Final Post!

Reflections of an Applied Learner

UPDATE - REflection

Soon to come! Keep an eye on R-net.
I'll post the link as soon as I can.

Enjoy my blog :)

Independent Project

PhotoVoiceTony Deifell

Wendy Ewald

Video Links:

1. PhotoVoice: http://www.photovoice.org/videos/pvfilm2010final.wmv

2. COMDIS Clinic - Jeff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnBj5GaHc6k

3. UCF Profiles - Speech Disorders (Start at 6:50 to 7:30):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avaiaaLhzlw

Summary:

My interest in this topic was sparked in one of our earlier classes; I was amazed by how twelve individuals could all take something different out of one single photograph. I began thinking about the power of imagery and how it could be used to intentionally convey meaning. When you think about it, we are bombarded with images and graphics of all sorts on a daily basis; ads, billboards, television, newspapers, and the list can keep going. I rationalized that humans must have some kind of mechanism much like our verbal literacy that helps us make sense of all that we see. Turns out that there is, it's called visual literacy.

For my final, independent project I wrote an 8-page paper which I entitled "Social Awareness Through Photography: Applications of Visual Literacy". The first few pages explored the concept of visual literacy; how it is defined and why it is important. I organized my discussion in a way that would make it personally relevant to the reader. I then introduced the social justice/ awareness angle by pointing out that visual literacy provides us with a means of self-identification because it allows us to communicate with others in a bold and truthful way, namely through photography. From here I discussed the work of individuals like Wendy Ewald, who empowered children by providing them cameras so that they could make their visions come to life through the photos that they produced, and Tony Deifell, who was inspired by Ewald's work and proceeded to do much the same thing except his work involved the visually impaired. I also gave some background knowledge on organizations such at the Institute for Photographic Empowerment and PhotoVoice, which provide resources for people who want to produce their own documentary-style photography or photographic training for members of communities all around the world.

My discussion finished with an in-depth reflection of the experiences that I had in this class. I was not expecting for this portion of the piece to be as long as it was (I was expecting 6 pages and I ended up writing 8), but I realized how rich my experiences were in this class and I wanted to be sure that I touched upon everything that we did. I thought about the types of things that we did in class and how it allowed us to build our visual literacy and the type of relationships we had made with the clients out at UCF. I had realized just how much they taught me over the course of the past semester; through their photographs and our conversations. However the greatest thing that I learned, and I quote this directly from my essay, "Our mission was to educate communities about aphasia and to help PWA (People with Aphasia) to achieve a greater quality of life. However, in the end, I think that our clients ended up teaching us. Despite everything, these individuals continue to live very full lives and the support that they receive from loved ones is a testament to a language far more powerful than any other, the language of human affection."

Thank you for this experience.

Portfolio

Assigment #1 MAKEUP ---> TOP THREE

So, as you can see, I've decided to redo Assignment #1. Going back over my old photos provided me with an interesting opportunity to see how much I've developed my "photographer's eye" over the course of this past semester. I knew that I could do so much better than my first meager attempt, so I took to it and the images above are what I have to show for it.
The order in which I would like to discuss these photos is as follows: #1 arrow on brick, #2 path to door, and #3 caution...
#1 I had taken several shots of this arrow. Yes, I know it's quite a simple image, but what caught my attention was that I noticed a significant difference in the photo when I had included my feet as opposed to when I left them out. This demonstrates the importance of framing; sometimes even the most insignificant elements can play an important part. If its in the frame then the photographer wanted it to be there, to be seen, to be incorporated.
#2 My eyes were really drawn by the sliver of pavement leading the viewer to the door in this image. Once again, it would have been a completely different photo had not for that little change. I also think that this is a very balanced piece. The lines of the stairs overhead and the railing run in parallels. The inclusion of the green, lush forestry on the left side of the field adds a little flavor to the otherwise muted color scheme. The elements work together to create an air of mystery...who knows where this door may lead?
#3 It just so happened that the camera chose to focus on the yellow strip in the foreground, blurriness aside the framing is quite brilliant in this selection, if i might say so myself. And to some degree, the haziness of the background contributes a lot to the image. We know what the yellow strip is (and for those who don't it's caution tape, hence CAUTION written across it) and we see a silhouette of some woodwork in the background. The diagonal movement created by the caution tape is a very important element of the photo, not only does it contribute to this thing called meaning that we keep bringing up but it sets a tone and did I mention, creates mystery? and who doesn't like a little bit of mystery in their lives...

Reflection- Narrative

My client J did not come in this past Wednesday, so for class I was paired with another group to work with their client, JG. When it was my turn to present her with my narrative, I laid all three images in front of her and waited for some sort of reaction. I sat in anticipation, hoping that she would like my work, until finally she said "This is you?". She then proceeded to tell me that she didn't think it was me in the black-and-white photos because the baby seat was much too old fashioned. I was very impressed by her eye for detail. However, I did inform her afterward that it was, in fact, me in the photos; the antiquated furniture was from Russia where I grew up. The story (or narrative) that I was trying to convey with my photos was personal moments of significance in my life. By pairing text and visual stimuli I was hoping to create a deeper meaning behind each photo. Some of my classmates pointed out the possibility of the events being in chronological order due to the way that I organized them when I presented them to the class. This was not my intention, but I could see where they were getting this from and I thought that it was interesting to note how much of an impact sequencing has on the perception of an image. JG did not instantly pick up on this suggestion, however she did very well to connect the various elements within each individual image when she was formulating her interpretations. She was most drawn to the photo with the image of a young man in juxtaposition to a plane ticket. She pointed out that it was probably my cousin and we went on a trip to Mexico. She also mentioned that these items were probably very important to me. Which was the main point that I was trying to deliver. Through these images I was hoping to let the viewers see another side of me.

Assignment #4

(These are the photos that I chose PRE-editing)

These photos were not intended to work in a sequence. Instead, I chose these images because each possesses a self-contained narrative of significant events in my life. The first photo is a compilation of photos taken during my childhood (hence, why they are black and white). This was during the initial years of my parents marriage.




This image pairs text with visual imagery. The words serve to compliment the people within the photo strip bringing them to life by giving them personality.





This final photo was probably my favorite. I went to Mexico a few years ago; it was probably one of the best experiences in my life. The man in the photo is a really good friend of mine who came along with me on the trip. I really like the juxtaposition of the plane ticket with his portrait. It shows that there must be some significance behind this deliberate positioning and it also creates a relationship between the elements.

To give you a little bit of background, I am one of the biggest pack-rats EVER. I like to keep little trinkets or papers and then I store them in boxes according to significance of that event. For this assignment I delved into my boxes and pulled apart written as well as visual components, ultimately leading me to the idea behind this project: pairing words with visual images to create meaning and depth of interpretation. I initially wanted to write across the first photo, but I decided that the image was strong enough as it was so I left it as is. So I guess if I was to define a general unifying theme it would be an autobiography of significant events in my life.

Photographic Scavenger Hunt!!

"Empty", could also represent "Turn", as in: a turn in the road.

Another option for "Empty"

"Strange", could also qualify for "New"

"Press"

This one is kinda a long stretch, but "Turn" as in: turn the light bulb. Another long stretch... "Full".

"Old"

[Independent Project] Work-in-Progress

Project Summary: I am writing a 6-8 page paper about how photography can be used to raise social awareness by giving a voice to individuals that are often overlooked or marginalized, namely those that are suffering from illness. With a camera in their hands, these individuals have control over how they are being perceived; this can be very empowering for the photographers and eye-opening for their audience. Through photography those that have been left in silence are able to find meaning in their lives and, most importantly, they gain a sense of hope for the future.

Outline:

• Introduction
• What is visual literacy?
• The Importance of Visual Literacy
• Applications of Visual Literacy – raising awareness, “giving voice”
• The Institute for Photographic Empowerment/ PhotoVoice
• Wendy Ewald
• “Falling Practice: What Illness Teaches Us”
• Tony Deifell
• My Client and his work
• Personal Experience - Understanding Aphasia
• Conclusion
• Direction for future work

I will also be asking my client J if I can use some of the photos that he took over the course of this semester to incorporate into my project.

Sources:
Jorgensen, Karen, and Karen Lubin. Falling Practice: What Illness Teaches Us. San Francisco:
Silent Press Books, 2005.
Silent Press Books are an indie photo-documentary publishing firm located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The beautiful images in this book chronicle Jorgensen's battle with amythropic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Much like the images that my client J has been producing, we begin to see that these individuals continue to live very full lives. Sadly, we also witness Jorgensen's slow decline as she battles with her illness. Her photos are both inspiring and unsettling; images of her limp, lifeless legs (pg. 64) contrast so starkly with the vibrancy in her eyes.
Kreisler, Harry, Letitia Carper, and Julian Bourg. "Wendy Ewald." Institute of International
Studies; UC Berkeley; 1998. Web. 12 Mar 2010.
Wendy Ewald's work was the foundation for Tony Deifell's later projects; by giving cameras to children they were able to transform their visions into beautiful works of art.
Newton, Julianne. The Burden of Visual Truth: The Role of Photojournalism in Mediating
Reality. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.; 2001.
This book discusses the role of "Visual Truth" and how it influences our understanding of ourselves, others, and the world at large.
"Methodology." PhotoVoice. Web. 12 Mar 2010.
PhotoVoice seeks to promote self-development, advocacy, and a better standard of living through photography.
Roohani, Alexis. "Seeing Beyond Sight: An Interview with Tony Deifell." Institute for
Photographic Empowerment; 13 November 2009. 10 Mar 2010.
This piece explores the inspiration behind Tony Deifell’s work, a photojournalist turned non-profit leader who worked with the visually impaired.

(possible presentation ideas)
Video - "PhotoVoice.” Photovoice. 10 Mar 2010.
Photo Gallery – PhotoVoice (Mental Wealth) page 4 of 5
http://www.photovoice.org/html/galleryandshop/photogalleries/#
COMDIS Clinic – (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnBj5GaHc6k)
http://www.youtube.com/user/UCF#p/u/24F6F0768B19F480/0/avaiaaLhzlw
UCF PROFILES (Start at 6:50 to 7:30)
Potential Source ??
Tony Deifell [official website]– (Seeing Beyond Sight) http://www.seeingbeyondsight.org/



Questions:
1. Should I highlight the organizations that engage in this kind of work or individuals like Wendy
Ewald and Tony Deifell?
2. How can I tie my clients photos to the idea behind the photos I obtained from "Falling
Practice..."?
3. Should I incorporate my own personal interpretation of some of the images that I have
gathered from "Falling Practice..." as well as my clients own work?

It has been such a pleasure working with my client J. over the course of these past few weeks. He always enters the classroom full of enthusiasm to get started and a welcoming grin. I've watched him struggle to find the words that he wants to use and through his frustration I can see that he genuinely wants to be here and he wants to get better. He has a very good handle on the camera and has consistently produced great images. Following the quick preview of his shots relating to Home, I'm very interested to see what he will bring to the table for next week's class. However, last week we brought OUR number 1 photos in for discussion. This is how it all played out:

This image was the one we chose to be my number one. As always, my client J picked up on the descriptive aspects of the photo fairly quickly. His first utterance was "curtain" followed by "brown". When we had asked him to describe particular elements within the photo, he had some struggle verbalizing "newspaper", but once we broke it apart into syllables he confidently pronounced the whole word. He also noticed the glasses perched upon the newspaper, to which he started pointing to his own glasses in excitement. We then prompted him to say a whole sentence, "The glasses are on top of the newspaper". I attribute J's attention to concrete and descriptive concepts as a product of his technical background (career). However, I've noticed that J has a much more difficult time finding the right words to interpret the photos we discuss in class. He was very puzzled when we introduced the idea of "dad" in association with this photo.

I, along with my peers, drew up descriptive words such as "newspaper", "glasses", and "sunlight" to describe the photo. We settled on "inviting", "dad", and "reading" as interpretive terms. J wasn't able to come up with the interpretive terms without excessive prompting, though he did understand where we were getting the words "reading" and "inviting" from. I can definitely tell that there is some dissonance when it comes to apprehending the deeper meaning behind a photo. I have observed that J tends to take in the photographs at mere aesthetic value. He finds them visually stimulating, yet I believe that he has yet to understand how it is that he can use the photography to tell HIS story.

There's No Place Like Home

Though at first glance this may seen like a very simple composition, I chose this photo for a variety of reasons. I liked the quality of light coming into the room though the window; it washes over the rest of the elements creating a dreamlike quality. I also like the fact that except for the newspaper on the couch, there is no other indication of human presence. And after a prolonged inspection of the photo you notice that atop the paper there is a pair of round, vintage spectacles, another personal touch that infuses life into the shot in a subtle way. This project deals with the concept of home, so ultimately (formal elements aside) I chose this photo because it reminds me of a typical weekend morning at my uncle's house. This photo reminds me of my tio and his penchant for reading the paper in the wee hours of the morning. On the particular day this was taken, I had woke up and, judging by the silence of the house, figured that everyone was still asleep, but once I carefully made my way downstairs I found him sitting there ready to greet me with his big smile and cheerful disposition.
Coming from a Latin American family, breakfast is considered one of the most important meals of the day; a time when everyone comes together to enjoy food and conversation. These fritters, known as bunuelos (the round ones) and pandebonos connect me of my Colombian heritage. I think that food tells you a lot about people through individual preferences and food is also a source of unity because every culture has their own food and tradition. This is yet another shot were human presense is implied. The vantage point makes you feel as if someone is there despite the fact that no one is present in the frame itself.
Contrary to popular belief, the child in the picture is real. That little girl is my sister and she is the first thing that I think of when I think of home. She is always the first one at the door to greet me when I come home. This photo is very peculiar, yet visually pleasing, because you can't tell where it was taken. The pillows might provide a vague hint, but otherwise it is very mysterious. To shed some light, this was taken in Kirkland's which is a store my parents go to quite often (it wouldn't be a trip back home without going there at least 2 times). My favorite part of this photo is the wall of pillows in the background.

Response to "Practices of Looking"

As a discipline of the arts, photography has always appealed to me as compared to other disciplines because of its ability to capture events, people or objects in their natural, unaltered state; a quality known as photographic truth. However, this "truth" can be very subjective. The photographer has the power to choose what he wants to incorporate into the frame, which in turn can drastically change the message being conveyed. In addition to this, a photographer must always be aware of the public that will be receiving the photograph. In this excerpt from "Practices of Looking", the argument is made that dissimilar individuals will create different meaning of a photo as a result of their own as well as collective cultural ideologies.

In this manner, a photograph has two aspects: the denotative, which concerns itself with the literal description of an image, and the connotative, which refers to the meaning that arises from cultural and historical contexts. To illustrate this concept, look at the photo below:
One might venture to say that this is a photo of a elderly man crying as he hugs a young woman (denotative). However, there are others that could attest for the fact that this is a photo of a father dancing with his daughter at her wedding. The photo itself hints at this (i.e. the white dress), but someone who shares this experience would be more apt to connect the dots than someone who has no concept of marriage (I will bargain to say) as it relates to Western society. Barthe's model breaks it down into the following model:

Image/ sound/ word ---> Signifier

------------------------------------------------> Sign

Meaning ---> Signified

In this case, the Signifier could be the man and the Signified could be father. Or Signifier = embrace, Signified = last dance. There are many possibilities! This goes to show that the old misconception that anyone can be a photographer is actually very inaccurate. A good photographer must be cognizant of all these aspects in order to use his medium, the photograph, effectively to communicate with the people. There is an underlying language of photography, hence the name of this course. Knowing what we know now, it is interesting to wonder just how much takes place on a subconscious level in our everyday lives. We live in a very visual culture in which we are bombarded with tons of images daily. Think about the last product that you bought, how much of that was due in part to an ad?

Assignment #2

"We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing, and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth can make them come back again. We cannot develop and print a memory." - Henri Cartier-Bresson

The interplay of foreground vs. background elements leads your eyes directly toward the woman and her child . The first thing that caught my attention was the mother's loving embrace and the child's innocent facial expression. The positioning of their bodies seemingly work together as one single element. There is so much emotion being conveyed in this portion of the shot. Another aspect that caught my attention was the fact that all three people in the background are looking different directions and none of them are looking directly at this mother/daughter duo. They look out of touch and disconnected (another interesting point, there are no other children in this photo). Going back to body positioning...the background people are very rigid and proper as compared to the relaxed mother. What I wanted to highlight here was the loving relationship between a mother and her child in this photograph. It was a very cold day and the mother was shielding her daughter from the cold, sacrificing her own blanket in order to keep her daughter warm.

This photo was a semi- accident (ironically those always turn out the best). My intention was to photograph the tips cup, but the fact that I caught a sliver of the barkeep in the frame makes a dramatic difference to the overall image. This photograph also plays around with a variety of different textures, such as the bumpy counter surface and the smooth, sleek metal coffee machine in the background; causing the photo to be very aesthetically pleasing to look at. The man in the photograph was very passionate about his work (as a chef); even though there are so many distinct elements of his work incorporated into this one shot, the frame plays a big role in unifying them and establishing his relationship with them.

As you can tell by now, I am not a fan of posed shots. I washed out the background of this photo in order to put more emphasis on my subject and his activity. It reminds me of Richard Avedon's collection of work in which he gets very up close and personal with his subjects. The way that half of my subject's face is cut off by the frame significantly alters the image than if I had chosen to focus directly on him. The same principle goes for the level at which I placed the camera. What also appealed to me about this shot was the illusion of depth produced by the lack of focus in the elements closest to the viewer contrasted with the crispness of the scabble board as distance across the board increases.

UPDATE! As of 02/10/10...

My client M. will no longer be participating in the workshop due to relocation. As a result I will be working with the client to whom I was originally assigned, J. More to come soon!

In the meantime, check this out :)

*Life After Stroke Awards*

Do you know someone directly affected by stroke?

Whether they are a stroke survivor, carer or volunteer, let them know how remarkable they are and nominate them for a Life After Stroke Award.

As the only national charity solely concerned with helping everyone affected by stroke The Stroke Association recognises the huge and overwhelming impact a stroke can have.

Every day The Stroke Association witnesses people displaying immense courage and determination as they work to overcome the effects of stroke, as well as great patience and persistence in overcoming disabilities and relearning old skills.

The Stroke Association also sees people showing true compassion and commitment to encouraging others to rebuild their lives by providing them with the support they need. It is for this reason that The Stroke Association organises the Life After Stroke Awards.

The 2010 Awards will be held at Claridge’s in central London on 15 June 2010 and are an opportunity to formally recognise and celebrate the achievements of these remarkable people.

Those chosen to receive an award will be invited to stay in a central London hotel the evening before, and to attend the award ceremony at the venue to accept their award from a celebrity supporter of The Stroke Association.

There are eight award categories available for which nominations can be made.

(Watch this!)
http://www.stroke.org.uk/campaigns/life_after_stroke_awards/2009_winners/susie_hulks_memorial.html

The Benefits of a Service Learning Experience

In a traditional classroom setting your only responsibility is to yourself and the interactions that occur between yourself and others inside those four walls. The grade you get at the end of the semester is the main driving force to attend class and hand in assignments. When you think about it, what are we grading? The ability to follow directions is no impressive feat for even animals can be trained to behave on command. Grades therefore do not fairly reflect learning. I believe that application is the best test of learning because life occurs outside of the classrooms in which outdated textbooks form our only reality. In a traditional classroom the instructor has only to show up to class and lead discussion. Following which tests are distributed and grades are assigned. In a traditional classroom everyone is so self-involved, carrying through with the actions yet failing to challenge, to question, and, in turn, grow.
In a community-based experience the community you immerse yourself in is your textbook and what you see, feel, smell, taste and hear is information ready to be soaked up by the mind. You are responsible to learn the information because there are other people depending on you to help guide them. In a community-based experience the responsibilities of students and teacher work in terms of a pay it forward system. The teacher guides the students in the right direction, who in turn guide their community partners. These types of experiences show the community at large that we are there for them. We, the students, are the next generation of lawyers, businessmen, and doctors and we have the community we serve at heart. Rather than the traditional approach when we are virtually disconnected from the rest of society only to reemerge once we get our degree and not be aware of the issues that plague the communities we return to.
In a traditional classroom we wrote many papers and took many exams but the information would make its way into my brain as quickly as it flew out once we finished a chapter. It could be challenging working in a community because many times people are very cautious to let others help them because life has taught them to fend for themselves. They may look at us and think that we don’t understand their troubles. Community-based work can be challenging but in the end it’s that challenge, once overcome, that allows us to feel like we have made a difference.

Show and Tell

In our last class Professor Roe discussed portrait photography in order to get us ready for our next project. She showed us one portrait, captured by Mary Ellen Mark, of a young girl dressed in black who was hugging herself in an insecure manner. There was something about this image that stayed with me, so I looked up Mary Ellen Mark on my own time and quickly fell in love with her work. This image to my right is one that I found to be particularly moving. I wanted to share it with the class. Enjoy!

Quotes:
"Photographs are footprints of our minds, mirrors of our lives, reflections from our hearts, frozen memories that we can hold in silent stillness in our hands -- forever if we wish. They document not only where we have been, but also point the way to where we might perhaps be going, whether we know it yet or not..." ~ Judy Weiser

A photograph is usually looked at - seldom looked into. ~Ansel Adams

Day#1 of Workshop: Meeting my Client

I was told that my client, M., was quite the character. Referred to as “the biker guy”, I had no idea what to expect walking into class that Wednesday afternoon. See, I didn’t know much else about him; M. was invited to join our workshop on short notice given that there are 12 students in our class rather than the expected 10 which would have evenly partnered every two students to one client.
When M. first walked into the room, I was struck by his nonchalant attitude and the way he proudly wore his sleeveless Hooters shirt on a day that could hardly be described as sunny. I listened intently during our introductions, trying pick up any sign of communication difficulty. However, he presented himself with a calm ease and at first I thought that there must have been some sort of a mistake when he was admitted. However, as Day#1 of the workshop unraveled so did the conundrum that was M.’s speech.
My client is fairly fluent, which explains my initial confusion, with moderate anomia. During lengthy conversation he finds himself grappling to find the right words. In one instance he was trying to explain to my partner and I that his daughter was in college and that she was studying to be a psychologist. Simple enough, right? Well, not quite. He had forgotten the word “psychologist”, so he proceeded to explain that she wanted to “work with crazy people like me”. M. knows what it is that he wants to say, his main difficulty is connecting his thoughts with the appropriate word.
There was one instance when we attempted to prompt M. to distinguish what colors he saw in a photo. He did not make any acknowledgement to what we were asking of him and it took several attempts to get his attention. He was lost in his thoughts and continued mumbling about some other aspect of the photo that seemed to fascinate him. We solved this problem by writing down the words green, red, etc. on a piece of paper and asking him to point to the color that he perceived as being most prominent in the photo. Based on this example, I assume that his capacity for auditory comprehension is mildly affected. However, if I was to see this person at Publix, for instance, I would think he were a competent individual.
I think that my UCF student is relatively new to working with a PWA. She began speaking far too quickly for my client to understand, to which one of the professors had made comment. By listening to the professors I was able to gauge the speed of my own voice.
I feel fortunate that I will get to work with M. over the course of this semester because his stroke occurred a few months ago, therefore my partner and I will get to witness his recovery take place in real time. I look forward to seeing what interesting photos he will produce for his first assignment.

Discussion - "The Photographer's Eye" by John Szarkowski

Not that I want to play favorites, but I really enjoyed this book even more so than Shore's "The Nature of Photography" discussed in an earlier post. I felt like the photos in Szarkowski's publication connected with me on an emotional level, whereas Shore's compilation of works are in large part a tribute to style.

This image to my left was taken from "The Photographer's Eye". It was captured by Richard Avedon in 1958 for Harper's Bazaar; the subject of the photo is Ezra Pound. Before I discuss what it is about this photo that so compelled me to choose it for my discussion rather than any of the other more elaborate shots, I would like to provide a concise history on just who this man was.

"American poet and critic, often called "the poet's poet" because his profound influence on 20th century writing in English. Pound believed that poetry is the highest of arts. A rebel par excellence, he challenged many of the common views of his time and spent 12 years in an American mental hospital" (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/epound.htm).

This portrait is beautiful in its simplicity. Avedon’s white backdrop and the extreme frontality of the subject creates an intimate connection between subject and photographer if only for that brief moment. What impressed me the most were the details, down to the finest wrinkle and last gray hair, which epitomize the very character of this man. The expression that he wears on his face tells a story of his life's struggles, yet there still remains something humble in his countenance. Though people have tried for centuries to unlock the secrets to a longer life, this photograph has made this man immortal.

I could lie by saying that I have such and so number of years of experience with photography, but that would be a far stretch considering the reality that this is my first experience with photography beyond its recreational use. When I hear mention of photography, I instantly envision a hoard of relatives blinding me with camera flashes as they undertake the grueling task of recording every fleeting moment into visual evidence; it's as if they are saying, "We were here!" I never quite understood the concept when I was little and I dreaded posing for frame after frame, but as I grew older and worldlier, I came to realize that the idea was not at all far fetched. Think about how much we miss in a single day: we fail to acknowledge the beauty of a cloud as it metamorphoses in the sky, carried by the wind, or the way that with every passing second our world is changing just as surely as we are and before we know it we look back at the years and realize just how much we have missed out on...

Lake Virginia was pristine, shining under the midday sun as I meandered along her banks. It was then when I took notice of the unusual patterns in the sand underneath her translucent façade. I was really pleased with the way that I captured texture in this shot. The ripples in the sand are contrasted by the sleek surface of the water, which is accentuated by the reflection of the sky and trees from overhead. The tree branch at the bottom of the shot disrupts the photo by adding a different kind of movement and simultaneously bringing the onlookers attention to the details in the lower left corner. I could have chosen to not include said details, but I feel like they add strength to the overall composition.

What I really liked about this shot was the color contrast between the bleek inner reality and that which exists beyond the thin glass, where it is green and teeming with life. So many feelings come to mind when I view this shot: entrapment, disconnect and, in some ways, hope. I think that these associations will be what connect with my audience. It's a question of "is the glass half empty or half full?"

This final photo was a product of yet another of my meandering walks (I tend to go on many of those). I decided to be risky by experimenting with perspective in this shot. Due to an unintentional hand slip, the details on the right are blurry, however what struck me about this photo was the clarity and focus of the window in the upper left hand corner.

As I look back over these three photos I feel like all of them are in someways interconnected. Without realizing it, each of the photos that I chose play around with the idea of a surface and reflection. They challenge us to look deeper in order to read into their multiple layers; for only a keen eye would have noticed the faint silhouettes on the surface of the water or the light fog at the bottom of the window pane. There is a simple, yet eloquent beauty to these little "trivialities". We live in a fast paced world such that we never seem to find the time to stop and take in these day by day wonders. Photography allows us to reinvent the world by giving us what was already there in the first place.

Discussion - "The Nature of Photographs" by Stephen Shore

His reputation proceeds him; Shore is regarded as an influential figure in the field of photography and after finishing this text (basically a crash course in photography), I was please to find that it was ridden with photographs which assisted an amateur photographers such as myself to understand such concepts such as focus, perspective and frame. The piece to your left, entitled "Gas Station, Reedsville, West Virginia, 1936" by Walker Evans, was one which left a lasting impression. On the surface it is such a simple, almost unimpressive shot, yet there are so many elements at work in his photograph. The black and white color tone washes over the shot, unifying the foreground with the mid and background creating a collage-like effect. If you focus on the wooden pole slightly left of center, running your eyes up and down the column and then sharply shift your gaze to the gas station (motor co.) the illusion of depth materializes (I learned this nifty trick from this very book). There is also something soft and delicate about the sky in this photograph; it looks as if it exists somewhere far off in the distance unperturbed by what is going on in the scene, yet its gentle hue unifies the objects within the frame. This photograph challenges our perspective and I believe that the true intent inherent in the study of photography is providing others with the means by which to view the world a little differently and opening their eyes to help them see things that are not always readily perceived.

First Impressions

The first thing that comes to mind when one sees a four hour long class on their schedule for an upcoming semester is something along the lines of " *Explicit*, What did I get myself into." In my situation, I was "lucky" enough to score two such classes for Spring of '10. The class descriptions were interesting enough, Green Art and Photography as Language, so I figured that the coursework would come easily if the interests were there.
Last Wednesday was my first day of "PhotoLang"; equipped with a PowerBar and notepad I preceded into the small, sterile room that was to be our classroom. Surprisingly enough, four hours passed by faster than I had anticipated. We were constantly being engaged and I listened keenly as Professor Roe conducted an exercise that challenged us to read into a few selected photographs and Professor Queen taught us about the mysterious and life altering illness known as Aphasia.
See, I’m one of those individuals that get a kick out of challenging my own preconceptions. I feel like my life experiences have helped me prepare for working with individuals with a language handicap. However, all kinds of questions float around in my head: “How will they react to me?” or “Will I be able to accomplish anything with my work this semester?” I am wrapped up in anticipation. I guess I’ll see with time what this semester has in store, but the forecast looks good.
More from me later…