Beyond Boundaries: Gordon Parks’ Fashion Photography

Beyond Boundaries

One of the most imaginative photographers of all time, Gordon Parks, would have turned 100 this past week (he died at 93 years old). He was an African American who grew up in discrimination and poverty. He had to work little side jobs to survive, including playing music. He was doubted throughout his life, and had very little support, but he finally found his niche in 1983. It was the world of photography. 

He was shooting for months after he received his camera from a pawn shop, and his pictures began to be displayed in Minneapolis. Parks was an insanely skilled photographer, because he could snap pictures in any type of scenario, from ghettos to fashion shoots. Through the years, he became one of the most legendary photographers. He eventually got a deal with LIFE magazine, and he was the director of the movie "Shaft".

Parks not only worked his way up from poverty to riches, but he also had a passion in what he did, and it wasn't much of a selfish desire. He said he saw photography as a weapon to fight against poverty and racism, and he believed he could bring the people together with his art. Parks was undeniably one of the best photographers in the nation, and he will always be missed.

"Beyond Boundaries: Gordon Parks' Fashion Photography." Style Design Beyond Boundaries Gordon Parks Fashion Photography Comments. TIME, 30 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. <http://style.time.com/2012/11/30/beyond-boundaries-gordon-parks-fashion-photography/photo/03_05927762/>.

Technology in my Field

1. You would use a wide variety of technology, from hardware to software. You would use a DSLR camera to shoot photography. You also would always have your camera attached to a stabilizer for hollywood quality shots. You would use a computer with a strong processor, and Adobe software to incorporate my graphic design and editing skills into every shot you have.

2. I usually communicate with other professionals through email or phone calls. I never text them from the phone, though.

3. If I ever present my work, I do so with a projector if it is a video, and with a portfolio of pages if it is my design work.

4.  I believe we will still always be using the same equipment for the most part, like the camera and lens, but of course as the years go by, technology will be improved majorly.

5. I imagine so much more technology being incorporated into photography/videography/design. For example, I believe you will be able to "photoshop" a person in a video (make them look skinnier, change their complexion, etc.) and input designs all from your camera.

For my final presentation, I will make a digital portfolio of all of my graphic design, photography, and videography with my laptop. I will make it so an individual will be able to scroll through them all, and pick what they want to observe.

My Essential Question

How can I start my own Visual Media Production company?

I chose this as my essential question, because I plan to make short films in the future that will actually have relevance, and hopefully change how the world around us thinks. I want to learn the best methods of persuasion, because everyone knows only persuasive individuals can change a nation. Researching my essential question will actually be exciting to me, mainly because knowing and understanding the full answer to my question is really going to change my life in many ways. I will be able to influence populations with my media in a heartbeat, and get people motivated. More people will want to actually help the world become a better place by fixing all of the mess we made. I feel as if this question is the core question that will actually make my media worth something, and it's exactly what I need. My videos can look as cool as I want it to, but without any influence, all it is is a bunch of colors on a screen.

That is not my job!

Well, last week on Friday, I was having activity day for team sports in gym class. We leave the locker room about 5 minutes after the bell rings, and everyone's belongings are left inside the locker room. As i walk out, I'm waiting and looking for one of the coaches to come and lock the locker room when the last person walks out. He didn't come. I started to think to myself that it would be alright, and none of the rest of the kids in the locker room were thieves. After our gym class reentered the locker room, one of the kids noticed his expensive iPod is missing from his gym bag. He becomes furious and scrambles around looking for it. He started to ask everyone in the room if they have his iPod, and everyone was silent. He began to panic, and then he told the gym coach about the situation. The coach basically told the kid that it wasn't his job to keep up with his electronics. I agree with the coach, but why can't we at least have a set of "lockers" in the "locker" room? Isn't that what they're made for?

Graphic Design Article

Jackie Bischof is a freelance journalist and a reporter at the Wall Street Journal and a graduate from the school of journalism. She has excellent credentials since she was a Digital News Assistant at Dow Jones. She wrote Spot news stories and features on topics such as South Africa's Trade Unions and the relationship between the media and government and assisted with compiling graphics for various projects.

Jackie writes an article on the inherent difficulties that Mr. Matias Delfino,  a graphic designer for the United Nations Department of Public Information, faces when he is trying to convey a single message  to the world without stumbling on cultural misunderstandings or causing offense. She stated that he is a graduate of the university of Buenos Aires where he received his degree in graphic design. The author explains that Mr. Delfino is a Logo maker who thinks globally. He takes complicated topics and simplifies them into images that can be understood by people from all walks of life and all parts of the globe. The author adds that Matias' job is complicated not only because he has to make sure that these images must be very clear to the whole world, but also they must not be offensive. Although the author does not provide supporting evidence in this particular article, what she cited is self explanatory, does not provoke any skepticism, and does not need any supporting statistics or findings. She did include a quote to support her claims. It is in fact one of Mr. Delfino's statements.  He said, "Sometimes, each culture is a different world inside the same world. You need to make sure you're not misunderstood." The author 's perspective is even-handed and definitely not prejudicial. In fact, there was no need to add contrary information to prove that she is not prejudicial . The author explains that even the choice of color can be a complicated task in itself and she even included an example to support the importance of understanding the various culture in order to avoid conflicts. She relied on Mr. Delfino's own words when he said, " When you think about red, it [might] mean passion, love. Some other people see violence, blood."  In fact, we all know there is not one culture in this world, and some of the things that are acceptable in one culture might be rejected by others. the author explains that even though Mr. Delfino is one of the longest-serving members of the seven-person U.N, he still continues to face the challenge of making sure that the message behind his logo or designs will cut through all cultural differences and can be understood across the globe. The author stresses the fact of not crossing the line especially when dealing with sensitive issues such as world peace and human rights. She ads that Mr. Delfino sees these issues in black and white with a careful dash of color unlike most people who see them as abstract concepts with black and white with a dash of color. The designer has one goal in mind: designing is about injecting optimism, generating a positive change, and aiming to deliver the UN messages around the world. The author made it clear that that it's not always possible. One can argue that all we have to do is study other cultures and make the design. That is absolutely outside of the realm of reality. There is no way one can learn about all cultures of the globe since there are so many. But what the graphic designer who designs logos or images for an international organization should seek advise on a regular basis from people who works within the organization and are more familiar with world cultures. The author explained that the graphic designer is very aware of these issues and that he has once scratched a design that referred to the signal on a hospital heart monitor because he later learned that this common image from TV shows in developed countries is not known in poorer countries. The author elaborated on this point when she indicated that Mr. Delfino himself seek guidance on a regular basis from U.N. colleagues who have previously advised against images that might not translate universally. He does not take these issues slight. For instance, when he was approached to design a memorable brand for Holocaust remembrance, he had to give it some serious thought.  I find the author very credible and convincing. She cited many examples and experiences the graphic designer himself talked about.

Works Cited:

Bishof, Jackie. "Log Maker Thinks Globally." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 21 Oct. 2012. Web. 1 Nov. 2012. <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443684104578065241611424534.html>.

Bring on the Learning Revolution!

1. What would you pursue or study if you had unlimited time and resources?

2. Which has more influence, Aptitude or Attitude, and Why?

3. Do you think that our current grading system needs to be abolished? What alternative do you recommend?

4. Some of the HMP class goals are: to help students develop time management skills, foster a sense of independence and accountability, and real life problem solving. This class requires a lot of student motivation since you are not meeting with a teacher on a daily basis. What areas of improvement or areas of personal growth has this class brought to your attention (time management, procrastination, self advocacy, computer skills, writing or communicating deficits, etc.)?

1. If I had unlimited time and resources, I would be doing multiple things that would force me to become the "master of media". I would study photography/videography, be an independent filmmaker, and enter my films into the film festival (and win of course). I would also pursue making music, whether it be on my guitar or digitally, because that is most likely my favorite pastime. 

2. Attitude has more influence in my opinion, because aptitude comes from attitude. Even if you had a natural talent or gift, without a determined attitude,  that talent isn't going to bring you far.

3. There's no doubt that the current grading system needs to be changed, it's just hard to make a groundbreaking change in this society. These days, grades are mostly based off of laziness, forgetfulness, and copy and pasting. Grades should be based off of knowledge, but its hard to come up with alternatives. I would say to just wreck the whole system and start over, even if it means chaos for several years. There needs to be some sort of system where kids would kill to be learning, maybe by mainly working with the students true skills. For example, in my case, I would want to be focused more towards designing, creating, and producing media, instead of learning about history material that I'm not going to remember in the next few years. The current system is just depressing, because I've realized over the years that I am mostly wasting my life.

4. This class mainly helps me improve on my time management, and living in the real world. It gives me the chance to sit at a desk and watch others, and see how life would most likely be after pursuing my career path.

College Time!

It's time to turn in my applications for college, so here's my assignment to assist me:

Search postsecondary schools at http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/adv_typeofschool.jspand complete the survey as if you are pursuing the career field in which you are mentoring. List the following on your blog.

Questions:

1. List 3 colleges you would apply for with the degree program you will need to enter the field you are studying in HMP. Please provide the college's name, location, and link to their website.

2. What will be your criteria for a quality program of study?

3. Which universities would have the criteria you came up with?

4. Is there additional entrance requirements for your field of study?

5. What is your criteria for a "quality" ranking and educational program (size, location, sports, diversity, funding)?

6. What is the ranking for this program nation wide and what criteria is used to determine that ranking?

7. What professional and honors associations are related to your field of study?

8. List 3-4 potential scholarships for which you are eligible and can apply for. Please check on scholarships that may be specific to your school, church, clubs or organizations you may be involved in and the North Georgia Community Foundation's website: http://www.ngcf.org/page.aspx?pid=396

ANSWERS:

1. 3 colleges: 

- Georgia Institute of Technology

- located in Atlanta, Georgia

- link to website: http://www.gatech.edu

- SCAD

- located in Savannah, Georgia

- link to website: http://www.scad.edu

- University of Georgia

- located in Athens, Georgia

- link to website: http://www.uga.edu

2. My kind of College:

- 4-year

- Public/ Private

- Coed

- In Georgia preferably 

- Good Science, Math, Technology, or Art program

- Fraternity preferred 

3. Georgia Tech and SCAD

4. N/A

5. - Medium sized school

- 4-year

- Public/ Private

- Coed

- In Georgia preferably 

- Good Science, Math, Technology, or Art program

- Fraternity preferred 

6. It is ranked #36th in the nation, mostly known for its engineering program

7. SCAD has the "Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society in Architecture and Allied Arts" Association which sounds like it may include design.

8.  

School Bullying Awareness Scholarship

College Prowler $2,000 No Essay Scholarship

Coca-Cola Scholars Program

Animal Welfare Awareness Scholarship

Monthly Assignment

Assignment 3- Promotional Video
Greenpeace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g61Cay1St3A&list=LLv29Fk1enjSt9D1YLzk-ayg&feature=mh_lolz

Full Media

My desk and the building at Full Media! Very nice..

My Sentence

Here's a link to my sentence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94v8cpy-x78&feature=youtu.be

Enjoy!

This Week's Drama

This past week has been extremely productive and action packed for me. I had to work on making up my missing assignments for all of my AP classes, due to my sickness the previous week. I also had to work on designing a shirt for my high school chorus. Balancing out my responsibilities for each week always becomes a big struggle, since I have a myriad of them. Working at the movie theaters is a must for me, because I now have to purchase my own gas, and I always want to buy more equipment for my camera and my guitar to expand my talents and passions. It's also tough having to intern while I work, because I have to make sure my schedule doesn't have any conflicts.

Honestly, all this running around would not be that bad, but the stress of trying to meet my SAT requirement has been dragging me own the most. My main priority as of right now is to get into Georgia Tech, which is where my mother went, and where my brother is currently enrolled. I feel like I have all of the requirements to be accepted, but my SAT score is the only one holding me back.

I do believe I found the perfect balance of my responsibilities, and I can't really complain about it. It's all just part of growing up and entering the real world. Your mom is no longer the one taking charge for you. You have to set your own schedule, handle your own responsibilities, and be alert. My mentors email me on almost a daily basis, and I can't just put it off like a text message from a friend.If you have the initiative, you are able to accomplish anything.

Dave Ramsey & Money

"We do not break the bad habit of debt through earning more money, but rather we break any habit by replacing it with a better one." 

        This simply means that getting in a good habit of using cash or debit is the remedy for breaking bad habits like using credit cards and loans. Earning more money and still using credit cards, just makes the debt on a bigger scale.

I am not that worried about getting into financial trouble as I get older, because my parents have learned how to beat the financial system the hard way. They've been in huge debt before, but have fought their way out, and stayed their way out, by using good spending habits. My dad has taught me the ways of Dave Ramsey since I was a little kid.

Money factors into almost every career path in life, but in my case, it's only a necessity when you're getting started. Purchasing media software and hardware were definitely the most expensive purchases I've ever made in my lifetime. Once you have the equipment, though, you're good to go. The ability to do graphic design doesn't leave you. 

Money shouldn't be the biggest consideration in choosing a path, because honestly, money doesn't buy happiness. I would rather make a middle-class income doing something I love, than make a ridiculously large amount of money doing something that I loathe everyday.

Dare to Dream!

Dare to Dream!

I've only been attending my mentorship for three days so far, and has already begun to teach me wonders! I hope to progressively learn how to use my experience and apply it to the real world, since I've been programmed to just use my knowledge in the classroom. As my teachers always tell me, "There is no such thing as a dumb question," so I will not hesitate to ask any question that will further boost my knowledge in my field of study. This internship is giving me the next level of expertise that I need to be prepared for my future business. I am glad that I finally have the chance to progress past basic academic knowledge, and journey into the real world!

My Mission Statement

MISSION STATEMENT: 

I am known for my friendly features.

I will turn gloom to glee for every lonely creature.

I will never let my trust be defeated.

And I keep in mind: Everything happens for a reason.

21 Day Challenge!

I am willing to participate in the 21 Day Challenge! If anyone else wants to participate, they can contact me and we'll do it together!

The five habits for a positive mindset were:

1. Write down three new things you are grateful for each day into a blank word document or into the free app I Journal. Research shows this will significantly improve your optimism even 6 months later, and raises your success rates significantly.

2. Write for 2 minutes a day describing one positive experience you had over the past 24 hours. This is a strategy to help transform you from a task-based thinker, to a meaning based thinker who scans the world for meaning instead of endless to-dos. This dramatically increases work happiness.

3. Exercise for 10 minutes a day. This trains your brain to believe your behavior matters, which causes a cascade of success throughout the rest of the day.

4. Meditate for 2 minutes, focusing on your breath going in and out. This will help you undo the negative effects of multitasking. Research shows you get multiple tasks done faster if you do them one at a time. It also decreases stress and raises happiness.

5. Write one, quick email first thing in the morning thanking or praising a member on your team. This significantly increases your feeling of social support, which in my study at Harvard was the largest predictor of happiness for the students.

The Lapdog Experience

        I absolutely loved the Lapdog Experience at Lake Lanier Islands. I've discovered that I have completely gotten rid of my fear of heights that I used to have back in middle school. The turning point of overcoming my fear was riding my first roller coaster in eighth grade. I still had a slight feeling of fear since then, but I realized that I was 100% fearless after the ropes course challenge. Handling leadership can be a little tricky. I'm the kind of person that wants to lead everyone in the right direction, but I also don't want to come off as a "bossy" or arrogant leader. I will usually try to lead in a modest way, by suggesting what I think would be best for the team, and also incorporating others ideas into the team plan. Since I've learned how to overcome my fear of heights, I can do the same with my other fears, like my fear of certain insects. 

During the team objectives, it was hard to trust the others, because I didn't know them very well. I had a little bit of experience with ropes courses, so in my head, it was way easier to trust myself. I believe that you can always learn something new from somebody, even if you think you know more. In that case, I should do more of receiving feedback than giving it. 

The ropes course was a really exciting and fun experience, but I felt like the most fun part of the trip was just joking around and making new friends! There were a lot of diverse individuals there that also had the same taste in life as me, and it was just cool to exchange thoughts!

Podcast Reflection

           Meeting your mentor is not as simple as it seems. Its not all about the typical "firm handshake" and "eye contact". While those are important factors in getting know your mentor, there's more to it than just using little rips like these. You need to actually let your mentor know that you are actually a sharp individual in reality, rather than him/her just thinking you're just a drone that follows a step-by-step procedure in the process of meeting each other. Go above and beyond. Listen and comprehend every word your mentor says to you. Don't let his/her long lectures go in one ear and out the other, because if your mentor realizes that you aren't taking the time to really listen, he/she may lose credibility in you. It shows that you are not really eager to learn and participate, and you become another kid who was forced to be an intern by his/her parents for a college resume.