Trapped: Mental Illness in America’s Prisons

Here is my latest project - Trapped: Mental Illness in America’s Prisons.

What started out as an assignment for school has produced a piece that has changed my life and hopefully will do the same for the people that view it. That was my hope when producing it at least. Ten weeks ago, we (my grad class at OU) were given the assignment to create a magazine including the brand, the mission statement and of course the content.

For this project, I decided to focus on the mental health crisis, specifically in prisons. This brought me to the CPTU inside the Kentucky State Reformatory.

My intention was to make a multimedia piece that made the viewer feel what I felt when I was there. There were days that I was extremely scared and others that I left thinking how much someone on the outside missed them. Some days, I had to remind myself that many of these men had done heinous things.

I saw them cry. I saw them hit themselves so hard in the head that they bled. I saw them throw things at the officers.

I left the prison feeling the same way the warden and the doctors do - wanting to help these men that have nowhere else to go but feeling helpless. All I could do was make a piece that brings others in and hopefully makes them feel for these men, the doctors, the warden and the issue at large. There needs to be a shift in the way our society sees mental illness. We don’t need to just house these people and maybe prison isn’t the place for them.

I hope you all feel something from this piece. Please let me know what you think. Visit my project at www.indepth.jennackerman.com

The Happiest Place on Earth

I recently saw a segment on the happiest place on earth. I assumed it would be a warm, tropical island in the pacific or a small village on the Amalfi coast. I was wrong. Its Denmark. I couldn’t believe it. Especially because when I lived there I thought I was depressed for most of the year. I always heard that sunlight equals happiness and well they don’t see the sun for a good five months out of the year.

Well I got to thinking about Denmark and the people and why on earth they might be considered the happiest people on earth and I came up with a few reasons.

I photographed a man in his 70s because after walking past him a couple of days I noticed his constant smile. While I was grimacing in the cold, he seemed to love it. When taking his portrait, I asked him why he always smiled despite the cold and he responded by saying it just makes the summer even better. And its true once the ice melts and late spring comes around, this place is amazing. While in the winter people stay inside, in the summer everyone is out and stays out until the sun goes down around midnight or later. The sun then peeks its head up around 3 or 4 in the morning. So if you decide to go to a pub when its light you might find yourself walking home with the sun. So while I admit I hated the winter there, the summer made up for it.

The Danes also have this odd thing called the Jante law. It was imperative at the time for me to understand this law as a journalist because it influences the way you propose stories and interact with the locals. It is an unwritten law that imposes modesty on its people. It says Don’t think you’re anyone special or that you’re better than us.

I have to admit that I thought it was an odd law to live by but it started making sense to me once I moved back to the states. The middle class - something we don’t understand here in the US. Homogeneity - something we fear.

Anyway, after hearing this, I wanted to reflect on my time in Denmark - one that at the time I would have defined by depression but later defined by happiness.

OU Student’s Work.

I posted this list of Ohio University photography students websites and blogs yesterday on my classroom blog so that my students could see what current and past OU students are doing. I will continue to compile this list. Please leave a comment with a link to any other past or present OU students.

Undergrad Students

Noah Devereaux
Matt Eich
Peter McCollough
Ali Winberry
Johnny Simon
Erin Pyles
Ross Mantle
Mykal McEldowney
Go Takayama
Digital Artwork - Viscomers Portfolios

Grad Students

Tim Gruber
Jim Korpi
Jenn Ackerman
Travis Dove
Michael Kleinfeld
Peter Hoffman
Marcus Yam
Josh Armstrong
Michael Dibari

Past Viscomers

Yoon Byun
Sarah Nix
Sonya Hebert
Nathan Rapheld
Eric Kayne
Carolyn Drake
Penny De Los Santos
Michael Brown
Sam Reinders
Susana Raab
Ken Light
Bruce Strong
Chad Stevens
Bob Sacha
Krisanne Johnson
Gwen Berry
Dana Romanoff
Robert Caplin
Ariana Lindquist
Judy Sugrue
Kourtney Hoffman
Rich-Joseph Facun
Zach Wise

BLOGS

Undergrad Students

Sam Saccone
Noah Devereaux
Noah Rabinowitz
Shaena Mallett
Dustin Franz
Dustin Finkelstein
Anna Edwards

Grad Students

Tim Gruber
Jenn Ackerman
Kainaz Amaria
Michael Dibari
Michael Kleinfeld
Jim Korpi
Travis Dove

OU ALUM

Beth Skabar
Yoon Byun
Eric Kayne
Michael P. King
Tess Collwell

2007 CPOY Winners

The 2007 CPOY (62) Winners have just been listed. Check out the images here. There is also a list of winners. I have also listed them below.

First of all I want to congratulate all of my classmates including Travis Dove who was named College Photographer of the Year. It is so amazing to see the growth that has occurred in the last year. I think the most amazing thing was that the awards were scattered among many people — showing the strength of our class as a whole. I truly am proud to be part of this class at OU. I have to point out that OU took away 28 awards this year (in gray)

Spot News
Gold - Brian Frank - San Francisco State University
Silver - Michael Mullady - San Francisco State University
Bronze - Dominic Nahr - Ryerson University
Award of Excellence - Dominic Nahr - Ryerson University

General News
Gold - Phillip Andrews - Western Kentucky University
Silver - Phillip Andrews - Western Kentucky University
Bronze - Peter McCollough - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Jenn Ackerman - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Brandon Kruse - University of Missouri
Award of Excellence - Ben Fredman - University of Missouri
Award of Excellence - Peter Hoffman - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Edward Linsmier - Western Kentucky University
Award of Excellence - Daryl Peveto - Brooks Institute of Photography

Feature
Gold - Justin Mott - San Francisco State University
Silver - Brandon Paul Watts - Brooks Institute of Photography
Bronze - Jeff Giraldo - Western Kentucky University
Award of Excellence - Jenn Ackerman - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Peter McCollough - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Ross Mantle - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Matt Eich - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Justin Maxon - San Francisco State University

Sports Action
Gold - Peter McCollough - Ohio University
Silver - Benjamin Reed - University of Missouri
Bronze - Cody Duty - Western Kentucky University
Bronze - Daryl Peveto - Brooks Institute of Photography
Award of Excellence - Jeff Giraldo - Western Kentucky University
Award of Excellence - Andrei Pungovschi - University of Missouri

Sports Feature
Gold - Noah Rabinowitz - Ohio University
Silver - Teresa Prince - University of Nebraska
Bronze - Ben Fredman - University of Missouri
Award of Excellence - Travis Dove - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Mandy McConaha - Western Kentucky University

Portrait
Gold - Travis Dove - Ohio University
Silver - Brian Lehmann - University of Nebraska
Bronze - Dominic Nahr - Ryerson University
Award of Excellence - Ben Rasmussen - John Brown University
Award of Excellence - Mikayla Mackaness - Macquarie University
Award of Excellence - Noah Devereaux - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Justin Mott - San Francisco State University
Award of Excellence - Jake Stevens - Western Kentucky University
Award of Excellence - Tim Gruber - Ohio University

Pictorial
Gold - Nicholas Weissman - Brooks Institute of Photography
Silver - Shaena Mallett - Ohio University
Bronze - Afton Almaraz - Brooks Institute of Photography
Award of Excellence - Mikayla Mackaness - Macquarie University
Award of Excellence - Kirk Irwin - Syracuse University, SI Newhouse
Award of Excellence - Daryl Peveto - Brooks Institute of Photography
Award of Excellence - Ricky Lesser - Brooks Institute of Photography
Award of Excellence - Travis Dove - Ohio University

Illustration
Gold - Katie Barnes - University of Missouri
Silver - Justin Wagner - Brooks Institute of Photography
Bronze - Kelly Marie Heck - Savannah College of Art and Design
Award of Excellence - Luiz Gilberto Santos - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Lindsay Adler - Syracuse University, SI Newhouse
Award of Excellence - Benjamin Roberts - University of Iowa

Domestic Picture Story
Gold - Jenn Ackerman - Ohio University
Silver - Tim Gruber - Ohio University
Bronze - Michael Mullady - San Francisco State University
Award of Excellence - Daryl Peveto - Brooks Institute of Photography
Award of Excellence - Nathan Morgan - Western Kentucky University
Award of Excellence - Max Bittle - Southern Illinois University

International Picture Story
Gold - Dominic Nahr - Ryerson University
Silver - Justin Maxon - San Francisco State University
Bronze - Ikuru Kuwajima - University of Missouri
Award of Excellence - Daryl Peveto - Brooks Institute of Photography

Documentary
Gold - Travis Dove - Ohio University
Silver - Carl Kiilsgaard - Western Kentucky University
Bronze - Brian Frank - San Francisco State University
Award of Excellence - Kainaz Amaria - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Phillip Andrews - Western Kentucky University
Award of Excellence - Justin Mott - San Francisco State University

Sports Portfolio
Gold - Benjamin Reed - University of Missouri
Silver - John Tully - University of Missouri
Bronze - Ben Fredman - University of Missouri
Award of Excellence - Jordan Murph - University of Hawaii
Award of Excellence - Nick Adams - Western Kentucky University

Portfolio
Gold - Travis Dove - Ohio University
Silver - Dominic Nahr - Ryerson University
Bronze - Brian Frank - San Francisco State University
Award of Excellence - Benjamin Reed - University of Missouri
Award of Excellence - Justin Mott - San Francisco State University
Award of Excellence - Justin Maxon - San Francisco State University

Individual Still Image/Audio Story or Essay
Gold - Crystal Street - UNC Chapel Hill
Silver - Tim Gruber - Ohio University
Bronze - Ricky Leung - UNC Chapel Hill
Award of Excellence - Chris Kelleher - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - M.K. Smith - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - Tim Gruber - Ohio University

Individual Video or Mixed Media Photo Story or Essay
Gold - Tim Gruber - Ohio University

Multimedia Project
Gold - Jeff Giraldo - Western Kentucky University
Silver - UNC at Chapel Hill - UNC Chapel Hill
Bronze - Sonya Hebert & Beth Skabar - Ohio University
Award of Excellence - UNC at Chapel Hill - UNC Chapel Hill

Stories In the First Person

In class yesterday we were talking about journalism in the first person. I thought this was a great time to highlight some photography and multimedia done in the first person.

This discussion began after watching the intro of Dan Habib’s (photo editor at Concord Monitor) documentary, Including Samuel, on his son Samuel and inclusion for children with disabilities. Check out the Concord Monitor’s film review on their website.

A couple of weeks ago, I also came across a piece Chris Tyree from The Virginian-Pilot did on the death of his father-in-law. While this is not in the first person it is about someone very close to him in his life. In an email I received back from him a couple of weeks ago, he said this about the project:

It was definitely the most emotional project I’ve ever done but one that I have grown from.

Sometimes these are the hardest stories to tell. I know this as last year my sister was in a horrible car accident and while I wanted to document her recovery and the eventual restoration of her eyesight, it was extremely hard for me to take photos. After a couple of days of documenting this, I decided to put down my camera.

About a year has gone by and I think because of my growth as a photographer in that year, I am seeing that desire to tell the stories in my own life grow. I wish now that I would have continued to shoot her progression, despite how hard it was to see her pain behind the lens. I applaud Chris for his courage to tell this story despite how hard it must have been.

And then there is the multimedia piece Matt and Melissa Eich helped Media Storm produce, Love in the First Person.

Also on Media Storm, filmmaker Julie Winokur and her husband, photojournalist Ed Kashi tell of their experience taking care of Julie’s father with dementia in The Sandwich Generation.

This discussion comes at a great time as today on NPR’s Morning Edition, Diana Walker talked about her experiences as a White House photographer.

It is amazing the stories that we can tell from our own lives. Every time I see a project done in the first person, I am encouraged to tell the stories that are placed in my life rather than always searching others’ lives.

At War

I stumbled across this blog by David Leeson and Scott Kesterson. It is an interesting look at the making of their documentary, At War.

This is blogging at its best. You get into the minds and lives of the director and producer of this documentary and become an active listener in the story because you are invested in the lives of those who are telling it. It also interesting to read the comments — some that are from the soldiers that were there when they were filming. Look at the Sept. 2. post, Subject Driven Storytelling.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

I have started a story on grandparents raising their grandchildren. In Ohio, about 1 in 12 children are raised by their grandparents. Lester was raised by his grandparents and is now raising his nine-year-old grandson. Here are some images from the first day I went to their home.

Reporting for Duty - A Storytelling Combo

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch produced a piece that stretches my idea of storytelling and the use of multiple tools for telling stories.

The project, Reporting For Duty, has its own interface and includes multiple stories and ways of telling the story. From video interviews to multiple videos, graphics and text this project tells a full story using multiple tools. Different stories are told throughout in different forms and helps to tell the whole story. This is an interesting way to tell stories because the viewer has control with what they want to watch and read. And often as photographers, we see multiple stories developing as we shoot, but feel limited to telling one of them.

I ran into this when I was covering the aftermath of Katrina. I was sent down by a nonprofit as a writer and photographer and often I struggled with which story to concentrate on. This is a great example of doing it all. A little time consuming but worth it when you see the final product.

A New Dawn

David Stephenson, a staff photographer at the Lexington Herald-Leader, visited Ohio earlier this quarter and shared with us a three-year project on a woman and mother hooked on pills and her journey through drug court. After following Dawn for about three years, A New Dawn? was published last week as a week-long project.

David talks about this story and the process the story took him through in his blog.

The impact that this story had on its community as I can image was great and is shown through in 17 pages of comments posted by its readers.

This is a great example of commitment to storytelling and the community. We hear often that the time of large projects published in the paper is over but as we can see, if you commit the time, energy and resources to a story it can have great impact on your readers. The story was told in a six-part series covering 18 pages. Thats amazing and encouraging to see that some newspapers see the power and importance in storytelling.

What is the goal of newspapers?

While catching up on my RSS feeds this morning, I came across this post that struck a chord in me and I can image the rest of the photographers, editors and perhaps newspaper subscribers. An editor and the writer of On the Other Side asks what is the goal of newspapers?

I’m left wondering, what is the goal of the newspaper? Sounds naïve of me, but I became a photojournalist because I wanted to make a difference….

We shouldn’t be consumed with offending one or two readers when a story resonates with hundreds more. I really think newspapers are becoming panicked and instead of continually focusing on putting out a good product—they are too worried about offending and losing one reader…

Countless times I have heard phrases like “that’s not good for the A1 mix” or “that won’t sell papers.”

We as photographers and journalists have spent countless hours discussing and predicting the future of newspapers. One thing I do know is that I believe that no matter the medium, whether it is online or in print, newspapers should set out to reach the community and perhaps even challenge the readers. You might lose one or two people a week by content they disagree with or are offended by but newspapers are going to lose all of their readers if there is not a reason to pick up the paper every morning.

People throughout the country have predicted the death of the newspaper but I would say that the death of the newspaper will come when the newspaper decides on its own that there is no need for it in the community. Unfortunately some have forgotten the goal and need of the newspaper in the community and have shut or are going to shut their doors.

The post was written in response to the possibility of not running a story on A1 on the funeral of an 1-year-old girl they had been following for months before her death. Here is her story from The Seattle Times. As the editor writes in the blog, it is a story that has touched the community and in turn they have acted. Gloria’s story is touching and reminds me of the power of community news. Here is the series — A Prayer for Gloria, if you want to read it. It is definitely worth your time.