Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/09/25
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thanks, Jim - You and Ron "got it." The course isn't meant to turn out Salgados, but rather give kids a better understanding of what story telling, using pictures and words, is all about; and it's supposed to give them an appreciation for the ethos of "doing documentary work." Along the way we read -and gag over - Susan Sontag, read Robert Coles, look at a number of photo books and photos, take and submit PAWs, and each week write the first 250 words of a short story based on a photo the students are shown. There's no question that everyone in the class improved over the course of the semester in terms of their photography, and their 'reading' of photos. There's one student whom I'm sure will be heard from at some point, if art wins her away from mathematics - this IS MIT after all. But she is definitely an art/fashion photographer, not a documentary/pg. One student I had two years ago, who began that year a mediocre but committed shooter, was my TA this year, shoots regularly for SIPA, shoots all the home Soxs games for them, and regularly stirngs for AP - which makes it all worthwhile.... ;-) B. D. -----Original Message----- From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org [mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Jim Hemenway Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2004 4:26 PM To: Leica Users Group Subject: [Leica] Qualify for the Boston Marathon? In order to be a registered Boston Marathon runner, one has to qualify: http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/Qualifying.asp Literally thousands of the runners are not registered/qualified. Many are folks who soldier through those tough 26 miles, do it for charity, to honor a dead relative, to do their own personal best and/or to qualify for other marathons. You don't need to be registered to participate in the Boston Marathon. But, you do have to register if you think that you are fast enough to get a chance at the prize money or to have your running time tracked and recorded into the official Boston Marathon records. So, for the purposes of BD's student it wasn't necessary. If I'm reading her narrative correctly, she simply wanted to run the distance and document the event. I agree with what Ron has stated below. I expect that BD is proud of his student and for a novice photographer and runner, I think she should get an "A". Jim, "What me run?" Hemenway Ron Price wrote: > I didn't pick up on the 'not registered' thing at all. Not sure why > this is a problem. > > I think that the piece did just what a good photo story is supposed > to--tell a story of some kind. It had a point of view. It imparted > some understanding of what somebody running the Boston Marathon goes > through as a runner, illustrating the stages of the process and the > feelings and physical states of the runners. It looked around to > observe a few of the unique stories taking place around it. > > None of the photos were necessarily prize-winners, but combined with > the text and the structure of the image sequence, the story is both > clear and personal, which is enough to make it fairly compelling to > me. > > Ron > > > >>-----Original Message----- >>From: lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org >>[mailto:lug-bounces+bdcolen=earthlink.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf >>Of Adam Bridge >>Sent: Saturday, May 08, 2004 8:46 PM >>To: Leica Users Group >>Subject: Re: [Leica] A Runner's eye view of the Boston Marathon >> >> >>On Saturday, May 8, 2004 B. D. Colen thoughtfully wrote: >> >> >>>So one of my students, who had already done most of the work on a >>>project on a little airport outside Boston, decided that she was >>>going to make her real project a look at the Boston Marathon from a >>>runner's point of view - which is to say she ran the entire thing >>>with an Olympus C5050 in hand. >>> >>>Like a number of the students, she was new to photography when the >>>semester began, and she was given cropping advice on a number of the >>>images. But that said - I think what she did is pretty terrific... >>>http://web.mit.edu/jumpbean/www/marathon/index.htm >>> >>>B. D. >> >>Not being a runner-dude I found it pretty, well, okay - runner people. >>It happened to be the Boston Marathon on a relatively hot day (I >>gather.) >> >>But I gained nothing. I mean "why do I do this" in the middle of the >>race/run. And then I learn - gee - not an entered runner. >> >>I don't get it. I don't get why it's good because beyond carrying a >>camera for so far to take the pictures (which is sorta heroic) they >>don't talk to me at all. It seems empty. >> >>Adam >> >>_______________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Leica Users Group. See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information