Crazy Horse Workshop

In April, there is a workshop in the black hills of South Dakota where high school and college students create journalism-style projects. I'm sharing the link to last year's projects with all of you because it shows what's possible with even a very short, two-day workshop.

Sources for Historic Images

The Library of Congress has over 1 million images online. The New York Public Library has over 700,000 images online. Both can be fun to browse through and are historically interesting.

Test Post

First Assignment

Ok, any blog I have a link to today (01/23) is linked from the page on the right side of this blog. Go ahead and check yours, if you like.

Just a quick note - anything you turn in for this class has to be shot during this semester. Work from earlier isn't appropriate as a class assignment. If you have a photo you would like me to look at just for the feedback, that's fine, but it shouldn't be used as part of homework, midterms or a final portfolio.

Taking Better Photos

Getting the Ebook for This Course

Whether a student purchases an access code from the bookstore or chooses to purchase via ecommerce, they will go the same URL: http://www.khwebcom.com/visualcomm.  Students can enter their access code and directly below that is the option: “Purchase an Access Code online if you have not purchased course materials.”  They will need to click on the button that says “Purchase an Access Code Now.”  They will just need to go through the steps to buy the code, then return to the URL to enter their code and access the ebook.

Annie Leibovitz

A few of her books:

Annie Leibovitz at work, at the Helmke and the ACPL.
A photographer's life, 1990-2005, at the Helmke and the ACPL.
Photographs--Annie Leibovitz, 1970-1990, at the Helmke and the ACPL.
Women, at the ACPL under 779.24 L53W.
Olympic Portraits, at the ACPL under 796.48 L53O.

Her portraits are amazing and, frequently, offer surprisingly fresh looks at her subjects. 

Ansel Adams

A few Ansel Adams books:

American Wilderness is in the ACPL under 779.36 AD17AM.

Ansel Adams: Classic Images is in the ACPL under 779.092 AD1A and in the Helmke, but the Helmke book is marked as "missing". 

Women photographers at National Geographic

Women photographers at National Geographic is in the ACPL under 770.922 N46W.

From the summary:

"Showcasing some of the most powerful, startling, intimate, and dramatic photojournalism and photographic art ever published by the National Geographic Society, this long-awaited retrospective honors the women behind the lens. 165 photos, many in color."

The model wife

The model wife is in the Helmke and features wonderful portraits and the stories behind them. The book offers a kind of meditation on the power dynamics of photography within personal relationships.

Moments : Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs : a visual chronicle of our time

Moments : Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs : a visual chronicle of our time is in the ACPL under 778.9 B86M.
From catalog summary:

"The most arresting photographic images in our history-all the way up to the World Trade Center tragedy and the 2002 war in Afghanistan-come to life in this complete compilation of Pulitzer Prize-winning news and feature photos, along with the stories behind them.More than 235 prize-winning photographs offer a year-by-year, dramatically visual chronicle of our times. Each beautifully reproduced image is accompanied by key information on how the shot was taken and the stunning story behind it, as told to author Hal Buell by the photographers. An accompanying timeline, placing each photo in its historical context, features yet another 265 photographs.This unique and moving volume is completely up to date, including the 2000-2001 winners. Recent photos include images of students fleeing Columbine High School and the striking shot of federal agents taking Elian Gonzales from the arms of his relatives at gunpoint."

The photographs of Dorothea Lange

The photographs of Dorothea Lange is in the ACPL under 779.092 L25P.

From the catalog summary:

"Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) is widely recognized as one of the most eloquent and influential photographers in American history. While she is best known for her powerful images of the Depression era, made for the Farm Security Administration between 1935 and 1939, Lange was active as a photographer from the 1920s to the early 1960s and embraced a variety of subjects, from her own family to life in foreign lands. This book surveys the full breadth of her remarkable achievement." "Reproduced here are important works from every phase of her career, from rare vintage examples of her most famous photographs to images that are far less familiar. The range of this work serves to confirm Lange's historical stature while expanding our understanding of her creative vision, which was at once documentary and interpretive. Lange's work has remained a touchstone for later generations of photographers due to its powerful synthesis of visual sophistication and emotional complexity."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved"

Cherokee

Cherokee is a wonderful book of portraits of people and their environments. It's in the ACPL under 970.3 C424F.
From the library's summary:

"The dramatic story of the Cherokee people has long captivated appreciators of American history. In "Cherokee," the history and culture of one of the most resilient original peoples of the United States is brought to life through spectacular photography and vivid prose.
The Cherokees' poignant story is one that is difficult to believe: from their shameful treatment at the hands of the Colonial settlers, to their "Removal" west over the Trail of Tears in the 1800s, to their resurgence and current prosperity as a distinct nation. Presented in this elegant volume, the tale of the Cherokees' courage and endurance is at once remarkable, stirring, and enlightening.
Author Robert J. Conley recounts the history and struggle of the Cherokee and offers a window into today's Cherokee culture in moving detail. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chadwick Smith provides an eloquent introduction to the book. The stunning photography of David G. Fitzgerald portrays the land and lifeways of these proud people, including many powerful portraits of contemporary individuals."

Dancing on fire : photographs from Haiti

Dancing on fire : photographs from Haiti is a beautiful, tragic book created by an insightful, interesting photographer, Maggie Steber. It's in the ACPL under 779.997294 ST3D.

Seizing the light : a history of photography

Seizing the light : a history of photography is in the ACPL under 770.9 H61S.

From their summary:

"Its chief virtues are a succinct, mostly lucid style, a wide intellectual scope, a flood of ideas and insights at every turn, sensitivity to the technology and culture of photography, and a willingness to attend to images . . . In the end, perhaps the best measure of a text is whether or not one would choose it from among all the offerings to use in class. I have chosen to use this book." - Photo Review, Spring 2000"An excellent introductory history book." - Afterimage: The Journal of Media Arts and Cultural CriticismIn this wonderful and entertaining book, Hirsch has produced the most useful, readable, and practical successor to Newhall. Seizing the Light is written in a friendly, accessible way -- dense with information, but more hip and lively than other offerings, especially those aimed at college students." - exposure: The research journal of the Society for Photographic Education. Vol. 32.2 (Fall, 1999)Hirsch's prose is very digestible. He writes in a clear, lively style with a minimum of jargon." - Views: the newsletter of the Visual Material Section of the Society of American ArchivistsScience, culture, and art come together in this comprehensive history of photography. With superlative production values, rare and unusual prints, and a fresh perspective, Robert Hirsch has written the ideal companion to the first 200 years of photography."

Shooting under fire : the world of the war photographer

Shooting under fire : the world of the war photographer is in the ACPL.

Their summary:

"Ten of the world's most famous living combat photographers present harrowing, heroic, and extraordinary accounts of front-line experiences, along with photographs representing conflicts from Cyprus in the 1950s to Afghanistan in the 21st century. Photographs, in color and b&w, range from gruesome to simply fascinating, but all express the tragically miserable human reality of war."

Eyewitness : 150 years of photojournalism

Eyewitness : 150 years of photojournalism is in the ACPL and the Helmke.

From the ACPL's summary:

"Celebrate some of the most important and memorable images of photojournalism, from one of the first wars covered with a camera -- the Civil War -- to the compelling images from the Oklahoma City bombing. Along the way, see how photojournalism evolved technologically, and developed a conscience."

Anne Geddes' Pure

Anne Geddes was so popular (and still is) that it can be hard to take her work seriously. Pure, however, is a book that really shows her abilities to exploit the style she created, and branch into other forms of expression when it works. Overall, a great book to look at for lighting and as a portrait primer.

It's in the ACPL as 779.25 G26P.

Graham Clarke's The Photograph

The Photograph by Graham Clarke is in both the ACPL and Helmke library. It provides a good, basic history of photography as well as a basis for interpreting photographs.

Lisette Model

Lisette Model is available at the ACPL.

Summary from their catalog:

"Viennese photographer Model (d.1983) was based in New York City, where she worked for Harper's Bazaar before going on to a teaching career at the New School. This large-format volume (12.25x15.25") presents the portraits she made in Europe and the US, some of the well-to-do, but many of the most marginal, seen in bars and on city streets. The volume was first published by Aperture in 1979."

Photographing Montana, 1848-1928 : the life and work of Evelyn Cameron

Photographing Montana, 1848-1928 : the life and work of Evelyn Cameron is in the ACPL. It will be especially interesting to anyone who is curious about life on the pioneer and the early years of photography.

War Stories

War stories : reporting in the time of conflict from the Crimea to Iraq is a quick read with lots of history and describes the work and working conditions in times of war. There are many great photographs as well. It's at the ACPL.

Alfred Stieglitz

Alfred Stieglitz - there are a lot of books about him, but this one is one of the best. It's at the ACPL and Helmke. Also at the Helmke, a DVD about him (TR140.S7 A44 2001). I haven't seen it, so I don't know if it's any good.

Shooter

Shooter by David Hume Kennerly is a must-read for the aspiring war photographer. Or anyone interested in, well, anything. It's available at the Allen County Public Library.

Eudora Welty: Photographs

Eudora Welty: Photographs is available at Helmke library and the Allen County Public Library. She was a very, very cool person and worth reading up about.

The Journey is the Destination

The Journey is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon is available at the Allen County Public Library and at the Helmke library. You can also see a lot of its content here.