Writing and photography

[johannielscom]

^^ But the thread refers to writing in general, not just to writing text that accompanies photos.

Tonight I have sent an email applying for a part time job as a photographer for a local newspaper, and have specifically pointed out my reporting and interviewing capabilities alongside the requested photographic skills. Let's hope they like the concept of a photographer that can do some reporting and interviewing alongside the shooting job!

Fingers crossed, I could really use this.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Johan,

Good luck!

Cheers,

R.

 

[ottluuk]

Occasionally, I scribble down odd little poems and prose fragments. I'm not too serious about it, they are just experiments. I try to read fiction (and philosophy, at times) as much as my schedule allows and I have come to believe that whoever reads, should at least try to write, if only to appreciate the efforts of writers. I have also done a little bit of editing and have published a couple of articles (non-fiction/popular science).

The interesting thing about text is that it's really very sparse compared to a photograph. Just a few words here and there - and the reader will have to construct everything beyond and in between those words in his mind. A photograph, on the other hand, generally has tons of descriptive information about things within view - most of which is going to be disregarded by the viewer. The hard part in either writing or photography is similar - to recognize the essential words or elements that carry meaning and evoke emotion - and to arrange them in effective ways.

 

[jwc57]

When my (now) wife refused to go out with me because I had been married twice before, I wrote a short story about a man and change. She agreed to go out with me and we have been married 24 years.

I've only written text for church directories since, such as church history or something about the choir etc.

 

[zwarte_kat]

nice thread

nice thread

Thank you for starting this thread. As I wish to write more, this thread is kind of coming at a right moment for me...

I would like to go out and write little documenting articles and reports on events and specific subjects, supplemented with the photos I take. They could be simple journalist style reports, but also the occasional opinion article.

I work now and then as an event photographer, and make videos for events as well. I have also made some documentary videos, but none of those things required me to write. (well, not as part of the final output product).

I am also active in the organisation of increasingly large art events in Tokyo and other cities in Japan, and I want to create a small monthly online "magazine", to keep people informed and to create a fan base. I thought this would also be a good practice for me in creating articles containing text and photos.

One big problem is language. I am Dutch, but I live in Japan. Few of my target readers are Dutch. I speak fluent English, but am afraid that my writings will appear awkward, or will even have grammatical errors from time to time. I actually write some copy for clients in English here, but never entire articles.

Ideally I'd have an editor, but I am not at that level of course, nor can I afford one. (though I might be interested in affordable online services).

I speak Japanese BTW, but would never dare to dream to be able to write quality articles in this language. It's just too hard for me, as it is for most westerners.

I wonder if anyone can advice me some basic learning material. Books or online resources that are clear and to the point. I am not looking to create groundbreaking essays. I would just like to be able to write little pieces that at least don't completely suck technically.

I googled, of course, but the web is dense with "how make money with your blog" style blogs...

Cheers!