Getting to know others

After having my third 9 hour class today at Dominguez Hills, I now have a much better understanding of the amazing diversity in relation to the other students in the class.

It all began after our professor asked us to form one large group on the couches in the building's main lobby so we could discuss our ifilm documentary ideas.

Well, going by the documentary story ideas that each of the students shared, anyone that happen to be passing by may have assumed we were friends of Bill W.

Many, if not most of the stories would bring tears to the eyes of the hardest heart in town. Some had witnessed whole villages wiped out in their countries of origin, or fellow migrant countrymen treated literally like cattle, while others had families that make mine look like the Brady Bunch.

My ifilm script is one of the few that are not about family destruction or ethnic cleansing. I am doing mine on the demise of the Los Angeles Red Car and the rise of the freeway system. It does have some sad parts to it, but overall I will be trying to show what we had lost. It is supposed to be approximately 5-7 minutes long with a personal narration and 30- 40 pictures. An example of these short documentaries can be seen here.

Tomorrow I will be heading off with my wife, son and mother-in-law to go ride one of the few remaining restored Los Angeles Red Cars which is adjacent to the Ports O' Call in San Pedro. I will try and post the shots sometime in the near future.

The class also doubles as a mini photography class, which is an important aspect of social documentation.

We are actually getting some real great lessons and advice from our professor who is also a documentary film maker.

Here are some of the websites that were recommended:

Composition tips

Ten top photography tips

Digital Photo tips

Here you can view some great social documentary photography:

social documentary website

social documentary website2