POD: Day 365 | 8.15.12 | ONE YEAR OF PODs!!!

Wayne Brandon, 16, installs brakes on a brand new Redline DS1 bike inside Grassroots Bikes, a nonprofit bike shop on Mangum Street on Wednesday, August 15, 2012.


From the first day of Photojournalism 1 on August 15, 2011, with my teacher Jay Capers, and his assignment to take at least one photo every day and post it on our blog, to 365 days later...two days before I ended my second internship at The Herald-Sun. It has not been easy to do this, but it has been an enjoyable challenge. One that I plan on keeping up with, but in a different format. I have really loved exploring photography through the use of my iphone. It is small, silent and always with me. Different applications make it fun to experiment and be creative in a variety of ways that my dslr cannot (not to mention how many actuations I'm keeping off of my work camera). In the midst of the grind with daily assignments that may or may not entice my inner creative self, this is a very welcome outlet and one that I've turned into a daily activity. I post from my phone to a Tumblr blog. Feel free to check it out and follow: http://mmelvinphoto.tumblr.com/ I will still be using this blog to post personal work and assignments from the paper, so keep your eyes here as well. Thanks for all the views and kind comments! Stay tuned for more!

POD: Day 360 | 8.10.12

My fellow intern, Julia Wall, on her last day at The Herald-Sun. I loved sharing this experience with two other students (Mr. Al Drago being the other secret ingredient to the special intern sauce). I wish *buckets* of luck to Julia on her last year at UNC and to Al, as he starts his second year at Elon. I cannot wait to see the amazing work you two create!

POD: Day 357 | 8.7.12

Jonathan Howard assembles boxes to store books as they prepare to move them from the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to a temporary location during the renovation at Duke Univeristy's Perkins Library  on Tuesday, August 7, 2012.

POD: Day 283 | 5.25.12

Riverside High School's Malissa McSwain is one of 19 high school students in the Durham area to be recognized for making all A's all four years of high school at a luncheon and awards ceremony at the Downtown Durham Armory on Friday, May 25, 2012.

POD: Day 273 | 5.15.12

Sarah Ramos acts as a pauper during an exercise in a theater class led by "Wicked" cast members Dan Pacheco and Catherine Charlebois at Durham School of the Arts on Tuesday, May 15, 2012.

POD: Day 223 | 3.24.12

Queen City Relays | Myers Park High School | Charlotte, NC

(view slideshow)

Thinking Differently About Portraits

Today we had a fun shooting lab. We shot portraits of each other as silhouettes and learned a few new posing techniques that we can put in our "skills toolbox" to use when shooting on-location portraits. We went for body shapes I, C, S and Z using with a single, off-camera light source in the studio. Afterwards, we shot a regular portrait on campus using one of the four body shapes. I partnered with the always lovely and lively, Aylssa Murkin. These are a few of the silhouettes and the on-campus portrait, taken inside the design department. 

This final image is an outtake as Alyssa posed for an outdoor portrait for a Bio-communications student. "Can't Stop, Won't Stop Cuteness"---it must be rough ;-)

POD: Day 115

POD: Day 109

Jasmine Johnson, a student in the medical assisting program, practices taking vitals during class at Randolph Community College's Archdale Center.

POD: Day 99

Patrick McLaurin, a first year photo student at RCC, spots a black and white print in the mat room. Spotting is one thing I do not miss about first year ;)

POD: Day 92

Susan Ritter, a student from Seagrove, NC, makes a price list for the pieces she made in pottery class that she will sell during the annual pottery sale that begins tomorrow at RCC.