Photojournal Project HNRS125: Arts in NYC
Professor Healey meghanhealey@hotmail.com
Photojournal Project Guidelines and FAQ’s
Your Photojournal project is a five-week project, during which time you will try to tell your story using only images, which you capture or create. This project will be 20% of your final grade in this course, so this needs to be a well thought out project that you devote time to each week.
General Guidelines
- The broad theme of the project is to tell your story- or to put a finer point on it- the story of your first semester (give or take) of school through images
- You should try to take 1 photo (or more if you like) each day
- This photo can be something that you capture spontaneously, or an image that you “create” or stage, or you could do a combination of the two. Examples of this include:
i. Setting up a specific rule or guideline for yourself, such as taking a photo at the same time each day no matter where you are.
ii. One student decided to take a photo of him sleeping somewhere strange each day, like the quad, or his bathtub, or on a statue. This would be an example of partly staging it (the sleeping) but being spontaneous (taking the photo wherever he was each day). He wanted to show that his spring break was all about getting some sleep.
iii. Creating a theme for your project. You could choose your neighborhood, or green spaces in the city, or some other “theme” that you feel you will be able to develop over the course of the month. Whatever theme you choose should relate to you on a personal level.
- You should also feel free to leave things open, just keeping your eyes peeled for great images that you discover or come across.
- I strongly suggest that you try to take at least three pictures every day, so that you can have some choices in putting the pictures into your journal, as you craft your story through the five weeks. But only 5 pictures per week are required.
- You need to do this daily, like writing in a journal, in order for the project to really work. It doesn’t work to just go out every Sunday and take a bunch of random photos and upload them to your journal. First, you are missing the point of the project, which is image-based storytelling over time, and second, that is not the assignment. I will be able to tell if that is what you are doing, and your poor grade will reflect the lack of effort in your project.
- You also need to balance your weekly photos with an eye for how the project will come together as a whole. Look at your photos together, and ask yourself- do I see a connection? Is there a story that emerges from this journal?
- I will view your photos and send you an email commenting on your progress in random order about once every other week.
- You need to be organized and vigilant about uploading your photos at least twice a week. If you have not uploaded your photos when I look at your page, you will be reminded to do so, and miss your opportunity for critique. If the tech fellow and I notice that you are always uploading on the same day once a week, we will have to assume that you are not following the guidelines of the project, and this will be reflected in your grade.
- This project is not a scrapbook, or a series of “yearbook photos” of you and your friends. You should approach this as an artistic endeavor, and strive to dig deeper into your ordinary life. You are not just documenting your story, you are also commenting on it, as the other artists whose work you will study this semester do. There is nothing wrong with having some photos of you, or your friends, or you with friends if you feel that a particular moment or image is important to your journal. But a journal that is just you and your significant other partying with friends is not going to make the cut, and you will be asked to change the theme and subject of your portraits. In other words- if your Photojournal starts to look like a wayward Facebook page, you’re in trouble.
- Your journal will be really boring if you just take a bunch of pictures of the junk that is sitting on your desk, or your furniture in your dorm room. And for the record- I have seen a lot of photos of pencils “artfully arranged” on a desk and “lonely” notebooks thrown on a dorm bed… You will definitely not impress me that way. Try to seek out original subjects for your photos, or take clichéd subjects and explore them in a new and meaningful way.
10. Think about how your story fits into our larger theme of New York City through the lens of art. How does your experience here at the college change and shape your view of New York City? How can you capture the New York City of a Queens College Student through images?
11. You will be graded on the originality, thoughtfulness, and clarity of your project, as well as how you progressed through the project. How well you took your critiques and incorporated suggestions and notes and whether you improve your eye for images are an important part of your grade on this project.
12. If you are concerned about your project or need to discuss it, you can make an appointment to come and see me during my office hour. If you have issues uploading your photos, please contact our tech fellow at tsaishiou.hsieh@qc.cuny.edu
