Below is a link to the multimedia site I created, entitled “Living to skate”:
WIP Final
I have now cut up my interview and shot a few more times. I am a bit nervous about getting anything outside the skatepark as time is winding down and access has been an issue. Here are a few new photos:
CPOY
Due to conflicts with class schedule and unfortunately having to leave town for a wedding in Chicago, I was unable to attend the picture story or multimedia categories. I was extremely bummed to miss out on those categories and had such a busy week that I rarely made it to CPOY outside of class time, sad. With that being said, I did get to witness a majority of the feature and sports feature categories, which were awesome! I truly enjoyed Genaro’s separation between photo stories and photo essays. He said that photo stories are like writing short stories and photo essays are like novels. He also made a funny comment about a collection of photos being like a family. Some photos you love and our attached to and others you want to send away to boarding school. The judges worked quickly but I loved their interaction with us, it felt sincere and was truly useful. Another moment of interesting discussion was over the quinceañera photograph. It was nice to hear a discussion about what makes a photograph a feature and what makes it a portrait. I often can get the two confused when a feature is simply a photo of someone doing something. Additionally, I like the discussion over the garage concert photo. They really took the time to recognize the strengths of the photo. They dissected what made it work and even though it was different than other features it spoke to them. Finally, I really enjoyed Adriana’s ability to make the room feel small and connect with everyone. At one point she even came over to chat one on one about my skateboarding project and reaffirmed that it was a story that was worth doing and had value. I can honestly say that even though I didn’t get to view as many sections as I would have liked to, that the judges this year may have been my favorite yet!
WIP #2
Thus far I have collected a few images of 4 friends who skate together frequently. I have also interviewed the main subject, Rowan Ell, and collected some B-roll of him and others skating. What I still need is to interview a few of his friends and gather some more b-roll of them both hanging around and skating. I love the little interactions and conversations they have while skating but I am having trouble capturing it. I am scared to lav mic them as they fall quite a bit when trying to do tricks. I think I just need to spend more time with them. The challenges thus far and going forward are that Rowan has a wide number of friends that he skates with based upon availability. Here are just a few sample images to prove that I have some work done! (SLIDESHOW)
Multimedia project
Good Photographic Essay
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/opinion/sunday/west-bank-e-waste.html
I found the above essay on Instagram and then in the New York Times. I chose this essay because I believe it highlights a current environmental issue that is occurring around the world and quite frankly is under-covered. I think Tamir Kalifa took an important issue and hit it from all angles, each image contributing it’s own individual story that adds to the looming issue that is e-waste.
Complicated Picture Story
https://www.poy.org/76/11/03.html
Third place POY winner, Ignacio Marin’s Hunger Crime did a fantastic job highlighting a crisis situation occurring in Venezuela. The complication in this story is widespread hunger and the crimes that are associated with the loss of food supply. I applaud this photographer for making some really strong frames to tell a tough story that so obviously deserves to be shared with the world.
Brady Fox: The Horseshoe King
A 12-year-old athlete dominates a game ruled by adults. Brady Fox has been playing horseshoes for three years and has already won two Missouri state titles, in his age group, and placed third in worlds. Due to an overall lack of kids playing horseshoes competitively, Brady often competes and wins in the adult divisions. While this makes some competitors mad, others understand and respect his talent. While learning to play against adults he has learned to act like one. “He’s been around adults more than kids this past year, I think that brings out his maturity,” His mom, Angie Sparks said.
Brady Fox, 12, enjoys the company of his cellphone prior to his Thursday night horseshoe league. Fox recently learned of an extra bone in his right foot that requires a walking boot. “My dad was messing with me saying they were going to put me in a boot and they actually did,” he said while shaking his head, “thankfully the doctor said I can take the boot off to play horseshoes.”
At only 12 years old Brady has amassed a large collection of trophies and plaques from various sports, the most numerous being horseshoes. This is a third place trophy from the 2019 NHPA World Horseshoe Tournament.
Brady Fox patiently awaits his next opponent during his Thursday night horseshoe league after quickly beating his first opponent 30-0. He often pitches against adults because there aren’t enough local kids to compete against. “They don’t let me play with the kids in most tournaments but I can usually beat the adults anyway,” he said with a grin.
Brady Fox pitches a ringer during his Thursday night horseshoe league. A ringer is a thrown horseshoe that completely surrounds the stake; Brady currently has a ringer percentage in the low 70s. Brady was ranked number one in the nation earlier this summer but has fallen to number three in the cadet division.
Brady takes a few minutes to enjoy the playground during a family party at a park in Mexico, Mo. “It’s hard for him to relate to kids at school because he spends a lot of time with adults and does things they don’t do,” his mom, Angie Sparks said.
Brady pitches a horseshoe during a family party at a park in Mexico, Mo. Brady spent a majority of his time teaching his younger cousin how to pitch in hopes that he sticks with the game. “They think its cool but they never come out and play,” he said in regards to kids his age playing horseshoes.
TWO OUTTAKES:
Great Multimedia
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/national/puerto-rico-life-without-power/
I chose the above piece because I still remember coming across it, two years after its publishing. The shear volume of work that was put into it is impressive in itself. I also appreciate the layout of the project. The viewer gets to digest small pieces of information at a time prior to scrolling on to the next vital part of the storyline.
Simple Picture Story
http://maddiemcgarvey.com/austin--max-for-the-burlington-free-pres#/id/i9338902
I chose this picture story because Maddie Mcgarvey is one of my favorite photojournalists to follow on Instagram. When I was looking through her Instagram projects, that I love so much, I didn’t notice the variety of angles nor perspectives that I anticipated to find. This particular project is fairly similar in terms of head sizes being nearly the same in all frames but their is a higher angle shot and some visual variety. Her ability to capture emotion and intimacy is what inspires and intrigues me as a photographer.
The water ran dry
A lifeless waterpark in the Mojave Desert
Written by: Andrew Withers
Photography by: Jeremy Johnson
The Mojave Desert is one of the driest places in North America, with a whopping average annual rainfall of roughly five inches. It’s also hot, even by desert standards: the Mojave’s notorious Death Valley holds records for both the hottest day and month ever recorded on Earth.
Most drivers passing through this boiling mountain Mars-scape probably won’t cut the A/C or cruise control until they hit Los Angeles or Las Vegas, depending which way they’re heading.
But there’s usually a car or two pulled off on the shoulder in Newberry Springs, CA, an oasis community roughly halfway between Vegas and L.A. where an eye-popping, expansive complex of vibrantly graffitied buildings is found, intriguing enough to entice the occasional traveler out of their car and into the dusty desert hills.
After passing by this place on our way to Los Angeles, we made it a point to check it out on our way back a month later. (8/16/18)
As you walk down a service road, through a gate and over a parking lot where weeds have begun to take up occupancy in the cracks, a turnstile-ticket booth and main entryway becomes visible with the sign: WATERPARK.
It is an utterly surreal thing to see in the middle of the desert.
Stretching back on either side are buildings covered in every inch by graffiti. Some look like they once housed carnival games, where kids might once have thrown darts at balloons or rings at bottles to win a cheap prize.
Others look like they were once theme park staples such as nasty public bathrooms or concession-sized-huts. Some of the latter have registers still intact.
Metal struts that once supported the park’s plastic waterslides now look eerily like Japanese torii, scattered slalom-style on a hill overlooking the park.
Perhaps the most jarring imagery is to be found at the lazy river, where human refuse and debris chokes the channels where water once flowed.
Throughout the river and remainder of the park are signs that skaters have been making use of all the smooth concrete. Makeshift quarter pipes, paint skids and wax spots are everywhere.
The only indication of water ever being here now are the palm trees ringing the park, whose green leaves indicate that they’re still clinging to life, somehow.
HISTORY
More details can be found here, but in a nutshell, the Lake Dolores Waterpark was opened in the 50’s by a local businessman. During the ‘60s, the park expanded its features to include things like slides and a campground. It reached its heyday in the ‘80s and ‘90s. (Check out this TV spot from the 90’s advertising the park.)
According to the blog, after a series of owner, name and theme changes in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the park went bankrupt and closed, partially due to a lawsuit from a former employee who was injured there. It has remained abandoned; despite occasional buzzings that investors may be interested in reopening, the logistics make it unlikely.