The Photojournalism Intensive: Navigating the NYC Ecosystem

Catalog description

The Photojournalism Intensive is an exciting and rigorous two weeks of photojournalistic and documentary practice. The thematic focus is "Navigating the NYC Ecosystem." How has the built environment shaped New York's various ecosystems? What about the social ecosystems of, for instance, the subway, a given neighborhood, a park space? This is an intentionally broad heading to give students freedom to interpret and explore that concept. Initial guiding questions include: What are the interconnected systems of New York City? How do they interact and inform life in this space? What are the natural ecosystems? Who are the people, the animals, the organizations affected by these questions, and what larger environmental, social, or political forces are in play in these ecosystems? Each student defines the specific scope of their own photo project, conveying a timely urgency and criticality. Ultimately, we ask: how do we document these stories in pictures? In doing so, students must demonstrate what is at stake as they discover and photograph a vital slice of the broad NYC ecosystem.