More Than Kids

Train Concert

The band Train is on tour again this summer. Last weekend they played in the Bay Area at Shoreline Amphitheatre … and I did NOT go see them. I have seen them at five different venues, and Shoreline would have been my sixth, but I just did not think I would have a better experience, so I chose not to go.

In 2013, I photographed them twice. I think I took some pretty decent pictures of their Mermaids of Alcatraz Tour.

 

I have added a couple basic pictures from the San Francisco show. The Script and Gavin DeGraw played. Ashley Monroe appeared for a duet. The entire Train band toured. I really enjoyed it.

In 2013, technology was changing too. You can see in the picture above, that some fans still brought point-and-shoot cameras to the show. Now, everyone brings a cell phone.

Last year I went as a fan and brought my cell phone. I took pictures with my Samsung S9. If I wanted to print, the images would not have been good enough, but they probably looked decent on Instagram (which is where most people share now)

 

My phone pictures are not as good as my actual concert phones, but I don't know if most people can tell the difference. I notice too many people holding up their phones at concerts shooting video of songs now. 

 

Even the musicians think that they can shoot video, and assume that it will look great. It's funny that taking pictures and shooting video is probably as much fun as looking. Who am I to discourage this?

 

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Wedding - Berkeley Hillside Club

Earlier this month I photographed a wedding in Berkeley, California at the Hillside Club. It was a circus wedding. The ones I am including in this post have not been edited much.

Circus weddings are not common, so I am glad that I shot this one.

Circus weddings are a little more colorful than most weddings.

I shot about 1500 frames. I liked about 100 (some were really amazing, mostly because of the bride and groom's creativity). The final gallery is on my photo website and the link in this paragraph. 

 

I have known the father of the bride since I was in high school. Besides being a father of two daughters, he is an incredible artist.

 

 

His younger daughter was a bearded woman at the circus wedding.

Sometimes I look back at my old pictures and wonder how I missed a good photo. 

Even now I don't know why some of these photos didn't make the final gallery. Maybe they were nearly identical.

Anyway, if there were more circus weddings, I would probably photograph more weddings.

Teaching Photography

I have a newer photography blog at Bryan Farley Photography dot com for most of my photography blog posts. I started this blog in January of 2009 to share thoughts about photography education. I continue to use it for notes and other posts. When I started this blog ten years ago, I thought that I might create a book. The book is still waiting. Recently, I was asked to submit a sample photography lesson plan. This site is a good place for such things now.

If I had to teach one lesson repeatedly, I would teach photo composition, so that students could apply the concept to their own work.

I have my own three photo composition rules that I practice. One of my rules is to avoid putting your subject in the middle, yet that is exactly what I am doing here. I would not start a course by teaching composition, and I would not end a course by teaching composition. I would teach it in the middle.

Students need to practice seeing light and shadow, before they practice composition. Students must learn how to practice seeing and observing. Before I teach composition, I prefer to teach light, elements of art, and principles of design. After students understood some of these basics, I would help students understand how to arrange three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. 

 

Light (assignment) - If students can learn how to see light better, I can teach photography better. Students can learn to see light and shadow even if students don't have access to equipment. Learning how to see light better also trains students how to observe quietly.

Elements of Art (assignment) - Students photograph Elements of Art as explained by the Getty Museum education page. It's important that students understand the difference between shape and form. Often, these two words are used interchangeably, but they mean something different in art. The above photograph could be line or space. Students must be able to explain the photo and the element.

Principles of Design (assignment) - These assignments are similar to the elements of art assignments. Depending on the students, the assignments can be more complex. It is essential that students understand "Movement," as I described in the article "Motion, Movement and Emotion" for the DJNF Adviser Update. If students understand how the eye moves through an image, students will be able to compose an image.

The above photo was taken by one of my former Albany High Students. It was published in the article, and cropped more by one of the editors on the left side. I included the original photo above so that you can see the that the student submitted an excellent example of movement.

In the Motion, Movement and Emotion article, I mention Adobe's Julieanne Kost. Coincidentally, I am going to see her present tonight in San Francisco. She is one of my favorite art educators... just incredible.

Composition (assignment) - For this assignment, students research various lists online. Students will find "top 5 rules" to "25 rules" of composition. While there is some variation in the elements of art, the variation for the composition rules is staggering. I don't know how a new student could understand which list to follow. It's never simple; it's never easy, but it doesn't need to be so complicated.

I have my own three "rules" of composition. I follow other rules, but I have three favorites. I try not to impose my compositional rules on students. I want students to find their own way of seeing. I also want students to know that compositional rules are more subjective than elements of art... more like recipes.

After students practice with each rule, students learn how to take pictures that incorporate all three rules. Once students have been able to do this consistently, students will have learned the rules of composition. Students will have also started to understand composition better. Students share their rules with each other and learn more rules. 

Note: a thought about rubrics. When I first started using rubrics, I was confused. When I first started using them with students, I realized that students did not really use them to assess their work accurately. I think it's important, perhaps especially in art, to have students participate in creating rubrics. I prefer using a 1-4 scale so that students don't pick the middle automatically. The highest end needs to clarify high expectations. 4's are rare. When I am confused about my own rubrics, I return to this site.

To read more about my philosophy on my first rule of composition, please read this post called, Getting Closer to the JEA Digital Photography Workshop.

 

Masters of Photography (assignment) - Study and emulate historical greats.

Portfolio Assignment (assignment) - Students will have already learned the difference between "favorite" and "best," and they will create online portfolio. Students will also study how other photographers have created portfolios. In March 2011, I interviewed several photographers about how they created portfolios. Here is the link to that project. I have also included a link to portfolio presentations at JEA National Conventions.

More about Portfolio Presentations

Photo Story - Students will create a photo story and study the history of the photo essay, especially the role of Life Magazine. Since some students will remain at the school for several years, some students might want to begin a long term project.

Mother's of Angel Photo story and article, page 31; photo story on blog. This link will take you to other posts as well.

Melrose Leadership Photos Story and Project

 

I have taught the composition lesson at the beginning of the year, but I find that students understand composition better if they already know many of the terms used by artists. During the earlier lessons, students will have also learned classroom routines and basic camera functions. Since I ask students to choose their own rules of composition, I want students to have more time to develop their own point of view; having this lesson later in the term provides that opportunity.

 

Updated 4/28/2019

2018 Epilepsy Foundation Northern California Gala Notes

The next installment of "Notes on a blog." This post is to my article titled Make Epilepsy Great Again.

 

For Father's Day this year, my daughter gave me the book, From Heartbreak to Wholeness "The Hero's Journey to Joy" by Kristine Carlson. I keep the book near my bed so that I can read a few pages before going to sleep. Even when I don't read the book, I feel better looking at the cover and reading the title. It is hopeful, especially compared to the Fitzgerald quote ("show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy").

Epilepsy is not the only part of my life where I have experienced tragedy and heartbreak. Epilepsy just feels more conflicted... full of mixed messages. More recently, I have seen the term "End Epilepsy" gain popularity. I have no interest in this campaign, and I don't think that pharmaceutical companies want it either. If Big Pharma could end epilepsy, would they? Do medical professionals want to end epilepsy? The slogan sounds inspiring, but I wonder if it is slightly self-deceptive... perhaps Big Pharma started it as a distraction. Perhaps Upton Sinclair explained this conflict better when he said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on him not understanding it." Sinclair died 50 years ago on 11/25/68.

I mentioned Taylor Swift and The Great Gatsby a couple time early. I just looked for the link about Taylor's fascination with Gatsby. I found this November 2017 Slate article. It's really thorough, although the writer uses a cheesy convention on the last line.  

I mentioned a few historical concepts, because I wanted to remind readers that it is easy to overlook the past. On one hand, epilepsy has been called the sacred disease. On the other hand, people with epilepsy have been killed, because they were thought to have been possessed by demons. The title Make Epilepsy Great Again was my first attempt to play with our desire to forget the problems of the past. Hercules was said to have epilepsy. Though Hercules was the original hero, he was also troubled. 

There is a television series called Show Me a Hero . It is about the American education system. It takes its name from the same quote I started my post.

One of our Presidents helped start an epilepsy colony. His wife had epilepsy. You can read a little about the Epilepsy Colony Thing. If you prefer listening, Molly McCully Brown spoke to NPR's Terry Gross about a colony for "epileptics and feebleminded." The colonies were created for our benefit, although I don't think people with epilepsy invented colonies.

For a longer view of the history of England, visit the Society of Epilepsy.

The invention of the EEG is not straightforward. One article mentions the "discovery" and another mentions the year Hans Berger "invented" it. One year is 1925 and the other is 1929. Either way, the EEG was not widely used during the Roaring 20's. Medication was not widely available throughout the world; where available, choices were limited.

Hitler's extermination of people with epilepsy was part of a larger effort to kill people deemed unworthy.  Sterilization was also part of Hitler's Germany, though not limited to Germany. More sources.

I have mentioned Cameron Hollopeter several times in various places. If you are unfamiliar with the story, you can find background here.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bystander-pulls-off-daring-subway-rescue/

I have known Miles from the local chapter. I met Chanda in Washington, D.C. or San Francisco. I have photographed her in both places around 2012. I have photographed Miles nearly every year since before that.

I referenced an older post about living in Oz. I almost included the following on the other post. I found this one from 2015. It has a similar message to the current post. I wrote, " There is something unreal and dreamlike. Those of us with epilepsy are expected to remain invisible AND encouraged to “talk about it.” 

If I had been more present, I would have photographed the event differently. I probably would have planned to take photographs that emulated the period. The best example would have likely been Edward Steichen.

NOTE: This post was last updated on 11/29, as was the post on Bryan Farley photography dot com

National Coming Out Day - Oakland Pride

Today is National Coming Out Day. Last month, Oakland celebrated Oakland Pride with a parade and festival. 

 

I photographed the Oakland Pride parade again and posted photo gallery on my website. There were many other photos that I did not include in the final gallery that I liked.

 

I prefer going to parades early, if I go at all. 

When I arrive early, I am able to watch the participants anxiously prepare. 

I can see the start of the parade... for many different groups.

 

And I can see people relax before they parade in front of the public. Some people are going to perform, while others perform their public duty.

There is something fundamentally different about a pride parade than say a 4th of July parade. While not everyone who walks during a pride parade is LGBTQ, everyone at least supports the community. In some places, it's a risk to walk in a pride parade. It's also important to make it easier for others to come out today.