#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.

Through out the class I can think of a few things that really stuck with me. The idea of the photographic truth really affected me. I was always aware of photos being manipulated but after learning more about it, it was hard to decide where to draw the line. I take lots of pictures and I am also pretty good at photoshop, usually I end up editing most of my pictures a little bit. Now, I have to ask the question, is this still my picture, or is this picture "lying" now that it is edited?

Another topic I am now questioning is the ethics in photojournalism. I am majoring in photojournalism and I now am fully aware of all the questions I will have to ask myself on a daily basis if I become a photojournalist.

After this class I realize that I do look at pictures differently now. Especially after researching Shelby Lee Adams. I completely understand why he takes pictures of Appalachians and I no longer feel like he is exploiting them. I think that with just a little bit of education on other photographers it opens your mind and leaves you asking more questions than you might if you weren't in a class like ours.

blog # 8

I have always had an interest in photography, which is why I chose this seminar in the first place. I had taken photography classes in high school, and I work as a portrait photographer. In my free time I am always out with my camera taking pictures of anything and everything. I thought this class would be interesting and a fun class to take, out of all the choices for the freshman seminar this one really stood out to me.
With the things that we discussed this semester, what I found to be most intersting and what really stuck with me was the whole issue of photographic truth. I was obviously aware of manipulation of images and photoshop and things of that nature before this class, but I never really payed much attention to it. This class really forced me to look into it more, and form an opinion on it. I am now finding myself looking at pictures with more of a critical eye then I was before.
I also liked the fact that we explored the work of different photographers in this class. I got to see the work of many that I had never seen before. I thought that the work of the photographers like Shelby Lee Adams, Tierney Gearon, Taryn Simon, and Nikki S. Lee were all very interesting. I feel like I probably would have never come across this work if it had not been for this class and I am glad I got to see it.
I think that I have alot of questions that still remain. However those questions seem to be a bit rhetorical. I really don't think that there is any one question that really stands out to me.

blog8

I have always felt that photography depicted the truth. However after this class I realized that Photography isn’t always the best way to show the truth. In my high school photo class we were only allowed to use color correction and cropping for our digital projects. So i never thought of using photoshop on digital pictures. When we were allowed to use photoshop to its greatest potential it was strictly for graphic design projects. This why I found it shocking how many adds and photographs are fakes.

I also didn’t realize that how cropping can change the whole purpose and meaning behind a photo. Cropping is a great tool to but can also be tricky when it starts to change the true events. I feel a photographer should crop the photo within their own lens then the photograph depicts the truth within the photographer’s eye.

A lot of the topics discussed in this course helped evolve my idea of what photography truly is. This course also opened my mind up to being more of a critique when I view a photo. Some questions I still have we become to reliant on photoshop to make our photos beautiful? Or have we taken the beauty away from the pictures all together because isn’t there something beautiful about the typical snap shot? Seeing your self, how you looked right at that moment, with out any color correction or enhancement of any kind.

Blog Assignment #8

Before taking this class, I didn't know a lot about photography. I always had a passion for taking pictures but never had the knowledge of how photography advanced throughout the years. Learning about the history of photography and the camera was very interesting. It's crazy to think about how much we advanced from the camera obscura. This helped me appreciate of the advances we have today. We take for granted how it takes about three minutes to take a picture, upload it on a computer and have it printed, meanwhile it took the camera obsura hours to develop one picture.
I learned different parts and elements of photography that can help me take a better photo. But the most important thing I think I learned from this class was how to look at a photograph. Photographs sends out a message and emotion, which affects our everyday lives. We are surrounded by photographs through media, advertisements, etc. and if we learn how to read these photographs, we can have a better understanding what the photograph is trying to say.
Also, this class made me be more cautious of what photographs are real or fake. It showed me how I shouldn't always believe what I see in photographs. I feel like there are always questions that can be asked. But overall, I don't really have any questions about the course because I feel like I learned a lot, which I can use that information for the rest of my life.

blog assignment 8

Before taking this class there were many things I didn't know. First was the history of the camera. I didn't realized how long it took for cameras to become what they are today. I have learned how cameras actually work and what the first photographs were like in comparison to photographs today. I used to think that the first cameras were very similar to cameras today when it came to things like shutter speed. I didn't realized how long it took to actually take a photograph when it was first invented.

I have also learned to look at photographs with more of an open mind. I never really thought that photographs had a message or were trying to say something to the viewer. I had always just thought that they were there as something cool to look at. I now have learned that the photographer uses their photographs as a way of telling a story or getting a message across.

There aren't really any questions that remain in my mind after taking this class. Just maybe why some of the pictures that we looked at in class, and wrote journals on, were chosen and why were they so important. I also was hoping that we would be taking more pictures in this class, but I still enjoyed learning about photography.

Blog 8

Before I had taken this seminar, I did not know much about the history of the camera and the progression of the technology. It was interesting to see photography transform from a camera obscura room to the digital cameras we are all now familiar with. I am curious to see where the technology goes next.
I enjoyed the section about photographic truth, in regards to both the capture of the image and photo-manipulation. With the proliferation of Photoshop and the like, I have always viewed photographs skeptically. It was interesting to see how untruthful pictures affected the careers of photojournalists, a job that has always fascinated me. I also enjoyed looking at all the different styles of photography and the going to the museums to observe some of those styles better.

I don’t really have many questions left at the conclusion of this class. As I have said earlier, I am curious to see where the technology goes from where it is. I am also anxiously awaiting to see a plan to preserve the integrity of photography.

Blog 8

Even before all the discussions in class I have always looked at a photograph with an open mind. I have always in a way second guessed what I was looking at. Some of the documentaries that we watched were interesting, and allowed me to look deeper into what photography really is. For me photography has always been a huge passion for me, and looking at photographers and their photos is something I always enjoyed. Most of the topics that we discussed I have looked at before, either in high school or on my own. I really enjoyed that a lot of the topics were based off how the photos effect society. This topic has always been so interesting to me, because I am interested in advertising.

Because of the discussions in class I was able to look more at manipulated photographs. I had done some brief research on it myself, but the class allowed me to look at it in different ways. Through documentaries I saw many different viewpoints and reasons on manipulated photos. I also enjoyed learning about photographers that I did not know about before. I liked viewing their photos, and learning more about their techniques and inspirations. A couple things that I was not very familiar with was the history of photography, I knew a couple things here and there but I really learned about how it evolved. It was so interesting to see how much technology has advanced and I am curious to see what will happen next.

I really do not have any remaining questions. This class as opened my mind to more photographers to look at. Even the two trips I took into the city opened to my eyes to new places and exhibits I can go and visit. The only thing that was a disappointing was that I was hoping to be taking more photographs during the course of the class. Other than that, I learned a lot in the past couple months, a lot of information that I can grow on to learn more.

Blog #8

In this seminar, we have discussed certain topics that I had not learned previously. I did not know how photographs were made, especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. Though I have taken photography classes for 2 years, I never really learned about the history behind the art. I think that was the most interesting part for me.

Though not drastically, our discussions did change the way I look at photographs. Since photoshop has become a part of almost everyone's lives, I have been skeptical about certain photographs. For example, my friend is a brilliant photographer, but she edits her pictures with photoshop so much, that it takes something away from the photograph. Though I have always been hesitant of believing photographs to be completely true since I learned about photoshop, I have become even more skeptical because of the topics we have discussed in class.

There are not many questions that remain in my mind after taking this class. Everything was pretty clear, after having learned it. I guess I still wonder why photographers choose certain subject matter. I also question what constitutes as controversial art anymore. Lastly, I am curious as to what the art world would be today with any form of editing that changes photographs drastically, and even in a public forum.

Blog 8

Before taking this class, there were some aspects of photography of that I wasn't aware. I didn't know much about the history of photographs and how they are made. The technology has advanced so much and has made photography such a popular artform. It was neat to learn of the process that deals with developing photographs and the different types of cameras and developing processes. I also didn't know about the visual elements and design elements that went into a photo. By learning these types of things, I can look at a photo with a more artistic eye.

Now, I can dissect a photograph more thoroughly and effictively due to the subjects discussed in class. Before, I wasn't familiar with the design principles and photographic compositions. By knowing what the emphasis of the photograph is, and the proportions, the scale, and framing, I can better know what the photograph is trying to tell me. The visual elements such as line, shape, space, texture, pattern, and symbolism can also help me understand photogrphs. I can understand certain photographs more now that I know the specific elements that compose it.

All in all, I don't have many questions remaining. The one question I would have is why photographers take certain pictures. Throughout the course when we looked at works by photographers, i would ask myself "what's the point of this photograph?", or "was it necessary to choose that particular photograph to showcase?", etc. But then after seeing their documentaries and reading stories, it all boils down to the fact that photography is their mean of self-expression. Photographers take certain photos and choose certain ones because they have meaning to them. It's hard to showcase something that won't cause controversy. I think we're all entitled to our own means of self-expression and for many people photography works for them. I think that the photographs that photographers take are a reflection of them, and maybe their photographs can affect someone else as they did them.