YourEnglishClassDotCom

Do I Like Photography?

There was a time when I would have answered that question with an unqualified yes. But that was back in the 1980s when I was shooting with an Olympus SLR, the first and probably best camera I’ve ever owned. Sadly it bit the dust when I dropped it on the sidewalk at UCLA. But getting back to whether or not I love photography, let’s look at the facts. I’ve never actually owned a professional camera, or even a semi-professional camera. Wouldn’t someone with an undying passion for snapping pix have a decent SLR? You’d think so, right? Turns out the only thing I have to take pictures with right now is my cellphone. That’s it. Pretty sad. But it’s a fact.

But here’s a dirty little secret: it doesn’t matter what you use. All you need is a good eye for an interesting shot. Nothing more. A good photographer can find a great shot even with the cheapest camera in the world. The above cellphone picture is an example of something that comes close to being eye-catching. I was shopping in Rancho this afternoon and noticed all the snow up in the mountains. I held my cellphone up, careful to frame part of the Borders store, and snap! It looks as if the Borders store is sailing toward the mountains.

A few changes to the site:

• I’ve added a Flickr widget to the sidebar
• I’ve changed the background to a dark pattern

Grammar Guru

Gettysburg Address

This is the only known photograph of President Lincoln at his Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863. This photo wasn’t properly identified until 1952. In it Lincoln is seated and hatless, and to his right is his personal bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon. Some historians think that it would be another three hours before Lincoln gave his famous speech, which at the time everyone thought was too short. The Ken Burns film states that he had just sat down after delivering it.

The following is an audio-visual montage of the Gettysburg battlefield with Johnny Cash reading Abraham Lincoln’s immortal words.

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Timeline Project

The timeline project is going well. I’ve seen a lot of great stuff coming from many of you, and I can’t wait to display your work both in the room and on this page. A student said to me today that this was the first project he’d ever wanted to do . . . ever! I took that as a compliment.

Now for my own personal timeline. What follows is a digitized 8mm clip of my twin brother and me playing in our yard, circa 1958.

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Coming Up

Tomorrow I will be making an announcement about who our editors will be. I have a lot planned for you. Yes indeed! You’ll be so busy, in fact, that your work will take the place of the research project. In fact, your hard work will make everybody’s research project all the better.

For the past few years I’ve used student editors to work on our student book. We’re still going to do a student book, but we won’t get to it until fourth quarter. During third quarter, our editors will be busy helping everyone with their research projects. You will also be helping Journalism out with their writing. You have a lot of work to do

Another item: tutoring. Starting this week I’m going to be offering lunchtime tutoring for my “struggling” students. Twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) all students with a D or F are invited to have lunch with Mr. Fasano in Room 12. What do you get out of the deal? A nice, safe place to have lunch, and a chance to do makeup work and improve your grade.