'Blog Your Clogs Off'

As my stint as a blogger draws to a close I’d just like to draw your attention towards these websites which didn’t fit into any particular topic, but which I’d recommend for anyone interested in fashion:

http://www.fashion-era.com/forums/index.php?showforum=16

http://www.stylecareer.com/fashion_writer.shtml

An interesting article, which argues against the validity of fashion journalism on TV (“Fashion journalism on television isn’t journalism at all—it’s mostly over-appreciative reporting on the latest couture shows and helpful tips for consumers. Often, TV fashion shows appear to be providing a free PR service for the fashion industry. The ethical values which govern most journalism (accuracy, fairness, thoroughness and the ability to check biases at the door) are almost entirely absent, even though many issues associated with the international, billion-dollar-a-year fashion industry are worthy of scrutiny.”) can be accessed here: http://www.rrj.ca/issue/1998/spring/253

And finally, because it’s always good to blog with a little objectivity: http://www.antigravitas.com/2006/02/fashion-writing-is-so-weird.html

A Very Fashionable Slide Show

Combining my specialist subject of slide shows and photo stories with fashion, I decided to search for specific examples of sources which merge the two. This proved easier than expected, particularly as throughout the past month the fashion capitals of the world have been showing their creative authority at fashion week.
The following all offer high quality pictures of the events, the first two links in particular are fairly detailed in their description of the images, as well as backstage happenings and where the designers got the inspiration for their designs.

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-parisfash0603-03.html

http://fullcoverage.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/lf/020106nyfashionweek/im:/ydownload_ap/20060306/photos_net_ap_yn/1141670373;_ylt=Au48UmgXu8gmWSRzHczJa6LBaMYA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGcyMWMzBHNlYwNzc25hdg--

http://lifestyle.msn.com/BeautyandFashion/PersonalStyle/beautyandfashion_ps_paris3ss.aspx

Another winner from msnbc can be found here: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11175324/displaymode/1107/s/1 - their images are particularly interesting, all jaunty angles and rule-of-thirds. Much more captivating than other photographs of the same theme.

All of the above links in some way could serve to further inform a news story or, equally, work on their own in communicating a story to a reader – all important facets in the definition of a successful slide show.

Becoming a style scribe. . .

Though notoriously hard to break into, the world of fashion journalism is sure to be an interesting career choice for anyone with a creative eye and an interest in aesthetics. The following links seem to stress the importance of work experience more than anything else:

http://www.fashionindia.net/careers_fashion/editor.htm

http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/Explore_types_of_jobs/Types_of_Job/p!eipaL?idno=635&state=showocc

http://education.independent.co.uk/careers_advice/az_careers/article219037.ece

http://www.myfashionlife.com/archives/category/career-advice

Though fashion, and fashion journalism, is often thought of as superficial we should also be aware of the unyielding impact it has on our culture, politics, economy and us as individuals. Though fashion journalism is largely thought of as a discourse limited to Vogue, Elle and other publications, the textile industry, garment imports and exports and underage workers were recently discussed at the World Economic Forum - http://www.weforum.org - stressing the effect the industry has on our culture as a whole.

Distinctive Dressing. . .

Goth, indie, emo – call it what you will, nothing signifies an alternative way of dressing more than these trends which have been embraced in recent years. Here are a list of links to websites which are marketed towards these alternative ways of dressing:

http://www.gothic.uk.com - is a website which sells alternative clothing, footwear and jewellery. The site is very accessible to new members, users can search for attire which fits with their price range or by the alphabetical list of designers and manufacturers on the left side of the page. The site also accepts most payment methods and features fairly detailed images of the products on sale. Unlike many of the other sites we have looked at thus far this one also features an option to add your e-mail address to their mailing list, after which you will receive e-mails listing their new products.

http://www.attitude.uk.com/?gclid=CN761Kb60YMCFQu7PgoduUaspg - Another UK-based site, this one enables uses to search either by product, band or brand. There’s also a forum with links to different threads on music, advice and other such topics. The site is very visually stimulating, and has an additional use of flash to catch the users eye. The site also features adverts for other webpages targeted at the user group, such as myspace and several chatrooms. Like the previous link, this site is also consistently updated with new products and news on the latest trends.

http://www.volunteerclothing.com/index.php - this is predominantly a music site though it also offers an option to purchase alternative clothing and band merchandise. It is also formatted slightly differently than the others so it’s definitely worth a look. The site features audio (though there is an option to turn this off at the top right of the page) and an updated news list listing new products featured on the site as well as listings for upcoming alternative gigs. Though the website is fairly easy to navigate, the audio can at times be distracting and it took a while for me to find the audio off option!

A 'Vogue' Idea

One of the most prolific fashion magazines in the world also provides us with an excellent website which can be found here;
http://www.style.com/vogue - also the home to American publication ‘W’ (another high-brow fashion magazine) is updated daily with fashion news, reviews, horoscopes and trend reports. High quality images from previous fashion weeks are accessible to users, as well as an archive of past Vogue feature stories (http://www.style.com/vogue/feature/030606) which date back approximately five years. A scan to the bottom of the page shows links to Vogue’s sister sites, including Glamour, Allure and The New Yorker, all published by the Conde Nast group.
One of the more impressive features of the site can be found here; http://www.style.com/mystyle - enabling users who wish to register the opportunity to personalise the website depending upon their needs. For example, those who favour a specific designer can have his or her catwalk photographs sent to their ‘lookbook’, meaning they will then not have to perform an online search to find the same images. After registering, users will also have access to the forum for fashion advice, and as the website promises: ‘Unlike most things in fashion, it’s free.’ However, possibly the best thing about the site is the chance for all budding Anna Wintours out there to have their very own Vogue e-mail address, surely the next best thing to actually working there?

Chic Chat

Alongside blogs, internet forums – a form of ‘virtual community’ which have existed since approximately 1995 – are a great source for fashionistas who wish to ‘chat’ to others who share the same passion.

http://www.fashion-forums.com/ - a particularly good site which has several features as well as the forum. The website requires users to register (which they can do for free) before they post in ‘threads’. A poll which poses such questions as ‘do you think the over 50’s generation are overlooked when it comes to fashion marketing?’ and the ability to post photographs of yourselves for others to deconstruct, are just some of the features open to the 800 of those already registered. However, arguably the best feature of the site is the ability for users to post their own fashion articles, as the website announces: “The articles can be on anything related to fashion and must be at least 250 words long. Some examples may be a new trend you are seeing in fashion or your opinion on the current state of fashion. Maybe you want to write about your idols fashion habits and what attracts you to them.” The articles have to be approved by the site administrators but the chance to get your own article published on a website which may influence others is surely a great opportunity for those fashion fiends out there. Perhaps the only downside to this forum is it’s entirely in pink and a pair of heels and pink sunglasses illustrate the title, this may be slightly intimidating to those few men who may wish to post!

http://www.ukchatterbox.co.uk/forum/736 - while this site is an online community of all different forums and chatrooms covering all different topics, they do offer a specific thread for those interested in fashion. Though not as visually stimulating and fashion-orientated as the previous example, the barebones of the site do fulfil the requirements of being a forum as users are permitted to start and reply to threads. Threads at the moment cover such important topics as ‘tights. . . yes or no?’ and ‘what does everyone think of trilby hats?’ Similarly to the previous example, those who wish to join this forum are required to become members, which they can do for free. One of the good features about this site is when users register they are then permitted to post to all of the other forums housed at ukchatterbox.co.uk.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/vf222_start0_orderdesc-Mens_Fashion - A good find for those few men interested in fashion out there. This site again allows members to start their own threads as well as respond to others – topics at the moment include ‘designer t-shirts online’ and ‘men and sandals’. Again as this is more of a lifestyle site, rather than a fashion forum, the forum doesn’t offer many other features in the way of fashion. But registered user will have the opportunity to post in forums which cover topics such as film, sports and magazines.

http://bb.focusonstyle.com/ - finally, this website is possibly the most comprehensive of the bunch. Though slightly harder to follow than the others (there’s an unnecessary amount of text advertising for different beauty products), it does separate the forums into different topics; http://pub169.ezboard.com/bfashionbulletin. Registered users must be over 18 years of age to post and must also agree to follow ‘netiquette’ (no profanity or spamming are just two of the rules users must adhere to). A brief scan of the site shows the last posting took place just two days ago, therefore it seems one of the more up-to-date forums on the web – a very important point when discussing fashion.

The worlds shortest blog, ever?

Straying from the technological advancements of the internet and weblogs for a moment, I’d like to draw your attention towards these books which all feature various luminaries from the fashion world - http://www.uri.edu/artsci/jor/fashion.htm. The website offers reviews of all the books, which are sure to be a great help to those considering a career in the field of fashion journalism.

Fashion blogs ll

As the fashion world is in a constant state of change it is important that fashion blogs consistently update themselves to remain at the forefront of the medium. Here's a selection of the most up-to-date blogs on the web;

“I don’t do fashion. I am fashion," Coco Chanel once said. In honour of her immortal words this blog; http://iamfashion.blogspot.com/, predominantly features news and images of the haute couture shows in Paris, the renowned designer and perfumiers hometown.

For the Carrie Bradshaw in us all; http://shoeblogs.com/, is written from the perspective of footwear genius Manolo Blahnik (not by the designer himself as this hilarious article emphasises; http://www.shoeblogs.com/wordpress/2005/10/19/manolo-the-shoeblogger-is-not-the-maestro-manolo-blahnik. This site not only covers clothing but also music, literature and where to visit in New York.

Proving that fashion should extend to all appendages, http://www.wristfashion.com/, documents the latest trends in the wristwatch industry.

For those who like their fashion with a hint of irony check out http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/. ‘A commentary on celebrities with unfortunate dress sense,’ is worth a look for their deconstruction of supposed fashion icon Sienna Miller’s dress sense alone.

And finally - http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:1txguSBkXTEJ:london-underground.blogspot.com/+fashion+blog+uk&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=1&ie=UTF-8 - an irreverent look at what Londoners feel is suitable tube wear can be found halfway down the page.

Blogging - the new black?

I’ve decided now to focus my blog on a personal interest of mine, the very intellectually stimulating and not at all superficial (!) subject of fashion journalism. Fashion can be loosely defined as a particular prevailing sense of style, not just in dress but in behaviour. A more detailed definition can be found here;
http://fashion.about.com/cs/historycostumes/a/whatisfashion.htm .

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months", said Oscar Wilde. He may have a point. Just like the transitional nature of fashion itself, the ways in which trends are conveyed are constantly changing. Whilst the mainstream form of magazines such as Vogue and Elle continue to dominate the medium of fashion journalism, blogs (a trend in themselves) are now seeing something of an increase in popularity – bringing style writing to a whole new audience.
http://lookonline.com/blogger - is a good example of a fashion blog. Currently featuring an in-depth look at Oscar outfits, it also provides videos, profiles and archives dating back to 2002. http://www.top-blogs.com/fashion.shtml - doing all the hard work for me, top-blogs.com provides us with a handy list of the best fashion blogs on the web. One of my personal favourites, http://styletribe.jealousofyouth.com/, for the monetarily challenged shopper (we students can sympathise), is at the moment featuring high quality images from the recent Paris fashion week. As well as links to other blogs and ‘high-brow’ publications such as http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml;jsessionid=OU44MCCLXWU5ZQFIQMFSFFWAVCBQ0IV0?view=HOME&grid=P2&menuId=-1&menuItemId=-1&_requestid=512461.

All (good?!) things must come to an end. . .

To conclude my research into the field of photojournalism here’s a brief history regarding the subject, alongside a few links for those interested in working in the profession. . .

Similarly to how a journalist would write a news story, photojournalists must still retain some objectivity within their images. Those images must also be a fair and accurate representation of events which have occurred, just as journalists must not fabricate aspects of a news story.
The ‘golden era’ of photojournalism took place between 1930 and 1950, during that time many publications both here and across the Atlantic were renowned for their use of images to inform and provide insight to readers when used alongside other news elements. As the era covered the time of the second world war, many photo stories featured in prominent publications such as Life (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Magazine) and The Daily Mirror (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Daily_Mirror) featured photo stories based upon the victims of the war.
Now that photo stories have become a much more prominent form of communication they are used to illustrate such provocative stories as people living with Aids and HIV in various parts of the world: http://www.who.int/hiv/photostories/en/index.html. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photojournalism, photo stories must also have timeliness and a meaning within the context of a record of events. Therefore, in the past when HIV and Aids were taboo subjects, now photojournalists have the freedom to travel across continents to shoot images of sufferers with the disease.
Those who have an interested in either becoming a photojournalist or learning more about the profession should visit these two websites which both offer a wealth of information about the medium;
http://www.americanphotojournalist.com/
http://www.writelink.dabsol.co.uk/PhotoJournalism/photojournalism.html

Creating your very own slide show

Whilst trawling the web trying to find examples of slideshows I came across a lot of links to software – enabling users to create their own slideshows and photo stories, you can take a look at a few below;

http://www.photodex.com/eid8317/products/proshowgold/a/slideshow.html - this site provides a free trial for ProShow Gold, award-winning slide show software. In just seven steps (making it sound so easy) you can add audio, motion and transition effects to your images, as well as adjust the speed of your slide show. Though the initial trial is free, for continuous use of the software users are required to pay around £50. It is also worth taking a look at the demo show (linked at the bottom right of the webpage) which shows the interesting photo stories and slide shows you could accomplish using this software.

http://www.muvee.com/website/ap5.php - “Experience the fastest, easiest, most fun way to transform your videos and pictures into slick productions. . . in seconds!” – is the promise of this website, which also offers a free trial of the Muvee autoProducer 5. This software helps users to produce videos, slide shows and photo stories which can be formatted in one of the 100’s of different styles they offer. According to Jan Ozer of PC Magazine: “Styles are definitely autoProducer’s secret sauce, providing variety and inventiveness that other products can’t match”. The software markets itself on having ‘cool features’ that their competitors can’t match, such as: advanced titles and credits, the ability to support music formats such as wav and mp3 audio as well as a wide variety of photo formats such as jpeg, gif and tiff. Any prospective users should take a look at the ‘muvee quick tour’ at the bottom of the page which uses flash to guide you through the different aspects of the software.

http://www.digitalphotoslideshow.com - this site, though less comprehensive than the others seems to be the best in value. Like the previous examples it offers users a free (60 day) trial, which can then be purchased at approximately £15. The Digital Photo Slide Show enables those with a digital camera to create their own picture stories, according to the website: “Not only is the software easy to operate, it creates professional results. You can create custom software slide shows with over 120 transition effects for a professional looking presentation of all sorts of photos and images.” The software also provides slide show screen savers, wallpaper slide show, CD-ROM slide show producer, software slide show installation producer and an HTML slide show producer that can create a JavaScript slide show of your favorite photos. According to Ron Hirsch who reviewed the software here: http://littlebluepcclub.home.comcast.net/OldReviews/DigitalPhotoSS.htm - it is definitely worth the £15 registration fee, as he says: “If you are involved with digital images and want to make slide shows to showcase those images I strongly recommend a program that you simply must consider using. The program is called digitalphotoslideshow.”

Birmingham slideshows

Although it's not particularly news-related, for something a little more local this website is well worth a look;
http://www.imagesofbirmingham.co.uk/php-cgi/gallery2/v/
The site features slideshows of various aspects of Birmingham, from food and drink through to aerial views of the city. Most notable are the tourism images (isn't it funny how a good use of lighting and a clever camera angle make an otherwise dull and drab city look so much nicer?!) The slideshow can be accessed by clicking an image and then the slideshow icon on the top right side of the screen.
As the images on the site are taken by professional photographers they are of a very high quality. It's also good to see a the medium of slideshows being used in a more relatable way (rather than the other examples we have seen of wartorn countries, etc. . .)
The only downside to this otherwise very good site is that unless you register as a member, the images are all obviously watermarked. However, it's still definitely worth your time, particularly as it houses the worlds largest (and seemingly most varied) collection of images from the city.

Examples pt. 2. . .

I've just come across a couple of other slideshows, a little more lighthearthearted than the previous examples;

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2006/03/06/movies/redcarpet/20060306_OSCARS_WINNERS_1.html - For those who weren't insane enough to stay awake into the early hours, here's a slideshow documenting Sunday nights Oscars. There's not a great deal of images but they're high quality and do load quickly. Other slideshows, as well as videos, audio and images can be located at the NYTimes interactive homepage located here; http://www.nytimes.com/pages/multimedia/.

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/slide_shows/ - here's an. . . . . . interesting example of a different method of using a slideshow, rather than as a contribution to a news story as we have seen in previous examples. Clicking on the above link will take you to an archive of slideshows used on American comedian David Lettermans talkshow. Particular highlights are the 'Day In Life of Saddam Hussein' and 'Reading List 2005', to be found by scanning further down the page.

Examples. . .

I’ve trawled the internet in search of some various examples of slideshows and photo stories, here are a few I found;

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5114929/ - a very comprehensive multimedia site which features slideshows and photo stories based upon newsworthy items from the past week, as well as sports and entertainment stories and special events. The site features a useful archive of photo features dating back to 2002, with a brief synopsis of each week making it fairly easy to navigate. One of the more notable photo stories is of the recent New Orleans Mardi Gras, which has approximately 25 images tracking the course of the event. The images, though sometimes slow to load, are of a very high quality. The website also offers an impressive audio option alongside the Mardi-Gras feature (as well as others), thus allowing users all over the world to hear, as well as see, the festivities. The only downside of the site that I could see was occasionally the slideshow was slow to load, leaving the audio out of sync with the images on screen. Otherwise, the easy navigation, high quality pictures, archive and audio options, make the msnbc site seemingly one of the better multimedia sites on the web.

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/daily.snapshot/frameset.exclude.html - another site from an American news network, however this one is much less comprehensive than the previous example. The site does have a special feature titled: ‘Daily Snapshot’, where some of the best images from around the world are posted, alongside a brief description. Today, for example, the shot is of Laura Bush with assorted child performers in New Delhi. Other examples include a parade in Rio De Janeiro and, again, Mardi Gras. Unlike the msnbc site there isn’t an archive or any audio options, making this site seem almost bland in comparison. As the ‘Daily Snapshot’ feature is sponsored by Nikon, adverts for cameras take up a large part of the screen, leaving the images smaller than they need be. Otherwise, the quality of the photographs are of a high standard and the site is, again, easy to navigate.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/in_pictures/3489460.stm - not to be outdone by it’s American counterparts, the BBC has an interesting interactive multimedia page where users can send in their own images, with a brief explanation, and they will then form a slideshow which is updated per week. Generally the slideshows are of no specific theme, just eye catching images taken at various locations around the world. However, there is also an option, alongside the archives of images, to view winter themed photographs. As the images are taken by civilians, rather than professionals from news networks such as Reuters (much like CNN), the quality isn’t perhaps as good as the previous two examples. The site is again very easy to navigate, with the archive located, noticeably, at the right side of the homepage.

The end of photojournalism?

Here's an interesting article on redpepper.org about the demise of photojournalism. The writer, Tom picton, cites the expense of picture articles to produce, as well as the fact they often upset readers and advertisers as the main reason for their apparent decline. The article can be accessed here:
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/cularch/xphotoj.html.
In my opinion, the majority of the reasons he uses to support his claim could be applied to all aspects of journalism. For example, he suggests that readers and advertisers will be upset by certain photo stories, but surely this would also be possible with other forms of media? I think despite his claims, constantly increasing technological advancements will mean this form of the media will withstand such arguments.

Slideshow Blog. . . .

No, not a Simpsons character (lol, sorry!) but a method of creating, or highlighting, stories through the medium of photography.
This blog will specifically look at the mediums of slideshows and photography, so in discussing the importance of the addition of these methods to journalism, we should first begin by looking at a brief definition of the mediums.
According to online encyclopedia, http://www.wikipedia.org/, "photojournalism is a particular type of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story." Photojournalism works in a similar way to reportage as it is essentially an eye-witness genre of journalism. It is also obvious that since the increase in technology the genre of photojournalism has only become more and more prominent, and there are now numerous journalists working in this specialist profession. Again, wikipedia provides a list of some of the more prominent and notable photojournalists. The list can be accessed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photojournalism#Some_notable_photojournalists.
Slideshows also serve to highlight stories, as well as working in a similar form to photojournalism, which creates images in order to further inform a news story.