Documentary through the lens

Pepe

2009-11-15T20:56:00.000-08:00

Emily Gray, a freshman at Dryden High School, is raising her second pup for Guiding Eyes, an organization to provide guiding eye dogs for the blind. Pepe, a 7 and a half month old yellow lab, is learning to fight distractions.

Senior Thesis

2009-11-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

Here at Ithaca College, senior cinema and photography majors concentrating in Cinema Production are hard at work on their Senior Thesis films. Filming takes several weekends, and hours of pre-production and editing.

Joe Pera, a senior at Ithaca College, devotes Saturday, November 7th, to filming his movie.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

2009-11-08T23:17:00.000-08:00

Henri Cartier-Bresson is considered to be the father of photojournalism. He tried to convey "street photography" and specialized in candids to represent the world around him.

He was famous for coining the term "the decisive moment". This is when the camera shutter opens in the exact right timing for the perfect shot. In other words, being in the right time at the right place.

This is Cartier-Bresson's famous photograph, "Behind the Gare St. Lazare"

Through studying Cartier-Bresson's work, I have tried to capture this moment through my photographs.

Here are some examples:

I wanted to capture the essence of childhood in this photograph. I saw their feet peeking through the holes and snapped the shutter to convey a message.

I saw this from across the room as this young girl was staring down the snake that most of the other children were afraid of. I was amazed by her courage.

Strike three. I wanted to show the defeat this boy felt at the end of the at-bat.

Laughter and happiness came together instantly for this girl as she enjoys a lazy summer afternoon.

SAB presents Tobacco

2009-11-06T01:49:00.000-08:00

SAB did a great time putting together this Wednesday night's show in Emerson Suites at Ithaca College.

With local DJ's Diselectrics and Glittermonks opening, different tracks were being laid out for Ithaca College students to enjoy.

Tobacco's appearance is greatly apprecited by the students, and having a great show for free on campus proves the perks the school has.

I took a video of one of the last songs, hope you enjoy it!

DJ Tobacco at Emerson Suites

Cornell-Brown Field Hockey

2009-11-01T21:48:00.000-08:00

All eyes are on Michaela Seigo, a senior at Cornell University from Annandale, V.A., as she looks to switch fields in Saturday’s Cornell-Brown Field Hockey game at Cornell University.

Katie Durkin, a freshman at Brown University from New Canaan, N.J., looks disappointingly across the field at Brown’s net as Cornell scores another goal, leaving the game 7-3 Cornell.

Halloween Masquerade Ball

2009-10-31T14:47:00.000-07:00

The Halloween masquerade ball was held yesterday, October 30th, at the Women's Community Center.

The ball promoted using recyclable material for costumes.

Kat Anible, 18, a senior at Ithaca High School, has her Mrs. Claus costume hanging on a mannequin for Halloween.

The masquerade focuses on having masks for everyone.

Anible shows off a mask she has made.

Max Tzara, 15, a junior at Ithaca High School, gets ready to make a robe for the masquerade ball.

Helen Hamilton, a sophomore at Ithaca High School, puts her outfit out to put together.

Ithaca Beer

2009-10-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

Ithaca Beer finds travelers from the city to taste their beer last Tuesday. Beth Maeyer from New York, N.Y., laughs over a glass of Ithaca's Nut Brown Ale.

Maeyer and her boyfriend Drew Childers, also from New York, N.Y., talk to Tasting Room Manager Michael Benz about Ithaca's beer, enjoying the atmosphere Ithaca has to offer.

First Annual Woof Walk

2009-10-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

October 17, 2009, marks the first annual Woof Walk dedicated to owners and their canine companions. Diane Holmes, a Certified Educator Trainer, leads an enthusiastic group of dogs and their owners along a walk through Toronto's High park, which is located in the heart of the Runnymede-Bloor West Village. Woof Walk is part of the Toronto Trails Festival, now in its seventh successful year. The eight-week festival, which runs until the end of October, encourages Torontonians to keep healthy and fit by participating in a series of walks through the city's parks and ravines and along the waterfront.

The dogs and their owners wait for the walk to begin.

Abbey-Road, a two-and-a-half-year-old bijon poodle from Port Credit, Ontario, wags her tail as she waits for the walk to begin.

Sydney, a mini dachshund from Toronto, takes a breather after jumping over one of the hurdles in High Park.

Jake waits patiently while his owner, Diane Holmes, explains to the Woof Walkers how both owners and dogs will benefit from this morning’s

hike.

A resting point for the dogs provides relief for everyone.

Mickey Burns, William Assaff and Janice Ingram lead their dogs Marvin, Partner and Bunny along the southern edge of High Park as the walk stretches close to The Queensway.

Mickey Burns guides her multicolored ganaraskan, Marvin, through a short work out on one of the Park’s picnic benches.

Brass, a German Shephard, and Abbey-Road happily trot along at the back of the pack during the Woof Walk.

Burns and Marvin wait to cross the street.

Brass, and his owner Tina Fedson work out their muscles as they climb up a hill.

Holmes and Jake lead the walk with the rest of the members behind them.

For more information on Toronto Trails Festival, click here

The Fading of Dark Rooms

2009-10-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

Ithaca College’s dark room designates areas to be wet only – for prints made in the dark room. This area is left completely untouched this Tuesday, October 5^th, 2009, but behind the wet area is a table where a student has a laptop open to work on digital prints.

Dark rooms are no longer considered necessary in many colleges. College photography students are now being immersed in the wonderful world of digital photography that is becoming more and more readily available.

Four years ago, it was universal for freshman photography students to walk into college their first day and immediately be submerged in the black and white dark room. For almost 200 years, photography has been a practice meant for the passionate, the artistic, and the crafty. Dark rooms have satisfied all of these drives, allowing one to completely work in their own space to provide the desired effect.

However magical the dark room is to students, the costs of maintaining a dark room exceeds many schools budgets. Because of the trend towards digital, the chemicals, involving stop bath, hypoclear, developer, photo flo, and fixer, are all becoming much more expensive.

Equipment to develop your own film is left out for students at Tompkins Cortland Community College.

Here at Ithaca College, Intro to Photography was just two years ago an all film class. Freshmen were required to own a 35mm camera and learned how to load, shoot, and develop their own film and make prints, using the chemicals in the dark room. Their final portfolio consisted of all black and white, 35mm negative prints.

Ahndraya Parlato, an Intro to Photography professor at both Itthaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College comments on students learning film first: “When you're shooting film, there's a sense of importance - your negatives have to be developed and printed, they take up physical space in the world. I think the combination of these things often makes students slow down and shoot more carefully than when they're using digital cameras.”

Last year, they introduced digital photography into Intro to Photography, but only in the last few weeks of the course. However, as times are changing, so is Ithaca College’s Intro to Photography class. Janice Levy, photography professor at Ithaca College, says “all intro students are now required to own digital SLR cameras. In the past, they were required to bring in film cameras, but that was presenting all kinds of mechanical problems, what with very old film cameras that were handed down to them. They were constantly spending money having to fix them.” Levy says that SLR digital cameras are current to this day an age, however, so students will be buying new ones. “I will work hard to keep film alive as long as possible, and that’s why it is important to me that they learn both mediums,” Levy says.

Marianne Dabir, a junior journalism major at Ithaca College, is a photo lab monitor for the school. “When I set up in the morning, I only put out one tray of chemicals. I’d say in an average day only four people use the actual darkroom. When I dump all the chemicals at the end of the day, almost all of the chemicals are going down the drain.” Dabir says she thinks that it is sad that it is turning so film-based, but she has “a great appreciation for digital as well. It truly is the beginning of another era.”

It has been a dispute for many colleges. The Metropolitan Community College decided in May of 2007 that they should empty their photography department of dark rooms. They believe it simply to be impractical to keep the medium going.

Drawers are available to rent for photography students at Ithaca College. These hold negatives and paper for both film and digital photography equipment.

Tompkins Cortland Community College remains true to keeping their Intro to Photography class purely film. Eric Merkalein, 25, a third semester student, is a graphic designing major, taking Intro to Photography because it is required for his major.

Eric Merkalein studies his contact sheet to pick a negative to make a print from in the dark room for his class that afternoon.

“I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about photography, but I am loving it more than computer graphics.” Merkalein isn’t sure if he will pursue photography after this year, but Tompkins Cortland Community College offers separate digital photography classes to learn that specific medium in detail.

Merkalein finds the negative he is looking for so he can put it in the enlarger.

Trends are changing to make photography a digital world for means of advertising, photojournalism, wedding photography and portrait photography. In a world where photography is a business, digital provides great potential to produce millions of with a snap of a camera. However, many colleges do see the authenticity of film. Fine art photographers will continue to use film to achieve effects that are limited with digital photography. The education of both at Ithaca College as well as other colleges in the world leaves the student to make the decision.

Route 13

2009-10-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

Route 13 sparsely has any cars occupying the road on this Monday night. Although a main road connecting Ithaca College and Cornell to Cortland and Syracuse, rush hour and weekends tend to be the only time the highway is congested.

Headlights and street lights paint the scene.

Wildfire taking over Lost Dog space

2009-10-05T01:45:00.000-07:00

Lost Dog, located on 106 S Cayuga St. in Ithaca, NY, is now transforming into Wildfire Grill.

Teresa Miller, co-owner of Wildfire Grill engages with the many people involved in this renovation process.

The plumbing in the space was something that needed look at behind the bar.

The head chef of the restaurant checks over the freezer space, envisioning more shelves to hold all the necessities.

Hamburger patty sized are demonstrated as the menu is being put together.

Miller nails shut a door leading to the basement.

Check Out Wildfire Grill

Blue Stone

2009-10-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Doug Gruen, head chef and owner of Blue Stone Bar & Grill in Ithaca, N.Y. sits down in his dining area Tuesday afternoon before the restaurant opens. The smaller dining room, which sits 38-40 people, adapts to an intimate setting. The walls are covered in paintings by Warren Bunn, a local artist who Blue Stone has been featuring on their walls for three years now. Gruen says the first year he owned the restaurant they had several artists come and go, but feels Bunn has found his place at Blue Stone.

As owner for four years now, Gruen has found his place at Blue Stone, and the restaurant holds an atmosphere condusive to an elegant night out.

Apple Fest from above

2009-09-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

Apple Fest is an annual event for Ithaca, N.Y. Hundreds of people from Ithaca come together to experience the beginning of the fall season. Everything from pie to cider to thai food, to earrings to drawings to ferris wheels, are in the commons for one weekend in September.

Devin Zuckerman's apartment is located on the commons. The view from her apartment gives a whole new look to Apple Fest. Zuckerman sits on her window to check out the scene going on below her.

People mill by in front of the band that supplies music and entertainment for the crowd this drizzly Saturday afternoon.

Learn about downtown Ithaca and all the events it has to offer

The Hair Chronicles

2009-09-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

It’s another dread for Kate Noonan, 20, a junior biochemistry major at Ithaca College, as her roommate, Devin Zuckerman, 19, a sophomore writing major at Ithaca College, sits behind her to add another dread to her hair during a break from homework Monday afternoon. Noonan has been working on her hair since freshman year, when she put in the first braid. "I just never took it out," she says. "Now it's turned into a dread, and I keep putting additions on."

Learn how to make your own dread locks

Cascadilla Falls

2009-09-20T23:14:00.000-07:00

With only a few weeks left of the beautiful Ithaca summer left, many students at Ithaca College make their way to the various falls and gorges the town has to offer.

Often the hardest part about going to the gorges in Ithaca is actually finding them. With a little bit of patience, a bit of time, and a lot of adventuring, the sites are, without a doubt, worth it.

Jess Guido, a junior at Ithaca College, walks along Cascadilla Falls during a late afternoon on September 19.

Cooking up a storm

2009-09-15T11:37:00.001-07:00

While living off campus is appealing to students for a variety of reasons, one of the best things is being able to cook on your own time. With the recent outbreak of Swine Flu in Ithaca, NY, a balanced diet is said to be one of the best things you can do to take care of yourself. Eating in an apartment as opposed to a dining hall with germs everywhere is a great idea to stay healthy.

Sophia Ozanbaugh, a junior Culture and Communications major from Philedelphia, PA, prepares herself a homecooked meal Monday night in her apartment.

Plenty of foods are cheap and easy to make, such as rice and beans, pasta and sauce, broccoli, and salad.

Follow the initiative: cook your food, stay healthy, and always keep a clean kitchen!

Henry Louis Gates incident

2009-09-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Here is my first post of this snazzy little blog of mine! My entire goal for this blog is to bring you lots and lots of photographs. Through a photojournalism class, the Ithacan, previously working for the Eagle-Tribune as a photojournalist, and working as a second shooter for weddings, there are many different aspects of photojournalism to explore. I hope I never run out of pictures to take, and this is one way to make sure that happens.

This first post is about the Gate’s incident over the summer has left students at Cornell University talking about the problem of racial profiling. The event, in which an African-American professor from Harvard University, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested under the accusation of breaking and entering into his own home by a white police officer, has caused a lot of controversy. Students at Cornell University had plenty to say on the issue.

Brian Sherman, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, believes that the police officer was quick to jump to conclusions. Sherman, from Westerville, Ohio, contemplates the issue and deduced that it was “not entirely the police officer’s fault,” but that they both added to the extremity of the situation.

Bill Ye, from Los Angeles, California, a first-year graduate student in law, thinks different sociology patterns were involved. “I think it was really just a big misunderstanding. Subconsciously, though, it is very possible that the cop was absolutely falling into racial profiling.” Ye, who admitted to not being fully aware of the entire situation, doesn’t think anyone is ultimately to blame, but both parties could have stood down, and both made it a much bigger scene than what was necessary.

A calm and mature approach to a situation like this is of utmost importance. Joanna Smith, a freshman from Miami, Florida, says “I believe that both were quick to jump to conclusions about the other… you must approach something like that with a clear and level head, on both of their sides.”