HAVANA, Cuba, 28 August 2011 — AU Abroad students (l to r) Paul Barrett, Efrain Ramirez and Emmalee June Kinard get ready to board a bus to downtown Havana after arriving Sunday at Havana’s international airport. Paul, Efrain and Emmalee are among six AU Abroad students who will be spending fall semester studying at Cuba’s prestigious cultural institute, Casa de las Americas.
The American University students will take five classes while studying at Casa de las Americas, including my Photojournalism and Social Documentary class, which I teach as the foundation for the visual storytelling methodology that we refer to as backpack journalism.
Below, Chelsea Jay Crandall (l) and Dara Adelaja Jackson-Garrett, see Havana for the first time on the drive to the Havana Paseo Hotel where they will be staying.
Below, Cristina Khan gets her first view of Havana.
(Photos by Bill Gentile.)
WASHINGTON, DC, 7 August 2011 — The Backpack Journalism Workshop ended with some very impressive work by all participants. This has been one of the best workshops that we’ve ever conducted in terms of the dynamic among participants, the flow of the four-day event and the quality of the products. In addition to the in-class instruction, we once again Skyped web marketer Bruce Jones from his Boston office to my Washington, DC, home. Bruce has come to be a core part of the workshop, providing participants with answers to the question that is inevitable after they complete their videos: “Now what do I do with it?” From left to right are Maria Howell, Daniel Sullivan, Ellen Tripler, Brendan Rohr, Ellen Clegg, Esther Gentile, Bill Gentile, Jamillah Abdullah, Nick Ray.
WASHINGTON, DC, 7 August 2011 — Ellen Tripler (left) consults with Backpack Journalism Workshop Assistant Maria Howell on final-hour changes to her documentary about organic farming. In the background is Nick Ray, another assistant to the event, which ends today.
(Photo by Bill Gentile)
WASHINGTON, DC, 6 August 2011 — Participants in my Backpack Journalism Workshop discuss the use of social media with Internet marketing consultant Bruce Jones, whom we Skyped in from Boston. This is the third day of our four-day event. From right to left are Ellen Clegg, Jamillah Abdullah, Brendan Rohr, Ellen Tripler and Dan Sullivan. Below, we see Bruce on the flat screen.
(Photos by Bill Gentile.)
WASHINGTON, DC, 5 August 2011 — Ellen Clegg, one of the participants in my Backpack Journalism Workshop, concentrates on editing her documentary on a horse stable in Rock Creek Park. The four-day event now is moving into its post-production phase.
(Photo by Bill Gentile.)
BETHESDA, Md, 5 August 2011 — Jamillah Abdullah, one of the participants in my Backpack Journalism Workshop, shoots her documentary in an accessories shop on Wisconsin Avenue. Jamillah and others are finishing up the “production” stage of the event.
(Photo by Bill Gentile.)
WASHINGTON, 4 August 2011 — Participants in the Backpack Journalism Workshop converse on the first of four days with Internet marketer Bruce Jones, whom we Skyped into my living room from his office in Boston. From right at the front table are Jamillah Abdullah and Ellen Tripler. At the back table from right are Brendan Rohr, Dan Sullivan and Ellen Clegg.
(Photo by Bill Gentile.)
