NYCSalt: A Moment With The Setting Sun…
We took some of the crew up to Washington Heights for a dinner/games night at the Tyson's house. We stopped by the park for a bit so that we could photograph the setting sun. Why do we have so much fun? I am counting my blessings today and these kids are on the top of my list. -KSW
From Danny…
NYC SALT...People hear that and say huh? usually an image like mine pops into their heads, the salt you put on certain foods, the salt that gives you high blood pressure. I took this picture because i wanted to portray that its not just that, NYC salt is far more than a food ingredient, Its a home away from home, a place where everybody has the same interest and gives us time to get away from our everyday lives and learn about the stuff we love=] which in most of our cases is photography=]
Danny
a really fun evening…(our gallery show)
The photo above is a picture of Ruben and J. Carlos Lagares who won our photo raffle and chose Ruben's picture to take home with him.
We had an intimate group of brave souls who came out despite the rain and cold weather Friday night to meet the kids and see their work. The kids passed out flyers at their schools and many of their teachers showed up. For those of you who have never been to a SALT show, it is a treat. The kids will greet you at the door and all of our guests receive a tour through the gallery from one of the kids who will do their best to convince you to buy one of their pictures over all the others. They are quite a little sales team! But better than that, this celebration of the work that they have done lights them up. It's important for teenagers to be told they are good at something. All the kids had an opportunity to speak about their work and their experience in SALT.
I love hearing the kids speak about their work. It gives me a sense as a teacher that what I am teaching them is sinking in:) A couple of the highlights that they shared were when Lenice said that for her it isn't just a photography class, it is a family. The kids are a pact. If one goes the rest usually follow. And they have developed strong friendships with each other as well as the teachers. One of our core values is connection, that our Thursday class will be a time of relationship building as well as instruction. Danny, one of the newest students, said that he likes the class because it gives him something to do after school. As a side note....At the end of the show, we walked over to Grand Central to take the subway home, Devin mentioned that it was his first time in Grand Central Station. Amazing! He's lived in NYC his whole life!
This is about the 10th show we have had in five years. Sometimes we sell pictures and sometimes we don't, but this is not why we host a show. The reason we have gallery openings is to celebrate the kids and praise their work. The very first show we held was actually by accident...I was hosting a show of my own work and at the last minute it occurred to me that I should include what the kids had done. So, I printed all the kids work on paper left over from a job and taped it to the walls of the studio. We had about 60 guests. The best part of the evening was when Devin walked in. He came over to me and said, "Alicia! I have 5 pictures in the show! I can't believe it! I didn't think I was any good." Devin's confidence was the reason for that show. I have watched him go from being a quiet and timid kid, to becoming a networking monster! It's amazing what a little celebration can do!
Our next big show this year will be in June. We will celebrate a new body of work that the kids are currently producing. More info to follow....
Class: Thursday, March 11
Today, our class focused on how to do headshots and how to promote yourself. Ydalmi and Kedwein are shooting the head shots for their school play this Saturday. They texted me asking if I could show them how to do it, so we decided to use it as a lesson for the whole class. It's exciting to see opportunities arise in their lives to utilize the skills we are teaching them! In class, we reviewed shutter speed and aperture and talked about how to set the camera to achieve a certain creative effect, how to instruct your subject to pose for the camera, how to use a reflector and available light, and how to choose the right background and lens for the job.
The second part of class, my intern Jorge Fusaro king of social media, gave the kids some pointers on how they could market themselves to make some money doing headshots. We talked about websites that offer free business cards, setting up a website, how to price to job, building a portfolio, and putting up a posting on craigslist for head shot photography. We also talked about how not to promote yourself and being careful with what they write on the internet, facebook, myspace, etc.
It was an awesome class. Lewis had Jorge help him order business cards and make a craigslist post right after class. Of course even though the cards were free it still cost me $9 for the shipping. Ydalmi and Kedwein went away toting a role of my seamless paper prepared for their Saturday shoot. And Christian sent me an email this weekend asking for help with a head shot job he was offered through a family connection. Here is what he wrote:
"Hey Alicia so i was talking to my girlfriends mother, she runs a day care in the Lower East Side and said she was looking for someone to do a few shots of the kids for a graduation, she asked me if I was able to i told her that i would speak to you to ask what i would need to make the photos worthy. I also brought the head shots thing to her and she said that if I did the photos for her day care and they were good she could refer me to other day cares which would be awesome I can almost taste my d700. I'm also doing some landscaping for her next week and I'm making enough for some equipment, let me know if we should talk about it at the studio if so I'll drop by.
Thanks again Alicia, in advance. enjoy your rainy Saturday!
It's encouraging to see these kids use the skills we are teaching them to earn money. At such a young age, they are learning to be entrepreneurs! If anyone reading this post wants Christian to do a headshot for them, he's saving up to buy a Nikon D700 
I think his rates are extremely reasonable!
Interested in volunteering?
We are initiating a once a month volunteer night to introduce the program to those of you who would like to be more involved and possibly help us out! The first date will be March 30th from 6:30pm to 9:00pm. We will give a quick overview of SALT and our goals for this year and then we will have a list of things that you can help us with that night as well as some ongoing projects that you can volunteer with. Please RSVP to alicia@aliciahansen.com.
The Wells Point: a cool photo resource
I went to a seminar yesterday at Calumet to hear David Wells speak about grant funding for photography projects. I was amazed by the website he has put together on grant and photography resources. This is definitely something that I will have my students look into. Here the web link: http://www.thewellspoint.com. Check it out! The resources start at: http://thewellspoint.com/about/
Ruben receives a scholarship!
We are so excited to announce that Ruben has been accepted into the Eleventh Annual Leadership Program in Prague this summer! The program is through Global Institute For Leadership and Civic Development. It is a four week program that focuses on academic courses, cultural activities, and community service. Ruben received a partial scholarship for the program. Here's a bit of the essay he submitted:
"Carpe Diem-Seize the Day". This phrase has been used and reused in motivational speeches, the media, and other forms of literature for a long, long time. Although it's an old saying which almost everyone knows, not many people actually take it to heart. I am not one of those people. I was born and raised in an area of Manhattan that suffers from poverty, gang violence, and early teen pregnancy. A community in which Spanish is the main language and education isn't as valued as in other areas. Most students who do make it to college are in community college. Many of the people who surround me are those who choose not to seize anything but another beer. I want to break away from this and I know that I can. I push myself to take every opportunity I can to succeed. I want to prove to those who come after me that it is possible to come from nothing and accomplish great things.
I now see another open door, and this one looks more like a huge gate. Getting into this program would boost my chances of achieving my dreams. The things I would learn, the people I would meet, the events I would participate in; all of these experiences would fuel my desire to reach my goals. I want to give back to my community and set a good example to others. Studying in Prague would give me a chance to see a new culture, which is something that many of the kids in my neighborhood cannot afford to do.
I hold the phrase "Carpe Diem" close to my heart, and I want to be able to tell, advise, motivate, and inspire others in my own community to seize the day."
We are so proud of Ruben! This opportunity came through generous help from a client of mine, Adam Moskowitz, at Herald Bank. We'd like to thank Adam and his brother, James Moskowitz with the Global Leadership Institute, who made it possible for Ruben to apply!
If you would like to sponsor Ruben this summer, he needs to raise an additional $4000 to cover half his tuition, meals, and airfare. Please click on the button below if you would like to be a part of Ruben's study abroad experience. All donations are tax deductible. NYCSalt is a 501c3 non-profit organization.
Salsa or Merengue?
For our February "Game Night" with members of Trinity Grace Church, the kids taught us how to Merengue Jeffrey, Osmar and Kevin DJed and we all learned to dance with Lewis leading the pack in teaching. The kids were by far much better than we were! Here's a couple of the photos....(The purpose of these nights is to create an environment where mentor relationships will naturally happen. All the volunteers live in the kids' neighborhood in the Heights. The night is also designed to create a safe and fun atmosphere where we can all just have a good time and the kids can have fun together. Afterwards, Lewis asked me if we could do game night two times a month instead of just one...I'm glad they are having fun )
Cupcakes!
Today we spent our class time decorating cupcakes from Baked Invention & Sweet Chemistry, a bakery that specializes in the double stacked cupcake called a "Frosted Betty." Owner, Marisa Cali, baked cupcakes for the kids to decorate, photograph and then eat! This was a sweet exercise in food photography!
