This is my second draft?  Anything I should change?

Karl Rodriguez

English 201

Week 5

Email (Draft 2)

To: Oliver Walker

From: Edward “Karl” Rodriguez

Subject: Photography Student Looking To Interview You For A Project

Mr. Walker, my name is Edward Rodriguez, but I go by “Karl.”  I am a student studying Professional Photography at Brooks Institute in Ventura, California and my goal is to become a concert photographer.  I have been following you for a long time on Instagram.  I am a big fan of your photography.  I know that there are a few different concert photographers in the L.A. area, but in my opinion, you are at the top of the list.  The images that you produce are breathtaking, and give me a feeling that I was at the show, even though I normally am not.

I am taking an English class here at Brooks Institute, and my assignment is to interview a person that is in the field of photography that I am interested in.  I would like to interview you, if possible, about how you were able to get into taking photos for Goldenvoice, KROQ, and all of the other businesses that you get to shoot for.  I am also interested in what exactly you are trying to communicate to your viewers when you shoot your subjects.  For instance, one question I have is: Who was your inspiration for getting into photography, and specifically concert photography?  I have a few more questions for you, and was wondering if I would be able to meet with you on a day between June 25 and July 1.

Please let me know at your earliest convenience.  Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Edward “Karl” Rodriguez

karlk314@yahoo.com

IG: karlk314

Email (Draft 1)

Email (Draft 1)

To: Oliver Walker

From: Edward “Karl” Rodriguez

Subject: I am a beginner photographer, and I am interested in interviewing you for a class project.

            Mr. Oliver Walker, my name is Edward Rodriguez, but I go by “Karl.”  I am a student studying professional photography at Brooks Institute in Ventura, California.  My goal is to be a concert photographer.  I have been following you for a long time on Instagram.  I am a big fan of your photography.  I know that there are a few different concert photographers in the L.A. area, but in my opinion, you are at the top of the list.  The images that you produce are breathtaking, and give me a feeling that I was at the show, even though I normally am not.  I can tell that you take your photography very serious, and that you do a phenomenal job.  When I view your images, I can almost feel the emotion that the singer/ artist is trying to get across.  Even though they are singing to the audience, I feel like they are singing to me.

            Anyway, I am taking an English class here at Brooks, and my assignment is to interview a person that is in the field that I would like to get into.  I would like to interview you if that is possible.  I am interested in how you were able to get into taking photos for Goldenvoice, KROQ, and all of the other businesses that you get to shoot for.  I am also interested in what exactly you are trying to communicate to your viewers when you shoot your subjects.  Who was, if anybody, your inspiration for getting into photography, and specifically concert photography?  I have a bunch of other questions for you, and was wondering if I would be able to meet with you on a day between ________ and ________.  Please let me know at your earliest convenience.  I am extremely interested in you and your photography.  You are an inspiration, and I hope that I can get the chance to interview you.  Thank you very much for your time.

Sincerely,

Edward “Karl” Rodriguez

Crafting Electronic Messages

Crafting Electronic Messages

            In the reading of “Crafting Electronic Messages,” the author is trying to explain how to communicate effectively via electronics.  For example, this author is advising the “best” ways to communicate using email, instant messaging, social media, and any other option we have that are electronic.  I do feel that this textbook is already a little bit outdated.  It talks about how social media is starting to become a new way to communicate professionally.  This has already been popular for a few years.  Everyone communicates via Facebook, Instagram, or some other kind of social media.  People “follow,” or are “friends” with businesses to keep up with what they are doing.

            The basics of what this textbook is trying to say, is keep your conversations professional at all times.  Everything that you write will be kept in a file somewhere, and the company will be able to pull it back up.  The bottom line is that you shouldn’t write anything that you wouldn’t be able to back up at a later time.  I actually used to work for Southern California Edison, and as an employee, I communicated via email and instant message all day every day.  The company advised every employee on their first day that you don’t want to write anything that you wouldn’t want to be read in court.  This makes you very aware of what you write to your fellow colleagues.

            This reading also discusses how you should speak with the reader of what you are writing.  If you are trying to post on a blog, you want it to be very personable.  The reader, or customer, doesn’t want to feel like they are speaking with a company.  They want to feel like they are actually communicating with a human being.  Sometimes if you are instant messaging o emailing with a close colleague, you may be a little more personable than you would with other colleagues, but you still need to keep it professional.

            The second part of the reading discussed the three-step writing process for routine and positive messages.  Actually, the first reading touched on this too.  The three steps are 1) Planning.  You should analyze the situation and know your audience.  2) Writing a message.  You need to establish your credibility and use bias-free language.  3) Completing the message.  Before sending out the message, proof read it.  Make sure everything is worded properly.  You can edit and/ or rewrite it if necessary.  Then you can send it out.  When it comes to the bottom line, just make sure that you are being professional at all times, and use common sense when writing your communications. 

Artist Statement

            The kind of photography that I enjoy shooting the most, is concert photography.  I love capturing a moment during a live show that catches the essence of what is happening on stage.  I love looking back at an image and getting the rush of being right back in that particular moment all over again.  I’m not talking about a snap shot of a performer on stage.  I am talking about capturing the feelings, whether the feeling is some kind of sadness or glee, which the artist on stage is trying to portray to the audience.  Especially since I don’t get to choose the lighting at a concert, it makes it that much harder to capture that particular moment.  However, once I get a shot that I’m satisfied with, I usually know it.  That doesn’t mean that I’m going to stop shooting though.  You never know, I might be lucky enough to get more than one shot that really speaks to me.  There are a few photographers that I look up to in this field.  Just to name a few, Bob Gruen, Oliver Walker and Paul Hebert are the ones that I get inspired from the most.  I’ve come across their images from different shows that I wasn’t at, but the feeling the image gives me makes me feel like I was right in the front row.  That’s what I want to portray in my work.  I want someone to feel the music coming out of a soundless image that is exploding with feeling.

Karl Rodriguez

Week 4

English 201

Everything’s an Argument

         I was only able to find the reading entitled “Everything’s an Argument.”  I couldn’t find the link for the other reading.  So in “Everything’s an Argument,” they go on to say that an “argument can be any text- written, spoken, aural or visual- that expresses a point of view.”  That pretty much covers all communication.  In other words, we are constantly trying to make an argument for something even when we don’t think we are.  The reading states that the Red Sox baseball cap you wear, to a Rolex watch to a belated birthday card is making an argument.  Technically, this is correct.  The baseball cap is making the argument that you like the Red Sox.  The Rolex is saying that you have a lot of money, and a belated birthday card is saying that you are still wishing someone a happy birthday even though you know it’s late. 

            Then the reading goes into detail about different kinds of arguments.  There are arguments to convince.  These are pretty much self-explanatory.  You are trying to convince another party that what you are saying is correct.  You would have some kind of evidence for a convincing argument.  Another argument is the argument to persuade.  This is not only trying to convince the other party that you are correct, but also trying to move them to action.  This happens a lot with politics.    There are many other different types of arguments. 

            After explaining what different type of arguments there are, the reading then went into detail about what goes into an argument.  This is everything from using facts, criteria, the audience and context.  Lastly, the reading discusses Aristotle’s 3 ways to appeal to an audience.  They are pathos, ethos and logos.  Pathos appeals to the emotions of a person.  Ethos is an ethical appeal, and logos appeals to logic.