WASHINGTON, DC, 19 October 2010 — Am finally getting around to posting the closing group shot of our four-day Backpack Journalism Workshop, which ended late Sunday evening. From left to right (standing) are Skye Wheeler, Simon Nicholson, Teaching Assistant Esther Gentile, Rebecca Byerly, Teaching Assistant Ted Roach, Theresa Bucci, and Teaching Assistant Kelly Donnellan. Kneeling […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 15 October 2010 — Rebecca Byerly, a participant in the latest Backpack Journalism Workshop, interviews her subject for a mini documentary on a busy street in the nation’s capital. She’s practicing what I refer to a “participatory observation.” That means the art of engaging subjects in a manner that allows them to tell […]
WASHINGTON, 3 October 2010 — It’s not every day that a university professor sees his student’s work in The New York Times. But that’s exactly what happened recently when I ran across a piece by Shaheryar Mirza, a former student in my Foreign Correspondence class. Shaheryar was kind enough to answer a number of my […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 30 September 2010 — Learn to document your story as it moves from one scene to another. Always shoot the journey, be it by foot, car, plane or train. Shoot your character’s feet hitting the pavement, hands on the steering wheel, face in the rear view mirror. Shoot through the windshield for the […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 27 September 2010 — Get accustomed to using the eyepiece instead of the display screen. You’ll be better able to tell when your subject is in focus, especially when there’s a backlight, which is a big issue with many of these hand-held cameras. Keep both eyes open. Otherwise you lose peripheral vision on […]
WASHINGTON, 26 SEPTEMBER 2010 — Backpack journalists use tripods on a very, very limited basis. The whole idea is to cut down on gear, to be mobile and to be unobtrusive. So learn how to turn your body into a tripod. Turn your left hip toward your subject. With your left hand as a base […]