Campus Shoot: Wild Hog in the Woods

Wild Hog in the Woods performs at LBCC's Benton Center on Friday, April 20th for the Acoustic Showcase. Band members John Donoghue (left), Hershel Olmsted (middle), John Simonds (upper right), and Sid Beam play an eclectic mix of instruments and musical sounds.

John D. plays guitar, harmonica, and bodhron kick-drum simultaneously while Hershel plays musical saw. Each band member entertains with instruments, vocals, lyrics, and humor.

Sid casually warms up his guitar as he prepares for the set. 

Week 3 Blog Forum

Topic 1: Two Portrait Subjects

Mary Andrews

As a therapist, Mary helped hundreds of individuals, couples and families become better functioning people, and as a university instructor/clinical supervisor, she helped hundreds of graduate students become better functioning therapists.  Her compassionate yet no-nonsense approach works well with her mutually respectful and easy-going presence.

Now that she is retired, the best place to shoot her would be outside at her home on the Willamette River. She absolutely loves Oregon and its outdoor beauty. A good prop might be a book that she wrote with her husband, also a retired university professor. She is an avid reader, so the book would represent both her love of reading and a professional achievement. I might shoot her reading that book on her bench along the river. Or if possible, I would shoot her on that bench talking to someone she is undoubtedly comforting. She is still there for others as a safe person to talk to, and she enjoys that role even now.

I will call her to find out if she will be available next week.



Jordan Hill

As a certified diamontologist, Jordan is passionate about making engagements special for her clientele by making sure they get the perfect rings for their future fiancees. She truly enjoys selling diamonds/diamond rings to her guests and advising them on how to make the proposal special by getting the perfect stone/ring to best represent their relationship and personalities.

The best place to shoot her would be at work, sitting behind a case of engagement rings. A good prop would be chosen from the tools she uses to show or inspect diamonds. I might try to capture her in a pose showing engagement rings as if I am the person she is showing rings to and explaining the characteristics of quality diamonds. I would also try to capture her dynamic personality, positive nature and genuine excitement about her work.

I will text her to find out if she will be available next week.



Topic 2: Self-Critique

The best photo I have taken for class so far is what turned out to be a portrait of Lisa. I am still very new to shooting people, so it took a lot of frames, but I felt like on that one, I captured her with a warm, genuine smile. Plus, with a neutral background, the photo looked good as a portrait.

The worst photo I have posted so far has been the one of Tyler because it looks like he has metal antlers coming out of his head. I felt like I shot him in a good location, but I should have been shooting from a different angle, where his head would have been free from that type of distraction.

I need to improve my camera knowledge as well as composition of “human” photos. It helps to see all of your critiques of photos in class (taken by both students and professional photographers). That is a great teaching tool for me as I am a visual person, so just reading about techniques is not as effective for me.

Week 2 Blog Forum

Topic 1: Photographer of the Week

Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry was born near Philadelphia in 1950 and studied film at Penn State University. He worked for a newspaper for two years and decided to leave there to freelance in India, which is where he learned to wait. He later said, “If you wait, people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view," according to National Geographic. As a photographer for over thirty years, he has published more than a dozen books and had many of his photos appear on magazine and book covers seen around the world.

His photos are incredibly composed, and his subjects are captured in vivid colors. Each photograph is like a piece of fine art. His view that “what matters is that each picture stands on its own, with its own place and feeling” definitely translates into well-executed shots.

His claim to fame is “Afghan Girl” which appeared on the the cover of National Geographic in June of 1985, and it is now known as perhaps one of the most iconic photos of all time. The photo of the Afghan refugee girl was taken at the Nasir Bagh refugee camp on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. At the time of the shot, McCurry did not know her name, but he searched for her 17 years later and found her, Sharbat Gula, in 2002. The famous shot is a haunting close-up of the orphan, who stares into the camera with her intense green eyes.

Topic 2: Lynsey Addario

“It’s What I Do” is intriguing so far. She seems to write with such ease as she brings readers right into the middle of the action with such vivid imagery, both with words and photos. She then retreats and reveals her thoughts about her personal and professional experiences. It is so impressive that she threw herself into a whole new world at such a young age with such ambition, curiosity, and courage, and that she later used her experiences, photos, and gained wisdom to contribute to a larger understanding about places that most of us will never see. Her images capture the “on the ground” look of what’s going on in these areas of conflict, illustrating the stark reality surrounding her. The lesson to take from her photos is to try to capture the “truth” of the situations being shot, which may not always be the “frame” you’re trying to get.

When she writes about “an idealistic belief that a photograph might affect people’s souls; the thrill of creating art and contributing to the world’s database of knowledge” that really stood out to me because photography is my favorite type of art, and since I left my profession as a therapist, I have not found a way to contribute to the world. It struck me that photojournalism is a way to create art as well as possibly affect people and contribute to the world. The photo of Kahindo at home with her two children born out of rape in eastern Congo is my favorite photo in the book because Lynsey not only captured the faces and plight of the subjects, but also achieved the composition and light that enhances the artistic quality of the image. It left me wondering what Kahindo was thinking as she held her baby and stared out the window….

Humans of LBCC II

Lorraine Lara

“I am an Academic Planning Assistant here at LBCC, and I help students prepare for their healthcare programs. There are specific requirements that they have to have to be considered qualified applicants, and I help them navigate through that. For most of the healthcare programs, students can only apply once a year, so they have to be very focused, on track, and understand the process, because if they miss that opportunity, they have to wait another whole year to apply. Students can apply for Occupational Therapy Assistant, Medical Assistant, and Dental Assistant programs during the spring term.

"I graduated from LBCC and went right to work here in the business office. I later went on to complete my bachelor’s degree and continued to work here. LBCC is definitely the school for students. I can tell you that this is a great college from my own experience.”

Lisa Hoogesteger

“Our primary goals at the Advising Center are short-term counseling, career decision making, and job development skills. We want to build relationships with students as well as match student interests with career opportunities by helping them discover all of the possibilities associated with their interests. We also assist in setting up the steps necessary to achieve the goals set after choosing a career option.

"Stress is one of the biggest issues students face during the course of each term, whether it’s school-related or life-related. Many students are trying to balance school, work, and family, and it’s a lot, especially when finances are a factor and they have not yet decided what their exact path for the future will be. We want to make sure those students get what they need.

"Registration for summer is May 7th and registration for fall is May 23rd. Sometimes students may feel like they don’t need an advisor, but we want to help make sure they’re not missing anything or taking classes they don’t need as well as help with tips about internships, scholarships, and other helpful connections.”