2015 Atlantic Journalism Awards Finalists
Attachments
| Slug/Label | The Power of a Portrait |
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| Date Aired or Published | June 20, 2015 |
| Media outlet where first aired or published: | Telegraph-Journal |
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| If co-produced, list partner: | |
| Location: | Saint John |
| List awards, grants: | |
| Running time (TV/Radio): | |
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Short explanation of the story and how it developed: Woodstock, N.B., is a small town in the centre of the province. The community doesn’t usually host big exhibits, so when Connell House -- a stately historic property that acts as a museum and gallery -- garnered the works of artists Edward Curtis, Yousuf Karsh and Sherman Hines, the rest of the province took notice, and residents perhaps started planning their weekend excursions to Woodstock. This story put Connell House in the spotlight as a premier destination in the province’s art world this past summer. Freelance reporter and photographer Cara Smith drove an hour to Woodstock and spent the day exploring Connell House, interviewing the hosts of the exhibit as well as artist Sherman Hines who was on location. It was his personal collection of portraits -- which are usually on display in Liverpool, N.S. -- that made up the nearly 70 portraits in the Woodstock exhibit. This story let readers peek into the world of portrait photography -- the power of the portrait, the importance of light and shadow, the difficult task of capturing a subject’s persona. It allowed readers to gaze at photographs of Winston Churchill, Pope John XXIII, King George VI and Alex Colville and to think about the person behind the lens. |
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Resources of the newsroom (money and time) available to complete the story: Freelance writer and photographer Cara Smith drove an hour to Woodstock from Fredericton to visit Connell House, take photos and do interviews. The Telegraph-Journal paid her for her words, her photos and her travel. Smith researched the three artists as well as Connell House itself, the home of this large display of photography. The story took about two weeks to bring to fruition, and days to lay out on the two-page spread. |
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