It’s a sunny, May afternoon, and in a gravel alley of Bellingham’s York District, three college students are hauling music gear into a beat up truck.

This is the scene as local band Bobby Petite gets ready for their first show at the Underground Coffeehouse, a small venue on Western Washington University campus.

Carrying drums from the basement to the car, Olivia Mosley, the band’s lead singer and bassist, wipes off some sweat.

“I need a shower, I’m feeling so grimey,” Moseley says.

Mosely, known simply as Oli to friends, alongside bandmates Ryan Barney and Bella Cole-Preciado, make up the Bellingham trio, Bobby Petite.

Barney leaps across the passenger’s seat into the driver’s seat, as Preciado and Moseley climb in the car, packed tight with instruments, seats, pedals, and drums.

“My front door wont open cause I ran over a cord in Oli’s driveway,” Barney says, “I think my uncle will help me replace it.”

Windows down, the group heads to campus, all playfully blaming each other for the strong smell of body odor along the way.

Bobby Petite started as Moseley and Preciado, two old friends who had always loved music. When Barney stepped in, the group formed and quickly started playing small house shows around Bellingham, later bars such as the Firefly, and now the Bellingham Arts and Music Festival (BAMF!).

Mosley and the band has dreams of Bobby Petite gaining popularity, but work and school don’t just fall to the side.

Moseley works at a local garden, and is working towards her concentration at Fairhaven College, a branch of WWU.

“I think my concentration will be a focus on the intersection between environment and social power dynamics based upon race and socioeconomic status, long story short,” Moseley laughs.

Setting up in the Underground Coffeehouse, a reporter from the Western Front, a campus paper, approaches Moseley and the group, telling them she’ll be photographing them for their upcoming story.

“We talked to a reporter a while ago, it’ll be cool to see it in the paper,” Moseley says while glancing over the most recent edition of the Front.

Barney and Preciado return to the car after setting up, and Moseley sits, taking in the stage in front of her.

She tells me about taking the quarter off from classes, and how she feels pressure to stay busy, and how she’ll be working on a farm in France over the summer.

“I’m excited, but it still doesn’t feel real. Like, I’ve made the plans but it hasn’t sunk in,” Moseley says.

In a way, this poetically sums up the trajectory of Bobby Petite so far. The ambition is there, as well as the potential for something bigger, even if they don’t quite feel it.

While BAMF sits around the corner, Moseley spends her days working, and her evenings skating, making hummus; always thinking of music.

Bobby Petite can be found on Instagram, and their album, “Live at the Firefly,” can be found on Bandcamp.

Since we recently worked on creating our own photo illustrations for class, I’ve been thinking a lot about the ethics behind maniuplating photos, and have even noticed some examples in articles I’ve read.

In journalism, its very standard to not edit your photos, or do minimal editing (cropping, exposure, contrast… anything you could do in a darkroom). The introduction of photoshop and photo illustrations has kind of changed the game, as its not uncommon for photo illustrations that look very realistic to be used for stories. Publications can get away with using very realistic photo illustrations as long as they credit it as such, creating a tricky grey area. If a photo looks real upon first viewing, is it ethical to use it even if its been extremely manipulated?

One example that we brought up in class was from the Time Magazine cover of O.J. Simpson. The cover, credited as a photo illustration, was sold side by side with other images that were not edited, making it very clear that Time had edited their cover. However, since it was credited as an illustration, is it fair to the public?

One example that I came across in my day to day life was in a fascinating article about incels and plastic surgery. They used a photo illustration was one of few photos in the piece, and was the first one you saw. Its a fantastic, and very graphic photo that works well with the piece. However, I found myself having to look twice, and ended up having to check the credits of the story to find out that it was, in fact, a photo illustration.

Thinking critically about the media I consume, and how it has potentially been processed, is something I want to work on being conscious of. Knowing that I want to go into a field where ethics are everything, being aware of these issues and how to work with them is really important and interesting.

As far as photo illustrations, it remains a tricky grey area of photojournalism. I don’t think I could unpack it all in one blog post, but bringing any attention to it is good enough for me!

Journalism loves a hard and fast deadline, so today we practiced shooting a feature photo in two hour. Out of all the topics, I focused on ongoing maintenance a lot, as well as study time.

The photo I ended up choosing is of Enrique Castro, a gardener on campus. I saw Castro working near Artzen Hall, and asked if I could take his photo. He was so kind, and was super excited to get his picture taken. I took lots of photos of him, but this one was my favorite.

I also approached a student sitting on a table, studying, but she was less eager to have her photo taken. She agreed, and I really liked the photos of her as well. It was hard to decide which to use!

Overall, this assignment was a lot of fun! I loved the fast paced style, and it pushed me to really use my eyes on the world around me, viewing everything in how I might be able to photograph it.

I think it was also great practice, as quick deadlines and feature photos are more than common in the world of journalism.

I took a couple other photos, but didn’t love how they turned out. These include the photos of the first two people I talked to, so I’m glad I kept taking photos despite having a shot that technically fit the assignment.

Ah, the world of photoshop. This week I dipped my toes into the deep deep waters of photo manipulation, and worked on creating a photo illustration. Our goal was to create an image that was clearly maniplulated, and portrayed a deeper meaning.

I chose to make my photo illustration about the recent abortion ban in Alabama, as it has weighed heavily on me. Other states have created similar laws following, but none as strict as Alabama’s.

I chose to use the famous image of the astronaut, as this ban feels like a large moment in history, a large step back if you would. I chose the background of the map because the bill was passed in Montgomery, Alamaba, and I liked the idea of not making it about the state as a whole, as many people oppose the bill, but rather turning the view towards those who made and passed the bill. This includes Gov. Kay Ivey who had the final say in signing the bill.

As far as technical aspects with this photo illustration, I struggled with photoshop a lot to get this final image. In fact, I made a whole other image, and accidentally made it black and white. I watched so many tutorials, asked so many kind people, and no one knew how to get it back to color. So, I had to start all over again. I think I spent a total of 5 hours in the Student Technology Center just to get this one image! Pretty brutal.

However, I do feel like I have a much better grasp on Photoshop after this project. I am still a little initmidated, but excited to learn more and work on other photo illlustrations or fun projects with my new skills!

Below I’ll include my outtake, which caused me so much grief. I actually like my final version a lot more, so it was all for the best!

“I’m interested in women’s and children’s issues, immigration and healthcare.”

Ilana Panich-Linsman

Based out of Austin, Texas, Panich-Linsman is my newest inspiration in photojournalism.

Panich-Linsman has most recently covered stories for the New York Times on families living on the boarder, and realted topics.

After receiving her M.A from the University of Arts in London, Panich-Linsman went on to graduate from the International Center of Photography’s photojournalism program.

Panich-Linsman continuously creates strong visual relationships, placing women, immigrants, and minorities in the spotlight. Her past work has ranged from following the lives of fifteen year olds in the US, to photographing an immigrant detention center in South Texas.

After photographing a series documenting Pediatric palliative care, supported by the Rita K. Hillman foundation, Panich-Linsman said the following, which stuck with me:

This particular project gave me an opportunity to begin to understand what it is like for a family to support a critically ill child, and for a palliative-care team to support that family. Perhaps it is a way to face my own fears.

Ilana Panich-Linsman

Looking forward I’m excited to see where Panich-Linsman’s work takes her, and have no doubt that she will continue to put women and immigrant stories in the forefront of her work.

This week we were asked to find moments that showed clear and honest emotions and relationships between people. This assignment was tricky for me, and I found it pretty daunting. It’s difficult to have strangers open up to you, and many people I know are very camera aware, and I wanted to push my limits and photograph people I didnt know.

In Red square, the center of Western’s campus, there were two preachers talking loudly and saying very bigoted things, drawing a large crowd. Students were speaking out against them, and attempting to argue with them but the preachers were only intersted in creating conflict.

Preacher Shawn Holes, pictured above, travels from campus to campus preaching all along the way. In the photo you can see he is wearing a body cam, and he commonly uploads videos and photos of his “sermons” to his website.

I found this to be an interesting way to document emotion and relationships, because the clear emotions are rather dark; anger, frustration, etc. I think that using this event as an opportuntiy to focus on honest emotion and relationships was ideal, as it pushed me to document not just what was happening, but how people were being affected. While I was very nervious about the nature of this assignment, I think focusing on honest emotions and relationships is what made these photos more impactful.

For this assignment, we were asked to take seven pictures total, using three different techniques: motion blur, panning, and stop action. A perfect opportunity for bikers, skateboarders, and fast moving walkers!

I had a hard time with this, telling a story through a motion shot is not my go-to so it created a great opportunity for practice!

I had a lot of fun working with the blurred motion shots, and wanted to expreriement more with photographing people at night with a longer exposure, but didn’t find the time. Instead I got some fun shots on campus, as well as in Boulevard park.

For my panning photos, I also shot a ton in boulevard park, on campus, and other places but wasn’t thrilled with how many of them turned out. This also was the case for my stop action photos. Luckily enough, while walking home I found my friends practicing skating, and got a couple pics for fun. I ended up loving the shots more than a lot of my other pictures, and using them in my final result.

Finally were the stop action photos. I have the most experience with this technique, as it is the easiest in my opinion. I had fun wandering campus and finding groups to photograph.

I took so many frames of this frisbee game, waiting for someone to jump or lean, and it took forever but finally someone made an interesting pass and I got this kinda fun shot.

I wanted to include some of my outtakes, as there were an unbelievable amount for this project, so while theyre not great I’ll inlcude them below.

Enjoy!

By Eva Bryner

This assignment asked us to photograph people while giving an idea about their environment, and telling a story or giving insight about the subject.

I found myself loving this project, and having a much easier time with it than past assignments. I was lucky enough to meet two very kind, talkative souls who made time for me to learn about them, and try to express their enviroment alongside their personality.

First I met Joseph Green, the owner of The Stone Moon, a local metaphysical shop in Bellingham. Joseph was so talkative, and told me all about himself; his recent preposal to his now fiancee and co-owner of The Stone Moon, his love of board games, his extensive knowledge of how to build tables…. the converstation/photoshoot lasted almost an hour!

I also had the pleasure of meeting Laurie Martinez. When I walked into her work, a small boutique in Downtown Bellingham, she was working on fixing a stool and reading a book about crystals. We connected immediately, and had a really lovely talk while she showed me around the store and told me about every single item they had in stock.

Laurie was easy to photograph, and the store had wonderful colors and available light, making it super fun and quick to take some lovely shots of her.

I think this assignment really boosted my confidence, as talking to strangers and asking to take their photo is pretty daunting to me. I got very lucky, and both Joseph and Laurie were so kind and easy to talk to, making this project more comfortable for me.

“I idealise my work as being a lasting record of a person that I’ve photographed.”

-Joe Pugliese

Of the many studio and portrait photographers, Joe Pugliese has a distinct, vibrant style coming across in moody portraits of modern artists, politicians, and other influential people.

The California native got his start in photography at the age of 16, taking pictures of his friends on BMX bikes. This sparked a love for the photography medium, propelling Pugliese into the world of photojournalism. “I think I just combined my desire to create things that were graphic with my interest in meeting people,” said Pugliese in an interview with Emmazed.

As for portraiture, Pugliese has a distinct philosophy, “I idealise my work as being a lasting record of a person that I’ve photographed.” Pugliese makes clear that having compassion for your subject, and taking time to understand them past a surface level is key in his experience of portrait photography.

This view of the portrait, as a lasting record, is very on par with journalistic ideals (i.e. having an evergreen photo). Pugliese’s influence in the world of photojournalism can be summed up by carrying out this idea in more “mainstream photography”. With a client list including Netflix, Hulu, Wired, The Hollywood Reporter, and many more, bringing the ideals of journalism to the larger, commercial world is a bold move true to Pugliese’s ideals.

Pugliese has also published a number of photographic series, many of which published in Los Angeles Magazine. These essays include topics such as Las Cantantes, a story about an all-female mariachi band, the Jockeys of Santa Anita, a series documenting Jockeys after races, and Come On Down, a series of the audience members of the Price is Right.

Personally, I admire Pugliese’s work and philosophy greatly. I think understanding your subject can not only create a meaningful moment, but allow that to translate into photography. His life appears to be one of near constant travel, meetings and shoots with some of Hollywood’s largest stars, executives, and musicians. I admire his ability to create an intimate feeling with his subject, especially as many of his subjects are bigger names. It seems easy falter and create an empty photo, or a very surface level portrait, however Pugliese avoids this every time. None of his work feels without emotion, and can give you a greater sense of his subject.

I would love to know if Pugliese plans on doing more journalistic or series photography, as I fell in love with many of his series’ and portraits for them. His talent for portraiture is very clear when the subject is anonymous, and for me is a little more powerful. He breaks more rules, there’s less eye contact with the camera, faces are contorted, and composition is abnormal. All of this brings a lot of intrigue to his images.