First off, I want to recognize that I have been sucking at blogging recently but it usually isn’t the first thing on my mind or list to do. I know that I said in my last post that I would be talking about technology and all that but I’ve come to the realization that a lot of what I am going to talk about is going to be spread out and usually not congruent with the previous post. Any how, I realize that I need to and want to blog more even if there isn’t anything exciting happening for this guy. So for this blog, I’m going to tell you guys what exciting stuff has been going on this summer up to this point.
For the first six weeks of the summer, end of May to end of June, I was working on the Magazine, Newspaper, and Online Journalism Capstone project. It was a hell of a time. The basis of the class was to create, produce, and deliver and full 100+ page magazine in this six week period. Students from MNO pitched ideas and did research on the type of magazine that they wanted to create in the spring semester. At the end of the semester, people that worked on the concepts and all that, with the people that were actually going to work on the magazine voted on the magazine that we were going to be creating. It was a fun time seeing the different ideas of groups and magazines that they wanted to create. Anyway, we decided on the magazine called Handshake Magazine. It is the “guide to modern geek culture.” We covered everything from Corey Doctorow, to Lego builders, to women gamers. I learned a lot and got a lot of the six weeks. I worked along side many talented and ambitious people. I obviously worked on the photographs along with Megan Swann and Renee Stevens. The magazine in photo heavy which was nice because it kept us busy during the six weeks. I think the end product came out great. You can visit www.handshakemag.com to download the PDF and see all of the online content that the writers and editors created. It really is amazing what we did during the six weeks of 10-5 every day and a lot of overtime and travel. If you want to know exactly what I worked on in the magazine, just comment below.
Another awesome thing that I got to do was get my first ever client for my photography business. I had the opportunity to photography a local Syracuse singer by the name of Khym. Most of the time I am skeptical about singers because most of the time they really can’t sing. It’s a lot of processor work, mixing, and everything. However, I had this girl sing while in the studio and she really can sing. I also got to hang out with her, the producer Sepp at Fefe Entertainment, and my model friend Vinny Graham at Fefe Entertainment in Syracuse, NY in the recording studio. So she is legitimately one of the better singers that I have heard. It was great working with her and Sepp and that whole team of people. I think more significantly is that it boosted my morale and ego when they liked the end product. A lot of time as a photography student is spent with other students and teachers and it’s a great feeling when a client likes what you do and likes the end product. So it was really fun and special to do this work for them. I look forward to working with them in the future (which I am by the way).
Recently I was asked to do a shoot with Richard Eskow, a writer and contributing editor for Tricycle Magazine, in Utica, NY. Richard is from Utica but moved away around the age of ten and it was the first time that he has been to Utica in over four decades. So he is examining how life 40 years ago has changed and what it is now. I guess it is to mention that Tricycle Magazine is about American and western Buddhist. There has been a big influx of Buddhist from all over the world to Utica and the story is looking at them as well. It was pretty cool because the main monks that led political protests against the Burmese Military were the ones we got to hang out with. So look forward to the September or October issue and my name will pop up.
One last tidbit about my photography, I have photographs from the Syracuse v. Army lacrosse game on Ultimate Athlete Magazine‘s website. That is the link to take you directly to the article. The photos aren’t the best. I guess somewhere in going from my computer to theirs it got funky. Anyway, those are the photos that they used and I look forward to working with them in the future.
Finally, I have started my last class of my program. I am taking Research Methods with Dennis Kinsey this second half of the summer sessions. This dude is awesome. He makes the classes fun and in turn, we learn a lot from him. He is a great guy and funny dude. I couldn’t ask for a better teacher to end my program with.
So in closing, please check out my website and leave comments on here. I built and manage my website myself and if you see any issues let me know and I’ll try to fix them. I’ll be adding photos soon and I’ll be adding a tear sheet section soon enough. I am super pumped about all that has happened this summer and a lot of it has reaffirmed me of why I chose this career. Thankfully it’s paying off. Remember to comment about my site, blog, and any other things that you would like me to talk about.
Photos and Life of Michael Rice 