Clarke Central's Journalism Team

Clarke Central High School, Athens, GA

I had the great pleasure of hanging out with David Ragsdale's high school journalism class yesterday afternoon at Clarke Central. It's two weeks before the official start of school and they're already working. After spending only two hours with them, I can see how their publications win awards (c.f., The Odyssey). They share with each other what they know. They solve problems together. They have fun.

We talked mostly about photography, and I brought up an issue that continues to vex me--sharing pictures of others online. With Flickr.com, for example, you can control whether pictures are private or public, but the default setting is public, and I find myself having reoccuring conversations with friends and family about the ethics of sharing photos online. David's group had some insightful comments for me to think about, namely the messiness of interpretation. I took from the conversation a good question to ask before posting: Is there any risk that this image might be harmful?

Still, I'm guessing just about everything has risk for harm. Even a seeminly innocuous image can function unpredictably in the lives of others. How do you seek balance between ethical concerns and "individual" artistic expression?





The above images were found scattered among an unsanctioned garbage dump in South Atlanta. I find them captivating and want to share them. View the whole series on my flickr account (before they come down?).