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LAKEWOOD CITY SCHOOLS #ResilientRangers

Students Honored in NYT Photo Contest

Lakewood High students had an impressive showing in the recent New York Times "Where We Are" Teen Photo Essay Contest. Participants were asked to document an interesting local community through photographs and interviews, then create a compelling photo essay. The Times received 528 entries, with categories for Winners, Runners-Up, Honorable Mentions, and Finalists. Click on Read More to see which LHS students were honored.

Representing LHS are:

Jane Wagle, Elizabeth S., Lana C.: “Burning for Roller Derby”

Anajda Dajlanaj: "The Orchestra Family"

Angelina Detore: "The BabyTron Family"

Josette E. Ballou, Owen R., and Piper M.: "The Pit We Call Home"

Riley Forster, 16, and Madison T.: "A Beautiful Art: Dancing"

Rylie Griffin, Joseph G., Madelaine G., and Sophia L.: "Joy in the Action and Between the Lines"

Sami Shrestha, Olive R., and Ayla F.: "Hostility Means Hospitality in the Cleveland Punk Scene"

Shannon Katzenberger: “There Go the Loudest Women This Town Has Ever Seen”

Congratulations to all the talented students for their amazing work! 

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Photo/Essay | How My Picture of a Guy on a Diving Board Wound Up on the Cover of an Elton John Album

The photographer and curator Tim Barber has shot work for publications ranging from Vice to Vogue, and for brands like Nike, Levi’s and Opening Ceremony. But his most famous client is undoubtedly Sir Elton John, who used a decade-old photo of Barber’s as the cover of his 31st studio album, “The Diving Board,” out Sept. 24. Here, Barber relates the story of the image:

I took this photo about 10 years ago somewhere between Vancouver and Squamish, on the coast of British Columbia. I don’t actually know exactly where. It’s a kind of legendary secret swimming spot where some kids had installed a diving board on the side of a cliff. You had to park really far away and walk through the woods to get there. I was with some friends from Vancouver who knew about it. I think it was October.

When I took the picture — literally, while I was pushing the button — I was thinking, “This looks amazing.” It was just a special moment and the light was crazy that day. The air was super clear. Something I strive for in my photos is to imply a greater narrative, to make the viewer wonder what happened before and what happened after. I think this picture is a good example of that. It’s also the photo of mine that people always think is fake — like that it’s been Photoshopped, or shot on a green screen. I like that. Something that was so simple and real ended up so surreal and hard to believe.

My good friend Ryan McGinley is friends with Elton John, who is a big collector of contemporary photography and has collected a lot of Ryan’s work. Elton already had the title for the album, so he contacted Ryan and asked him if he had any images that might work for it. Ryan knew about my photo, and suggested it to Elton for the record. Elton called out of the blue, to ask about using the photo and to talk about the record. That experience was almost as surreal as the picture.

This photo has been around quite a bit and seen by a lot of people, but being on this album cover is such a different scale. It’s one of those times when you think about how big the world is, how many eyes are going to see this picture now. People are sending me photos of it on billboards, it’s just a different level of visibility. I love thinking about the dissemination of this image — and that moment — just going out into the world and lasting forever.

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Photojournalism Challenge

Each year, The School of The New York Times encourages NYC Summer Academy students to participate in our annual Photojournalism Challenge on Instagram by sharing photos from their time in New York City. We ask The New York Times’s Social Media Photo Editor to review hundreds of entries and select one grand prize winner whose photo is featured in a nationwide print edition of The New York Times.

Congratulations, 2018 Photojournalism Challenge Winner Connie Tu!

Kerri MacDonald, The New York Times's Social Media Photo Editor, selected Connie Tu, a student from our Cultural and Creative Writing course, as the winner of our 2018 Photojournalism Challenge.

During her summer in New York City, Connie documented subtle moments that might not have jumped out to everyone. Her appreciation for both light and color stand out in her photography—from a view of Manhattan's West Side Highway to a photo of friends on a nighttime boat cruise, Connie beautifully captured the magic of our city. Kerri MacDonald, The New York Times's Social Media Photo Editor

View more of Connie's photos below

2018 Finalists

With so many talented student photojournalists it's always hard to choose one winning image. Congratulations to all of our 2018 Finalists!

Iris Workman, Term 2

Gibson Borelli, Term 3

Katie Han, Term 4

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Advice for an Unforgettable Photo Essay

Six steps for turning your images into a memorable photo essay, from curating your best work to crafting a title.

A man sits alone on a chair on the side of the road. We see him from above, surrounded by grey cobblestones neatly placed, a broken plastic chair, and some pylons scattered along the curb. A street cat wanders out of the frame and away from the man. He appears lonely, the only person inhabiting the place in which he seems so comfortably seated. As the eye wanders throughout the frame, however, the viewer discovers more: a vast city cast beyond the street and behind the man’s chair. This image closes Sarah Pannell’s photo essay Sehir , a quiet study of urban life.

Possibilities, discovery, and stories: these are some of the most effective elements of a photo essay. Collections of images can help produce a narrative, evoke emotion, and guide the viewer through one or more perspectives. A well-executed photo essay doesn’t rely on a title or any prior knowledge of its creator; it narrates on its own, moving viewers through sensations, lessons, and reactions.

Famous photo essays like Country Doctor by W. Eugene Smith or Gordon Parks’ The Harlem Family are acclaimed for showing a glimpse into the lives of the sick and impoverished. Other well-made photo essays offer a new way to look at the everyday, such as Peter Funch’s much-reposted photo series 42nd and Vanderbilt , for which Funch photographed the same street corner for nine years. As shown by these photographers’ experiences with the medium, a collection of photos can enliven spaces and attitudes. Strong photo essays can give voice to marginalized individuals and shine a spotlight on previously overlooked experiences.

You don’t necessarily need to be a documentary photographer to create a powerful photo essay. Photo essays can showcase any topic, from nature photography to portraiture to wedding shots. We spoke to a few photographers to get their perspectives on what makes a good photo essay, and their tips for how any photographer can get started in this medium. Here are six steps to follow to create a photo essay that tells a memorable story.

Choose a specific topic or theme for your photo essay.

There are two types of photo essays: the narrative and the thematic. Narrative photo essays focus on a story you’re telling the viewer, while thematic photo essays speak to a specific subject.

The most natural method for choosing a topic or theme for your photo essay is to go with what you know. Photograph what you experience. Whether that includes people, objects, or the things you think about throughout the day, accessibility is key here. Common topics or concepts to start with are emotions (depicting sadness or happiness) or experiences (everyday life, city living).

For photographer Sharon Pannen , planning a photo essay is as simple as “picking out a subject you find interesting or you want to make a statement about.”

From Paper & Stories , a photo series by Sharon Pannen for Schön! Magazine.

Consider your photo subjects.

The subjects of your photographs, whether human or not, will fill the space of your photos and influence the mood or idea you’re trying to depict. The subject can determine whether or not your photos are considered interesting. “I always try to find someone that catches my eye. I especially like to see how the light falls on their face and how a certain aesthetic might add to their persona,” says photographer Victoria Wojtan .

While subjects and their interest factor are, well, subjective, when considering your subjects, you should ask yourself about your audience. Do other people want to see this? Is my subject representative of the larger idea my photo essay is trying to convey? Your projects can involve people you know or people you’ve only just met.

“Most projects I work on involve shooting portraits of strangers, so there’s always a tension in approaching someone for a portrait,” says photographer Taylor Dorrell . For Wojtan, that tension can help build trust with a subject and actually leads to more natural images “If there’s tension it’s usually because the person’s new to being photographed by someone for something that’s outside of a candid moment or selfie, and they need guidance for posing. This gives me the opportunity to make them feel more comfortable and let them be themselves. I tend to have a certain idea in mind, but try to allow for organic moments to happen.”

Aim for a variety of images.

Depending on your theme, there are a few types of photos you’ll want to use to anchor your essay. One or two lead photos should slowly introduce the viewer to your topic. These initial photos will function in a similar way to the introductory paragraph in a written essay or news article.

From there, you should consider further developing your narrative by introducing elements like portraiture, close ups, detail shots, and a carefully selected final photo to leave the viewer with the feeling you set out to produce in your photos. Consider your opening and closing images to be the most important elements of your photo essay, and choose them accordingly. You want your first images to hook the viewer, and you also want your final images to leave a lasting impression and perhaps offer a conclusion to the narrative you’ve developed.

Including different types of photos, shot at different ranges, angles, and perspectives, can help engage your viewer and add more texture to your series.

Says photographer Taylor Dorrell: “After I have a group of images, I tend to think about color, composition, the order the images were taken, the subject material, and relevance to the concept.”

From Taylor Dorrell’s photo essay White Fences : “White Fences is an ongoing photo series that explores the theme of suburban youth in the United States, specifically in the midwest suburb New Albany, Ohio.”

Put your emotions aside.

Self-doubt can easily come into play when working with your own photography. The adage that we are our own worst critics is often true. It can be difficult to objectively select your strongest images when creating a photo essay. This is why putting together photo essays is such a useful practice for developing your curatorial skills.

“The most important part for me is getting outside opinions. I don’t do that enough, and have a bias in selecting images that might not be the most powerful images or the most effective sequence of images,” says Dorrell. Your own perception of a photograph can cloud your ability to judge whether or not it adds to your photo essay. This is especially true when your essay deals with personal subjects. For example, a photo essay about your family may be hard to evaluate, as your own feelings about family members will impact how you take and view the photos. This is where getting feedback from peers can be invaluable to producing a strong series.

Collecting feedback while putting your photo essay together can help you determine the strengths, weaknesses, and gaps within the collection of photos you’ve produced. Ask your friends to tell you their favorites, why they like them, and what they think you’re going for in the work you’ve created. Their opinions can be your guide, not just your own emotions.

Edit your photo selection.

Beyond post-production, the series of photos you select as your essay will determine whether you’ve executed your theme or narrative effectively. Can the photos stand alone, without written words, and tell the story you set out to? Do they make sense together, in a logical sequence? The perfect photo essay will give your audience a full picture of the narrative, theme, or essence you’re looking to capture.

A good method to use to cull your images down is to remove as many as half of your images straight away to see if your narrative is still as strong with fewer photos. Or, perhaps, deciding on a small number you’d like to aim for (maybe just five to ten images) and using this as a method to narrow down to the images that tell your story best.

From Taylor Dorrell’s photo essay Over the Rhine , featured in Vice.

Give your photo essay a title, and add a concise written statement.

Finally, you’ll want to create a title and written statement for your photo essay. This will help position your work and can enable the viewer to fully understand your intention, or at least guide their perspective.

A solid written statement and title will be relevant to your topic, detail your primary objective, and introduce your point of view. It’s an opportunity to clarify your intentions to the viewer and ensure they walk away with a clear interpretation of your work. Depending on your photo essay, you may want to include several paragraphs of text, but even just one or two sentences of background can be enough to expand the viewer’s understanding of your work.

Consider if you’d like to add the written statement at the beginning of your essay to introduce it, or at the end as a conclusion. Either one can be impactful, and it depends how you’d like people to experience your work.

For his photo essay White Fences, excerpted above, Taylor Dorrell wrote only one sentence of introduction. But for his series Over the Rhine, Dorell included a longer written statement to accompany the work, which is “an ongoing photo series that seeks to explore the Cincinnati neighborhood of the same name and its surroundings. The series was started in response to the shooting of Samuel DuBose, an unarmed black man, by officer Ray Tensing of the University of Cincinnati Police, which happened July 19th, 2015.” Dorell’s text goes on to offer more background on the project, setting up the viewer with all the information they need to understand the context of the photo essay.

Depending on the motivations behind your photo essay and what sort of subject it depicts, a longer text may be necessary—or just a few words might be enough.

Looking for a place to share your photo essays with the world? Take a look at our guide to creating a photography website for tips on showcasing your photos online.

Cover image by Taylor Dorrell, from his photo essay Hurricane Over Sugar .

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Kamala Harris Was ‘Confident, Principled — Presidential’: The Best and Worst Moments From Night 4 of the Democratic Convention

By New York Times Opinion

Did the night help Harris?

Welcome to Opinion’s commentary for Night 4 of the Democratic National Convention. In this special feature, Times Opinion writers rate the evening on a scale of 0 to 10: 0 means the night was a disaster for Kamala Harris; 10 means it could lead to a big polling bump. Here’s what our columnists and contributors thought of the event, which included speeches by Gretchen Whitmer, Gabby Giffords and Kamala Harris.

Best Moment

Binyamin Appelbaum, member of the editorial board Kamala Harris’s great-nieces, teaching America how to pronounce her name. And Harris herself, meeting the moment with a performance that was confident, principled — presidential.

Josh Barro, author of the newsletter Very Serious Harris’s speech, especially its beginning about her upbringing and her mother. In past campaigns, Harris has sometimes seemed like an empty vessel. Now she’s reintroducing herself in a way that is specific, warm and uniquely American, and that provides a framework to explain the broadly popular values of freedom and justice she’s espousing.

Charles M. Blow, Times columnist Women ruled the night. There were so many impressive, effective women presenting — culminating with Harris, of course — that the remarkable almost became unremarkable. I had to force myself to pause and absorb the fact that I was witnessing a revolution.

Jamelle Bouie, Times columnist The first three nights of this convention were easily the most successful since 2008, but they would have been for naught had Harris missed the landing with an awkward or underwhelming acceptance speech. She succeeded. But other than a moving introduction, where she told the story of her life and family to the viewing public, this wasn’t a speech about the meaning of her candidacy. It was something closer to a State of the Union — a statement of policies and priorities and an indictment of her opponents. It was as if the campaign had offloaded talk of symbolism to other speakers so that Harris could present herself as ready to be president on Day 1.

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• Photojournalism Links

The 10 Best Photo Essays of the Month

This month’s Photojournalism Links collection highlights 10 excellent photo essays from across the world, including Matt Black ‘s work from Guerrero state in Mexico. Black has documented impoverished indigenous communities in southern Mexico for years. This latest work captures communities affected by rampant crime and poverty, including the disappearance of the 43 students from a school in Iguala. The black-and-white photographs are extraordinary and the accompanying short-film , which includes a moving letter from a mother to his lost son, is definitely worth watching. The reporting was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center.

Matt Black: Guerrero and the Disappeared (The New Yorker Photo Booth) Watch “The Monster in the Mountains,” a short film based on Black’s work in Guerrero .

Adam Ferguson: The Deadly Global War for Sand (Wired) These stunning photographs document sand mining in India.

Lynsey Addario: India’s Insurgency (National Geographic) Addario’s pictures capture mineral-rich eastern Indian states, plagued by poverty and a continuing Maoist insurgency.

Josh Haner: The Ride of Their Lives (The New York Times ) A fantastic year-long project that follows three generations of one rodeo-mad family | More on the Lens blog

Yuri Kozyrev: Cuba (TIME LightBox) TIME contract photographer’s beautiful work from the Cuban capital.

Mathias Depardon: Gold Rivers (TIME LightBox) Construction of the hydroelectric Ilisu Dam in Turkey threatens a cultural treasure.

Lynsey Addario: Afghan Policewomen Struggle Against Culture (The New York Times ) A compelling series on Afghani women determined to make a difference.

Newsha Tavakolian: Stress and Hope in Tehran (The New York Times ) These excellent portraits paired with insightful quotes give us a peek inside the minds of Iranians.

Eugene Richards: Lincoln (National Geographic) Richards’ photographs trail the assassinated president’s last journey home in 1865 and raise questions about his life and legacy.

Matteo Bastianelli: Young Syrian Refugee’s Journey Through Europe (MSNBC) The Italian photographer has documented a Syrian refugee’s life in Bulgaria and journey to Germany. | More on his agency’s website

More Must-Reads from TIME

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