Trying To Be Like Dave

When Dave Seibert of The Arizona Republic came an spoke to us about photography, I was interested. Most of the pictures that our paper, The Voice of Terra Linda, had printed were hastily shot, poorly cropped, barely-edited monstrosities. We included them as a way of breaking up our text, so as not to look like the WSJ, which is far more serious than we could ever be. However, they never really did the job.

During yesterday's day-long sourcing extravaganza, the practice of photography - as a journalistic tool not as an art - stuck in my head as I thought - with little success - of ways to include photojournalism in my major piece.

These two photos are not that. Instead, they are my attempt to play with the rhetoric, if you will, of the image. Both are of Associate Dean Kristin Gilger during her discussion with ASNE Reynolds Institute Fellows, but executed in different ways.

The first image, I think, is the obviously traditional one. She's reasonably framed, there is some sense of place or space, and she has strong facial expression. In this image, the Associate Dean is the obvious central and only focus. She's the story.

This photo is my feeble attempt to center the image,
frame the subject, and focus the interest

In the second image, I dropped the camera (iPhone) down to the tabletop to give a Citizen Kane effect. It failed, of course. But what I find interesting is how the focus becomes less just Ms. Gilger, but the entire discussion. The image communicates a different version of the story. (That we're all looking into screens says something different, but let's table that for now.

This second picture shows me trying to experiment;
it certainly produces a different emotional effect I think.

Anyways, it was an interesting exercise, even if it wasn't totally successful. Expect more attempts.

David Tow
Terra Linda High School
San Rafael, Calif.