 |
| Photojournalism: Telling Stories with Pictures |
|
| Instructors: Jack
Picone/Kelly McIlvenny Duration: 4
Weeks Cost: US$195 |
Photographers wanting to get a comprehensive insight into the exciting world of a photojournalist will love this course.
Photojournalism when stripped bare is essentially about 'telling stories' about the world we live in. These stories can range from the inspirational and uplifting to the dark and destructive, such is the kaleidoscope of subject matter a working photojournalist may encounter & document. Regardless of what the story is that the photojournalist is documenting, the universal worth of photojournalism is, its inherent ability to communicate (in a visually dynamic way) about the world we live in and also question the world we live in. It is an indelibly powerful medium that at it's least; serves as a visual documentation (history) and at its most effective can affect change in the world we live in.
Throughout this course students will be encouraged to view (both in print & online) the work of some of the world's great photojournalists including, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Leonard Freed, Robert Frank, Joseph Koudelka and W. Eugene Smith. The idea is not to copy their work but to be inspired by it and draw from it, in your own picture making. Interestingly, many of these photographers work now reside in the art world as, fine art black & white prints. Out of all the genera's of photography, images taken by photojournalists are those that are most firmly embedded in the public's memory and are most often revered.
Want to be 'out there' mixing with different people, thinking on your feet, problem solving, taking dynamic pictures of unfolding events or contemporary issues both small & large, learning new things constantly, then this is the course for you-Go for it!
By the end of week 4, students will be taking arresting and dynamic images that will tell stories about their communities and the world we live in-it will be an exciting journey to go on.
Course Outline:
Week 1: Seeing
I will assign you an exercise that will give you skills in actually 'seeing'
your picture before you take it. You will learn how to draw on your instinct
and intuition to isolate an image within a scene that is dynamic and arresting.
Week 2: Composition
Students will be assigned to cover an event it could be a local community event or a larger scale event but what will be at the core of this exercise, will be working on your composition. In photojournalism the conventional norms of composition are often thrown to the wind and replaced with more dynamic & fluid compositions.
Week 3: Timing & Luck
Two of the variables that are critical to taking great photojournalism pictures but often fall out of our sphere of control. We will look at he way timing & luck work together to make an ordinary picture extraordinary or extraordinary picture ordinary. I may have a few tips on how to enhance your chances of luck and timing as well!
Week 4: Emotion
Emotion is such a pivotally important ingredient to taking a great photojournalism picture. Why? Because a picture that has emotion in it, whether it be joy, sadness or somewhere in between ads a dynamic that people will react strongly to. A picture with emotional content is successful because, it stops the viewer, the viewer has reacted and sometimes reaction leads to action. Students will be set an assignment that expressly deals with documenting emotion. It will be a wonderful human journey.
Suggested Gear:
A rangefinder camera or SLR (film or digital) with a wide-angle lens (in the 28-35mm range) or a normal (50mm) lens and one Telephoto lens (optional) a compatible flash for the camera you are using (optional).
Instructor: Jack Picone
Over the last fifteen years, Australian-born Jack Picone’s reportage images have featured regularly in international magazines, newspapers and NGO projects. His clients include Time, Life, Liberation, Der Spiegel, Stern, Mare, L’Express, Colors, Tempo, Granta, Marie Claire, The Independent (UK), The Observer, as well as organizations such as CARE, ActionAid, MSF and others.
In the 1990s Jack covered eight wars. He achieved some extraordinary news coverage, and was particularly intent on capturing the plight of ordinary people caught up in the extreme violence of places like Yugoslavia, Somalia, Rwanda, Palestine, Liberia, Sudan and Soviet Central Asia.
For the last decade Jack has been committed to documenting the pandemic of HIV/AIDS for the London-based Terence Higgins Aids Trust as part of the huge “Positive Lives” project.
He is the recipient of significant international awards including awards in the World Press Photo Amsterdam, POY (Photographer of the Year awards in the USA) and the Fifty Crows Award for Documentary Photography. His work has been exhibited in major galleries worldwide.
Now based in Bangkok, Thailand, Jack works on global assignments and is the founder of WorkShopAsia, a series of regular photojournalism workshops tutored by world-renowned photographers focusing on the Asian region.
For further information, please Jack's website: http://www.jackpicone.com and http://www.jackpiconeportfolio.com
What students are saying about Jack Picone
and his courses?
Instructor: Kelly McIlvenny
Kelly is a young and passionate Australian born photographer. She strives to tell stories filled with compassion and intimacy, depicting the resilience of the human spirit in difficult circumstances. Her recent work has included: A documentary on two multicultural Australian families struggling with the challenges of young parenthood and mental illness. Which culminated in the production of a book entitled, "Truly and Freely." A collective piece on the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in Prague, where the group tried to get a handle on the Czech experience from the past 60 years. And her most recent feature is the documentation of the daily lives and relationships of 23 Cambodian children living in a modest orphanage on the outskirts of Siem Reap.
Her photojournalistic practice began in Shanghai, working for the city's English newspapers and magazines. Her work was published in the Shanghai Daily, Shanghai Weekend, and Shanghai Talk. While completing a B.A. in Visual Media, majoring in e-Photojournalism and specializing in International Relations and editorship, she worked as the photo-editor for the online magazine The Argus. She is now working as a freelance photojournalist, producing pieces both domestically and abroad.
As a first year mentor at Griffith University, she enjoyed watching her students unlock their own creativity. She looks forward to watching your craft develop and witnessing the moments you capture.
|
|
