#8

I love art, all forms of it. But I never really knew much about photography; that’s why I decided to take this class. Before I had almost looked at photography as a lesser art form, but after taking this class it’s obvious to me that photography is just as powerful and skill-requiring than any other kind of art. I learned a lot from being exposed to the work of all these artists I had never heard of before like Tierney Gearon and Shelby Lee Adams; it was so interesting to see why they make photographs and what in their life made them into the artists they are.
I also learned a lot about just the nature of images. Some snippets from a few of the readings and comments that came up in class would start the gears in my head going. I learned a lot from thinking about photography and truth, and if just a moment of film can convey a whole life or the whole truth of a situation. It also got me thinking about time, the way a photograph really does kind of steal a second of time and preserves it. I learned a lot about just how personal and individual photographs are – looking at a photograph really is like looking into the mind of the photographer, even though it comes out of a machine. It was also interesting to think about the way people accept/don’t accept photographs. We live vicariously through them, we hyper idealize them, we put them on like a mask, we swallow them as truth while at the same time we no longer believe anything we see… looking at how people relate to photographs really says a lot about the way humans think and feel. We really do live in such an image-centered world.
I still have a few questions about photography, I still haven’t fully made up my mind on how I stand some artists’ work, or whether a staged photograph can tell the truth of a situation more accurately than a purely observational one, or how unbiased a photograph can be. I still have a lot to think about. But now, armed with the knowledge and exposure gained from taking this class, I’m sure I will continue to crystallize my ideas and stances about photography.

Blog Assignment 8

Since i'm planning on majoring in photography, this class seemed like a good idea to take. I didn't learn many concepts that i didn't know already but our class discussed them in much more depth than I ever have before. I had never really thought about photo manipulations before the invention of the digital camera. I know that alot of current photographs are manipulated and i know to take them with a grain of salt. I know how to manipulate with photoshop but i rarely use it.

I hadn't realized how the effect that photographs had on people before this class. I also now know i don't want to be a photojournalist. Many people were telling me that it should be my career cause i enjoy writing as well as photography but i know that i wouldn't be able to stand by as many of the photojournalists have to do. I know i wouldn't be able to see all of the horrible things without being affected by them.

There aren't many questions still in my mind, i feel like the course gave me a good overview of photography and the curent problems facing it. I got experience with many photographers, some which i liked some which i didn't which have helped me establish my own tastes.

blog # 7

Blog #8

I chose this first year seminar because I have always loved photography and taking a lot of pictures. I wanted to learn more about photography. Something that we discussed a lot of in class was truth in photography. I had never thought about this before. I always saw pictures and just assumed things about the subjects in them. I never thought about what truth they actually held, and the story they were telling.
Our discussions did change the way I look at photographs. I am more cautious about they way i look at photographs, because there is sometimes a lot of altering in the. Some pictures may not be fully original and real. Especially when it comes to photo journalism. You have to be cautious with those pictures and wether they are revealing the truth. Also to not make judgemets so quickly in pictures because they might be trying to tell a different story, and theres always a lot of possibilities.
I do not have any questions about photography. I still enjoy it. It made me realize more how to look at pictures, and analyze them, think about them, besides just looking at the picture and accepting it. Even though I do alter my pictures with color and saturation, I dont believe that is making them fully fake.

BLOG 7

BLOG 6

This is an advertisment for Dove, who prides themselves in showing real people. So in an effort to show that ad campaigns are fake, Yael Staav directed a commercial showing what really goes on behind the scenes. This final advertisment was put up on billboards and in magazines for the publlic to see. The sad part is, the woman in the ad probably doesnt even recognize herself.

BLOG 5

With this photo, all I did was crop everything out except for my two friends who were just hanging out on a rock.

Here, I made the photo brighter, making it look like it was taken during the day. I wanted the focus to be on the tree and bench.

Here, I took everything out of the picture except the lighthouse. I had to change the contrast and brightness a little bit to make it a little more visible, and not so dull. This, too, makes it look like it was photographed during the day.

Here is the original photo, nothing cropped or edited. My friends and I went on a day trip out to the Montauk lighthouse on Long Island. This was taken before we were heading back home.