Week 5 Blog Forum

Topic 1:

Answers to Questions

1. The photo story in the Photojournalism textbook about the Motel Dad really caught my attention because it reminded me of my own house growing up. The pictures feature kids living in anarchy, amongst piles of dirty clothes and trash, yet the kids seem happy despite their sub-optimal living situation.
2. Two challenges the photographer faced when getting the photos for this story:
   Having no idea what was going to happen, and paying from her own pocket for the processing over 350 rolls of film at the grocery store.
3. The theme of the pictures is the living situation of a dad living in a motel with a whole bunch of kids. The pictures are visually consistent because they were all taken in the same location: the same mess from different angles. The narrative is a documentary of the unscripted lives of the family living in pallid squalor.
4. An approach that I can use for my own photo project is spending time with my subject and letting them live as they normally do, while I take pictures.

Topic 2:

Two Photo Story Ideas

1. Bus riders would make a fun photo story. I would take pictures of individuals waiting for the bus, along with the things they carry. The bus runs every day but Sunday, so the photos could be shot over multiple days, on multiple routes. The downtown Corvallis bus terminal is where I will begin. Preparation for this shoot would include looking at the schedules to determine when specific buses travel, and then actually riding the bus and talking to passengers before and during the ride.
2. Behind the scenes with pedicab drivers on a shift would also make a great photo story. Dan Crall, or another driver with Corvallis Pedicab, would be followed and photographed from the preparation of the cab at HQ, to the riding around and picking up of passengers, and then reflecting and unwinding at the end. This could be done during any shift, but it might be most fun during an event, like an OSU football game. I will need to coordinate with Mr. Crall to inform him of my plans, and to discuss the most ideal shift to document in pictures.