My Top 5 Resources for...

Throughout my time as a student here at the AIP-OD I have done a lot of research and ordered a lot of equipment.  It felt a little old-school writing papers again and doing all of this personal and academic research made me feel a little nerdy at times, but as a professional it is very important to take a keen interest in the things you do and always put in your best effort.  "Google-it" is not always the answer so I have put together a list of my top 5 places for...

 

  ...finding what I want and need to exceed.

 

Research & Purchases

 

5.  http://snapsort.com/

       If you're like me, purchasing your first DSLR was confusing and frustrating.  With all of the different brands, specifications, and prices out there it can be difficult to know what you want and need.  The best suggestion I learned about choosing a camera is to hold it; each manufacturer designs camera bodies differently and will feel differently in your hands.  If you're loyal to one brand or another or just curious, this website will help you look at the differences and similarities between cameras as well as what they recommend for you in regards to your particular requirements.

4.  http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

     This is a very popular site for shopping for gear.  What I love about them is their student discount membership and huge variety of equipment.  They have a great Used section where you can find deals on certain products and most of the time I can get free shipping--bonus!!  You can also "trade up or cash in" your used gear--a great feature for when you outgrow your gear and are looking to upgrade!

3.  http://www.adorama.com/

     Another very popular site and arguably the best next to B&H.  They also offer student discounts, free shipping, and have a Used department where you can sell your old gear too.  Both Adorama and B&H allow you to subscribe to email notifications for sales and discounts and I have taken equal advantage of their great deals.  What do I think makes Adorama just a little bit better?  They offer you the option to rent equipment which makes it easy to try out a new lens or DSLR, rent a camera body while yours is being serviced, or rent lighting equipment...just something to consider before investing in gear you aren't sure about.

2.  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

     The Photography program will undoubtedly present you with classes in which  you will have to write papers and answer discussion questions that require citations in MLA format; it's daunting, but essential.  "Why?" you might ask--two reasons: plagiarism and copyright infringement.  Both can get you caught in legal and academic disputes and that is very unprofessional.  OWL, the Online Writing Lab, is my go-to for writing a correct citation for the many types of resources I use which brings me to...

1.  The local public library.

    Yes!  I go to the library and you should too.  It is not only a great place to check out books on photographers you might be studying in classes like Photo History I and History of Photography II or for your own personal interest, but there are also books to help you learn how to make money for your photos right now, learn tips and tricks, and *wink, wink* I have also seen a copy of the textbook for those two classes at my local library.

"Outstanding past work in photography, and in fact in all the arts, is very important to today’s photographers. But it should be used for inspiration and not for imitation. These works should be something to be built upon, not to be repeated."--Alexey Brodovitch  (Benigno)

Do you have a favorite go-to for your resources?  Did I miss something?  Please leave me some feedback in the comments section below!

Works Cited

adorama. Adorama Camera, Inc., n.d. Web. 2 June 2014. <http://www.adorama.com/ >

Benigno, John A. "Famous Photography Quotes." mastersofphotography.blogspot. Blogger, 11 July 2012. Web. 2 June 2014. <http://mastersofphotography.blogspot.com/p/famous-photography-quotes.html>

bhphotovideo. B & H Foto & Electronics Corp., n.d. Web. 2 June 2014.  <http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ >

owl.english.purdue. Purdue University, n.d. Web. 2 June 2014. <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ >

snapsort. Snapsort, Inc., n.d. Web. 2 June 2014. <http://snapsort.com/>

"Used Department." bhphotovideo. B & H Foto & Electronics Corp., n.d. Web. 2 June 2014. <http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Used-Department/ci/2870/N/4294247188>
    

Wide-Angle Wednesday in MLA Format

Corina Scoggins

Instructor Jill Mott

Modern Language Association 101

12 February 2014

Wide-Angle Wednesday in MLA Format

            Good day fellow students and faculty! I’m excited to report that here in the Midwest were do to reach above freezing today and by next week we may be in the low seventies. As we thaw out, I look forward to color returning back to the landscape even though that groundhog in Penn State said we would have six more weeks of winter. Today wraps up week five for my current course in Color Theory, in which I’m very proud of what I have come to accomplish and learn from the course. I look forward to the upcoming course in Digital Image Management PH124. To add some color to this blog here is the final composition I submitted for the course Color Theory for Web and Multimedia.

(Scoggins)

            Something you may notice for the blog today is that I’m writing in the format recognized as Modern Language Association or MLA for short. Here at Ai and many other colleges across the nation, writing in MLA format is very common practice. In addition some also use APA, Chicago, and Turabian formats. For this blog I’m only going to cover MLA as this is the writing standard used specifically at Ai. When I started here at Ai, I had no clue to what MLA was, and didn’t understand why I was expected to use this format to type up a simple essay for discussions. I hope by the end of this blog day, you can get a better understanding of the practice and incorporate the skill into anything you come to write. One point I will make is that writing has become a struggle to understand in the world of short hand texting, tweeting, and emailing. 

            The first question one may ask is why do we use MLA format? The answer is it makes what you’re writing easy to read and comprehend. MLA format states that text should be in a font that is readable and not seen as decorative. The font recommended for MLA by Purdue University Online Writing Lab “OWL” is “Times New Roman” at 12pt. Font as you can see makes a difference in how well the viewer can read what you have come to write. I like “pretty” writing fonts but I also want the reader to be able to comprehend what I have taken the time to write. Though I wear glasses, and I can appreciate big font size, let’s be honest I don’t want to have to get out my micro lens to read that small text. The standard font size is 12pt when writing in MLA format. Font color should be set to black. (Purdue OWL)

            I tend to use Microsoft Office Word to write prior to posting in discussion threads and emails. Reasoning is that when you write directly into a classroom discussion box, the default formatting has no spacing between lines. At times this can be hard to read as you may lose track to what line to read next when text is this close. The recommendation is to double space the text and to set the page margins to 1” for the top, bottom, left and right sides. In addition Microsoft Word has a great tool that identifies grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. The text in this paragraph is not set correctly to the recommendation. In the next paragraph I will correct the font to double space.

           

Compared to the previous paragraph, the text here should be easier to follow and appear to not be so compressed. Of course with any style of writing, paragraphs should be indented one half-inch or one can simply press the tab key once, to achieve the proper indent. The heading above is correct to MLA format and should be aligned to the left margin with your name, instructor, course title, and date. The assignment title or title of the paper being written will be center aligned on the next line, following the date. Below is an example from Purdue OWL of a paper in MLA format.

(Purdue OWL)

MLA also provides a proper format for citing information and images used in papers that are not of your own making. Plagiarism is not tolerated here at Ai and will result in disciplinary actions. Microsoft Office Word provides a template for MLA citing. You may have noticed above that following one of the paragraphs and the image is the word (Purdue OWL) in a set of parenthesis. The MLA format I have come to learn and use is based from Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

This is a short version to what Purdue University has to offer in regards to writing in MLA format. I do hope you take advantage of the links to visit the OWL and read through the information. I have made the citations above a live hot link that will open in a new tab. MLA format is more than a requirement at Ai, this should be a standard used as we develop our professional careers.

Works Cited

Scoggins, Corina. Gumballs. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online.

Purdue OWL, University. Purdue University Online Writing Lab. February 2014 <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/1/>.

Links to Purdue University OWL videos tutorials

Purdue University OWL Youtube MLA Formatting Basics

Purdue University OWL Youtube MLA Formatting: List of Works Cited

Question of the day: 

Whom would you choose to work with on your next event shoot based on the written response to the ad you posted? 

Applicant One

I have been a photog going on 4yrs. This would be a cool job to have if you selected me to work with you. Plus I like to write and can post the story on my website for my followers to see and that will help you in the business. Call me!

Corina Garcia

555-555-555

Applicant Two

Dear Mrs. Scoggins

I’m writing in response to the ad you have posted in regards to hiring an additional photographer for the upcoming event shoot. I have four years of experience shooting events, and would appreciate this opportunity to work side by side. If selected, I would like to include a written artist statement to coincide with the images for the website. Attached is my digital portfolio of my work. If you have any additional questions or concerns, feel free to contact me. My contact information is below. I thank you for this opportunity and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Corina Garcia

555-555-5555

email@email.com