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PHOTO ESSAY : Queens of Needles

The final project I decided to focus on was a local business in Northridge, CA. Located on the main streets of Reseda Blvd. and Rayen St you’ll find Queens of Needles, an all-female run tattoo parlor. Charleen Quirion, founder of Queens of Needles, was inspired to get into a male dominated field with the goal to motivate women all around the valley and the world that they too can be their own boss. 

Today she staffs a total of 7 tattoo artists and 1 body piercer, all who are women. When she was hiring she had in mind an environment where anyone walking in felt at ease and comfortable. She felt that the shop would break all norms and stereotypes that male-dominated tattoo shops have. The shop is filled with so much strange art and small knick knacks all which belong to the various  artists. When I have walked into other tattoo shops in the past there is this sense of intimidation because it’s mostly surrounded by men and when walking into Queens of Needles you’ll get this feeling of welcoming and women empowerment. 

I had the opportunity to photograph Charleen Quirino, the owner, Briana Izazaga “Bree”, the body piercer, and Gabriela Geiser “Stabbigabi”, a tattoo artist.

Bree, the body piercer from Queens of Needles used to be a registered nurse who worked at a hospital and completely changed her life to become a body piercer. Prior to working at Queens of Needles Stabbigabi loved to do art and once she finished school she started a tattoo apprentice and fell in love with the art. 

With this project I aim to showcase a different tattoo environment through what each artist has on their workstation and how they’re all breaking the norms of a male-dominated field.

Inside the waiting room of Queens of Needles in Northridge, Calif., on Oct. 4, 2021.

Charleen Quirino (left), tattooing a floral sleeve on customer, Samantha Garcia (right) at Queens of Needles in Northridge, Calif., on Oct. 4, 2021. This is the second time Garcia visits the shop. 

Some of Charleen’s tattoo cartridges at Queens of Needles in Northridge, Calif., on Oct. 4, 2021. Cartridges are hygienically packed sterile tattoo needles. 

Samantha Garcia, customer, halfway done with her floral themed sleeve at Queens of Needles in Northridge, Calif., on Oct. 4, 2021.

Charleen Quirino drawing out a tattoo for a customer on her iPad at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Oct. 19, 2021.

Charleen Quirino about to tattoo a customer’s finger at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Oct. 19, 2021. Towards the end of her pregnancy she was only doing smaller tattoos or tattoos that don’t take too much time. 

Charleen Quirino resting in between her clients at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Oct. 19, 2021.

“Piercing” neon sign at Briana Izazaga “Bree” works station at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Nov. 30, 2021. 

Briana Izazaga (right) piercing customer’s (left), nostril at at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Nov. 30, 2021.

Real dried butterfly frame at Gabriela Geiser’s work station at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021. She said she loves butterflies because they are often seen as “feminine” but fearless at the same time. 

“Do no harm, take no shit” knitted sign at Gabriela Geiser’s work station at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021.  

Gabriela Geiser holding up her tattoo gun at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Nov. 30, 2021.

Container where they throw out any used tattoo needles to avoid cross contamination at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021.

Gabriela Geiser, a tattoo artist, bending her 5 round liner needle to insert in her tattoo gun at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021.

Gabriela Geiser inserting her tattoo gun needle to get more ink while she’s tattooing at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021.

Gabriela Geiser using a rubber band to stabilize the needle of tattoo gun at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021. The rubber band is used to prevent the needle from swaying.

Gabriela Geiser taking off the tattoo tracing paper for her customer at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021. This was the first tattoo the customer was getting and Geiser custom drew it. 

Gabriela Geiser tattooing her customer thigh at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021.

Close up of Geiser tattoing smaller details on her customer’s thigh tattoo at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021.

Midway point of outlining the tattoo for Gabriela’s customer at Queens of Needles in Northridge Calif., Dec. 13, 2021.

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Blog 10 - Porfolio

Chapnicks chapter 7; Developing your portfolio discusses how the portfolio of a working photographer is different from a beginner. There are higher expectations from editors from a person's experience in the field. Whether you’re new to it or not, the work you showcase should fully reflect on your growth. Your portfolio shouldn’t be all large images or prints mounted on 30” x 40” boards though having large photographs may have a greater “visual impact”, blowing up the picture like that doesn’t make it better. This is mostly for those who are trying to pursue a career in art photography and are trying to impress galleries. Chapnick mentions avoiding photos that are right-side-up or upside-down, forcing the viewer to take time in fixing the print in the proper direction. This can be seen as messy and lack of concern in preparation of the portfolio for presentation. When presenting your portfolio, your personal appearance matters, Bill Strode mentions, “How a person hands me a portfolio reflects how the individual feels about photography.”

Chapnicks chapter 19; Workshops, Awards, Contests and Grants discusses the importance of workshops and how you can find them depending on your personal preferences. Photojournalists have the opportunity to learn first hand from contemporary photographers and learn from their experience in the world as photojournalists. Workshops could range from nude photography to traiture, landscape to underwater photography, graphic design to photojournalism. Not to mention workshops also give photographers the opportunity to network and meet important figures in their field. You might have the opportunity to show someone your portfolio and they can help in giving you tips on growth or essentially grow your career. 

Kobre’s chapter 18; Turning Pro discusses, discusses finding a “niche” if you’re not ready to live abroad, finding a niche and owning is important. With the overrun of freelance photographers marketing every image they produce it can be difficult to be seen or to stand out. Kobre discusses how sometimes a key to getting your work out there is going local, going to protests or nearby events and taking your camera and laptop is crucial. Once you have the photos you can get on the phone and send them to every news outlet and let them know what you have. It is important to  mention that when sending photos of your work to always watermark them in order to protect your copyright. Kobre discusses the importance of speaking another language and how much of a photographer because you would be able to shoot stories outside the U.S.

A workshop that I would love to attend in the future is a photojournalism workshop abroad in Paris or Morocco. Both pertain to travel photography which is something that I have always wanted to do but haven’t really gotten the opportunity to due to school and immigration restrictions. However in the near future I really want to be able to travel outside the U.S. and capture nature and scenic atmospheres. I was able to find more information on abroad workshops through Zoriah, http://www.zoriah.com/workshops.html . 

 PORFOLIO :  https://www.flickr.com/photos/192063949@N08/albums 

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Critique 3 - Queens of Needles

1. An objective I’m trying to achieve is showcase more of the smaller details of the tattoo shop. With the last critique you mentioned to focus details and having a tight composition so decided to go back and look at some of the nick nacks they had. I also was able to get some photos of one of the tattoo artists looking at me with their gun so I was really happy about this photo. I was also able to capture some details of the body piercer’s work station and she had a neon sign and really cool frames. 

2. With my most recent visit at Queens of Needles I found it more difficult to get in touch with some of the artists there, since the owner is on maternity leave she’s not as attentive to answering the phone or responding. Luckily enough I was able to get responses from other artists there and they allowed me to photograph them. I think a technical issue I had was that when I was trying to take a photo with depth of field, I was having a difficult time focusing on the object I wanted to and had a little difficulty with lighting and adjusting.

3. Queens of Needles is still trying to be safe and avoid any spread of COVID so they are only taking in customers as appointments only which makes it difficult to capture photos of a more lively environment. I think because I have visited the shop many times most/some of the artist are starting to feel comfortable with me so taking photos of them and being in their space feels less intrusive. 

4. Based on what I have accomplished so far between now and the next critique I want to be able to go to one of Queens of Needles community events so I am able to capture more customers. With the next couple weeks I hope to visit Queens of Needles and capture more of the tattoo artists and possibly get some group photos. 

LINK TO CSUN BOX:

https://mycsun.box.com/s/df9n9mvreczsytqgza3kzjhohi4qggix 

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Blog 9 - Law

Chapter 16 Law, goes into detail of where journalists can take pictures. Even though it is technically allowed to take pictures in some places, some jurisdictions will overrule that; in an example public grade schools or high schools will fall under the principal’s jurisdiction. 

Even though there isn’t a law against taking pictures inside public schools, the principal will have authority to who has access to school grounds.

In the case of a courtroom, the U.S. Supreme Court forbid the presence of photographers but not if state ceremonies. 

 Taking journalistic pictures in privately owned places is a tricky situation, you may take a picture from the street of someone in their yard, you won’t need the subject’s permission. When doing so the photographer must be somewhat cautious when photographing a private property, they should step down to the ground, nor have an extremely long lens. 

In relation to Arne Svenson’s “The Neighbors” project, he had the to advantage of taking photos from the 2nd floor of his apartment, he didn’t have to climb the stair or go out of his way to position himself and take photos. 

There are some occasions where photojournalists must obey to keep yourself from being arrested from trespassing. Some tips to avoiding jail that Lucy A. Dalglish presented which included carrying your credentials at all times. 

When does a journalist’s camera illegally infringe? 

Some of the principles that can protect individuals might include: 

- Intruding by taking pictures where privacy could be reasonably expected

- Using a picture to sell a product or service without consent 

- Unfairly causing someone to look bad and taking truthful but embarrassing photos 

Don’t trespass into property that is clearly private or marked with police lines, doing whatever a police officer orders you to do even if it might seem ridiculous. 

Lastly I believe it’s important to mention that you must copyright a protection of your work as soon as you take a picture and develop the film. As journalists we must also respect the copyright of others. Unless you have the permission of the photographer in order to use that certain image.

 The instructor's Pinterest Legal Issue example I decided to focus on is from PetaPixel titled, New Yorkers Upset Over Photographers Secret Snaps Through Their Windows. 

Photographer Arne Svenson lived on the second floor of an apartment building in the neighborhood of New York City. “For his project “The Neighbors,” he pointed his camera at a luxury apartment building across the street and secretly photographed its inhabitants through open windows.”

Those photographs were sold for thousands of dollars at a gallery in NYC, however the subjects weren’t very happy with having their images stealthily snapped and sold.

The New York Post reports that some of the residents are “furious” over Svenson’s new photo exhibit at the Julie Saul Gallery, and the fact that the images show private moments that include cleaning (while bent over), taking naps, and kids resting with teddy bears. 

Svenson discusses he was not photographing these subjects as specific, identifiable personages, but more as representations of humankind. 

“I only reveal the turn of the head, the back against a window, the legs under a table; those tiny, private, scenarios and actions that portray a humanness that is unconsciously truthful and tender.”

Ultimately the issue of privacy became paramount to the reception, and perception, of The Neighbors series. Just before the exhibition opened at Julie Saul Gallery, NYC (2013) the family of one of the subjects pictured filed an injunction against the show and a lawsuit claiming invasion of privacy, amongst other charges.

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BLOG 8: The Philosophical Photographer

Chapter 24; Observations of Photographic Curmudgeon discusses how photographs can often be seen as ambiguous which leads to multiple interpretations. Chapnick argues that journalistic photography should be taken more seriously. He says that journalistic photography should avoid ambiguity wherever possible. He argues that there’s a place in photography for mystery and abstraction but pages of newspapers and magazines is not it. 

Some tips he includes: 

Make yourself valuable through your ideas and your photography

Get your pictures where they belong when they are promised

Make every picture count in terms of visual impact and content

Chapnick argues that many people in photojournalism worship objectivity, which defines photojournalists as a dispassionate observer, however he disagrees.

He believes the photographer could have a point of view to articulate such as a cause to sponsor or back up. 

In my philosophy, I agree with a lot of what Chapnick discusses. Photojournalism is a way to tell a story straightforward and to the point. In  my perspective, a photojournalist's role is to simply tell the truth through what their lens captures. Moments captured should be as candid and natural as possible, they should also never be altered because it questions the integrity of the journalist.

I feel like photojournalists are often stuck in a difficult position when it comes to publishing or photographing photos that may be seen as inappropriate or insensitive.

I also believe that the role of photojournalists is to seek opportunities where they can present multiple perspectives of news stories so they can trigger some sort of empathy on readers so that there’s change.

Some news photos taken from a protest ...

LAPD officers line up with gear in front of the Pan Pacific Park at Beverly Blvd and N Gardner St on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. (Photo by Graciela Colorado)  

LAPD officers were attempting to control the traffic as Black Lives Matter activists were marching peacefully up the street.

Black Lives Matter activist take a knee for 7 minutes in honor of George Floyd on the main streets of Fairfax Ave and Beverly Blvd. (Photo by Graciela Colorado)

This protest was held on Tuesday, April 20th, 2021 hours after the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The protest was held as a symbol that the fight for equality is not over.

Black Lives Matter activist holds sign of Ma' Khia Bryant during the protest at Fairfax Ave and Beverly Blvd in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. (Photo by Graciela Colorado)

Ma' Khai was a 16 year old girl who fatally shot by a police officer in Columbus, Ohio the same day Derek Chauvin was convicted.

In more recent photos... 

I also recently had the opportunity to take photos at the women's volleyball game for the sundial. It was one of the first times I took photos for sports so I was pretty nervous. 

Link to more photos that I took that were published :   https://sundial.csun.edu/166733/sports/womens-volleyball-loses-to-csu-bakersfield-3-1/#modal-photo

[cognitivereporting]

Critique 2 - Details Matter

Queens of Needles 

An objective I’m trying to achieve is to showcase more of the smaller details of the tattoo shop.

With the last critique you mentioned to focus details and having a tight composition so decided to go back and look at some of the nick nacks they had and how it plays a role in creating a fun and colorful work experience. 

Some needles for tattoo machines . 

With this second visit I found it helpful that I had already talked to the owner multiple times since I am writing a story about  her for the Sundial. It made it helpful because her body language is more comfortable when it comes to taking photos of her. 

I was also able to get some candid photos of her laughing while drawing. I think a technical issue I had was that when I was trying to take a photo with depth of field is that I was having a difficult time focusing on the object I wanted to.

Queens of Needles is still trying to be safe and avoid any spread of COVID so they are only taking in customers as appointments only which makes it difficult to capture photos of a more lively environment. 

Charleen doing an ankle tattoo on a customer .  

Normally Queens of Needles is described as fun and a place of good energy so I really hope that in the next few weeks I am able to capture some of that.

The shop now has a body piercer and I would also hope to take pictures of her piercing customers. They also have some community events for people to get tattoos that I hope to attend in order to get a different angles and more pictures of the different tattoo artists and their style. 

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Blog 7

Addario Vs Chapnick

Chapter 4, You, American, Are Not Welcome Here Anymore discusses how the  proximity to the action is what got Addario the job. She discussed how she experienced journalists not helping so she had to use every advantage she had. She would wake up before dawn, she worked every hour to ensure she was at the right place at the right time, and she knew that from her time in Afghanistan that she could use her gender to her advantage. During her time in the Pakistani city of Pershawar she learned how women were proud of 9/11 attacks and voiced no remorse on the innocent lives lost. Through the women she was able to understand the depth of the hatred however she  still wanted to try to explain this to readers trying to make sense of 9/11. 

Photos of Lynsey Addario during her time in Afghanistan. 

Life under the Taliban - Lynsey Addario 

She discusses an occasion where she attended a demonstration with her male colleagues and because the Pakistanis knew she was foreign they perceived as a woman based on what they see in movies and automatically started to try to feel and grab parts of her body. She was determined to not let her gender keep her from covering breaking news so she continued to photograph and ignore them. However it got to the point where she was fed up and said something about it. 

In comparison to Chapnick’s chapter 22, Living on the Edge discusses British photojournalist Don Mccullin's philosophy as far as proximity is that you can’t see what’s beyond the edge unless you put your head over it. Sometimes being a foot or an in away is the only place to be if you show what real suffering is. Chapnick also mentions how Mccullin discussed in his book the effects war has on photographers and the emotional toll it brings. Chapnick also brings up former Black Star photographer Anthony Suau and his ability to move quickly, he limits himself to a maximum of three camera bodies, only two lenses, he also mentions how he prefers to not wear a bulletproof vest because “it slows you down tremendously.” 

U.S. Marines carry a wounded North Vietnamese soldier, Têt offensive, Battle of Hué, Vietnam, February 1968

U.S. Marines with a captured civilian, suspected of being a North Vietnamese sympathizer, Têt offensive, Battle of Hué, Vietnam, February 1968

On the contrary to Addario is that the photographers Chapnick mentions found themselves in more dangerous war zones but part of chapter four of Addario’s story mentions how she was “fascinated by the notion of dispelling stereotypes or misconceptions through photographs.” She wanted to show a different perspective and wanted to be able to give readers a better understanding of who the women were and how they were in their homes and with their children.

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Eugene Smith

William Eugene Smith was born in 1918 in Wichita, Kansas. 

He became interested in photography at the age of fourteen, and three years later had begun to photograph for local newspapers. 

He received a photography scholarship to the University of Notre Dame, but he left after a year for New York, where he joined the staff of Newsweek and freelanced for LIFE, Collier's, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Times, and other publications.

During World War II he was a war correspondent in the Pacific theater for the Ziff-Davis publishing company and LIFE, for whom he was working when he was severely wounded in Okinawa in 1945.

After a two-year recuperation, he returned to the magazine and produced many photo essays.  

source: https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/w-eugene-smith?all/all/all/all/0

A Hospital in a Philippine Cathedral (Island of Leyte), 1944 

In their church which has become hospital, barefoot Filipino women worship only a few feet from the expressionless mask of a burned American officer.

Source : https://fansinaflashbulb.wordpress.com/2019/12/16/hospital-on-leyte-november-1944/

Wounded, dying infant found by American soldier in Saipan Mountains.

Soldier Praying, Battle for Rocky Crags, Okinawa

Civilians driven from natural caves in the Saipan Mountains by U.S. smoke grenades

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Blog 6 - Creativity

In chapter 23, Chapnick discusses how being a photographer consists of many different things, one of them being able to patiently wait. He mentions that photographers are made up of mostly “nows”, as if they feel they won’t be able to capture a duplicatable moment again. He encourages photographers to practice the act of watchful waiting and anticipating and instinct which will develop in observing human behavior. 

Chapnick believes that the word creative is often overused, he argues that creativity can be assisted and developed over the years. The term creativity means that the thought was original. There aren’t any limits when it comes to creativity but you just have to give yourself the chance. He argues that the creative cop-out occurs when you throw up your hands and settle for the obvious. 

From a personal perspective I can add that I can be guilty of settling for the obvious when it comes to taking a picture, sometimes I find myself having pictures that look the same when I could have simply positioned myself around and completely changed the perspective of the image.

Chapnick quotes photographic mentor, Minor White and his argument on the need for patience, “set aise some time to let go all the garbage go by so as to pay full attention to the photographing.” As photographers we must let go of everything else and into photographing with a free mind. 

He argues that it’s impossible for us to reduce our creativity, each photographer has a way of shaping their creativity but you have to be able to work towards achieving that and dedicate a lot of time. 

Perceptiveness may be the most important quality of a truly great artist. Chapnick argues that it implies, “instinctive, intuitive insight and understanding based pm sensory responses.”

Piercer Hanna Siso doing a nose piercing on a customer at Electric Pen Tattoo in North Hollywood. 

Simba on a plant pot in Pacoima . 

Charleen Quirino 8 months pregnant tattooing a customer at Queens of Needles in Northridge CA. 

Customer touching Charleen Quirino’s belly at Queens of Needles . 

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Blog 5

Chapnick’s chapter 12 discusses various photojournalists throughout the decades. He mentions that on a yearly basis he would regularly see approximately five hundred portfolios and even though not all of them are well known, he discusses how we can all learn from their failures and successes. 

The photographer I chose to research more about is 

Annie Leibovitz. 

Annie Leibovitz was born on October 2nd, 1949. She is currently 72 years old. She was born in Waterbury Connecticut. She is an American portrait photographer who is also best known for her engaging and dramatic portraits, specifically with celebrities.

Leibovitz portraits are important because she was not afraid to go out of her comfort zone. 

Some of her most noted works : 

John Lennon and Yoko Ono, The Dakota, New York, December 8, 1980

According to artsy.net  On December 8, 1980, Leibovitz  took the most iconic photograph in rock ’n’ roll history. This photo was shot for Rolling Stone, the picture features artist Yoko Ono lying supine on a cream carpet, wearing blue jeans and a black, long-sleeved shirt. The former, late Beatles singer is nude, curled in a fetal position around his wife. A couple hours after Leibovitz took her polaroid, a former security guard named Mark David Chapman fatally shot Lennon outside his building, the Dakota, on New York’s Upper West Side. When Rolling Stone published Leibovitz’s photograph on January 22, 1981. The picture basically documented the celebrity couple’s last hours together. It still stands as one of history’s greatest images of both love and loss. 

Mick Jagger, Buffalo, New York, 1975. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

The Rolling Stones

Leibovitz photographed The Rolling Stones in San Francisco in 1971 and 1972, and served as the concert-tour photographer for Rolling Stones Tour of the Americas ’75. Her favorite photo from the tour was a photo of Mick Jagger in an elevator.

This photograph of Mick Jagger in an elevator so this hasn’t been taken in a studio, however she still uses the lighting in the elevator to compliment Mick Jagger. The lighting is described as “horror lighting” because of how his eyes are starting to become a shadow, and also below his chin. The lighting that has been used is the lighting in the elevator above his head, I think the lighting used is harsh, hard lighting  but it brings out the features on his face. 

source: https://laurentylerblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/inspirationannie-leibovitz-mick-jagger/

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Malibu, California, 1988. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

The portraits of Arnold Schwarzenegger by Annie Leibowitz represent a long collaboration. The two first worked together in 1975, when Arnold was competing in the Mr. Olympia body-bulding contest in South Africa. Arnold was 28 then and had already won the contest five times. It was this Mr. Olympia competition that formed the basis for the film “Pumping Iron” that introduced Arnold to the world.

Source: https://lisawallerrogers.com/tag/schwarzenegger-photo-by-annie-leibovitz/ 

Elizabeth II, Buckingham Palace, London, March 28, 2007. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

In 2007, Annie Leibovitz was invited to photograph the Queen. It was a momentous engagement, as Leibovitz explains in her book Annie Leibovitz at Work. “I was the first American to be asked by the Palace to make an official portrait of the Queen, which was very flattering,” she writes. “I felt honored.”

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/10/annie_excerpt200810 

https://www.phaidon.com/agenda/photography/articles/2021/april/12/the-royal-family-marks-prince-philip-s-passing-with-an-annie-leibovitz-portrait/

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Multimedia Assignment

Chapter 12th, Sounds discusses the importance of sound and how it can bring pictures to live in a way that captions don’t. It’s important to note that audio often increases your chances of getting published because your story will be “ready-made for a variety of media”. Independently but Simultaneous Recording is where sound was recorded apart from the film and later merged during the editing process. Many journalists have started to adapt this by using small digital recorders to capture interviews and natural sound while they record images with a DSLR camera. The chapter discusses that in order to record “top-quality” sound you have to expect to pay top dollar. I also thought it was important that the chapter discussed being silent after each response. This will allow the person being interviewed to “make their point more passionately and precisely the third time”. When it comes to editing the final piece you have the opportunity to edit from a set of photos, graphs, interviews, and natural sound. 

Chapter 13th, Video, discusses how most video journalists that were interviewed for this chapter talked about having to find character driven stories for successful video storytelling. When a photographer is shooting with a video camera they must put that moment in context such as what happened before and after the action. In video you will not be able to edit a single frame. Komenich best describes shooting a video to writing a symphony due to the concise articulation that comes with recording a video. The video producer shoots each clip that comprises a sequence that will become part of a scene. This will mean gathering materials separately that will later be incorporated in the final piece. Some advantages to video cameras are that they are specifically designed to shoot video so controls are more accessible. These advanced cameras will have volume control while you’re recording and use XLR mics to reduce any noise that can interfere. A disadvantage is that because a video camera’s sensor is generally smaller than a still camera, the images tend to be relatively sharp from near to far. An advantage of smartphones is that almost everyone has one, they tend to be the most convenient. It is also possible to get good footage with an iPhone with the use of an external mic. After getting all the footage needed for the project the video editor will spend time editing for hours. Editing will require getting rid of footage that does not entirely support the story in order to create a more impactful story.

I interviewed Charlyn Quirino, she is a 29 year old resident of the San Fernando Valley. Growing up Quirino always felt like she belonged in a so called “man’s game”, however she always felt like she could do it better as a woman. This inspired her to have an run an all female based tattoo shop on the main streets of Reseda and Rayen St. She discusses her struggles as a first time business owner and her goals to encourage women all around the world to pursue their dreams.  

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Critique 1

OBJECTIVES 

My objective is to showcase the life of a tattoo artist and how their creativity lives through drawings. Originally I had planned to photograph an LA based tattoo artist but last minute I had to completely find a new person I still wanted to focus on the tattooing industry so I quickly got on Instagram and started looking at tattoo shops around the valley. Fortunately I found Queens of Needles which is on Reseda, right around the corner from CSUN. I messaged the owner Charleen Vega, (@puny_rosetattoos) and luckily enough she got back to me right away and she was super open to working with me on this photo story. I was also able to pitch a story to one of my editors from Sundial and she loved the idea of a feature story on this tattoo shop which is an all female based shop, which is a first for the San Fernando Valley. 

OBSTACLES/CHALLENGES 

Some of the challenges I was faced with was my original person completely ghosting me. I was really looking forward to photographing this DTLA based tattoo artist and it seemed like he was all for it and the day I was going to drive out there to photograph him he completely stopped messaging me. This was very stressful because I had no backup but luckily enough I was able to find another artist who gave me a better idea of the story.  

PERSONAL ANECDOTES

When I first walked into the tattoo shop I was sort of intimidated by the artists there but I just brushed off that feeling and just went for it and started taking photos. I feel like the day I visited I was scared to get in there and take photos, some of my first photos seemed like I was far but I just decided that in order for me to get better photos I had to really get in there. 

LOOKING AHEAD  

I really hope to get more photos of her clients and close ups of their tattoos. I also hope to get more photos of her looking at the camera. This first time I visited her I was only able to get half but I also really hope to get some of her finished work. 

[cognitivereporting]

Blog 4

Chapter 15 of Kobre's Multimedia Storytelling discusses ethics and the concept of doing the right thing as journalists. On the surface journalists main duties are to get to the scene, frame and focus the shot and collect captions and so forth, however it is much deeper than that and they are often questioned about their ethical considerations. This creates a dilemma that is about being stuck in between your personal opinions and your professional responsibilities. Photojournalists back up the reason for taking certain images by saying things like, “well other photographers do it too”, or “this is the way everyone does it”. 

This chapter goes in depth of the foundation of ethical decision making, which is often not taught in a typical university or enforced in such a competitive field. Utilitarian is a framework that means photojournalists recognize that they provide critical information to a democratic society. Photography can show the horrors of war, tragedies of an accident, or the hardships of poverty. For an absolutist point of view, “people have the right of privacy”, some images can allow society to benefit from it but the same images can invade the privacy of the family who's grieving. 

The golden rule focuses on the concept of not running the photo because of how publishing the picture would have made you feel. Journalists have to focus on fair and balanced reporting, reporters investigate and dig up facts until they feel ready to write an unbiased, and balanced report of the event. It’s important to not alter the content of an image as it relates to the ethics of a journalist. It’s also important to review your guidelines with all the editors of your job in order to prevent you from losing your job.

Chapnick’s chapters 20 and 21 discuss the ethical challenges that photojournalists are faced with today. As Chapnick discusses, we as writers, photographers, and broadcasters have the ability to elevate or destroy. We are able to influence the judgement that people make on “crucial issues of our time” so it’s important for us to be transparent but also accurate with every photo that is taken. As far as ethics and grief Chapnick questions if when publishing photographs of the aftermath of war casualties, automobile accidents, or drownings, will it be unethical, insensitive, or an invasion of privacy? Or because the people appear publicly does it make it fair game for the journalists? It’s important to note that Chapnick’s point on invasion of privacy is that if pictures are taken without the knowledge of the subject then they are invading privacy. It could potentially ruin someone's life. 

An example of present time ethics in photojournalism I would like to use has to do with the use of Kobe Bryant’s crash photos that were taken by LA County sheriff deputies and later leaked and the fact that TMZ reported his death prior to family knowledge.

Around January of 2020, Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others were killed in a helicopter crash and according to the LA Times, Vanessa Bryant made allegations that a deputy showed off gruesome Kobe Bryant crash photos at a bar.

The county stated that the photographs “were not given to the media and were not posted on the internet. They were not publicly disseminated.” However some of those photos were leaked but later taken down. 

According to TMZ founder Harvey Lein, claims “Kobe’s people” said they could break news after TMZ had received all this backlash. 

This can question the integrity of a news outlet because someone always wants to be the first that publishes a breaking news story but at the stake of what exactly? 

Even though times have changed and a lot has became censored , when someone is desperate enough to be the first to break a story they will not care who’s life is affected.

[cognitivereporting]

BLOG 3

Reflections on Chapnick, Chapter 4: The Great Photographic Essays, and Kobre, Chapter 11, Photo Story. 

Chapter 4, The Great Photographic Essay discusses how magazine editors realized that photographs tied together by one theme could be used in a narrative style that could tell a story. It’s important to note that Chapnick mentions how photographer Leonard McCombe published a photo essay where he spent hundreds of hours chronicling every detail of the daily life of a career girl. He mentions that this was important in order to be able to see her character development and that was done by being with the subject and capturing candid moments. Some of the points made in the book about elements of a photo essay is starting with an idea that is concise yet visually translatable. The subject should have “diversity of situations. Photo essays require a lot of time, your subject should know that  you’re going to have to be following them and photographing them in order to show progress of the growth of the subject. They also often require a lot of cooperation from the subject as the photographer might invade or intrude their privacy.

In chapter 11, Photo Story it is discussed that the main goal for a photojournalist is to be able to tell a story through a picture. They discuss how sometimes a picture story comes from the personal experience of the photographer. Brian Plonka’s father celebrated ten years of sobriety and then he decided to research and focus on alcoholism with his camera. Some stories develop when the photographer takes an assignment from an editor or follow calls from scanner radios. What differentiates a picture story from a collection of pictures is that a picture story usually has a theme. The individual pictures in the story are about one subject and also help to support one central theme.

Different types of people's stories are often categorized into three parts; the well known, the little known but interesting, and the little known who serves as an example of a trend. The little-known but interesting means that the hero or not the person must do something to fascinate the public. The three approaches to a topic are the documentary report, the narrative report, and the essay. In discussion to the consistency of one's work is how the visual story is built. Kobre discusses how pictures can be more powerful when they build a cohesive visual story. Unsuccessful story telling when the images “remain separate units”. A unified story will show viewers the repetition of the same person, object, mood, theme, perspective, or camera technique. A consistent technique can add a coherent thread to a picture story. Selecting an approach can be the most difficult, some stories lend themselves to the narrative form while others the documentary would work best. Selecting the best approach will complete and make the package more meaningful.

A photo essay I found related to my personal project was a more recent story from the New York Times, called Inked Mummies, Linking Tattoo Artists With Their Ancestors. I admire this story because it shows different tattoo artists and how they have continued traditions that their ancestors were doing. 

This article also portrays tattoos in a perspective that they not often portrayed as, it discusses that for years tattoos were more than body decorations, they served as symbols of “belonging, signified coming of age rituals, channeled spiritual beliefs or coffered powers that could be called upon while giving birth or hunting.” 

This inspired me to look deeper when doing my personal project and ask more questions about the meaning behind people’s tattoo. 

Maya Sialuk Jacobsen worked for a decade as a Western-style tattoo artist and later realized that her Inuit ancestors had also been tattooist.  

Credit… Betina Garcia for The New York Times

Dion Kaszas is a tattoo practitioner and student in Nova Scotia who is learning how to create “bone tattoo needles from Mr. Deter-Wolf and Keone Nunes, a Hawaiian tattooist”

Credit... Paul Atwood for The New York Times

[cognitivereporting]

BLOG 2

 Reflections on The Photojournalist and the Portrait: Chapnick, Chapter 18, and Kobre Chapter 5: Portraits. 

Chapter 18, The Photojournalist and the Portrait discusses how portraits have come to be and the purpose of them. According to Rober Sobieszek, the reason for photographic portraits has been in order, “to record faces and figures of skin, acquaintances, and the famous.” He also argues that this could be a form of “visual biography” or used for historical purposes. It’s important to note that portraits could be used to capture the human spirit in its most natural form. He mentions in the chapter that the photographer shouldn’t rely on the face but rather the “elements in the surrounding environment that reveal the essence of an individual’s life. 

He also argues that, “significant portraits are not just simple headshots to show a person’s likeness”. 

Chapter 5, Portraits goes in depth of the journalistic portrait and how to tell someone’s story through posed and candid portraits. Kobre discusses how even when elements are arranged photojournalists will look for honest candid moments. However in most cases photojournalists are assigned to shoot posed portraits that can result in awkward images if the photographer does not have the experience or technique to make their subject more comfortable. 

A tip: disappearing behind the camera,  this will cause the photographer to lose eye contact with the subject hence allowing the subject to be alone but this can create an environment with a lot of pressure. 

Photographers use different techniques in order to capture the most natural and unforced poses. It is discussed that “talking it over” with your subject, getting to know the person you are photographing will result in comfortability and better images. 

Eventually the subject will get bored and their true form will show, this will result in more natural looking photos or more relaxed portraits. Depth of Field is something photojournalists do to a subject's face, and arrange the person so that the main light falls towards the subject’s side of their profile. Contrary to direct frontal light, sidelight will add more shape and “three dimensionality” to the portrait. 

“BUTTERFLY LIGHTING” : a more perfect type of lighting, it is a more glamorous type of lighting that eliminates wrinkles and gives subjects more of a youthful look in their portraits. Something that I thought was interesting is that the chapter discusses how to avoid busy backgrounds, busy backgrounds will distract readers from the main focus/subject.

The approach I decided to take was using depth of field, because it moves your eyes directly to the person. I wanted to capture a moment that showed how serious she was about softball so I decided to use her bat as a prop and I used the field as a background to enhance her pose, as well as not cropping out “matadors” in order to reveal more about her. The first day I started taking pictures of Alexis I was just making her look at the camera smiling and I wasn’t using the environment to my advantage. However after reading the chapter, the next time around that I got to take more photos  I tried to follow Chapnick’s point about using every surrounding element which is why I decided to use some tree leaves in the 2nd photo where she is doing her rehab therapy.

[cognitivereporting]

Environmental Portrait

Alexis Lemus is a 21 year old Cal State Northridge softball player, who transferred spring of 2020 shortly after being recruited. Lemus is originally from the Inland Empire, just about an hour away from CSUN. Even though this is her first year at CSUN, Lemus has also played at the University of Connecticut as well as Mount San Antonio College. She has been playing softball since the young age of 4 and growing up she saw how much her dad knew about baseball and how her older sister always played softball and mentions how she “was inspired to follow in her footsteps.” 

Lemus mostly plays positions 1st and 2nd base and with the constant use of her shoulder to throw the ball and swinging her shoulder got injured. She mentions that, “because of the over usage, I had to get a procedure done.” She had an injury called SLAP tear which is a torn piece of cartilage in the inner portion of the shoulder joint, often resulting in a surgery.

Every Monday through Friday Lemus attends rehabilitation therapy at the Matadome on campus at 7:30 am which she also has to do on her own time everyday. With a 6 month recovery period, she is hopeful to return back to the playing field during the spring.

Alexis Lemus on the softball field at CSUN on Wednesday, September 22, 2021. (Photo by Graciela Colorado)

Alexis Lemus doing her rehabilitation therapy at the Oasis Center in Northridge on Wednesday, September 22, 2021. Her therapy always requires her to use a wall in order to be able to fully stretch her injury. (Photo by Graciela Colorado)

[cognitivereporting]

Truth Needs No Ally - blog 1

Chapter 13 of Truth Needs No Ally discusses the importance of open mindedness to new ideas in order to grow as a photojournalist. Chapnick discusses, “thinking is power, thinking is fun” and how thinking is key to photojournalists unraveling editorial ideas. At the end of the day if there aren’t any ideas then there are no stories. 

Chapnick argues that some of the most promising photojournalists will be those who develop the most and best editorial ideas. People who have a genuine interest in the world and the people who live in it will come up with more ideas. He suggests the photojournalist should constantly be expanding their world . 

Photojournalist Mission: To produce exciting pictures on exciting subjects

Tips on presenting your ideas: 

Suggestions should concise and straight to the point

Be literate! Watch out for any misspelling, grammar or punctuations errors

Be thorough on your research, your editor should be aware that know what they write  

Chapter 15, Personal Projects presents how often these projects are closest to the photographer's heart. However only a few photojournalists undertake personal photographic projects because they could take hours and possibly years to complete. Chapnick argues, “you have to be self-demanding, self-motivated, and stubborn” but most importantly you must have an idea to build off. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a project that will take place in another country, sometimes a place right where you are could be just as rewarding. He also mentions that “cooperative ventures” is where several photographers work collaboratively to make more impactful works. 

From personal experience of a previous class I can resonate with Chapnick’s point about how long personal photographic projects can take. I felt like I was constantly making changes to it and it was something that took so much of my time that I felt like I was losing focus on my other classes. When the assignment was finally done it was something that I was really proud about but still felt like needed changes.