Wow, what a busy first week in Digital Storytelling. After the “boot camp” (the first part of week), the final week 1 assignments focused on visual design. I’m proud of the amount that I’ve learned and completed so far. Visual design isn’t my strong suit, but I pulled through and learned a lot in the process. The most difficult part of this week was also the most fun – the photo safari. I chose to photo-blitz in my local GameStop, a store with which I am very familiar. The fifteen-minute time constraint meant I had to do some pre-planning to select the images I would try to capture (see photo album here). Some of the more complex photo guidelines eluded me: making an inanimate object look alive, capturing a metaphor for complexity, and making an abstract photo. I tried to make them work, but I couldn’t photograph them in the time allotted. However, I did enjoy learning other photographic techniques, like using unusual angles, frames, and converging lines. If I were to do another photo safari, I would definitely spend even more time planning the blitz or go to a larger area with lots to do and see.
I was pleasantly surprised with the photo that I created using the tips on creating better photographs. One slight change to how one takes a photo can change the tone and purpose of the photo. I was also moved by the photo and story of the Migrant Mother and amazed about its impact on photojournalism even today. The post on my reflections on the material concerning the visuals of storytelling can be viewed here.
I completed four different visual assignment blog posts:
I found these assignments fun, but also a bit time-consuming. Creating the story for the Draw It assignment was the most challenging. I used PhotoShop™ for all the assignments. I’m just learning how to use the application, but thankfully, there was built-in help and online tutorials.
Lastly, I also tweeted responses to several daily creates:
I worry that I should be doing more when using images protected by trademark or copyright; since all my postings are for educational purposes, are my blogs covered under the fair use clause? I understand that the protection of copyright material is a significant concern to image owners today with the abundance of images on the internet and tools that can be used to reproduce and derive works. I would rather avoid a copyright conflict, but I also like talking about popular media; would that cause me to be copyright struck? At the end of the day, I did have fun and I tried to make everything my own creation.
Comments I made on others’ posts:
Deon Stachell’s Week 1 Midweek Summary
Lauren Albert’s Participation Post
