Derrick Photographer Visits Cranberry Students
Hosts Photography Workshop
By: Ian Hepler
December 12, 2017
On Friday, September 29th, Cranberry High School Journalism and Publications (J-Pub) students were visited by The Derrick photographer, Richard Sayer, who gave a brief presentation about photography and photojournalism. Sayer explained why photography is significant to him and how it is done.
One of the first things Sayer said was, as a photojournalist (or journalist of any kind), one must “be curious”. In other words, a journalist must have a desire to seek out information, of any kind, to communicate to his or her audience. Sayer also stated that the objective of photography is both set and open- one may have a subject to cover in mind from the beginning, but might find something else interesting to cover later on.
Richard told the students that with photography, their objective is to “capture a moment in time”, which can then be shared and explained with others. Sayer was noted as saying that once a subject for a photo is found, it has to comply with certain standards in order to be used. Firstly, each photo has to be respectful, framed in proper context, and meet an ethical code. Sayer additionally went on to state that photos should contain layered information - the foreground should consist of the main image that the photographer wishes to capture, and the background should show any additional details that the photographer wants to communicate but not necessarily draw initial attention to.
On the more technical side of things, Sayer described to the students the different parts of a camera and their purposes. The aperture, as he remarked, is the hole in a camera lens that regulates the amount of light that passes through the lens into the camera body and picture. This device can provide depth and focus in an image. The ISO, meaning International Standards Organization, is a unit that measures the sensitivity of light. The ISO is changed by pressing a button, and its function is to regulate the quality of the image that will be taken and how light or dark an image will appear.
Rem Slater, a senior and member of Journalism that attended the photography workshop stated that “there is more to taking a picture than clicking a button”. Gus QB, also a senior and workshop attendee, who has worked with cameras and photography for a considerable portion of his life, said “I learned when the photographer came and am still learning about journalism. Also, I put myself into photography when I take pictures”.
The workshop, which lasted from 7th to 8th period, was filled with information about cameras that J-Pub attendees took notes on and intend to use in their future photography endeavors. Thanks for visiting and informing us, Mr. Sayer!