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KABUL- “Point, click, shoot,” were words U.S. Army Spc. Lester Colley thought were only handy as a weapons trainer at Fort Meade, Md. Then he deployed to the International Security Assistance Force Headquarters here and his role changed.
Colley, a Fort Meade 55th Signal Company combat documentation specialist and weapons trainer from Covington, Ky., went from training students how to aim with an M-4 rifle to doing the same with a professional digital camera.
He taught more than 25 Afghan journalists a job that was second nature to him during an accelerated basic still photography course recently.
“I gave training on the basics of capturing a photo,” said Colley. “The two-week class syllabus consisted of classes on photo composition, editing, framing the subject, leading lines and the rule of thirds.”
The students, who were handpicked to attend by their schools and jobs to develop their skills, had some proficiency with how to use a camera, but required additional training on photo composition.
“They’re journalism students from Kabul University and representatives from the local Afghan media stations,” he said. “A few of the students were familiar with the camera settings, but they wanted to take their knowledge further.”
With the classes being accelerated, Colley took a more hands-on approach to his teaching method.
“I did four classes, two of them being practical exercises that involved the indoor and outdoor shooting of inanimate objects,” he said. “The objective of each practical [exercise] was to take a boring subject and make it interesting.”
He taught the students how to frame and place an object in a photo to make it more appealing.
“I showed how framing an object can lead your eye into the main subject of the photo by putting the subject into three paths and placing the subject into one of the outer thirds,” Colley added. “They now know how to look at a photo from a standard point of view, but with different angles.”
“There were a few challenges such as the language barrier which was assisted by an interpreter,” Colley added. “Also being keen on the cultural practices was a necessity but I wanted to ensure my students were getting the best knowledge I could provide.”
Nahim, a 22-year-old Web site administrator with a local Afghan newspaper, said he wants to be a photojournalist. He attended graphic classes at school, but was chosen by his supervisor to participate in the course.
“We learned to take a photo and received lots of guidance on how to compose them correctly,” Nahim added. “This will help me to progress in my job and reach my goal of becoming a photojournalist.”
His classmate Mooska, an 18-year-old librarian and one of the only females participating in the class, said she had never done any photography training, but enjoyed the Adobe Photoshop lessons.
“I learned a lot of useful information,” she said. “I will use what I learned to go out on assignments and take photos for my job.”
Now that Mooska has acquired the basics skills needed to help her in her job she plans to continue on to take an advanced photography class. She said Photoshop would be a good resource.
Colley said he was pleased with the students’ participation in the class.
“The students were motivated, and they really wanted to grasp the lessons,” he said. “I provided them with the tools to become better photographers, and now they can take their skills to the next level.”
| Date Taken: | 08.29.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.29.2010 08:57 |
| Story ID: | 55344 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, ISAF Soldier Teaches Basic Still Photography to Afghan Journalists, by SrA Tania Reid, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
