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Narrating a Visual Story

For the last assignment this class had, covering an event was not something I was concerned about. I had previously done so for the South End as well as my high school’s newspaper, but using audio as well is something I had not had to do before. While using programs such as Audacity or Adobe Premiere were not difficult, it did require a bit more work to be able to tune the finished product to a passable post. Interviewing for the audio portion proved to be almost no major concern. Having already taken News Reporting and having done previous event coverage for the South End, I did not encounter issues with keeping the questions going well, but there was an issue with recording audio. I found that my audio became corrupted shortly before finishing the video so I had planned to do a follow-up interview with the person who I had spoken to at the event. After reviewing this with my professor she suggested I instead do a voice-over, which was an intriguing way to circumvent the issue. Voicin
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Shoot your Shot

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Shooting sports games is not something I am all together unfamiliar with, but trying a to shoot a sport I had not before was difficult. Basketball is not a super complex game to follow as it normally revolves around both teams running back and forth. The main issue came with the fact that it was indoors and the lighting was innately poor resulting in having to push my ISO higher than I normally would have. Capturing the actions was not difficult, but I had to really work the shutter speed to prevent getting grainy shots. One of my lens options has the capability of and f/stop of 1.8, so I was able to get the extra few stops of light necessary to shoot the game. Following actions throughout the game was not immensely difficult, as stated previously it is a simple sport to keep up with. One of the major issues that came up with keeping track of the fouls and who received which and when. Obtaining a roster before the game helped with this, but it was still difficult when all the players b
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Capturing the Feature

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For this assignment roll, learning to find features was the focus. Not a daunting task for previous classes such as COM 2100, News Reporting, where there would be a predetermined type of feature. Some examples included city council meetings, classmate features, or local events. One of the main issues that came up with choosing this event was finding one where I could not only tell a story, but also be able to capture pictures of an intriguing story. There is always something mildly misaligned from the normal happenstance of society, but would that draw interest? Having previously worked with the South End, I was able to assist in capturing the Wayne State University homecoming game with relative ease. Obtaining the credentials necessary to attend the event as a photographer was not difficult, all it required was filling out a simple form and sending it to the team’s media relations manager. The game itself started out relatively well, the weather looked somewhat concerning but i
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Capturing the Shot, Photojournalist's Goal

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Cameras exist as recording devices, whether it be for personal or professional use. People use them to capture memories, convey feelings, communicate information, the list goes on and on.  As development furthered for them they have become more accessible to the everyday person with easier automatic settings and auto-focus. Even with these additions, it still remains that the user must learn the settings to be the one taking the picture, not letting the camera instead.  Learning to shoot using manual settings can seem daunting, however the individual mechanics are not that complex. The basic three a photographer needs to grasp are shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. All three control light in differing ways, but all interact and support one another. ISO, or International Standards Organization, is a tool to a increase the camera's sensitivity to light. It can be a double-edged sword in the case that at higher settings, it could add grain to the photo which may damage the usa
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First Amendment for Photojournalists

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." - First Amendment, Constitution of the United States of America The press holds a history in the United States of America that no other nation has ever had. The freedom to publish information regarding not only the common people, but also the government that runs the nation is something that has not and still is not the case for many countries around the globe. Photojournalists have a special niche for their line of work. They seek to provide the visual representation of the event rather than providing the reader with text only. While both have their strengths and goals, they both act as elements of the press, and then observe privileges for their job. With this week’s post, the perspective of photojo
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Photo and Pen, a Unique Duo

Let us get right into it! Introductions are in order, my name is Joshua Spaman. At the time of writing this, I am a sophomore at Wayne State University studying journalism and photography with a plan of becoming a photojournalist in the future.  With the basics out of the way, I will dive into what journalism is to me. Growing up in a household that did not watch the news for much more than the morning weather or an update on whether school was cancelled due to the snow, my family would rarely invest much time into it.  I would often find myself watching the news, looking up to the reporters who followed through with their stories. I held great respect for the ones who would go after the people who held the critical information, especially in cases where it could have proved dangerous. The second aspect that always drew my attention was the imagery used. Video and photography were the two elements that I always would find myself enamored with, watching the journalists follow th
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