Category: Announcements

Call for prints

Dear AAJA Photojournalists,

This is my first call for 11 x 14 prints for the Silent Photo Auction at the National AAJA Convention. Please donate one or two prints to be sold at the AAJA Silent Auction in Miami in August. You can support student photographers if you come to the convention or not. Last year our prints raised about $5,000 for student AAJA scholarships.

Deadline: Friday, July 13.

When selecting your donation print, consider what someone would purchase. In other words, spot news doesn’t sell well – sports stars, celebrities and great feature photos sell well. People who buy these photos want to hang the purchased photo on their wall.

Mailing Print:

  • Your 11×14 print will be framed in a glass frame in the exact size of 10.6 x 13.6 inches. Regular 11×14 is perfect, but note .4 inches will not be shown due to frame.
  • If the print is not the exact 11×14 dimensions, it will be CUT to fit the 11×14 frame.
  • Sign your autograph on the lower right under the photo in white border area.
  • Include basic caption information of when and where you took the photo and description of photo on separate paper.
  • Enclose your name, affiliation, address, phone number and email address.
  • Do not send CD or email photo. Prints without autographs do not sell.Send your print(s) to:
    AAJA Photo Auction
    Paul Sakuma

    If you already framed your photograph, I will send you address where to mail it to in Miami.

    Print sold for personal use only. No reproduction rights are granted or should be assumed. AAJA will email you the final selling price after the auction.

    New York freelance photographer Corky Lee will be curator for the auction and photo exhibit. You can contact Corky: corky@expedi.com

    Thanks for helping out future Asian American photojournalists.

    Paul Sakuma
    AAJA Photo
    psakuma@aol.com

    • Photo schedule for the AAJA National Convention in Miami

    Dear AAJA photographers/photo editors/photo students,

    Here’s the updated photo schedule for the AAJA National Convention in Miami. Let me know if you are attending? Also let me know if you would like to participate in any of these panels?

    AAJA announces the following professional photo development sessions at the AAJA National Convention in Miami August 1-4.

    Late registration: http://www.aaja.org/programs/convention2007/registration/

    WEDNESDAY AUGUST 1

    Photographers’ Room
    1-5 p.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    • Voices Multimedia Student Photo Project Informal session held daily.
    Multimedia photo editor: Laura Pohl, freelance photo editor.

    • Photo ShootOut: “Miami Heat”
    Those interested in competing for the annual Dith Pran Photo ShootOut Award and prizes are invited to meet to discuss the rules of the contest for this year’s theme, “Miami Heat.” Named in honor of the photojournalist who survived the Cambodian “Killing Fields,” the perpetual trophy will be presented at the Gala on Saturday night.
    Moderator: Chris Viola, photographer, The Times-Union.

    • Photo Silent Auction Meeting
    Production meeting for photos to be included in the Silent Auction. Photographers will organize an exhibit of AAJA photographers around the country who have contributed their photographs to help raise money for Asian American college students. The photographs will be auctioned off during the Silent Auction on Saturday night. If you have a 11 x 14 for the Silent Auction, see previous email. If you have a photo already in frame or have a Photo Book you want to donate, please mail to:

    Moderator: Corky Lee, freelance photographer in New York.

    • Student Photo Critiques
    Students are invited to bring their portfolios in for critiques in a casual atmosphere.
    Moderator: Eugene Tanner, photo editor, The Orange County Register.

    * Unity Meeting
    Everyone talk about Unity in Chicago.
    Moderator: Paul Sakuma, photographer, Associated Press

    5-7 p.m. Hyatt Regency Miami – Student Night. Open to all students.

    7-9 p.m. Opening Reception at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.

    THURSDAY AUGUST 2

    Multimedia for Photographers, Session I: Sights and Sounds
    10:15-11:45 a.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    Enhance your audio slideshows with our photo stories. Learn about equipment and software, interviewing and ambient recording, editing your audio smartly, and working with reporters on daily assignments.
    Moderator: Dai Sugano, photographer/multimedia, San Jose Mercury News.
    Presenters: Ben de la Cruz, video journalist, washingtonpost.com; Andrew DeVigal, multimedia editor, The New York Times

    Multimedia for Photographers, Session II: Multimedia Journalism
    1:45-3:15 p.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    Learn about the multimedia used in the newsrooms of today and tomorrow, including using Flash, going beyond Soundslide, working with a variety of content providers, and shooting with concepts.
    Moderator: Dai Sugano, photographer/multimedia, San Jose Mercury News.
    Presenters: Ben de la Cruz, video journalist, washingtonpost.com; Andrew DeVigal, multimedia editor, The New York Times.

    Introduction to Flash
    1:45-5 p.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    Hands-on training in Flash, a powerful tool in today’s multimedia industry. Learn the basic tools necessary to make simple slideshows and interactive presentations during this 180-minute session. Limited to 30 participants.
    Coordinator & Presenter: Belinda Long, graphics reporter, South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

    Multimedia for Photographers, Session III: Video Storytelling
    3:30-5 p.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    Newspaper photographers will learn a variety of video storytelling styles including narrated, subject-driven, and reporter-as-analyst. Also learn how to shoot HD video for print and Web and use Final Cut Pro for stills and video.
    Moderator: Dai Sugano, photographer/multimedia, San Jose Mercury News.
    Presenters: Ben de la Cruz, video journalist, washingtonpost.com; Andrew DeVigal, multimedia editor, The New York Times.

    7 p.m. – Versailles Restaurant
    Private photo dinner at Cuban Restaurant.
    RSVP to: fotoguyf16@mac.com
    RSVP deadline: July 31
    More details later.

    FRIDAY AUGUST 3

    Live Photo Critiques for Students
    10:15-11:45 a.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    Professional photographers and photo editors provide live critiques of students’ work. Students will talk about their work. A professional will share ideas for students getting into the profession. They will discuss how to strengthen a portfolio with tight editing of the best images, how to develop story ideas and talk about trends in current photojournalism. They will also address common mistakes in looking for your first job and what students can do to be best prepared for the ever-changing marketplace.
    Moderator: Cheryl Diaz Meyer, photographer, The Dallas Morning News.
    Presenter: Eugene Tanner, photo editor, The Orange County Register.

    Michael Yamashita: A National Geographic Photography Special
    2:15-3:45 p.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita discusses and shows photos of world explorer Zheng He, the Ming Dynasty naval commander who led seven epic voyages to more than 30 countries between 1405 and 1433 A.D.
    Moderator: Stan Honda, photographer, Agence France Press.
    Presenter: Michael Yamashita, photographer, National Geographic.

    Overseas Photography
    4-5:30 p.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    Everyone wants to cover the international story, but how do you do it? Veteran photographers will discuss how to travel, what equipment to take, how to live in less than ideal conditions, how to deal with languages and local customs, how to get the story — and then, how to get your pictures back to your newspaper/magazine/wire service if there’s no Starbucks nearby. Coordinator: Paul Sakuma, photographer, Associated Press.
    Moderator: Stan Honda, photographer, Agence France Press.
    Presenters: Laura Pohl, freelance photographer; Kuni Takahashi, staff photographer, Chicago Tribune; Michael Yamashita, photographer, National Geographic.

    SATURDAY AUGUST 4

    Student Photo Critiques
    9:30-11 a.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    Students are invited to bring their portfolios in for critiques in a casual atmosphere.
    Moderator: Eugene Tanner, photo editor, The Orange County Register.

    530 p.m., Hyatt Regency Miami
    Silent Auction, Gala Banquet, Karaoke

    To see the full convention schedule, go to http://www.aaja.org/programs/convention2007/schedule

    More info,
    Paul Sakuma
    AAJA Photo
    psakuma@aol.com

    Get Linked

    On the sidebar is a new category called Photographers. Email baron@mediabaron.com to have your webpage linked from here. The link should be to a webpage that you control and not a generic website (i.e. A link to your newspaper’s website wouldn’t work, but if you have a URL for your specific gallery on it would be fine). Send me your name and URL.

    AAJA photog recovering

    Joyce on conch
    Fellow AAJA photog Joyce Lin blogs about her climbing accident recently that she is recovering from. The above frame-grab is from video shot in June as she does her best to sound a conch shell.

    Lin said although she’s alive her camera isn’t. The body, battery and even memory card died in the fall. Lin said the dead camera luckily was her backup camera. But she’s pretty tough as she’s blogging with broken wrists. *ouch!*

    Added Features – geek talk

    I’ve added a chat room on this site. It’s AJAX based, low bandwidth, not Java or Flash based. I think it should work through company firewalls via a browser. You’ll find it under the links heading on the right.

    One of the reasons I’ve added it here for those times when your moving images over your cellphone connection from a laptop and need to communicate to someone in your office while doing so and you can’t talk on your cellphone, obviously since it’s busy transmitting. And hopefully it should even make it through your company firewall.

    And if you want to just use it to chat amongst each other that’s fine too. Test it out, let me know how it works.

    aloha,
    baron@mediabaron.com

    National AAJA photo awards

    National AAJA photo award winner information here

    PHOTOGRAPHY – UNLIMITED SUBJECT MATTER:
    Cheryl Diaz Meyer    , Senior Staff Photographer, The Dallas Morning News, “Iraq: Living in Fear”

    PHOTOGRAPHY – ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES:
    Takaaki Iwabu    , Staff Photographer. The News And Observer, “The Second Chapter”
    iwabu1.jpg
    Photo by Takaaki Iwabu / The (Raleigh) News & Observer
    On her first day at a school, H’Dung R’mah, 5, newly arrived Montagnard refugee, eats her lunch alone at Reedy Creek Elementary School in Cary, N.C. She has never attended a school before. H’Dung and her mother arrived in the United States a week before and reunited with their family for the first time in four years. Her father fled Vietnam to escape from the government’s persecution on the Montagnard, tribal populations in the central highlands of south Vietnam. The support for Montagnard and other immigrants has been slow because the resources have been stretched to help victims of the hurricanes.

    We raised thousands of dollars for scholarships, thanks to those of you who participated in the AAJA Silent Photo Auction. Daniel Sato, photo student from San Jose State University, won two photo scholarships worth $4,000.

    We will be posting information about the upcoming AAJA Convention in Miami in August 2007. Please send me suggestions on any photo panels, workshops, lectures or parties ideas.

    Paul Sakuma
    AAJA Photo
    psakuma@aol.com

    AAJA Photo Shootout Winners

    1st Place: Tue Nam Ton
    2nd Place: Joyce Lin
    3rd Place: Stella Lee
    4th Place: Mike Schennum
    5th Place: Kristina Sangsaha
    6th Place: David Kranz
    7th Place: Ray Wong
    8th Place: Jennifer Dronkers

    PHOTOSHOOTOUT

    The theme of this year’s Annual PhotoShootOut Competition “HIT THE BEACH!” is based on the belief that anything goes on the beach. The first-place winner’s name will be inscribed on the national Dith Pran Trophy, named in honor of the AAJA member and New York Times photographer Dith Pran, whose life as a survivor of the Cambodian holocaust was portrayed in the movie “The Killing Fields.”

    Judges:
    Dennis Oda, Honolulu Star-Bulletin staff photographer
    Eugene Tanner, Orange County Register photo editor and former Honolulu Advertiser staff photographer
    Greg Yamamoto, Honolulu Advertiser staff photographer

    There were $2,000 in photo prizes.

    First place receives a Canon digital camera donated from Canon and perpetual trophy with winners name on it.
    Tue Nam Ton, Contra Costa Times staff photographer. (five photos)

    Second place receives ThinkTankPhoto.com camera bag donated by ThinkThankPhoto.
    Joyce Lin , UCLA photo student (four photos)

    Third place receives a 2 GB Compact Flash card donated by Sandisk.
    Stella Lee, Ohio University photo student (four photos)

    Fourth Place: 2 GB compact flash card donated by Sandisk.
    Mike Schennum, Arizona Republic staff photographer (one photo)

    Fifth place: 2 GB compact flash card donated by Sandisk.
    Kristina Sangsaha, San Francisco State University photo student
    (one photo)

    Sixth place: Nikon backpack.
    David Kranz, University of California at Berkeley photo student (one photo)

    Seventh place: Dinner with Dith Pran, Ray Wong, Middle Tennessee State University (three photos)

    Eighth place: Dinner with Dith Pran, Jennifer Dronkers, Ohio University photo student. (two photo)