories of our trip. We can show others the exciting places we've been, the wonderful scenery, and the great people we met. Our minds are triggered by images and reviewing our photographs helps everyone on the trip relive its adventures and misadventures. Taking pictures is also a very accessible artform. With a little thought and effort you can create captivating images of your own creation and interpretation.

The Secret of Photography
Fortunately, taking good photographs has little to do with owning expensive equipment and knowing technical data. The secret is in seeing. Ask yourself: What do I look at, and how do I see it? A good photograph has qualities that display the skill, art, interests, and personality of the photographer.

What Makes A Good Photograph? A photograph is a message. It conveys a statement ("Here we are in ..."), an impression ("This is what ... looks like"), or an emotion. You are an author trying to convey this message in a clear, concise, and effective way. But how?
Like any message, you first need a subject. This may be your traveling companions, a building, a natural vista, or some abstract form. The subject is the central point of interest and is usually placed in the foreground of the shot (towards the viewer). Now we compose the message by including a second element, a context, which is often the background. The context gives the subject relevance, presence, location, or other interest. It is the combination of the two elements - subject and context, foreground and background - that tells the message.
Just as important as knowing what to include, is knowing what to exclude. Anything that isn't part of the subject or its context is only a distraction, cluttering up the image and diluting the message. So eliminate extraneous surroundings - usually by moving closer to the subject - and make a clear, tidy shot. A painter creates art by addition - adding more paint - whereas a photographer creates art by subtraction - removing unnecessary elements.

The recipe for a good photograph is:
"A foreground, a background, and nothing else."

What Makes A Great Photograph?
A great photograph is piece of art. It captures the spirit of a subject and evokes emotion. Bob Krist calls it "The Spirit of Place." You are an artist that can use subtle tricks to appeal to your viewer's senses. Let's see how.
A picture is a playground, with places for our eyes to wander and investigate, plus spaces for them to rest and relax. When we first see something, we are defensive. Our eyes instinctually find light, bright areas, and look for people, particularly their eyes and mouth. Do we know the people in the picture? What are they feeling, and how does this relate to us? Are they drawing attention to something? If so, do we recognize it (a building, a landmark) and what does it look like? What is this picture about? What is the main subject or objective? How big is the subject? We determine scale by comparing elements to something of known size, such as a person, animal, or car. Once we've checked for people, we turn our attention to more abstract features.

We first notice the subject's color or tone. Firey red, calming blue, natural green, foreboding black. Then we see shape. Soft curves, hard edges, sweeping lines. How the light strikes the subject gives subtle hints as to its three-dimensional form. You, as a photographer, can manipulate this by searching for shades and shadows, shifting intensities of tone and hues. How is the eye drawn into the picture?
Form leads us to texture, how the subject might feel to the touch. Is it soft, is it smooth, hard, or rough? Does it have character and warmth? The way the elements are juxtaposed and affected by the same light, makes us consider their qualities and interrelation. Balance draws our eye from one element to another, investigating their unity, contrast, and detail, each item adding pleasure to the next. What is the relevance of everything?
The overall composition, the proportions of layout, denotes importance of the elements. As the artist, you can decide which features appeals to you, and how best to emphasize them.
The recipe for a great photograph is:

"Consider how the parts interrelate with the whole".

ASSIGNMENT: Photo analysis exam...due at the end of class on Thursday. Please send along.

You will find 15 images below where you will demonstrate your understanding of photo composition and techniques. In a word document, write a short paragraph for 10 images. Begin with a description of what you see in terms of people, place, time of day. Be very descriptive. Taking your time with this will help you visualize your own photos. Next analyze the photo as to why it works. Note depth of field (what is in focus), use of a fast or slow shutter, fill in flash, shadows, focal points and how movement is captured on a flat plane. This is writing assignment, so take your time; correct writing conventions are expected.

CHOOSE 10 of the photos only.

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Monday, April 22 information on your personal photo project.

Personal Photo Project: due Wednesday, May 1

You are creating your own photojournalism project. There is no assigned topic, but your images should have a thematic or narrative unity. As well, they should demonstrate you understand the fundamentals of composition.
You should have 10 photos. Keep in mind that with the computer, you have some flexibility to improve your images. However, limit this to cropping or simple light adjustments, as per Associated Press rules.  Be prepared to explain your photos: what were trying to accomplish or even what did not succeed.
NOTE: although you are only showing the class 10 pictures, you may need to take significantly more.


Basic requirements: Your pictures should include varying levels of shots and compostion.  

ON Wednesday, May 1,
everyone will turn in a list of their 10 photos, followed by what has been selected and deflected; what type of shot they used, and how the image has been composed.