JRN 406 • PHOTOJOURNALISM II
Spring, 2012 University of Alaska Fairbanks
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:45-11:15 a.m.
Bunnell #128
Professor: Charles Mason
Bunnell #101 (Tel. 474-6217)
Email: cwmason@alaska.edu
Office hours:
Wednesday 10-11:30 a.m.
Tuesday and Thursday 8:45-9:45 a.m.
and by appointment
COURSE OBJECTIVE:
Emphasis in this course will be on developing skills in the photo essay and documentary projects,
assembling your portfolio and preparing for internships. Students will work primarily with digital
equipment. Class will be held in seminar style, and each student will be expected to participate in
weekly in-class critiques.
COURSE OUTCOMES:
By the end of the class, students should expect to know:
-How to put together traditional forms of journalistic photo essays
-What is required in a portfolio submission for an internship or job
-How to handle digital cameras in any conditions to come back with good
journalist photographs.
NOTICE:
In journalism, a missed assignment is a dead assignment.
In this class, NO ASSIGNMENT WILL BE ACCEPTED LATE.
RULES OF THE CLASS:
No smoking, food, drinks or VISITORS in the computer lab.
Attendance and active participation in all classes is required.
READING:
Required Text:
Photojournalism: The Professionals' Approach
by Ken Kobre (Focal Press, 6th Ed.)
Other readings as assigned…
ASSIGNMENTS:
-Each student will formally propose and complete four separate photo essays (three smaller, one
major). New work from these stories, or from your portfolio work, will be expected each
week and will be critiqued in class.
-Each student will present a presentation on a photojournalist or a photo essay.
-Each student will produce at least one Soundslides story/audio/music.
-Students will complete a cd portfolio, ready for submission to potential employers or publishers.
This may require you to re-shoot many of the assignments you shot in JRN 404 in order
to have portfolio quality pictures.
-We may produce, as a group, a project for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
-You will schedule a Ride-Along with a News-Miner photographer this semester.
-There will be smaller assignments as well during the semester.
EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLY NEEDS:
You will be supplied a digital camera kit by the Department of Journalism, for which you will be
responsible. You may need a digital recorder of some sort, and we may be able to loan you one.
Otherwise, there are no other equipment or supply needs.
LABS:
Lab work is to be done on your own, in Bunnell #128.
Film work, if any, can be completed in Bunnell #127.
IMPORTANT DATES:
February 2
Last day to email Charles Character Study Proposal
February 21
Character Study due
February 23
Last day to email Charles One Day Wonder Proposal
March 13, 15
Spring Break, No Class
March 8
One Day Wonder due
March 22
Last day to email Charles Social Essay Proposal
April 17
Soundslides due
May 3
Last Class, Final Social Essay due, Portfolio due
GRADING:
Photo Essays (15%, 15%, 20%)
Smaller Assignments
Class Presentation
Soundslides Presentation
Final Portfolio
Total
50%
10%
10%
10%
20%
100%.
BONUS:
If you have a photo published in a city or statewide newspaper or magazine, you will increase
your final grade one whole letter (from a B- to an A-, for example).
Disability Services provide a variety of services to assure equal access for all students.
Interpreting services, educational assistants, note taking, and exam accommodations for students
are the most frequently provided accommodations. Disability services also provides assistance to
the university's rural campuses; Tanana Valley Campus, Bristol Bay, Chukchi, Interior-Aleutians,
Kuskokwim, and Northwest. The staff of Disability Services works with faculty in arranging
appropriate services in the classroom. Questions should be directed to the Director of Disability
Services at (907)-474-5655.
Journalism Department Statement:
In the field of electronic and print journalism, accuracy and clarity are essential. The ability to
communicate information clearly and correctly is the cornerstone of effective communication.
Every course in the Department of Journalism and Broadcasting emphasizes developing strong
writing skills. Therefore a percentage of each course will be based on writing, with grading
criteria determined for individual courses by individual instructors.
High ethical standards are essential for maintaining credibility. Every course taught in the UAF
Department of Journalism and Broadcasting seeks to maintain these standards, starting with an
emphasis on producing original and factual work.
Plagiarism is defined as appropriating passages or ideas from another person’s work and using
them as one’s own. Fabrication is the inclusion of an invented statement within a body of work.
Neither plagiarism nor fabrication will be tolerated at the Department of Journalism or
Broadcasting. Any student found to have plagiarized or fabricated statements in a Department of
Journalism and Broadcasting class will receive, at minimum, an automatic “F” for the class.
Further action, such as expulsion, also will be considered.
JRN 406 • PHOTOJOURNALISM II
Assignment #1: Character Study
Proposal Due:
Due:
February 2
February 21
Produce a visual character study of a person you find intriguing. Your subject cannot be a
relative, roommate, close friend, or significant other. Part of the challenge of this assignment is to
develop your people skills in order to gain access to the types of moments that will make your
project a success. A character study includes traditional content-based photographs that help
define your subject, as well as more intimate pictures that convey more mood than actual content.
Think of those aspects that define your subject, such as work, play, family, and passion, and try
to make photographs that allow your readers to intimately share these characteristics of you
subject. There is not a specific number of pictures required to fulfill this assignment. Some
subjects require more pictures than others do. But the range should be around 8 to 12 photos.
JRN 406 • PHOTOJOURNALISM II
Assignment #2: One-Day Wonder
Proposal Due: February 23
Due:
March 8
8 to 12 photos from a single event. This is a non-linear assignment. You are not worried about
the individual photos connecting dots, but working individually and as a whole to show both the
event and how you saw it.
JRN 406 • PHOTOJOURNALISM II
Assignment #3: Social Essay
Proposal Due: March 22
Due:
May 3
For your final assignment will be to produce an in-depth look at some sort of socially connected
issue this term. To do this, you’ll need to find an individual or individuals who represent the
problem you are trying to illustrate. Examples might be how a disabled person copes in some
situation, or how someone with an illness deals with their life or the medical system, or how a
minority element of our society goes about life. You’ll need to submit an email proposal to me, as
usual, for my approval and suggestions. Your final essay will be about 12 to 20 photos, on the
server. We may do multiple page layouts of the work, as well, for printing.
JRN 406 • PHOTOJOURNALISM II
Assignment #4: Portfolio
Due: May 3
Due this day is a twenty(ish) image portfolio of your best PJ work. This must include sports,
features, news (general and spot), environmental and studio portraits, illustration (if you have it),
and photo essay work. I suggest as much color as you can muster.
You will need to make an appointment with me soon to review your work. If you are lacking in
any areas, or if your work is not of portfolio quality in any areas, you will need to re-shoot until
such time as the work is of sufficient quality.
The final portfolio will be presented on a CD.
JRN 406 • PHOTOJOURNALISM II
Assignment #5: Soundslides
Due: April 17
I haven’t fleshed this all out yet, but you will need to produce a slide show using Soundslides.
You can use music and/or natural sound, though natural sound will be preferred.
JRN 406 • PHOTOJOURNALISM II
Assignment #6: Classroom Presentation
Due: As Scheduled
I will pass around a sign-up sheet for you to prepare and present and in-class “slide show” on a
photojournalist of your choice. Most people do this with Powerpoint, though you could use
Soundslides or any other slideshow software.
JRN 406, PJ II, S12
IMPORTANT DATES:
February 2
Last day to email Charles Character Study Proposal
February 21
Character Study due
February 23
Last day to email Charles One Day Wonder Proposal
March 13, 15
Spring Break, No Class
March 8
One Day Wonder due
March 22
Last day to email Charles Social Essay Proposal
April 17
Soundslides due
May 3
Last Class, Final Social Essay due, Portfolio due
UAF Department of Journalism
Digital Photo Equipment Loan Agreement
Photojournalism Student: ____________________________________
Email Address: ____________________________________
Cell Phone: ____________________________________
By signing this form, you are accepting for loan of the following equipment::
___Canon Digital Rebel EOS 7D Body, Property # ________
___Canon Strap for Digital Rebel EOS7 Body
___Two Canon DP 511 Batteries for above Camera
___Canon Battery Charger for above Camera
___Canon 17-40mm f/4 L EOS EF Lens, Property # ________
or
___Canon 16-35mmmm f/2.8 L EOS EF Lens, Property # ________
___77mm UV Filter for above Lens
___Canon 77mm Lens Cap for above Lens
___One Sandisk 2GB Compact Flash Card
___Removable Eyepiece for Canon Camera Body
___Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L EF Zoom Lens (tripod bracket removed). Property # ________
___Canon Rear Lens Cap for above Lens
___Canon 77mm Lens Cap for above Lens
________ 77mm UV Filter for above Lens
___Canon 430 EXii Flash with Case
___Diffusion Dome for Flash
___Canon Instruction Book for Digital Rebel EOS 30D Body
___Canon Instruction Book for 430 EXii Flash
___Domke F3X Canvas Camera Bag
By accepting the loan of this equipment, and signing this form, you are agreeing to be responsible for the
damage, loss, or theft of every item marked above. Slight normal wear and tear is acceptable. But it is
your responsibility to pay for any damage resulting from mis-use or accident. And it is your responsibility
to replace any and all lost items or items not returned to the Department of Journalism when the equipment
is due.
Failure to pay for the repair or replacement of any of the above equipment will result in a hold being placed
on your registration for future classes at UAF, and a bill for the equipment will be added to your UAF
account.
If, in the instructor’s opinion, you are not handling the gear in a responsible manner, the gear will
have to be returned immediately, and you will be responsible for loss and damage as explained
above. Further, you will not be eligible to check out any department photography equipment in the
future.
______________________________
Signature of Borrower
_____________
Date
______________________________
Charles Mason
_____________
Date
Equipment to be returned by:
_____________
Date
ALL equipment and accessories returned in good condition (if not discrepancies noted above)
______________________________
_____________
Charles Mason
Date