Beth: News Peg Feature Update (again)

One of our recent assignments was to create a sidebar for one of our stories. I chose to do my sidebar on my news peg feature that talked about the environment, Earth Day, Earth Hour, and what college students can do to help out. I decided that adding statistics about Earth Hour (an event that is relatively unknown) would help readers understand my piece.

You can check out the finished product at my website!

http://sites.google.com/a/coe.edu/bethwallace/home/news-peg-feature

ASF Link

There are over a hundred schools in the country that support the Upward Bound Program. It was hard to choose a certain website for this program but I decided to choose a larger school closer to Coe's location that we all can relate to. The University of Iowa is a strong supporter of Upward Bound and has been for years. The link below is the link to their home page for their Upward Bound Program. It is a pretty neat set-up and it is very easy to navigate around and find what you are looking for.

http://upwardbound.uiowa.edu/

Beth: Another update on ASF!

I just completed my interview with Jason (as a reminder - he's the student I interviewed about summer physics research at Coe). He gave me a lot of good information about what a typical day is like for students; I found it interesting to learn more about how students play a role in the research. It sounded fun but it also sounded pretty challenging! Jason said research students really have to know their stuff to be able to keep up with the work they're doing.

Hopefully the story turns out well!

Here's a link to an article that was published in the Gazette about glass research last summer - Jason is actually in the picture!

http://gazetteonline.com/local-news/education/2009/09/07/coe-physics-department-makes-national-name-for-itself/comment-page-1

Sally: Update on Alternative Story Form

I had my interview with a professor at Coe who is retiring this year. Until it's finished, I'll keep the person a surprise on my blog and post a link to where you can see it later. I got some good quotes from him and I found out he's going to travel to Africa, the West Indies, and the southern states (namely North Carolina, his hometown, and Georgia). He's going to spend more time with his grandchildren in Kansas City, MO and Minneapolis, MN because he'll have more free time. I don't want to give everything away. Time to get started on my article!

Beth: Update on Alternative Story Form

Our next (and final!) writing assignment is to write an alternative story form about what goes on at Coe during the summer. I'm going to be writing about the physics department. I think this will be interesting as they do a lot of cool research (and I know at least a few people in this class are working with the physics department this summer). Instead of talking to Doc, I decided to interview my friend Jason Maldonis, who did physics research last summer and is doing it this summer as well. I'm going to make it an ASF by doing a sort of timeline approach; I'll interview Jason about what a typical day is like for a student doing summer research. Hopefully it turns out well!

Here is a video in which Mario discusses glass research:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2BH99fItzc

Update on ASF

My alternative story form is about the Upward Bound Program that Coe College is in charge of during the school year as well as the summer. I have contacted the director of the program, Barbara Gibbs, and have lined up an interview to be held on Thursday April 22nd. I have complete a paper that provides research on the program as well as some good background information. The Upward Bound Program at Coe College is held to help students in the surrounding Cedar Rapids schools improve their grades and help them transition for college. It also helps these students with their financial troubles that may be keeping them from proceeding to college. The program is very interesting and I had no idea that Coe College held something like this for highschool students. I think that Coe College is taking a great step to help these students as well as promoting their college to the public so the student who is being helped may feel obligated to enroll into Coe.

Summertime (Sally)

    This summer I'm going to be in Cedar Rapids. I work at Express at Lindale Mall, and I'm hoping for lots of hours. I also look forward to taking long walks at Palisades (it's gorgeous out there) and going fishing. If I buy anything this summer it's probably going to be a fishing pole. I'm also planning a road trip with a friend to Colorado to see friends and family, and then to keep going toward Portland to see more friends. I've always wanted to see what Oregon looks like. I'll also spend some time at home (Storm Lake, IA) with my six younger siblings. (Yes, six!). One of my sisters will be eleven in June. I'm also planning to do Vacation Bible School (teaching, not participating =] ) at Imago Christi right down the street from Coe in July.

Beth Wallace: Sweet Summertime

Unfortunately, I don't have the exciting summer plans that a lot of other students in the class seem to. I'm going to be going back to home sweet home, aka Eagan, MN. I'm going to be spending a LOT of my summer working. I work at The Commons on Marice, which is a senior assisted living community... or, in simpler terms, a fancy apartment building of sorts for the elderly. I'm a waitress in the dining room there. I've been working there for three years now, and although I'm not technically full-time, I usually work between 30-50 hours per week. I'm excited to go back because I love the residents and the people that I work with, but being on your feet for 8-12 hours every day can get old fast. Other than work, I plan to spend a lot of time with my friends, which will be way fun. I can't believe we get four months for summer - it's going to seem like such a long time but it'll be nice to be able to relax for that long.

A lot goes on at Coe over the summer. Firstly there are May terms, which many students participate in. Then there's science and math research that happens - the one I know the most about is physics research. I know they focus on glass and acoustics. I have a lot of friends that will be doing that. Then I know there's also the Upward Bound program, and a lot of other programs probably use the Coe campus, too.

Sneak Peak

This may be a little late of a post since the slideshows were already handed in but here is a sneak peak of my slideshow. Getting pictures of the equipment and the weightroom was the easiest part of this project. On the other hand, getting action photos was a little complicated. I felt very uncomfortable asking people if I could take pictures of them while they were running or lifting. I felt especially uncomfortable if it was a girl or someone I didn't know because I was afraid of making them feel uncomfortable or thinking that I was a complete creeper. Overall, the photos turned out great and I built up courage to ask people for action photos. Hope you like the slideshow!

Summer Time

This summer I will be staying at home in Urbana, IA which is located about 15 minutes north of Cedar Rapids. I will be helping my dad with his new business that he has just started called Custom Laser Engraving. Next to working with my dad, I will be playing summer slow pitch softball as well as volleyball. Most of my summer will be spent out on Coralville Reservoir boating with my parents and jet skiing with my girlfriend. I have spent the past two summers out on the boat most of the time learning how to wakeboard. The lake is a place for me to let go of my worries and just relax under the sun. I am really looking forward to this summer to start but I am also excited to get my senior year under way.

Beth: Another update on the slideshow

I'm now working on putting together the pictures for my slideshow. It's actually a little harder than I expected; I've found it challenging to come up with a good lede for pictures instead of words, and I'm struggling a little bit with finding a cohesive story within the pictures. However, I really like the pictures that I took, so despite the hard work it's still rewarding to work with my own pictures.

I think my focus is going to be on the orchestra's upcoming concert, so hopefully I can find a way to tell that story within the pictures!

Sally's Slide Show Update

I took photos of the Coe College Crimson Jazz Band. Unlike Beth's awkward experience, director Steve Shanley allowed me to introduce myself before I starting taking photos. It was still awkward to try and make my way through the stands on the perimeters of the room without making noise. I had to ignore people looking at me for a while, but then they got used to it. Here are a few sneak shots.

Beth Wallace: Slide Show Update

Hello all!

I'm currently working on my slide show focusing on learning and practicing at Coe. My focus is Coe's orchestra. Here's a sneak peek and what I've been doing!

It was a little awkward taking the photos at first because I didn't know very many people in the orchestra and I must have creeped them out a little, but after awhile I realized that I just had to go for it! I've definitely learned that taking good photographs is a lot harder than it seems; using the rule of thirds is often tricky if you can't find the right angle, and sometimes it's hard to get a variety of shot distances. However, it's also fun! I'm really enjoying this assignment, and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Slideshow Example

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/03/31/world/20100331SANCTUARY_index.html

This is a slideshow that I found under the New York Times website called "A Rescued Menagerie". I was looking for a slideshow that portrayed the usage of the rule of thirds as well as some interesting photos. I am very intrigued when I see photos of animals, especially ones from the jungle. These photos are amazing but are very sad when you read the captions. The photographer does a great job using equal spacing on the photos as well as the rule of thirds. He/She captures the emotion of the story through the photos that are taken. This is an amazing slideshow that I think everyone should take a look at.

Photo Practice

Both of these photos practice the rule of thirds that we have discussed in class. The first photo really captures the idea of sitting in class and kind of shows the emotion of a student. I like how he is positioned to the left of the image instead of the middle because then it doesn't put all the focus on him. The second photo comes from a different angle of the classroom. This photo really gives the viewer a different perspective and uses the rule of thirds to split the two guys. This split makes the photo feel more even and spread out.

Practice in Class

Jane asked us to 'practice' taking shots that follow the rule of thirds and show emotion while using a range of distance shots. Here are two of my class practice photos:

This photo is of Tyler looking out the window. I like this one because it is an excellent

example of the rule of thirds and also shows calmness. I got lucky on this shot!

I chose this picture because, although it doesn't follow the rule of thirds, it is a wide shot that

shows emotion and action. This is the only picture out of my practice shots where someone smiled.

Beth Wallace: NY Times Slide Show

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/behind-36/?scp=25&sq=slideshow&st=cse

This slideshow was done by Lynsey Addario and is a collection of photographs of orphans and babies in Haiti. This is an excellent slide show. Technically, it follows all of the rules we discussed in class. The photos, for the most part, follow the rule of thirds, and there are a variety of distances in the shots. And the best part, in my opinion, is how Addario captured emotion so well in her photographs. One thing that makes this slideshow unique is that Addario narrates the photographs instead of providing cutlines. I like that; even though each story can tell its story on its own, it was interesting to hear some background on each of the photos.

"It was just an incredible scene to see life being born into destruction."

Beth Wallace: Photo Practice

In class yesterday we learned how to take good quality photos. The purpose of this lesson was to prepare us for our upcoming pieces - slideshows! Our slideshow will be about learning and practicing at Coe. I'm going to photograph Coe's orchestra.

In addition to learning tips on how to take good photographs, we also got to put those tips into practice.

The above photo shows journalism workshop students Pranav, Danae, and Stephanie taking notes and listening to professor Jane Nesmith's lecture.

This photograph sort of violates the rule of thirds, but I liked the line that the three of them created.

This photograph shows Jane giving a lecture on how to take quality photographs.

In general I like this photo because I think that it captures emotion, but I do think it is a little dark. I'm not sure why, as I used the flash, but maybe it wasn't strong enough.

Slide Show from New York Times.Com

For our Slide Show project, I'm going to take photos of Coe's Jazz Band, directed by Steve Shanley.

As we are preparing to do our own slide shows, we were told to post an interesting one from the internet. Here is a slide show that I found. It's called "Homeless in Paradise" and contains snap shots and cut lines about the homeless in Key West. This struck me personally because I was born in Key West, Florida.
The photographer (Jessica A. Woolf) did a great job finding variety of distance in wide, medium, and close shots, most of which follow the rule of thirds. Her compositions allow the viewer to take in every detail instead of just wanting to click the 'next' button.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/03/31/us/0331KEYWEST_index.html

News Peg Update

I've definitely run into a few hurdles on my News Peg.

First, my original idea fell through because I was not able to find an expert for the article. Then, I had to brainstorm a new idea. I thought of three and then eventually decided to write an environmental news peg feature. I had found an article on the New York Times website about Earth Hour, so I thought I would write an article about what Coe students can do to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. I thought this would be a timely piece because Earth Hour is coming up as well.

I ran into the same problem here - the expert I was originally intending to talk to (the faculty advisor for the Environmental Club at Coe) did not have time in her schedule to talk to me, so I had to go in another direction. I actually ended up calling my high school principal; I went to the School of Environmental Studies which is a school that stresses how students can make individual choices that make large impacts on the earth, so I figured he could be considered an expert.

I have also talked to Coe students in the Environmental Club about their opinions on what students can do.

Progress on News Peg

I am currently just starting to write my paper due to a couple of tests that I did a lot of studying for. I have my interviews done with plenty of quotes to enter into my article. The topic of my news peg is kind of hard to tackle but I think I have a good idea on how to approach it. I plan to use many of my quotes in the article to show readers the thoughts and feelings of people who are actually affected by my topic. Overall, the paper should be interesting and should be finished on time. Thank You.

Childhood Memories

I am posting a link to a singer who sings the song "A Whole New World" from Disney's Alladin. This was a very popular movie when I was younger and I found this to be very interesting. Next to it being a great song, the singer does both the guy and the girl parts of the song to perfection. His name is Nate Pitera and he is capable of singing like a girl. I know some people may have seen him before but I just heard him for the first time the other day and thought it was crazy. Hope you enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9-CS2v8wcc

News Peg Feature Update

I chose to write about the 'newspaper recession.' Print news is becoming a smaller need in our society. The economy is cutting jobs, which creates the demand for 'less people to do more at work.' The job market for journalists is scarce. Andy Thayer, a Packager/Finisher at Colorweb Printing, has worked on the non-journalism side of news for ten years. "I applied as a journalist, thinking that I could work my way up," said Thayer. With piles of applications to go through each day both at Colorweb and in the Press, it has become a trend that journalists are going to have to raise the bar with their communications and computer skill levels in order to even think about becoming a staffed journalist. Not that Thayer hasn't tried; he is a graduate student at Iowa working toward his BA in English.
"Students must be multitalented in social media. You have to have skills of digital photography, audio/video, and web uploads," according to Susanne Gubanc, Assistant Professor of Rhetoric at Coe College.