Photo of the Week

Good thing I got out of class right at 11:50 a.m. and not five minutes later. On my way to The Aggie’s office in Lower Freeborn, I stumbled on this public protest by STAND, the student led division of the Genocide Intervention Network. Mandeep Chanal, a sophomore student organizer, and about 15 other activists lay with duct tape over their mouths holding signs calling attention to genocide in Darfur and Burma in front of the Memorial Union water fountain for several minutes between classes yesterday afternoon. I wanted to convey the eerie atmosphere that the silent protest created. In photography and painting, the rule-of-thirds says that artists should place the point of focus where vertical and horizontal lines dividing the image into thirds intersect. Since Chanal’s glassy stare contrasts with the other activists’ closed eyes, I placed her at the bottom left intersection of these imaginary lines. I used a wide aperture of f/4, so that only her face is in true focus, and a fast shutter speed of 1/400 of a second to properly expose the photo. To find out more about STAND, contact them at ucdstadexec@gmail.com or visit standnow.org.

– Jeremy Raff