Moving to Tumblr

I'm moving my photoblog over to Tumblr 'cause it's sooo perdy and easy to work with.  Continue the journey at tomhicken.tumblr.com 

Lighting

One of the classes in second semester is a location lighting course.  Despite having only classmates to shoot, I've been thoroughly enjoying this class.

Hockey and Sports Features

A few of us at school got the chance to shoot the Belleville Bulls, an OHL team, after getting our hands on a media pass for the night.  I borrowed a 70-200 telephoto zoom lens from the lens pool at school - this helped me get in nice and tight on the action from far away.  I also included a few features from a volleyball match at Loyalist College. 

A weekend in Toronto

I stumbled across a few scenes in downtown Toronto the other weekend.  First, a protest calling for support for the Egyptian Revolution at Yonge & Dundas Square.  A few streets over, pedestrians were walking through a steamy sewer grate, and finally I came across a crowd standing by a man laying in the middle of traffic on King St, apparently hit by a car.
 

Term One Portfolio

Limited to six images.

POM - November Submissions

October was an eventful month with school work and frequent trips to Toronto to cover the Occupy protests, among other things.  Here are November's POM submissions.

FEATURE

TORONTO, Ont. (29/10/2011) - Just days before Halloween, staff at American Apparel get in the spirit by dressing up and handing out candy to passers-by.  The Yonge St storefront window was dressed with live models that danced to music and posed in their costumes.  Photo by Tom Hicken.

Intro to Photojournalism: Special Project

Towards the end the first semester, students had to choose a topic of interest (industry, religion, health care, environment, etc), seek out a subject in the Quinte region, and submit four stills as our special project.  I chose to hang out at the 10 Acre Truck Stop in Belleville and talk to some of the truckers passing through.  After 4 or 5 visits to the truck stop, it was difficult to narrow down close to 800 images to only 4.  

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (09/11/11) – Don Poll, The Duckster, has been hauling cargo in his tractor trailer for over 41 years.  Originally from Ayr, Ontario, The Duckster drives through Belleville almost every day of the week on his way to Montreal.  Photo by Tom Hicken.

POM - October Submissions

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (27/9/11) – Police cruisers sit behind a driver who steps out of his vehicle moments after a collision near Applewood Place Tuesday night.  Officers reported one woman was sent to hospital for minor injuries after the two vehicles crash.  Photo by Tom Hicken.

Intro to Photojournalism: 5 - 8

Here are assignments 5~8 for Intro class:

5. Shoot Around It

TORONTO, Ont. (17/10/11) – David, a multimedia artist originally from Hamilton, ON, adds some finishing touches to his chalk drawing on a pathway through St. James Park in Toronto.  David, whose competed piece depicts a shoeless, startled man with the message “Don’t Tread on Me” , lent his artistic abilities to making signage for those participating in Occupy Toronto during its opening weekend.  Photo  by Tom Hicken.

Photo of the month - September submissions

Each month, Loyalist's Photojournalism program holds a Photo of the Month Contest.  Students submit their work in various categories (News, Feature, Portrait, Sports, and Multiple Picture) and are reviewed by members of the program's board of directors - leaders in the photojournalism industry.  These contests are usually dominated by the second-year students, but I made it a priority to try to submit something every month.  Here's September's submissions (from the summer months):

TORONTO, Ont.  (01/05/11) – Award-winning Canadian cartoonist Chester Brown performs a live reading from his graphic novel Paying For It: A Comic-Strip Memoir About Being a John.  Brown's stance to decriminalize prostitution has been the focus of controversy for many critics.  The book launch and after party took place at Toronto's only pansexual strip club, Goodhandy's.  Photo by Tom Hicken. 

Intro to Photojournalism: 1 - 4

Assignments 1~4 submitted to the introduction photography class.

1. Simple Portrait

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (10/9/11) – Don Wilson and wife Elsa are regular merchants at Belleville's Farmer's Market.  What many may not know is that Don ran as an NDP candidate on several occasions in the Belleville area.  He is especially proud of his Granddaughter studying General Arts in her first year at Ryerson University.  Photo by Tom Hicken.

The Beginning..

I'm a first year student enrolled in the Photojournalism program at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ont. This is a blog for friends and family interested in what I'm doing and to showcase the projects I'm working on.  Enjoy!