Class 5- Lyndsey Matthews

New York Magazine- Feb. 8, 2009- Jake Chessum
This is a photo from New York Magazine's feature on comedian Demetri Martin's new sketch comedy show on Comedy Central. Chessum shot these portraits in a peculiar and fresh way that I enjoy. Typically I think jumping shots are overdone. But by cutting out his eyes (a close-up portrait was on the next page but I couldn't find it online) it makes you focus on his body language, which for a comedian is important. With his hands in his pockets and the subtle leap I can tell that this comedian is not going to be loud and overbearing but more subdued. It does border a little too much on looking like a fashion photo shoot. Also, while I like that this could pass as a portrait of one of the Beatles in the 60s it isn't as relevant to the story.


NYT Travel Section- Feb. 15, 2009- Chris Ramirez
This photo is from the Times' feature on cruises in Norway in the winter. After the boat crosses the Arctic Circle the man in the Nordic king costume pours ice down the traveler's back. The emotion this captures is fantastic and works well for a travel piece- it is amusing and fun. Her eyes are wincing but her mouth is smiling. However, without a caption though it is hard to figure out what exactly is going on other than something that is joyful and slightly painful simultaneously.



Getty Images (seen on Boston.com's Big Picture photoblog)- Feb. 13, 2009- Frederic J. Brown
These photos are detail portraits from Monlam, or The Great Prayer Festival in Tibet. Even without showing these women's faces, Brown captured their age, culture and religion (the beads are rosary beads) in these shots. The texture in the beading and their skin is fantastic. While I have seen pictures like the one of the hands holding rosary beads before, what makes this new and interesting is that they are Buddhist prayer beads which I did not know existed before. I always thought of them as an exclusively Christian (particularly Roman Catholic) practice.

Class 5 Tearsheets by Catherine B.

This photograph from Getty Images--I believe it's a stock photograph--suits the story line that Hillary Clinton is working to stabilize northeast Asia by seeking a stable peace with a disarmed North Korea. She looks hopeful yet firm. However, I wish there had been something more in the background or the writing was completely gone. It distracts the viewer from Clinton. 

Whether Huge Chavez will be able to run for re-election has been big news lately. What I liked about this photograph, by Ariana Cubillos (AP),  is that his body language says he's 'still in control' but his face reveals a certain amount of uncertainty. The photographer truly captured a moment that symbolizes the re-election debacle. 

This picture is from the front page (online) of the NYTimes on Sunday. I really liked this photograph by Jason Smith (Getty Images) because of the amount of action going on in the photo. If photographs are verbs, I think this photograph could copyright 'celebration.' There is so much emotion going on in it, as well as a great deal of color. The framing draws your attention to Matt Kenseth immediately. Without the story, you can definitely tell he won. 

Class 5: Tearsheets

By Dean Stattmann


This photo, published today on washingtonpost.com, shows a Nascar driver spinning out as two cars pass him. I really like this photo because it really captures the essence of what happened and you can almost hear the tyres screeching.
However, I think that the photographer could have put a little more in the frame to give us some form of reference. Were they rounding a corner? Was it on a straight? Was there something in front of him? We don't have answers to any of these obvious questions.
This photo was not attributed to anyone either, which really sucks for the photographer.


This is a photo of Gramercy Green dormitory architect Aaron Lee that appeared on NYU Local yesterday. It is a company photo provided by Lee. I like the photographer's use of perspective and I think this works really well as a environmental portrait.
It's a shame though that the back is over-exposed because it cheapens the shot as a whole.
It would also be better if one of the images on the clipboard clearly resembled the dormitory.


This is a Getty Images photo of Chris Brown as it appeared on cnn.com today. The article is about how Brown has apologized for an alleged domestic dispute involving his girlfriend, Rihanna. Even if this is a stock image, which it may well be, Getty surely could have found something a little more relevant. It does its job of showing us what Chris Brown looks like, however it does not convey any emotion.


*** Is there anyone else that would rather use a Wordpress blog? It works infinitely better with photos and I feel like we'll be using a lot of those***