Due tomorrow at 8am is my proposal for my final project. The assignment is to “Tell a compelling story through the use of still photography and words. Use of music and video is permitted but not as the main focus of your story. Use Powerpoint (or other presentation platform) as your delivery method. You’ll show the presentation in class then engage in a Q&A with your colleagues. You will get 25 photographs to tell your story, supplemented by single words, if desired.” 

Maybe it is because my life is currently on hyperdrive where I am focusing on completing tasks, but I don’t see a lot of interesting stories happening in my life right now. Which means, I’ll have to find a story somewhere else to tell. Which means I’ll have to slow down long enough to see a story going on around me.

Maybe it is because I was an English major in undergrad, or maybe it is because of all those books I read, but I don’t think I think visually. I think I think in words. I have a very visual memory, but it is more natural for me to present a story through prose rather than visuals.

I am approaching this project from the mindset of the graphic novels I read last quarter. Maybe there is something there that I can use here.

What AM I passionate about right now?

The biggest challenge here is finding something physical to take photos of. At least with writing when you need something you can just create it out of thin air.

A story should be more than progression, so watching the birds build a nest in the tree and then hatch their babies isn’t really a story, it is just a timeline. Something interesting should happen.

My office is moving buildings soon. Maybe that would be an interesting story. Still, there is risk we don’t move and then I have nothing. Or, maybe the story isn’t interesting at all.

25 photos is a lot. I think of photojournalism and unless it is a huge event, there are rarely this many photos and often a lot more text attached to the story than a few words “if desired.”

Do I have any events coming up? No…

Maybe I’ll tell the story of the Midsummer Renaissance Faire. That could be perfect. Maybe there wouldn’t be a “story” per se, as in maybe there wouldn’t be an arc. On the other hand, maybe I could craft one out the photos I take while there.

This is what I finally turned in:

I will be attending the Midsummer Renaissance Faire in early August. I think this event will contain fascinating stories of a time long past and how modern-day people pay homage to that time. I know that people dress up for this event, there are reenactments and other performances including, arts, magic, dancing, equestrian acrobatics, and more. I will spend a day at the faire absorbing everything it has to offer and clicking away the camera. Throughout this, will be able to create a story of pounding hooves of Knights horses, clinking of mugs of ale with the Ale House Wenches, puppets performing magic, thundering booms of pirate’s cannons and dancing faeries! I too may be transported to another time and place throughout the day, eating foreign foods while listening to foreign music and tales of another time. If the faire isn’t enough, just the drive to get there will be an experience! I hear a vital road will be closed and we will have to navigate our way through unfamiliar Bonney Lake. We may even have to stop for refreshments or fuel. The tale is not yet told, but will surely be a day to remember.

Now we wait to see what she thinks of my proposal…
To be continued!