Photo Gallery Reflections

I have scanned in all the notes that were left by the photo gallery at the Encuentro. Please feel free to share any other thoughts or answers to some of the questions on them!

Improving Galena Park: Challenges Facing Our Community

All of the students did an amazing job today and I really want to thank the audience for the awesome discussion we had tonight about making a difference in the community. Let's keep the conversation going here and I will post pictures and scans of the reflections everyone left on the Photo Gallery.

 

Here is the photo essay video that the students put together. We hope that this will start a dialogue and get folks to think about their own community and what they can do as indivudals and a larger group to meet the challenges.

 

 

Encuentro Presentation

We will be displaying a photo gallery as well as show our photo essay at the Encuentro today at 6PM at the Alvin Baggett Center located at

1302 Keene Street Galena Park, Texas 77547

The video will be posted after it is shown at the Encuentro.

Hope to see you there!

Interview with the Principal

In this clip Ashleigh inteviews Principal Gardea of Galena Park High
School. Principal Gardea has lived in GP since he was a young child
and in this interview talks about his concerns as well as his hopes
for his community!

Networks Part 2

We started out by making a list of people that the students are connected with. Individuals in the community that are in a position of power. The list grew into a brainstorm of potential people to interview.

Areas of Concern

This is a list of the different categories of issues that the students thought up and also a list of areas where they can make an impact.

Organizing Photos

The first exercise the students did was put the photos in categories. Two of the categories that were chosen were Safety and Sanitation. Some of the themes that came up in our discussion were concerns of safety due to poor lighting at the playground and abandoned buildings.

The map has sticky notes from the places that the photos were taken.

Meeting #3

In our third meeting we discussed some of the photos that were taken as well as brainstorming people to interview in GP.  I have attached our agenda and handout on interviewing.

Melissa's Pictures

1. This is a bridge on Keene street beside the public library. Profanity has been sprayed with white paint onto the bridge's side. The bridge is also close to a small park where young children go to play. It is inappropriate for them to be exposed to this kind of language used in graffiti. 

2. This is a bayou under the bridge from the first picture. It is incredibly unsanitary and filled with litter. People have no consideration for the harm that the trash they throw in causes to the environment.

3. The lightpole in this picture is across the street from a park. It is the last lightpole on the street. It is only 6pm and it is already pitch dark. It is unsafe for the families living beyond that section of the street. 

4. This is a park where children spend time after school or later on in the afternoon. It is dangerous for children to play in this type of environment where there is no form of lighting. Teenagers use this spot to do negative things due to the inability of being seen by the people who may drive by. 

5. These are the steps for a slide at a park. It is easy to tell that it has become rusted. This can lead to many health complications for children on the playground. It is not unheard of for children to be hurt on the equipment of the park. 

Consuelo's Photos

#1 It was taken on Feb. 17 2011 near the bayou in Galena Park by the high school. The picture can perfectly tell us that the residents at GP don't clean up after themselves. Which makes us look filthy. There is a plastic bag, tennis ball, and carton is inside streaming water. That's why it smells a lot at times.

#4 It was taken on Feb. 17 2011 near the bayou in Galena Park. In the picture you can see how some people don't respect what GP has left. It's vandalized and it makes GP look like we're not respected because nothing is being done by it.

#6 This picture of a house taken from GP on Feb. 17 2011 is on 1st ST. It shows how dangerous our community is. Some little kid can just kick a ball to it and the house will fall apart because it seems as though it doesn't have hope anymore.

#8 This picture clearly shows us that some part of GP wants to make a change by recycling. It was taken on Feb 17 2011 behind Family Dollar.

#9 This good friend of ours is named Dominic, he is part of the Fire Department of Galena Park. He was roaming the streets around 6 p.m on Feb. 17 2011.  This is to show that GP is trying to keep us safe at night.

Networks

Relationships are very important in bringing about change in a community. Networking means creating connections with individuals in your community and beyond. You already have many networks in your life. This includes the network of friends you have at school, organizations, sports, etc. You might also have a network connected with your extended family. It is important to map out these relationships to see who you might know or connected to that is in a position to make decisions in your community. This can be anything from making changes at your school (student council president, principal, etc) to creating change in your community (elected official, community leader, etc).
 
Please list some of the organizations that you are a part of that you think is collectively in a position to bring about change in Galena Park (these can be school organizations, religious groups, community groups, etc.).

Meeting #2

In our second session we went over basics of photography and we had a guest (Shahid) come talk to us about photo ethics. I have attached the documents that we used. I have also attached the agenda which has directions on what is due this week.

 

Remember to include these elements in your caption:

•  Where it was taken
•  What does the picture tell us about the environment in GP
•  What is happening in the picture
•  Provide as much background info to give context to the picture

Happy Photo Taking!

 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Environment

At our first meeting we discussed what "environment" means and the participants listed some things that they thought were important to include.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Portraits of Galena Park Blog. This will be a space for participants to share their reflections on their work and community. Please feel free to share your thoughts on what we are doing in our sessions as well as things related to Galena Park that you want to reflect on. This space is an extension of our group meetings so please adhere to our expectations which are located on the tab labeled "Guidelines for Posting" at the top for your reference. Please post any photos or other type of media on here as you see fit.