Robert Frank - The Americans

1)What kind of person makes a good photographer?

(2)Do you like taking photographs? Are you a good photographer?

(3)Do you prefer digital photography or film photography?

(4)What’s the best photo you’ve ever taken?

(5)What’s the best photo you’ve ever seen?

(6)What makes a photo a work of art?

(7)What kind of photography do you like looking at?

(8)Do you ever go to photography exhibitions?

(9)What do you think of black and white photography?

(10)How has digital technology changed the way we use photographs?

Discuss this quote:

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly - what is essential is invisible to the eye,” 

- writer and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, 

Robert Frank on the Americans

Arthur Tress - The Dream Collector

stage pictures       photographic ethos       gained recognition                  

hauntingly beautiful       decisive moment       a golden age

prevalent      internal

Arthur Tress is a master storyteller who first 1________________ with his 2___________________ book of images: The Dream Collector (Richmond, Westover 1972). The book was a challenge to the 3________________ of its time.

The turbulent 1960s and 1970s were 4_______________ for photojournalists who were energized by war and social change. These photographers found their “truths” in soul deadening city streets and jungle front lines. But instead of roaming the streets trying to find a Cartier-Bresson serendipitous 5________________, Tress began to manipulate scenes and 6_______________ to create images that were both real and unreal. 

“It was a moment in my own artistic trajectory where I needed to move away from the 7_____________ documentary realism and street shooting of the late 60's into new areas of 8_______________ self exploration,” Tress says. “I began doing what's called staged photography—this is around 1970—and that was kind of unusual for the time.”

Coney Island of the Mind

Returning to New York       But he was restless        he was conducting                   his home turf           Tress recalls              became my trademark      

the roles of         remarkable offbeat style

Arthur Tress was born in New York in 1940 and, from the age of 12, he took photographs in what is arguably the most surreal place in America: 9____________ of Coney Island. He photographed everything: rundown tenements, empty amusement park rides, and the circus freaks who lived in the neighborhood.

In 1962, he graduated from Bard College with a BFA degree and moved to Paris to attend film school. 10_______________ and ended up travelling for a year in Europe and then Mexico, where he became fascinated by shamans and 11______________ myth and dreams in native cultures.

In 1964 he turned up in San Francisco to document the Republican Convention that nominated Senator Barry Goldwater for president and began to create images in his 12__________________. One of his images from that year was the photograph of a woman with sunglasses seated next to the pay to view telescopes. 

13__________________ he had a show of environmental images at the Sierra Club and ran into a Bard college classmate Richard Lewis who asked him to help with a children’s workshop 14________________.

"Every year he had a different theme, and one year he did children's dreams, to get kids to write poems and paintings from their dreams,” 15______________. “So he called me in to photograph his class. So I said, you know, that's a terrific idea, and I'm going to pursue that by asking children and my friends what dreams they remembered from childhood. I was looking for mythological, archetypical, kind of nightmarish images. That kind of 16_________________ for the next 20 years, that kind of surreal disturbing photography.”

Dreams, Nightmares and Punchlines

 Cloze: try to guess the word...

_____ listening to the children, Tress would take them to locations around the city where they could turn their ideas ___ photographs. The Dream Collector evolved ____ of these pictures.

The images in The Dream Collector are remarkably simple and that makes them ____ disquieting and powerful; the overall effect is ___ being unable to awaken from a nightmare. They grab the viewer with a shocking immediacy _____ there are ___ distractions such as elaborate studio sets, expensive models or sophisticated darkroom tricks.

Essential to the images in The Dream Collector and his subsequent book, Theater of the Mind (Dobbs Ferry: Morgan and Morgan, 1976), is Tress’ knack ___ minimalism and the ___ of incongruous elements to ____ them their dreamlike sensibility. These odd elements are ___ the philosopher Roland Barthes called “punctum” in his final book Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography (Hill and Wang, 1981).

Word Formation: What is the best form of the root word?

Barthes notes that most photographs present a singular straightforward picture and are largely    FORGET    . However, when a photograph contains a punctum, that is, a counterpoint, it becomes        MEMORY     and has deeper meaning. The punctum in a way is the visual equivalent of a good punch line that changes the whole meaning of everything in the joke that came before it. Tress’ images are loaded with punch lines.

It is also said that good photographers are luckier than bad ones and Tress was very lucky indeed.  

“The best memories from creating the dream collector series were always those flashes of sudden     TRANSFORM    , when an ordinary daily scene changed into a magical dream like event...when the everyday happening slides into another realm of awareness,” Tress notes.

Put in the right adjective

famous

gaping

archetypical

abandoned

decrepit

round

strange

“For example the 1______ photo 'Flood Dream' Ocean City, New Jersey, 1970, where the roof of a building was just lying  2_______ on an empty pier. In the far background there was a 3_______ ferryboat hauled onto the dock waiting to be restored. Out of nowhere, a young boy with a 4_____ face and blond hair of about ten came riding by on a small bike. I asked if he would stand beneath the roof where it had a 5_______ hole in it. He was glad to do it and just looked peacefully at the camera. And it was one of those 6_______ moments that moves the ordinary into a special 7_________ space.”

Overdue Recognition

Word formation:

Over the years Tress has earned his    LIVE    selling books of his images and large prints at a gallery near his home in Big Sur. And like Duane Michals, he had for decades been passed over by the art photography world and had few exhibitions of his work in the US.     HAPPY    this changed in 2009 when he was asked to have a show of his photographs at San Francisco’s de Young Museum albeit in one of their side galleries.

“It ran         CURRENT     with a large      BLOCK    exhibition of Jean Paul Gaultier that brought lots of crowds into the museum and some actually drifted into my gallery space,” he recalls. “The gallery was always full of people actually looking at the pictures slowly and discussing them with their friends. They seemed intrigued and stimulated by the strange Tressian combination of the surreal within the       DOCUMENT     .”

Soon     THERE    , the Getty acquired 85 of his vintage prints and Tress felt that this was finally a      VALID     of his work.

“It reinforced my feelings that a lifetime’s devotion to creating a disciplined body of work was a    WORTH    endeavor and, although the    MONEY    rewards have been very small, the sense that I have actually made something wonderful and lasting gave me a great      NEW    pride in myself for having done all this alone and without much help for over 55 years.”

Soon other institutions began to take notice of his work and    ASSESS    his place in the story of photography.

Arthur Tress’ story has a punch line too, a punctum in a way. Since the 1960s he has SHOOT thousands of photographs, created an entire universe of unique and eccentric images, and he did it all with one well-worn Hasselblad and just two old lenses.

Texts and images COLOUR HEIGHT THE OVERLOOKED LIGHT AND DARK

My students were given a simple word to respond to with images and texts. The texts and the images didn't have to connect. 

COLOUR   HEIGHT   THE OVERLOOKED   LIGHT AND DARK

Here are the results:

Colour

Sunrise in Mount Cook National Park. The whole thing lasted just 10 minutes. The shades of pink were so vibrant. It was absolutely magical.



I don't have a favourite colour, but I like shiny things. Shiny cars, jewelery...It makes the colour more interesting.

My mum would go to the supermarket and come back with sunflowers. The sun would make them look like they were glowing.

The sky after sunset. During the sunset it is beautiful, but after it is best.



The different colours of the landscape here in New Zealand. I have never seen a country with so many landscapes.



In Canada, looking at the Niagara Falls lit up at night by different colours.



The Blue Lagoon in Malta. I've never seen such clear water. You could see all the fish swimming around, all the rocks on the bottom. It was spectacular.

The Sunset in Cape Town after hiking.The colours were so pure and it was amazing how different they could be from moment to moment, depending on the clouds and the temperature.



I think of a techno festival I went to when I was 17.

I think of the colour wheel. I studied to become a make-up artist and we used the wheel to understand about all the different tones and how to match and blend them with skin tones.




The rainbow and the wet grass after a summer storm.



I think of flags. Flags use colour to represent things, often totally different things, in different parts of the world.



Height

I went skydiving from 20,000 feet. In the first few seconds you are falling with your back to the ground. You can see the airplane getting smaller and smaller until you turn around.




Coromandel. We climbed Castle Rock. We had a 360 degree view of the forest.



Going up a really tall roller coaster and feeling that small panic and adrenaline slowly building up.



Sitting aboard a plane before take-off. The doors are closed. Then suddenly the plane is in the air.

When I think of my skydive above Taupo all the emotions come back again.



One time on a family holiday we came to a high suspension bridge over a wide beautiful river. As I crossed I thought: "the only thing keeping me from falling are some steel ropes".



For some strange reason I don't really have a fear of heights (when I'm up in a high place like a tall building). And yet I do get a kind of reverse vertigo when I'm standing in a room with a high ceiling or beneath a tall building.

The Space Needle in Seattle. The view we had from up there. And how scared I was standing on a glass platform.



Being above the clouds.

My trip to Ireland. We went to the Giants' Causeway. Everything was spectacular and out of human scale.


The Overlooked

Finding hidden gems by going places most people don't. Finding serendipity.

Something which is overlooked in our society is how much work and how many steps it takes to produce the simplest things we use every day.



Slightly odd things in your daily life that you normally don't notice. But as soon as you do, you just feel the urge to adjust them.

What is overlooked by most people is the amount of water and electricity they use every day.




The fact that women often go to the bathroom together.

When someone is talking and you start to pick up on a little verbal tic. Then you start to notice it every time they speak.

Seeing things like smileys in everything.



Light and Dark

When in summer you spend a lot of time outdoors and then you come back inside you can't see anything.

The moon lighting up a water surface.

Yin and Yang. There is always darkness within the light and light within the darkness.



The separation between the part of the street that is lit up by a street light and the part that is not.

Mt Eden view at night. All the lights in the dark night.

 

The orange light of the sunset seen through the window of a dark room.

Strobe light. The quick changes between light and dark have such an impact on your perception.



The moon lights a building or a stone monument from behind.



The night sky. Very black background and bright stars lighting it up.

You open up the curtains in a room in the morning. The light replaces the darkness. The light blinds you momentarily.

Challenging someone's ideas

 Vanya: Guys! I've got it! I've _____ed it out!

Emir: Figured _____ out?

Paul: That it's polite to knock on the door before coming in? 

Vanya: This idea is just ____ good, Paul! It's ____ good!

Paul: Go ____, then.

Vanya: So! Cats!

Emir: I'm a bit _____. What are you talking about?

Vanya: Videos. Cat videos! For our social media account. Hundreds of them. Everyone loves cats! 

Paul: I hate cats.

Vanya: Everyone except you, Paul.

Paul: Have you considered the _____ that we're a branding agency, not a pet shop?

Vanya: I ____ your point, Paul, but, _____ on, ____ imaginative! Cat videos are some of the most searched videos on the internet.

Emir: I _____ where you're coming from, Vanya, but I think I agree with Paul here. How is this _______ for a branding agency?

Vanya: Look. Social media, it's a numbers _____. If we share dozens of cat videos each day, then we get more followers. 

Emir: That's true. So how ______ do you see this working? I mean, who's going to find all these videos?

Vanya: Erm, OK, I'm very aware of the challenges here, _____ I'm convinced this is going to work.

Paul: I'm _____ so sure.

Emir: Well, I guess you have to look at it from _____ sides. Why don't we try it for a couple of weeks and _____ if there's any impact?

Vanya: Great! We are going to get so many more followers. I'm absolutely _______! 

Paul: Good luck with that! I hope it doesn't turn _____ to be a cat-astrophe ... What? ... It's a good joke.

Challenging someone's ideas

Verb Patterns and First Conditional B1

 First Conditional practice

Verb patterns BASIC

First Conditional (Intermediate)

Verb patterns (intermediate)

Verb patterns 2 (Intermediate)

Spin the wheel conversations using verb patterns

More challenging questions

Spin the wheel Infinitive verbs

Online offline

 Which do you prefer?

Work                    online   /   offline

Play games                      online   /   offline

Shop                    online   /   offline

Meet people    online   /   offline

Date people                    online   /   offline

Debate politics with people                  online   /   offline

Plan your week                              online   /   offline

Check the weather                      online   /   offline

Watch a film                   online   /   offline

Create music                 online   /   offline

Create art                         online   /   offline

Design something                      online   /   offline

Learn                   online   /   offline

Get the news                  online   /   offline

Drink                    online   /   offline

Find a good recipe                       online   /   offline

Get advice                        online   /   offline

Look up a tricky word                                online   /   offline

Celebrate your birthday                           online   /   offline

Sell something                              online   /   offline

Find a flat                          online   /   offline

Give a lesson                 online   /   offline

Take a lesson                 online   /   offline

Chat                     online   /   offline

Gamble for money                      online   /   offline

Do your banking     online   /   offline

Phone calls

 

A

You need to telephone a flower shop and order some flowers for friends who are having their 20th wedding anniversary. They love red roses. You want the flowers to be delivered to their house tomorrow. Telephone the shop and order the flowers. Don’t forget to include a message saying congratulations

B

You work at Blooming Wonderful, the flower shop. One of your services is delivery of flowers ordered by telephone. Answer the telephone and take an order. Remember you need the address and details of the message. Don’t forget to ask what kind of flowers the customer would like

A

You need to find out what the homework was from your last English class. As you missed it. Telephone your friend Joe and ask him/her to tell you about the class you missed and the homework.

B

Your name is Joe. Your friend is going to telephone you. Answer the telephone

A

You need to talk to your bank manager, Mr Jones. You are not sure of the telephone number but think you have the right one. Telephone your bank. Ask to speak to Mr Jones

B

You work in a special garage as a mechanic. Your job is to repair sports cars. Answer the telephone

A

You are going to miss a month of your English classes at Wordsworth Language School because you have to travel abroad for work. You want your teacher to e-mail you the homework and class work you will miss. Telephone the school and speak to your teacher. Leave a message if necessary.

B

You work in the reception of the Wordsworth Language School. Today all the teachers are away on a training course. Answer the telephone

Scanning books

1. What kind of book is this? Is it fiction or non-fiction?

2. Is the language is this book too easy / difficult / about right for me?

3. What is the book about?

4. What kind of people would enjoy reading this book? Kids? Teenagers? Adults? People who are interested in a particular topic?

5. Who is the writer? Which country are they from? Have they written any other books?

Warm Bodies

Watch:

Warm Bodies

 

 

1.R thinks he should…
2. People would…               if…

respect R more                     stand up straighter                   stood up straighter

R can't
R thinks he shouldn't
R wishes he could
R's hoodie would suggest
R thinks the apocalypse could have been caused by
R is unable to 
R feels he must have been                              when everyone could 
The Boney's will       anything
He will too, but at least he’s

Discussion

1. What do you think R and his friend  ____ do next?
2. What _____ happen to them in the city?
3. Do you think this _____ have been a fun sequence to shoot?
4. What does the main actor _____ to be _____ to do?
5. How do you think he ______ have prepared for this role?
6. Is there a message in this film? What ______ it be trying to say?
7. ______ you be going to see this movie?

(Upper-Intermediate) Leicester: 5000-1 Underdogs

Calling Leicester City the underdogs doesn't go far enough to describe team's rise to the top of European football.

More likely

Listen:

5000-1 Odds

5000
132
3
7
5, 10, 20
3

Note the words in the gaps:

rise to the ____
______ the financial power of the big clubs
the relative ______ of Leicester City
deservedly will be seen as an ___ of the ordinary suceess
a huge ____ for the game
a ___-to-mouth existence
unh_______d players
they're seven points _____
p__________ odds
they're ________ all these winning bets
they'll be c_______ it in

How were these words used?

foothills, uplands and peak?

Follow up stories:

Victory



The secret weapon

Apologising appropriately

Speaking - apologising  (A2 Speaking)

Paul: Noelia! I am _____ sorry! Are you OK?

Noelia: I think _____. _____ was lucky.

Paul: I'm _______ sorry! I _______ see you!

Noelia: _______ all right. I shouldn't ______ been running.

Paul: No, no, I should _____ been paying ________. 

Noelia: And they teach you ____ to run inside at school!

Paul: _______, it was _____ fault and I'm sorry.

Noelia: I'm sorry _____. It was ______ of us. _______, it's fine. I'm fine. Don't ______ about it. Hey, I saved the laptop ______!

"Baby Can I Hold You"

Sorry
Is ____ that ____ can't ____
Years gone by and still
Words don't ______ easily
Like sorry like sorry

________ me
Is _____ that _____ can't say
Years gone by and still
Words don't come easily
Like forgive me forgive me

But ______ can _____ baby
Baby can I _____ you tonight?
Maybe if I ______ you the right ______
At the right ______ you'd be mine

I love you
Is all _____ you can't say
Years gone by and _____
Words _____ come easily
_____ I love you I love you

____ you can say baby
Baby can I hold you tonight?
_______ if I told you the _____ words
Ooh, at the ______ time you'd be mine

Ways to give and receive apologies (7 min)

Do the quiz at the end

fault    Apologies    my   deepest     stupid     take   dear    I’m    that   apologize   accept  

Please   tell      about    Unfortunately 

1. I can’t __________ enough.
2. Please _______ my sincerest apologies.
3. I am at fault and ________ full responsibility.
4. ______ forgive me.
5. ______ regretful.
6. I'm afraid _______...
7. _______ for...
8. Oh _______, I AM so sorry.
9. Um. I have to ________ you that...
10. I can only offer you my _______ apologies. 
11. ______bad.
12. It's all my ________.
13. Sorry _______ this.
14. __________ I...
15. I'm a terrible person! How ________ of me!

Accepting apologies

Try adding "very"  "very much"  "at all"   "so"   "all the time"   "completely"   "please"

1. That's _______ OK / It's _______ all right.

2. Hey, No problem _______ / No worries _______ / Don't worry about it ________. 

3. It happens ________.

4. I  _______ forgive you / You're ________ forgiven

5. I appreciate your apology ________. / I ________ accept your apology.

6 Thank you ________ for your apology.

7. Apology ________ accepted.

8. I _______ understand.

9. I feel _______ much better, now that you've said sorry.

10. It's not so bad _______. / Don't worry about it _______.

11. It's all _______ cool.

12. Actually, there's no need to apologise ________.

13. Okay, but ______ don't do it again.

14. I'm _____ sorry too.

15. It's not your fault _______ - it could happen to anyone.

You went out for dinner, but you forgot to tell your host family you weren't coming home for dinner. They've been worried about you and the made you dinner.

Make a dialogue

You borrowed your friends car and accidentally scratched it on a wall.

Make a dialogue

You washed your friends jumper. Now it has shrunk.

Make a dialogue

You kicked a ball over the fence. You have to ask the neighbour if you can go into their garden to fetch it.

Make a dialogue.

You were using your flatmate's hair dryer without permission. You accidentally broke it.

Make a dialogue

You borrowed you flatmate's mobile charger and she couldn't find it for two hours and her phone went flat. Now she's asking you if you've seen it anywhere. It's in your bedroom.

Make a dialogue.

Correct the mistakes

1. I'm sorry for late.

2. I'm sorry for spill wine on your carpet.

3. I'm sorry, I wasn't mean to be rude.

4. Sorry I made mistake.

5. I'm sorry this isn't what I order

6. I'm sorry for break your iPad

7. I apologise to not come.

8. Forgive me for forget your birthday.

9. Sorry it was of my fault.

10. I didn't mean do that.

11. I shouldn't said that.

12. I wish I didn't do that.

Self-study:

Apologising with Emma (long video)

Do the quiz at the end

Jealous Guy (by John Lennon)

I was dreaming of the _____
And my heart was beating _____
I began to lose ______
I began to lose ______

I didn't ______ to hurt you
I'm sorry ______ I made you cry
Oh no, I _______ want to hurt you
I'm _______ a jealous guy

I was ________ insecure

You might not love me _________

I was shivering _______
I was shivering ________

Chorus

I was trying to catch your ________
Thought that you was trying to _______

I was swallowing my ________
I was swallowing my ________

Chorus

1. Do you get jealous from time to time?

2. Do you have, or have you had, a jealous partner, sibling, friend?

3. When was the last time you had to apologise?

4. What things make your heart beat fast?

5. What things make you shiver?

6. "I was swallowing my pain" - what does he mean?

Table

Use tone of voice and dramatic pitch to say the word "table" in reaction to the following situations:

Table has been very bad.

Table is dying.

Table is very far away.

You want to tell Table a secret.

You hate Table.

Table always leaves a mess in the bathroom.

Table is telling lies.

You haven't seen Table for five years.

Table is taking too long in the bathroom.

Table is doing something dangerous.

Table is asleep.

You don't want Table to know you're talking about him/her.

You don't know where Table is.

You think it's Table, but you're not sure.

Table is so kind.

You forgot to tell Table something.

Table asked you on a date, but you don't want to go.

Table is a cute little baby.

You will never see Table again.

You need Table to trust you.

You don't trust Table.

Table just hurt you on purpose.

Table just hurt you by accident.

Table is just a table.

Table has a headache.

Table never listens.

Table is the best disco dancer at the party.

Table isn't concentrating.

Table was really helpful.

Table is coming towards you with a knife.

Table has died.

The Mirror Scene

Watch the video and number these actions in the order they occur:

____ Look quickly over your shoulder
____ Hold your chin
____ Crash into the mirror

____ Hold a hat behind your back

____ Look slowly over your shoulder

____ Spin around

____ Push the other guy away

____ Get down on your hands and knees

____ Pick up your partner’s hat

____ Drop the hat on the floor

Now put these groups of actions in the correct order:

A

Throw your arms up and dance like a fool

Hold a hat behind your back

Spring up and down on your toes while smiling

Step into the mirror and around each other

Jiggle up and down

B

Crash into the mirror

Stop and stare at each other

Step forward and lean toward each other

Hold your chin

Turn away

  

C
 

Put your index finger up to your chin

Slide your spectacles down your nose

Peer around the edge

Get down on your hands and knees

Trot quickly across

D

Look slowly over your shoulder

Look quickly over your shoulder

Bend down with your hands on your knees

Wiggle your bum

Walk to the left nodding

E

Pick up your partner’s hat

Bow with one arm behind your back

Push the other guy away

Grab the other guy’s night gown

F

Jump sideways across

Hop while kicking one leg forwards

Dance with legs and arms out

Spin around

G

Step around each other and out of the mirror

Quickly put the hat on your head and point at each other laughing

Take off your hat and bow

Drop the hat on the floor

Watch

The Mirror Scene

Describing movement takes practice

Words for walking

 

I told ChatGPT to write me a short text about an underworld trip that uses the words

loiter, stride, stagger, descend, creep, crawl, strut, dash, alight, limp, slip over, tiptoe, trudge

In the depths of the city's underbelly, where shadows 1______ and whispers weave through the air like smoke, a daring journey unfolds. With purposeful 2______s, our protagonist 3______s into the murky labyrinth, where every step is a dance with danger.

Through dimly lit alleys, they 4________ past clandestine meetings and clandestine deals, their senses alert to the subtle movements of the underworld. They 5______ through narrow passages, where the walls seem to close in, and 6______beneath low-hanging obstacles, their determination unwavering.

In the heart of the darkness, figures 7______ with false bravado, flaunting their power in the face of uncertainty. Yet our traveler 8______es past them, a fleeting shadow in the night, intent on their mission.

At a crossroads, they 9_____ upon a hidden path, where secrets whisper in the wind. With a 10______ from an old wound, they 11_______ treacherous terrain, each step a testament to resilience.

12______ing through the lair of the unknown, they 13_______ forward, unyielding in their pursuit. And as dawn breaks on the horizon, they emerge from the depths, weary yet victorious, their underworld odyssey complete.

Check verbs, add adjectives

victorious unwavering weary subtle treacherous daring murky narrow clandestine purposeful low-hanging dimly lit alert unyielding false hidden fleeting old

In the depths of the city's underbelly, where shadows loiter and whispers weave through the air like smoke, a 1________ journey unfolds. With 2_________ strides, our protagonist descends into the _______ labyrinth, where every step is a dance with danger.

Through 3________ alleys, they stagger past 4_________ meetings and clandestine deals, their senses 5_______ to the 6_______ movements of the underworld. They creep through 7________ passages, where the walls seem to close in, and crawl beneath 8________ obstacles, their determination 9__________.

In the heart of the darkness, figures strut with 10______ bravado, flaunting their power in the face of uncertainty. Yet our traveler dashes past them, a 11________ shadow in the night, intent on their mission.

At a crossroads, they alight upon a 12_______ path, where secrets whisper in the wind. With a limp from an 13_______ wound, they slip over 14_________ terrain, each step a testament to resilience.

Tiptoeing through the lair of the unknown, they trudge forward,15 ________ in their pursuit. And as dawn breaks on the horizon, they emerge from the depths, 16_______ yet 17_________, their underworld odyssey complete.