Joshua Spaman's Photojournalism Blog

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...

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 th...

"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...

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 ...