Welcome to Writing/Photo 9

This course will run a full semester and will combine both writing and photography. Students will complete the course by producing a portfolio of written work and a slideshow of their best photography.

As a result of budget cuts and a number of cameras getting broken last year, it is strongly encouraged that students have their own camera or at the very least access to a family camera at home. Camera phones are OK, but the quality of photography is not always great. Even if you have a good phone camera, I suggest you use the school's digital slr's to learn about how to utilize camera settings.

ALL STUDENTS MUST HAVE THIER OWN 2GB or larger sd card. This is your notebook for the class. Cards will only be provided on an emergency basis, not having a card could interfere with your success in the course. These cards can be bought at grocery stores, drugstores, Walmart or Future Shop. I would like students to have this card by the second week of school. Students can purchase the card for $12 from Ms Chase at school.

Writing Assignment #1: Students are to write a bio telling about themselves including: interests, hobbies, likes/dislikes, favourite foods, fav. books, foods etc. This assignment should be written in third person. Ex. Jane is a shy girl who lives in Comox with her two cats named Goofy and Mittens. Jane enjoys knitting in her free time ……Length 1 paragraph

Criteria: detailed, specific writing ( 10 marks)
When finished, you are to find a partner in the class to read your paragraph to and get them to help you improve  the piece by offering suggestions. Make sure the assignment is typed and has your name on it.

Photo Organization
When finished this assignment, you are to go to Flickr ( this is a photo share site) and you are to create a new Yahoo account and password to sign up to create a Flickr account. Please use your real name, but you can make up a fake phone number or your real cell #, just make sure it is a Canadian number. I would like you to copy and paste your Yahoo user name and password into a word document and the save it to your Photo 9 edited folder on the L drive. If you have trouble getting onto Flickr, try to get on at home (just remember your user name and password). Next you need to create a user account on the shared drive.

Assignment Update

Photo Poem: 8 lines minimum, focus on your connection with the environment, must be edited...you are looking to take a photo and put it with this poem 20 marks

NEW ****Theme/personal Experience poem: 8 lines minimum, write about something you know. Use one poetic device. 10 marks

Portraits 10 shots: you should choose one model...2 at the most, focus on clean background, solid posing, a variety of different shots. 20 marks

Macros 10 shots: close up, in focus, must have a focal point. 20 marks

Collage assignment; 10 marks...you choose the subject and use 6 shiots of similar theme 20 marks

Slideshow: 30 of your best shots, can include ONLY 10 assignment shots. 40 marks
Slideshow due: Thurs. June 16

Last day for all work to be in is Tues June 21

Term 4 New work

The following are a few assignments we will be working on this term.

Macros( close ups of objects) : find interesting objects/subject matter and take photos close up.Some important factors when taking good macros is to have a clean background, make sure you have a focal point. 10 shots= 20 marks
Portraits; You will find one or two models and take 10 photos in total. To take good portraits you need to direct your model, be aware of posing, make sure you have an interesting background. Sometimes shooting on location can be very effective.10 shots =20 marks
Environment poem/photo: You will be writing a poem that connects with the environment ( either the beauty of the environment, the problems facing the environment, or how your internal environment connects with the external environment. You will then shoot a photo which will connect with your poem.

Final Slideshow: You will compose a slideshow of  35 photos which will be a combination of a variety of different shots, but the should be a collection of your best work. Time and thought should be put into the photos chosen, the order in which you arrange the photos and the song you choose to set the slideshow to. You should choose especially carefully your first few pics and your last few pics. 35 shots = 50 marks

New Assignments

Pet portraits: For this assignment, you are to take 5 pictures of your pet or a friend's pet. These should be posted to Flickr. This assignment is also a contest, so there will be prizes for:

• cutest cat and cutest dog
• best animal action shot
• most creative pet shot
• best puppy portrait
• best exotic pet pic
• top 3 best overall photos

Assignment Due/Contest Ends first day back after March break.

Spot Colour Photo Assignment:  In this assignment, you are to try and take photos of objects which are interesting, but also have an element which you could highlight. You will take the photo, do basic editing and then put it into Pic Monkey, and make the photo black and white and then paint the area you want to highlight. In Pic Monkey, you go to the magic wand tool, then to Black and White, then to the paint brush tool.

Link to Pic Monkey

New Writing Assignment: Setting:

• You are going to write about a favourite place using the 5 senses. As you describe the place, I want to you to use words that create visuals, sounds, tastes, and a sense of touch. The idea here is to write to create an atmosphere or feeling. 

• You may need to build a fictional story around this place or simply begin describing it. In this assignment students are to focus on the elements of setting ( time, place, description)  using the senses and the concept of show not tell.  (10)

Example:

from "The Old House at Home" (1940)

by Joseph Mitchell (1908-1996)

McSorley's bar is short, accommodating approximately ten elbows, and is shored up with iron pipes. It is to the right as you enter. To the left is a row of armchairs with their stiff backs against the wainscoting. The chairs are rickety; when a fat man is sitting in one, it squeaks like new shoes every time he takes a breath. The customers believe in sitting down; if there are vacant chairs, no one ever stands at the bar. Down the middle of the room is a row of battered tables. Their tops are always sticky with spilled ale. In the centre of the room stands the belly stove, which has an isinglass door and is exactly like the stoves in Elevated stations.

Link on setting to help you out

New photo assignment: Skate park shoot

Skate Park shoot  - In this assignment students should focus on taking shots from different angles. The skate park makes an excellent backdrop for photos, so make sure you have a focal point in all of your shots. You could shoot people or objects or even the skate park itself...just make sure you remember your rules of composition while shooting. ( 10 shots = 20 marks)

New Writing Assignment

New writing assignment:   Dialogue: In this assignment, students are to write 16 lines minimum of dialogue between two characters. The characters can be fictional and the setting of the situation can be anywhere. The main criteria for this assignment is that the dialogue must move plot or advance character. (marks 10)

Moving plot means the dialogue does not just go back and forth like in in a text message, it means that part of the story is being revealed through the dialogue. Or in the case of this not working…a fair bit of information is revealed through the dialogue about the characters. You may place your dialogue in any setting or situation. (marks 10)

writing good dialogue

10 tips for writing better dialogue

Week of Feb 1

We spent some time learning how to bring a photo into Photoshop, how to use a crop tool, how to make some basic lighting adjustments. I reviewed privacy settings in Flickr

Writing Assignment #1 : Description of self as though you are a character in a book. Much of our focus this semester will be based on trying to get you to use show not tell in your work. This assignment focuses on this idea right away. A typical description of self would include a physical description with some likes and dislikes...boring! So instead describe yourself how Stephen King might write about you in one of his horror stories. Imagine how you would be described in a Twilight novel. Write about you the way a writer would see you. The easiest way to do this is to put yourself into a situation, and use the situation to describe yourself. Sounds a little complicated...well it is. I'm not expecting perfection....we will continue to work on this assignment in class. You can choose first or third person narrative.
Marks: 10

Photo assignment #1: Take 2 head shots of two different people. You are going to do some basic editing in Photoshop and then save the photo on your l:drive and on Flickr. We will create a new album called head shots.