Cycling Documentary

Phillips_Ch.1 from Neil Blake on Vimeo.

Phillips_Ch.2 from Neil Blake on Vimeo.

Phillips_Ch.3 from Neil Blake on Vimeo.

Gambian Refugee Story

Gambian refugee Musa Saidykhan walks to the bus stop on his way to the Grand Rapids Islamic Center holding his two-year-old daughter Fatumata. He fled his country after being arrested, tortured, and repeated followed by the government for his journalism. Now in his third month in the United States, he is working hard to provide for his family and begin a new life.



Musa rides the bus with his three children, Sidat, 7, left to right, Jerreh, 5 and Fatumata, 2 to the Grand Rapids Islamic Center where he prays once a week. One of the first things Musa learned when he arrived in the States was how to ride the bus system. He takes pride in being independent.



Musa often stays with the children when his wife, Aramata is running errands. He is currently working at a temporary worker at Kellog's, but some weeks they only need him to work one day. "The job I have at the factory, that job requires no skill. But I have to start somewhere," Musa said.



Musa plays with his daughter Fatumata while Jerreh runs in from the kitchen. Musa wants to eventually write a book about his experiences at the hands of his government. A CNN Free Press Africa Award recipient, he has many connections. "Once you have connections, you can always weather the storm," he said. His most immediate concern though, is learning to drive.



Flanked by his children Sidat, left, and Jerreh, Musa prays five times a day and attends a service once a week. "I am not a nominal Muslim," Musa said. His children participate, though they often sneak looks at the television set behind them.



Eating on the floor out of the same dish together is a Gambian tradition that Musa continues with his family. "Once people all eat out of the same basin they tend to love each other," Musa said.

Gambian Refugee Journalist

Musa Saidykhan is a Gambian journalist now living here in Michigan. He was forced to flee his country after his government detained him for 22 days because they were uncomfortable with his style of journalism. Now, he's making a new life here in America, working when he can to provide for his family. He has aspirations to write a book about his experiences with insights about the situation of journalism in Gambia.

Cyclin'

421 Photostory

Time to step up...

Chesterfield Township senior Kevin Nevorski, left to right, dances with instructor Carrie Mills while instructor Jonathan Bender and Warren freshman Katie Sullivan dance behind them. Bender and Mills started teach swing dancing several times a week at the Dance Crazy studio in Mt. Pleasant.

Allison Karr reads the story of Valentines Day to her 2nd grade class Friday afternoon during a break from regular studies.

Second graders Natalie Horanoff, left, and Olivia Potie play a Valentine's matching game in Allison Karr's second grade class.

Final Project Proposal

In my life live I believe that there are basic human rights endowed by our creator, some of them outlined by our constitution are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In America, we often take these freedoms for granted. But there are many who daily are faced with death, imprisonment, or at the very least, restricted from freedom by their governments. My project will focus on refugees fleeing their countries to America from some form of persecution. I want my audience to understand what they are going through in their adjustment to America life as they pursue happiness.

I will focus on PARA, programs assisting refugee acculturation, and the process that these refugees go through. They are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, so I will spend at least three weekends documenting the organization, but ultimately focusing on a refugee family that is trying to become self sufficient in the Grand Rapids area. These may be Iraqis, Burmese, or Sudanese to name just a few of the nationalities that come through the organization.

I would like to tell the story two ways. First, I’d like to focus on the organization itself to get a broad view of the story. Second, I want to spend the majority of my time with a family at work and at play.

I will attempt to make specific contacts this week to solidify a few subjects that may be willing for the project. It may take some time to find the ideal subject with a compelling visual story, but I trust that one will emerge. I want to answer questions the audience may have about the refugees views on America, what their life was life before, and what the main challenges are that they face today.

For camera interviews, I really want to get at the heart of this issue and hear the human story of these people that are often invisible, even through they are right here in our society.

My concern with this piece is that with the distance it may be difficult to establish an intimacy with my subjects that will convey the themes I talked about above. This may be a story that is best told when I have more time to tell it. However, I believe it can be done if I establish clear goals and objectives for each visit, reply on people in PARA to inform me on the progression of the refugees through the program and plan out the video via storyboards.

The shooting schedule will be mainly Thursdays through Saturdays on selected weekends that I deem will be the most productive to shoot. The week of spring break, may also prove a key time to shoot. It will mainly depend on what is happening in the people’s lives.

I’d like this piece to raise awareness in the Grand Rapids community about these people who often come with very little, and have to start over. I’d like the person checking out at Meijer to understand why the person pushing carts has an accent, or why their neighbors don’t speak English. America was once considered a melting pot or different cultures. I’d like to explore and see if it still is.

This doesn't relate to my proposal, but this is a child in rural Mozambique that found my camera interesting. Apparently, even in small African towns they know that you have to smile when the camera is pointed your way.

Backpacking Video

The Dacks from Neil Blake on Vimeo.
This is the montage from the winter backpacking trip to New York last weekend. I threw it together this morning. I'll have to go back through to edit for the documentary version. Interestingly enough, I used a Flip Video camera for all the footage. It looks grainy here because of the compression settings, but it actually looks decent on my computer. I'll have to check into getting one. I used a song from Coldplay. I'll not using this from personal gain, just personal use, so please don't sue me.

First Assignment

This past weekend I went backpacking in the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York. The plan was to document it through photos. I knew battery life might be an issue so I packed five Canon lithium batteries. The first day, I didn't shoot much as I planned to mostly document the ascent up Mt. Marcy. By that second day though, most of the batteries were shot, and I got only a few frames from each. Luckily, I had a flip video recorder as well. The batteries in it held up fine, and it proved the ideal backpacking camera. It was small, light and easy to operate with numb fingers.

Goals

My career goals as of January 25, 2009 are unclear. I do know that I have a passion for journalism and photography, but I also have a love for the wilderness and activities like backpacking and canoeing. I predict that my jobs after I graduate will be a meld of these various passions.

I was first attracted to photojournalism by the war photographs of Robert Capa, and modern war photographers such as David Leeson. I could see myself in five years working as a foreign correspondent sending in video and photo dispatches from the field.

I am also looking forward to interning with the National Park Service. There are stories that need to be told visually there as well. I could also envision myself working for the Park Service, freelancing for outdoor publications or photographing the latest exploits of mountaineers on Denali.

Working for NGO’s in the third world is another possibility. I would love to work for an organization that is developing impoverished nations and giving them possibilities to enjoy the freedoms (like the freedom to eat) that we often take for granted.

Well, there are three very different career paths. Yet, to do them well I still need the same basic skill set. I need to have complete confidence in my ability to walk into any situation, either a war zone in Gaza or a groundbreaking ceremony in Denali National Park, and to come back with the best storytelling image possible.

I think one of the best ways to get this experience is by working for a newspaper, and I plan to intern at one this fall or in the spring of 2010. To prepare me for that, this semester I would like a variety of assignments to build a broad base in photography to work off of. I would like to come away from this semester with a solid photostory and a well planned out and edited video piece.

Another Start

This blog will be primarily for JRN-521. I'll post photos and track the progress of my assignments. I also have another photo blog for everything else. Check it out here.