Background Information:
My project is to create a photojournalism website of the Marine Academy of Science and Technology. We attend a really unique school that has no form of publication to show anyone what it’s all about. Incoming freshman, current students, alumni, faculty, family and friends would all love a site that shows what we are all about here at MAST and what happens on a daily basis. My goal is to create a website that shows our life here on Sandy Hook as well as all school functions off the Hook. To have a full knowledge of how to shoot the photos, and create the website there were a few areas I needed to study.
I have been studying photography for years now and viewing books, websites, museum exhibits to broaden my knowledge. Although I did take a month long course in photography this summer it was not the main subject of my research. I needed to learn a little more about the basics of how to make a website, how to design it, and HTML. I also searched the current MAST website for all the clubs/organizations an events that take place. I included some background information on Photojournalism from my own knowledge because I do know a lot about it.
How to make a website:
The first step to creating a website is to register a domain name for it. There are various places online to do this. After registering your domain name you select a web host which provides all that you need to make the website.
After registering the site you can begin to create the HTML to make the pages, links, test, etc. that the website will consist of. You can design your website with a program such a Dreamweaver in which you can build your website either through HTML coding by hand or by making the website and having it create the coding for you. Dreamweaver is usually used in junction with other programs such as Illustrator and Photoshop which assist in graphic designing and photo manipulation.
HTML:
HTML stands for HyperText Mark-up Language and is a language used online to create webpages. HTML is a good thing for someone creating a website to have a knowledge of but because there are programs such as Adobe Dreamweaver available for use, it is not completely necessary. Dreamweaver can create the HTML codes for you so you don’t have to write pages upon pages of coding. But to be able to at least somewhat understand the codes it writes for you is a very useful thing to know.
Design Elements:
The elements of design include line, shape, direction, size, texture, color (hue) and value (tone). Line can mean two different things, the “linear marks made with a pen or brush or the edge created when two shapes meet” (johnlovett.com). Shape is a defined area of form. Direction refers to the fact that all lines have a direction (horizontal, vertical, oblique) and each suggests different things. For example, horizontal suggests calmness, vertical gives a feeling of balance and oblique suggests action. Size is “the relationship of the area occupied by one shape to that of another” (johnlovett.com) or the largeness or smallness of a form. Texture is the surface appearance of a shape (rough, smooth, etc.) and can be either tactile or visual. Value is the lightness or darkness of a color.
This color wheel and others like it can be used to choose colors for a website design among other designs. The colors directly across from one another are complimentary meaning that they look the best when used with each other. When designing a website it is good to know this because you would like the colors of your background, text, and everything else to compliment each other instead of clashing.
What To Photograph:
Events, projects, club activities, and competitions happen throughout the school year. For my project I will need to be everywhere all the time, meaning at as many school events as possible. All clubs that take place at MAST are as follows: Academic Team, Beacon, Color Guard, Creative Arts Club, Drill Team, Language Clubs/Honor Societies, G.L.A.D., Key Club, Marine Science Club, Masthead, Math League, Mock Trial, NAMES Project, Physics Olympics, SCUBA, Student Council, Technology Students Association (TSA), Tradewinds, Skills USA, and National Honor Society. Each club has their own activities and competitions.
Each year at MAST we participate in grade level projects, from the regatta freshman year to making kites sophomore year. These as well as seniors working on their own senior projects will also be photographed.
Nation Junior Rotary Officer Training Corps is a big part of life at MAST. It encompasses Drill Team, and all the activity periods we have (AMI, promotions, etc.).
Daily Life at MAST is different than anywhere else and must be shown, classes, lunch activity, going out on the boat, and beach walks all fall under this category. The location of our school is also unlike any other, Sandy Hook is known for its nature, beaches and bay. There is no way to show our school without showing a wide sampling of scenery from Sandy Hook.
Photojournalism:
Photojournalism became it’s own form of photography in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Photojournalism assumes the spontaneous, documentary style of photography, not worrying about composition or correctness and just shooting the actions taking place. During the time that this new form came about a lot was happening in this country including the Great Depression, the Dustbowl, Prohibition, Women’s Suffrage, among other historic events. These provided excellent subjects for magazines to send out photographers to shoot. Among these early photojournalists are Dorothea Lange, best known for her Dustbowl images, Margaret Bourke-White, who also shot the Dustbowl victims during this time, and Lewis Hines who even before the 1920s was shooting for the NCLC, documenting child labor.
This image is by Dorothea Lange, entitled Migrant Mother. It is among her most famous photographs and a good example of photojournalism. The way you can read into the woman’s eyes and feel what she is feeling is the goal of all photojournalists.
