PPAGLA Student Amy Gaskins places third in College Media Association Pinnacle Awards

Community Colleges can create great photojournalists. 

Santa Monica College’s Amy Gaskin Placing Third against giants like Western Kentucky and the University of Kentucky in the College Media Association Pinnacle Awards is a deeply satisfying proof.

Ms. Gaskin was reeling from the sleeplessness of the Eddie Adam’s Workshop in October, but forged ahead on more deprivation by covering California Chrome at the Breeders Cup during the last weekend in October.

A day after publication on the SMC Corsair website last spring the Chrome story was the second most searched story on Google, behind the Sports Illustrated story. Old pro’s at the Breeders Cup have been talking about it and surprised to find the shooter working in their midst.

At the EAW Ms. Gaskin’s interviewed with former Sports Illustrated photo editor Jimmy Colton. Colton said in an email interview, “I told her that her work on the California Chrome story would have been a winner regardless of the horse's status. Some really fine images behind the scenes as well as gorgeous light in some of the race action. She was one of the most enthusiastic students I have ever met during my 24 years at EAW!”

There is insight in Ms. Gaskin’s work, coupled with a curiosity about people and society, photographic excellence, and drive. Speaking as an educator, Ms Gaskin best embodies the qualities we hope to instill in a successful new generation of visual journalists.

Forest Service chief says journalists are exempt as wilderness filming meeting nears in Portland

“In his clearest language yet, the U.S. Forest Service chief is committing to exclude the news media from a controversial permitting scheme for filming in federal wilderness.

Before it drew nationwide outrage, the agency had planned to require permits for journalists to film anything other than breaking news events in wilderness – even a reporter shooting video on an iPhone.

Chief Tom Tidwell, writing Tuesday to Forest Service staff nationwide, said journalists would never need a permit to film in wilderness.

”News coverage on [Forest Service] lands is protected by the Constitution, and it is our responsibility to safeguard this right on the lands we manage for all Americans,” Tidwell wrote.”

— http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/11/forest_service_chief_says_jour.html

Ferguson no-fly zone aimed at media

“The U.S. government agreed to a police request to restrict more than 37 square miles of airspace surrounding Ferguson, Missouri, for 12 days in August for safety, but audio recordings show that local authorities privately acknowledged the purpose was to keep away news helicopters during violent street protests.

On Aug. 12, the morning after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed the first flight restriction, FAA air traffic managers struggled to redefine the flight ban to let commercial flights operate at nearby Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and police helicopters fly through the area — but ban others.

”They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out,” said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police in a series of recorded telephone conversations obtained by The Associated Press. “But they were a little concerned of, obviously, anything else that could be going on.”

— http://bigstory.ap.org/article/674886091e344ffa95e92eb482e02be1/ap-exclusive-ferguson-no-fly-zone-aimed-media

Los Angeles as Subject Archives Bazaar

Long time member and former LA Times photographer Shelley Gazin will be an exhibitor at the Los Angeles as Subject Archives Bazaar which will take place at the USC Doheny Library this coming Saturday, Oct. 25th. This is a unique and fun event for lovers of important and as well as beautifully eccentric info about our ever-evolving regional life. Complete program info can be found at http://www.laassubject.org/index.php/archives_bazaar.

Sports Shooter Academy XI Open House on Nov 5

“An evening of photography, education and inspiration:
Sports Shooter Academy XI “Open House” Nov. 5

Hey So Cal: We are making the evening keynote presentations during Sports Shooter Academy XI open to the public and free!

The lineup of speakers are:
-Rod Mar (Seattle Seahawks team photographer)
Make the Big-Time Where You Are: Getting Excited About Photography
-Grover Sanschagrin (VP of Business Development and Co-Founder of PhotoShelter)
Modern Marketing For Photographers
-Brad Mangin (Bay Area freelance photographer)
Baseball photography from the Hall of Fame to Instagram

We will also have a trade show with Samy’s Camera setting up their “mobile store” featuring special pricing on dozens of products.Several of the workshop sponsors will be showing off equipment and services. Workshop sponsors Nikon Professional Services, PhotoShelter, Honl Photo and PocketWizard will have representatives on hand. So if you want to see the new Nikon D750, D810 and D750; the PocketWizard Plus III and Honl Photo’s cool light modifiers (including the just announced Light Paddle) RSVP for the SSA Open House!

Prizes will be given away throughout the evening provided by the workshop sponsors plus gear from Think Tank Photo and CustomSLR. We will also be giving away several copies of Brad’s book: Instant Baseball: The Baseball Instagrams of Brad Mangin ...which he will sign and personalize that evening.

If you want to attend this wonderful evening of photography, education and inspiration, RSVP by emailing: info@sportsshooteracademy.com. In the email subject please write “SSA Speaker Night” and in the body of the email include your name, email address and if you’re a working photographer or student.

The trade show will open at 11AMand the first speaker will be at 7PM. The Sports Shooter Academy XI workshop will be headquartered at:
Crowne Plaza - Costa Mesa Hotel
3131 S. Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, California 92626

Links:
Rod Mar
http://rodmar.photoshelter.com/
http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photos/galleries.html

Brad Mangin
http://www.manginphotography.com/
http://instagram.com/bmangin

Grover Sanschgrin
http://www.photoshelter.com/

The Sports Shooter Academy
http://www.sportsshooteracademy.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sports-Shooter-Academy/218332281520720?sk=wall
”

California Updates Invasion of Privacy Law to Ban the Use of Camera Drones

“In a bill meant to bring California’s privacy laws into a drone-heavy 21st century, the state just signed an act into law that will make it both illegal and very expensive for anybody seeking to invade someone else’s privacy by taking photos of them with a camera drone.”

— http://petapixel.com/2014/10/14/california-passes-law-banning-drones-protect-general-publics-privacy/

Just One More: US - China News Photo Exhibition

PPAGLA in association with the Chinese Media, California Media Club will be holding a photo exhibition of both organization's member's photographs.

The exhibition will display more than 100 images from PPAGLA and California Media Club members.

The opening reception will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014 at The Chinese Culture Development Center at 2121 W Mission Road, Alhambra, CA 91803 at 2:00pm.

Stay updated about the event by going to - https://www.facebook.com/events/557802514319425

Forest Service says media needs photography permit in wilderness areas, alarming First Amendment advocates

“The U.S. Forest Service has tightened restrictions on media coverage in vast swaths of the country’s wild lands, requiring reporters to pay for a permit and get permission before shooting a photo or video in federally designated wilderness areas.

Under rules being finalized in November, a reporter who met a biologist, wildlife advocate or whistleblower alleging neglect in 36 million acres of wilderness would first need special approval to shoot photos or videos even on an iPhone.

Permits cost up to $1,500, says Forest Service spokesman Larry Chambers, and reporters who don’t get a permit could face fines up to $1,000.

First Amendment advocates say the rules ignore press freedoms and are so vague they’d allow the Forest Service to grant permits only to favored reporters shooting videos for positive stories.”

— http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/09/forest_service_says_media_need.html

Science, Imaging, & Astronomy Expo at Woodland Hills Camera

PPAGLA supporter Woodland Hills Camera & Telescopes will be holding a Science, Imaging, and Astronomy Expo on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014 at Pierce College. A great event for the family, there will be Moon and Mars soil from JPL, Astronomy speakers, and face painting for the kids.

www.siaexpo.com
818-347-2270

Photo Happy Hour

Come join us for the next photo hour on Wednesday!

Wed Sep 10 starting around 6pm at Cha Cha Lounge.

2375 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 660-7595

http://www.chachalounge.com/losangeles/menu-la.php

Our colleagues at the PPGLA (Press Photographers Association of Great Los Angeles) have generously offered to provide us with a few pizzas to go with your beers so come by, have a slice and say hello.

PPAGLA Dodger Night

PPAGLA Dodger Night is coming up on Friday, Sept. 26, 2014!

“PPAGLA Dodger Night
Friday 26 September 2014
Rockies @ Dodgers 7:10 PM

Please send a SASE envelope with number of tickets requested to:


Paul Buck
1734 North Main Street
Suite 1B
Los Angles, CA 90031”

Have a Nikon lens to donate?

Bill Beebe, PPAGLA Past President, is looking for a Nikon F mount short zoom (35-70mm or 28-85mm) lens for donation.

The lens will be paired with a FinePix S2Pro camera and a Nikon SB800 strobe.

The donation goes to the Santa Monica Kids With Cameras Program. It is a 5-week program geared to introduce digital photography to twenty kids.

The camera, lens and strobe will be presented later this month, to the youngster who shows the best effort.

If you have Nikon F mount short zoon lens that you are not using, please contact Bill Beebe at bbeebe33@gmail.com. 

Inside Ferguson With Photographers From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

““When all the world’s media leaves, this is still our neighborhood,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s director of photography Lynden Steele recently told TIME. “We have to work knowing that what we do now will come back to us a month from now. We have to be able to stand by what we’re doing now because we’re going to be in that neighborhood weeks, months, years from now.”

”

— http://lightbox.time.com/2014/08/20/ferguson-michael-brown-st-louis-photographers/#1

NPPA Protests Ferguson Police Tactics, Disrespect for Constitutional Rights

“Today the National Press Photographers Association sent a strong letter of protest to the Ferguson, MO, chief of police regarding the unwarranted arrest and detention of journalists who are covering the town’s unfolding national story, as well as the department’s “complete lack of understanding and respect for the First Amendment.”

In a letter to Ferguson police chief Thomas Jackson, NPPA’s legal counsel Mickey H. Osterreicher wrote, “In any free country the balance between providing police protection with integrity and over-zealous enforcement is delicate. It is one thing for officers to act when there is reasonable suspicion; it is quite another to abuse that discretion by chilling free speech and creating a climate of fear and distrust under the pretext of safety and security.””

— https://nppa.org/news/nppa-protests-ferguson-police-tactics-disrespect-constitutional-rights

Remembering Slain Journalist James Foley

“James Foley was passionate about reporting from conflict zones and finding stories that may have otherwise gone untold.

The missing U.S. journalist, who was apparently beheaded in Syria, tweeted about other journalists who were held captive, while continuing to bring the realities of war-torn regions to the world.

”It’s part of the problem with these conflicts,” Foley said during a forum at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism in 2011. “We’re not close enough to it and if reporters, if we don’t try to get really close to what these guys ...we don’t understand the world, essentially.””

— https://abcnews.go.com/US/remembering-slain-journalist-james-foley/story?id=25052860

L.A. Stories: 100 Years of Press Photography from the Watson Family Photographic Archive

“ATHOM presents it’s inaugural exhibition, a breathtaking timeline of Los Angeles photography through the lens of one family — four generations, ten men each telling the story of their city from the perspective of their own life and times.
The Watson Family moved to Los Angeles in 1900 and began taking photographs of their new home town, first as a hobby and then as a multi-generation profession that continues today. The family, also early pioneers in the development of the film industry both behind and in front of the camera, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999.
”LA stories is a century of photographs, from an exceptional family – a historic anomaly, a family with a heritage of storytelling though pictures,” said Frank Coiro, FATHOM founder. “There have been multiple Watson museum retrospectives, but this is the first time the public will have a chance to purchase these historic photographs.”
The L.A. Stories exhibition displays the rise and fall of press photography, from the early years to the zenith, when newspapers had the power to start or stop a war, through today’s world with the shift to diverse web based information. Viewing the exhibition, which is displayed chronically, one can see the effects of technology on press coverage — how new cameras and lighting changed the texture of the pictures and even how events were photographed.
The exhibition includes photos as diverse as President Franklin D. Roosevelt stumping on his campaign trail inside the Los Angeles Coliseum; Tina Turner at the Greek Theatre; the construction of the happiest place on Earth, Disneyland; Col. Charles Lindbergh and his pregnant wife Anne posing in front of the plane they would use to cross the Continental US and set a speed record; Quincy Jones and Carol Channing having a laugh at a Los Angeles charity event.
”The Watson photographers motto has always been, pictures that tell a story,” said Daniel Watson. “Growing up, I was surrounded by endless stories about the great LA newspapers from my dad, uncles and my great uncle. And now, when I look at all of these Watson photographs hanging in the exhibition, I don’t just see the story of a city, I can actually teleport myself into their skin as they made these pictures.”
The exhibition Opening will be held Saturday, August 16th, from 6 to 9pm and will display through September 20th. Throughout the month, Daniel Watson will present a series of lectures on the history of press photography.
FATHOM is Santa Monica’s newest art gallery and is located in Bergamot Station. The FATHOM program consists of vintage pop culture and emerging art and photography.
FATHOM | 2525 Michigan Ave. | Building D4 | Santa Monica, CA 90404”

— http://www.accesswire.com/viewarticle.aspx?id=418958

White House responds to RTDNA, media orgs

“On July 8, 2014, RTDNA [Radio Television Digital News Association] and dozens of other media organizations sent a letter to the White House, urging President Obama to take steps toward the greater transparency and open government principle on which he campaigned.”

— http://rtdna.org/article/wh_responds_to_rtdna_media_orgs#.U-kaq4BdWV4

NYPD Sends Out Official Memo Telling Officers They’re Allowed to Be Photographed

“The NYPD has sent out an internal memo that tells officers they aren’t allowed to take action to stop someone from photographing or filming them. This comes a whopping two years after Washington DC’s police chief sent out an almost identical memo.
”

— http://petapixel.com/2014/08/11/nypd-sends-out-official-memo-telling-officers-theyre-allowed-to-be-photographed-and-filmed/

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Then/Now opening at The Perfect Exposure Gallery

“THEN/NOW
Ave Pildas

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT
THEN: Black and white Jazz portraits from the 60’s

NOW: Recent Color street images

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ave Pildas worked early in his career as a photo stringer for Downbeat Magazine in the Ohio Valley and Pennsylvania in the 1960’s, and has been a successful photographer and educator for the past 40 years.

In 1971 Pildas began working as the Art Director at Capitol Records in Hollywood and designed and photographed album covers for the label’s recording artists. He launched a career as a freelance photographer and designer soon after, specializing in architectural and corporate photography. His photographs have been exhibited in one man shows at the: Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Photographers Gallery, London, Janus Gallery, Los Angeles, Gallerie Diaframma, Milan, Cannon Gallery, Amsterdam, Gallerie 38, Zurich and numerous group shows. They have been featured in: The New York Times Magazine, ‘ZOOM’, ‘PHOTO’, ‘CAMERA’, ‘photographic’ and many publications both in the United States and abroad .

Photographs by Ave Pildas are included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Bibliotheca National, Paris; the University of Arizona as well as numerous other public and private collections. He is a Professor Emeritus at Otis College of Design.

Pildas created intimate portraits of Jazz greats in live performance, at small clubs and Jazz Festivals in the Midwest, many have never been seen before. Ave currently lives in Santa Monica, CA in the solar powered, zero scaped home and studio he collaborated on with W3 Architects. He is digitally archiving his vintage work, and continues with new projects while inspiring, polishing and guiding young talent.

ABOUT THE GALLERY
The Perfect Exposure Gallery is the recognized venue in Southern California to display the work of award winning and accomplished photojournalists as well as works of photographers that regard artistry and craftsmanship as a standard of excellence. The mission of the Perfect Exposure Gallery is to present exhibits free of charge to the general public with the following goals to exemplify the rich variety and impact of photography, freedom of expression, a forum for the aesthetic, the contemptible and the sublime.

Opening Reception: Thursday, August 7th 2014, 6-9pm”

— http://theperfectexposuregallery.com