Photo Story: The Timber Industry

Pictured here is a clearcut on a private piece of property in Noti, Oregon. The upper half was cut and logged in the summer of 2015, and the replanted trees growing now are four years old. The portion of this clearcut that can just be seen in the valley was logged in the summer and fall of 2018. Majority of trees grown and harvested in Oregon are Douglas-fir, an evergreen species that thrives in the mild climate of the Pacific Northwest. In this particular clearcut, there was also a speckling of Big-leaf Maple and Western Hemlock tree species; these trees will grow back on their own without being replanted. Douglas-fir are valued for their strength and drying quality, and their abundance makes them cheap compared to other lumber options. Most other species in the same price range yield a weaker finished product.

Here, a tree-planting demonstration takes place: to properly plant a young tree, dig a hole deep enough to bury all of its roots, and fill in the dirt so that the tree will stand erect. It should not lean sideways, or have its roots exposed to the elements.

Forester Jayme Dumford measures the length of a tree to determine how many logs it can be cut into. Jayme currently works for Thompson Timber Company in Corvallis, Oregon.

Limbs are cut off of a tree that has been fallen before it can cut into log lengths. These limbs will later be collected and burned in a brush pile.

An empty Thompson Timber Trucking log truck pulls into the log yard to be loaded for the last haul of the day. A log loader called a shovel will place logs onto the log truck's trailer- in this specific instance the truck departed with a load of large Douglas-fir trees to be exported to China. They will be hollowed out and reconstructed as huge, extravagant coffins, and are referred to simply as 'coffin logs'. 

Above is a photo of Thompson Timber's lumber mill, where they turn low-value logs into wood chips. These wood chips are sold to paper mills to be ground into pulp: a very finely-ground substance which is used to make paper. The larger, more valuable logs are turned into boards and beams in a lumber mill, which this particular facility does not have the capacity for.

Photographer of the Week Write-Up

My chosen photographer of the week is Thomas Mangelsen, born in January of 1946. He grew up in Nebraska, where his father taught him a love for nature and the outdoors, and he went on to graduate from Doane College in Crete, Nebraska with a bachelor's degree in biology.

In the early 70’s, Thomas Mangelsen spent two years living in a shack in the Rocky Mountains that had no electricity or running water, with his dog and pet raccoon. He studied and photographed nature and wildlife during this time, and he became specifically interested in photographing birds in flight. 

Thomas continued his education even after graduating from Doane College- while studying ecology at the University of Colorado’s Mountain Research Station, he met Bert Kempers- a film producer who later hired him as a cinematographer for his company Westwood Productions, making educational documentaries. His photos and films turned out to be very successful and they caught the attention of National Geographic, who later hired him as a cinematographer and associate producer for the TV special Flight of the Whooping Crane. Mangelsen also produced Cranes of the Grey Wind for PBS Nature and BBC Natural World.

Thomas's "claim to fame" is his vast portfolio of wildlife photos from all around the world. He was also extremely devoted to his projects and to wildlife conservation; Thomas spent ten years photographing whooping cranes along the Platte River in the spring, and then he traveled to Alaska to see their nesting grounds and to Texas where they migrated for the winter. I was personally impressed by the detail and the lighting in his photos which make them really stand out as amazing pictures. He also doesn't over-edit his pictures as I have seen in the work of a lot of nature photographers- his pictures feel very genuine.

My favorite one is the photo above of the bear catching the fish in his his mouth. Photos like this one display Mangelsen's patience and the dedication it takes to be at the right place at the right time- who knows how long it took to achieve this exact photo.

Source: https://mangelsen.com/index.php/the-artist

My Best Photojournalism

I think that the photo above is my favorite example of photojournalism from this term. I like it because of its photo qualities, and because there is a story embedded within it. The photo is clear, the subjects are in focus, the short depth of field draws attention to the athletes, and the colors are even. It is also obvious in the photo what is taking place here: three athletes competing in a track and field race.

While I like many photos I took this term, this one stands out because it doesn't require a lot of explaining in order to understand the significance of the photo, and I think that reflects good photojournalism. I would say that the main thing I've learned from photojournalism class this term is that good photos should be somewhat self-explanatory. When I first started this photojournalism course, the pictures I took were dependent on their captions, and I think the best improvement I have made is learning to take photos that stand out on their

My Goals

My three goals from the beginning of this term were:
1. Better my perceptive and technical skills as a photographer.
2. Become more comfortable just putting myself out there and starting conversations with people I've never met.
3. Familiarize myself with the culture of Linn Benton.

I think I accomplished the first goal by practicing a new approach to my photography than what I typically do. Instead of just doing portraits and "pretty pictures" of people, I tried to branch out and take storytelling photos, and even just that effort to try something new makes me feel accomplished. 

For the second goal, I feel that I mostly did this with the Humans of LBCC assignment when I had to ask to photograph and interview people at random. Some said no, but the more I asked, the easier it became. 

As far as the third goal goes, I don't think I accomplished it to the extend I originally wanted to. What I had in mind was along the lines of attending school and sporting events regularly to photograph, and while I did go to a couple events during the school day to take pictures, I didn't make any sporting events. My schedule was crazy this term and a lot of times photographing extra assignments just didn't make my priority list. Overall though, I feel that I gained a better understanding of how to tell a story with photos over the course of this term, rather than just to take pictures with aesthetic value.

Addario Book Report

In Lynsey Addario's book "It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War," she recounts her experiences as a photojournalist- specifically, a war photographer. To me, the most compelling part of the book is near the beginning, once she has realized what she wants to do with her life and she is focused on her goal of one day working for the New York Times. The transition from a broke young woman with a dream and one camera, trying to perfect her game and to stand out in the large pool of experienced (and dominantly male) photojournalists is what I can relate to the most in my own life.

I think my favorite thing about Lynsey Addario's photojournalism is her desire to show people the whole story. Rather than take photos that confirm what Americans already believe to be the circumstances in a foreign country, Lynsey looks to portray the truth, even if it isn't what people want to hear. She looks for the best in the people she photographs one-on-one as well, and I really admire that. Here is a quote from Part 2 in the book: "I also wanted to give readers a sense of Pakistani women's lives beyond religion. I knew that if the only image people saw in American publications was of women in head scarves and long black robes reading the Koran, it might be easier to dismiss their beliefs as something completely foreign and bizarre and specifically 'Islamic.' But if readers could get a sense of who these women really were- if they could see them in their homes, with their children, as they cooked meals- it might offer a more complete picture" (p. 72). This quote is one that I think gives a good idea of Lynsey's photojournalism approach- she believes in humanity and in the truth, and she risks her life on so many occasions in pursuit of it.

I think that Lynsey's work is incredible, and the sense of duty she feels to photojournalism is something I just don't understand. By the time she has spent a decade in the field, she really feels more at home in a war zone than she does relaxing at her actual apartment. While I find this crazy and I can not picture myself as a war photographer, I think its amazing and that if that's her calling, then good for her. The world needs people who are compelled to deliver compelling and honest news to the public. In Chapter 9, Lynsey and her friend Elizabeth were embedded with US troops in the Korengal Valley. Some of her most raw, compelling images were excluded from publishing because they were considered too graphic for the public eye, and I find it so wrong that the press will hide images of travesties occurring in other countries while hundreds of thousands of individuals suffer and die overseas. My biggest takeaway from Lynsey's experience and from her work is that as a photographer, you should always go the extra mile and do what you can to relate with your subjects and capture the best images possible. And- when you believe in something and pursue it with passion it will reward you later down the road.

 

The photo above is one of my favorites, but it's so hard to pick just one. This was taken in the Congo in Africa, and it is featured in the book in the photo section between pages 210 and 211. In this same section, I also like the close-up portrait of Bibiane, an African woman who was a rape victim, abandoned by her husband. This photo is sad and makes you wonder immediately, "Who is this woman and what has made her so sad?" Lynsey's photos ignite curiosity; they make you wonder the whole story, and they spark immediate emotion.

I would definitely recommend this book to others- it's an incredible and inspiring story, regardless of whether or not you have an interest in photojournalism. Lynsey Addario is an incredible, descriptive writer who's life is so relatable even though her circumstances are bizarre. She is an inspiring storyteller, and she has witnessed so much and has touched so many lives. 

    

Addario Memoir

In Parts Three and Four in "It's What I Do," I think the most compelling Chapters are 11 and 14. Chapter 11, "You Will Die Tonight," is about Lynsey Addario and three other journalists being kidnapped in Libya by Qaddafi's soldiers. The account of their kidnapping, the psychological and physical torture they endured, and the toll it took on Lynsey after they were rescued. They were beaten, threatened, Lynsey was sexually assaulted (but not raped) by countless men, and at the end of it all, the psychological element took over and changed Lynsey's outlook on life.

This quote from Chapter 11 stood out to me: "I was weirdly ashamed that the seven days of physical torture- getting punched in the face and having my wrists and ankles bound- had left no visible marks on my body, save for little red marks where the zip ties had dug into my wrists. Without physical evidence, I felt that there was no proof of how much I had endured" (p. 240). This quote resonates with me because I can't imagine how alone and empty I would feel if I went from being certain I would die to being safe at home where no one understood what I had just gone through in a matter of hours.

Chapter 14, "Lukas," is about Lynsey's son, and how he changed her life even though she was able to hold onto her career. She realizes in this chapter, finally, that it is possible to have a personal and professional life- both which you care deeply about. She still makes sacrifices, but I thought it was touching that she was finally able to find this happy medium after so many years of believing she could only have one.

I learned that photojournalism is risky yet rewarding.